Every once in a while we have to go back to that dwell of styling wonkiness that was Nissan in the ’70s. It’s a story told more than a few times on CC’s pages, and not a particularly happy one. From the goodwill earned during the ’60s with offerings like the 240Z, the 510, and the Datsun Roadster to… an odd-looking and multiplying 1970s lineup that seemed inspired by Mopar products looked through the melting eyes of a Dali painting. That plus some genes from underwater and otherworldly creatures.
These oddly organic Datsun 710s are about as good as one can use to highlight that puzzling period that was 1970s Nissan. Only the 200SX serves as a better example, which had the look of a Japanese Sci-Fi prop sprinkled with Mopar detailing and cross-bred with the stance of a squashed beetle. Not that I’ve anything against it… (That ire is reserved for the F-10, but you all know that by now.)
One can presumably trace the 710’s styling to its original Japanese market name: Violet. Thanks to that flora reference, one can sort of make sense of the car’s detailing and shapes: Many compounded forms, a few even petal-like, all put through a Mopar-fuselage filter. The results may not be necessarily pretty, or exciting, but are certainly memorable. Few things look like a Datsun from the ’70s.
Floral references may sound slightly odd when talking about car styling, but from previous readings about Japanese car designers, their references are usually ethereal. Rather than pinpoint a source for their inspirations, they tend to be more oblique. The stylist of the 240 Z “wanted the feel of a blade”, the 2nd. gen. Mirage was “inspired by the egg”, and the ’01 Lexus SC was styled with the “feel of the French Riviera”.
CC readers now that these 710s have appeared quite a few times on our pages, with Paul and I doing takes on the model (links below). Still, any surviving 710 is worth 5 minutes of CC fame, and this one is in pretty outstanding condition. It was quite a find when I came across it one hot afternoon in Santa Ana, a large city in Western El Salvador.
And this is a US-spec model, not the 160J/140J version sold over here, and curiously, it is not the first US-sourced 710 I have found in this nation. So, where do old 710s go to when they cease to be useful? Central America, apparently.
As often happens with my finds, this one came for sale not long after my shooting it. Ad images show that the interior seems as well preserved as the rest of the car. Not pristine, but quite good. It comes with a 2L engine paired with a 3-speed automatic. And for a local vehicle, that engine is in remarkable condition. Of course, it has the always-missing-in-El-Salvador air filter case. But otherwise, most of the original bits are still there.
I do wonder where the wagon got its JDM fender-mounted mirrors, which were not common here and obviously were not US-spec. In some shots, one can see the vehicle did get a respray at some point; probably the moment it got its current JDM-mirror looks.
I know that styling-wise, these 1970s Datsuns are an acquired taste. But in terms of their service, they were dependable and trustworthy workhorses. Nothing exciting, mind you; even slightly pedestrian. But users in this region learned to love and trust their Datsuns, and the models still have a strong following. I honestly don’t know of any other place with so many 1970s Datsuns still in daily service.
So, I guess I was quite lucky to find this wagon in front of a laundry service by the name of “La Confianza”. Meaning trust, or trustworthy in Spanish. A word that pretty much summarizes the feeling local owners have about these cars to this day.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1974 Datsun 710 Wagon – Third Time’s The Charm; Or Not
Curbside Classic: 1975 Datsun 160J SSS (710/Violet) – Peak Fuji-lage.
Road & Track Vintage Review: 1975 Datsun 710 “Nissan Replaces The Late And Lamented 510”
As jarring as it was when Honda added the ass-lift side visual to the 4th gen Odyssey (2011), I see their inspiration….
Great connection!
Rich, you can’t bring up Dali and then not include this:
50 years ago, more people may have known about Dali than today. But even so, these ads struck me (as a high schooler at the time ) as very weird, and not something very well targeted at the average Datsun buyer in the US. I guess Salvador needed the money.
Interesting it has spot or aircraft landing lights in the high beam position, not actual headlights.
Evidently I acquired the taste… I adore these oddball ’70s Mopar/Datsuns and would gladly buy a nice 610 or 710 sedan or wagon, if only a clean rust free-ish one could be found!
A great find, and such a period colour.
We didn’t get these down under; it was probably felt to be too close in size to existing successful Nissans. It looks awfully narrow at the front, almost as if somebody’s photoshopped six inches out of it. And it has that trademark funky Nissan-wagon-side-window treatment, though in this case it serves to make the upsweep on the rear door look like the element that’s out of place.
Remarkably well preserved .
When new I didn’t realize these could be had with an i6 engine .
I find it pretty but too darn 1970’s style – wise .
I found a pristine one in Pick-A-Part in 1997 and took the hubcaps for my Datsun 620 pickup .
I still have the spare 710 hubcap in my back porch .
-Nate
They couldn’t be had with an I6 engine; only fours.
It never fails to impress me how Nissan completely lost the plot, styling-wise, during this difficult decade. And how they regained control after having hit rock bottom, which this 710 might illustrate quite well.
Superb find and post, Ric!
Datsun We Are Driven! As of this fall the sentra was the last holdover from the Datsun era The Maxima ( released in the states as a Datsun in79′) is now history.In 83′ two important things happened Toyota replaced the slow selling Corona with the Camry, and Datsun changed its name to Nissan. If the Camry had flopped, Toyota might have pulled out of the states (Yes; that’s right) and before reverting to Nissans original name, Datsun WAS the best selling Japanese car in the US! It’s all in a name!
Wish something like this was still available ….especially since I now live in the sunbelt where RWD isn’t a problem in a light car. Particularly the wagon.
I’ve been driving 50 years, and a ’74 Datsun 710 (sedan) was my first car. It had the interlock where the engine wouldn’t start if you didn’t have the seatbelts in the front fastened (there was an override inside the hood you could use though). Mine was medium blue with white vinyl seats but also brown carpet it came with. It was a totally traditional car, learned to do tune ups on it. It lived outside, and the only time it wouldn’t start was the blizzard of ’78, I had to bum a ride from my Dad. We lived in Shelburne Vt, and the car also had a fast idle when cold, had to shift into neutral at stops until it warmed up (forgot to say it was automatic, my first and last car with one). Other than standard things like tires and batteries, only issues I had were a bad alternator and a busted coolant hose (during a trip out of town, to an interview for what turned out to be my first job after getting my undergraduate degree).
I had it until 1981, when I encountered black ice driving up I89 from that job to visit my parents. Front bumper wrapped around the cable guard rail, bashed in the front passenger side, fortunately the battery was on the driver’s side, I nursed it the rest of the way to my parents (from 2nd exit inside Vermont border on I89) and got it fixed, but the 710 was pretty rusty by then, the bumper was gone and the body was starting to rust pretty bad in spots…plus I wanted FWD for better traction (who would know that within 2 years both I and my parents would move to the sunbelt and wouldn’t be too concerned with on road traction).
Probably because it was entirely conventional, it was an ideal car for the college student I was while I owned it. Easy to work on, inexpensive, and easy on gas…which was particularly good when we had a gas shortage, in late 70’s. Not much power, but that meant I couldn’t get into too much trouble with it either. Wish I had the wagon, but as I recall it wasn’t available in ’74; just the 2 and 4 door sedans plus a coupe. 710’s weren’t too common even when new; I think the B210 was way more popular and the 610 maybe sold better than the 710. Nowdays the Nissan Altima is pretty common, but for some reason despite the popularity of the 510 it didn’t carry over to the 710.
One other thing, I think at least in the US, the 710 came with a 1.8 (1770 cc) engine, rather than a 2.0. My cars have ranged from 1.5 litres (’78 Scirocco) to 2.0 litres (current Mk4 2000 Golf), all 4’s, a fairly narrow range.
My friend bought an ’82 Celica in ’89 when his ’82 Accord was totalled, with the 2.4 liter he called it his “big block” 4 (of course block size doesn’t say everything about displacement, but it was tongue in cheek).