As far as I know, cars have no will of their own. Whether a car remains ‘true’ to its original self is not up to its non-existent desires, but rather to mere chance. And finding a survivor, fairly recognizable as it used to be 50 years after, is always a gratifying sensation.
In the case of legendary models like the 510, an unmolested one can be more surprising. With its lively engine and handling, most have been turned into mini racers. Rare is the one that remains as a plain family vehicle, the way it used to be out of the dealer’s gate.
Not that I should complain much. Without such devotion, most remaining 510s would have succumbed long ago. The more the better in my book; even if unnecessary plastic surgeries are involved.
The customized fate of most 510s isn’t shared by the station wagon version; less likely to suffer the mods the ‘racing sort’ prefers. Not that 510 wagons are completely safe from the tuner crowd, as it’s been documented at CC previously.
In any case, what seals the fate of many wagons -like any other car- is wear and rust. A reality that previous CC posts have also documented with 510 wagons.
So, I was rather pleased when this old 510 wagon appeared in San Salvador, looking fairly straight and unmolested; though not quite pristine. I know it isn’t 100% stock, but considering the odd mods Salvadorians put their vehicles through, fairly intact is an achievement. It’s got no weird headlights, stickers, spoilers, or wheel flares.
There are a few concessions, granted: the tinted windows, the window shades, and the roof rack. All are rather minor, and most are the result of El Salvador’s hot and sunny weather. Yet, it could all be discarded if one wished to revert this 510 to its original condition. About which, the wagon could be a ’70-’72 model, with the side markers being one of the few clues suggesting so.
At least when it comes to El Salvador, old wagons seem to survive at higher rates than sedans. It seems their owners just enjoy their size and functionality too much and do their best to hold on to them. While showroom condition is beyond their capacities, they cherish and maintain them as well as they can.
In my imagination, I like to think this 510 chose its current fate, staying as close as possible to its true self. I know that’s not the case; but whoever its owner is, has respected this 510’s original calling as much as possible in these lands.
Further reading:
Curbside Classic: Datsun 510 (Bluebird/1600) – Learning To Fly
The wagon design is not as appealing as the sedan (though not unpleasant) – it has hints of the baroque excess that would plague Nissan/Datsun in the mid-1970’s (F10 anyone)?
It is nice, to see a stock version. If you do a general ‘Datsun 510 wagon’ image search at Google, there is a wave of modified and street wagons. But that would be in part to large commercial sites promoting search engine optimization.
Besides fat wheels and tires, lowering these, is one of the more popular mods. Clean, timeless design.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Datsun+510+wagon&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiM05PUrYSBAxX3CVkFHQvWAfcQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=Datsun+510+wagon&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIECCMQJzIHCAAQigUQQzIHCAAQigUQQzIHCAAQigUQQzIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABFDfDFjfDGDjJGgBcAB4AIABuwGIAbsBkgEDMC4xmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=YTLvZMyeMfeT5NoPi6yHuA8&bih=927&biw=1920
I bought a 1980 510 wagon new, to replace my 78 Bonneville. Why would someone do that? Because the gas shortage was in full swing!
It was my first foreign car and turned out to be pretty good, except for the body rust starting after about 2 or 3 years. Great gas mileage though.
Finally a Japanese car on CC again, the second in two days! 🙂 And what a beauty, I don’t know that I’ve seen a 510 wagon in red. From my casual Craigslist searches I’m of the opinion that this seemingly complete example is at least a $10k car here here assuming no gaping rust holes and at least a passable interior. As hard (impossible?) as it is to find an unmolested but solid 510 coupe, the wagons were mostly all used up decades ago and I think would respond very well to the same “improvements” as the others, despite their slightly higher weight.
Great find!
510 wagons did not have independent suspension at the rear as did the sedans so they obviously lacked the sportiness that the sedans had.
The only change I’d make to the wagon is paint the non-original but *almost* right-looking steelies. They’d look great in silver as they would’ve been if the line had continued almost-unchanged into the mid/late ’70s as it should’ve, but black wheels just always look junky and unfinished to me, even if shiny and fresh like these.
I guess my 510 sedan could pass as Salvadoran-spec, then? 😉