I don’t believe we have yet had a Datsun 510 review here at CC. Well, we did technically do a 510, but not the simple, squared-off late ’60s/early ’70s version beloved by so many. To tide you over, here is a well-worn 5 shot by Cohort contributor dave_7.
This one might be a bit scruffy, but it looks remarkably original too–right down to the wheel covers and thin-band whitewall tires. And we actually have a twofer: check out the MGB GT in the background!
This car, and the related small pick-up truck, were the models that opened my eyes to Japanese cars in the late 60’s. They were solid, practical, economical, and surprisingly good-looking, at a time when Detroit was beginning to visibly lose its sense of direction. The simple lines and big wheels helped give it a tough, no-nonsense image as well, a smart design move on such a small car.
It’s hard to beat a well-proportioned three box design. The 510 arguably comes from the same design philosophy that produced the Mercedes 220D and the BMW 2002. It just looks right.
There were probably 10 of these at the excellent Japanese Classic Car Show held this weekend in Long Beach, CA, which I attended. An acquaintance who had one back when they were much newer bragged and bragged on the one he owned. These little cars really seem to be an iconic favorite. I took a picture focusing on one that was a great pistachio color. The simple design has certainly aged well.
I’d love to have an old 510. Of course, the 510 and the 240Z proved to be hard acts to follow. Look at the 610, the B-210, and the F-10. They just kept getting uglier. The F-10 was simply profane; it was as though Nissan took every bad styling bit from every car on the road, and put it into the design of that car. How could these two cars have come from the same company?
The B-210 wasn’t so bad. I think it came in a Honey Bee edition. The F-10 totally rocked in terms of its balls. It had the tachometer all the way over to the far left, where an A/C vent should have gone. My friends and I argued endlessly about which was uglier the front or back end. The car was so damn proud of being ugly.
Things mellowed at Datsun for the rest of the 70s and we started to see more mainstream efforts like the 210 and 310.
Not to be outdone by the 70s, the 80s brought us three gems from Datsun – the original 200SX (those bumpers!), the Pulsar NX and something called the Stanza Wagon.
My first car was a B-210, so I’ll always have a soft spot in my head for that particular model. But even though I loved it, I wouldn’t call it pretty!
The 510 was, I think, a direct styling knock-off of the British Ford Cortina Mk2 – not only the basic shape but especially the c-pillar with the vent. In fact, when I saw the MG in the picture, I assumed it was a British-car post until I looked closer…My Scottish-immigrant grandfather had one of these. I have a few (scary) memories of him driving me around Cumberland, RI in it, singing and then tapping the brakes in time with the music.
A ’72 that I bought in December of ’77 was the first car I bought. A New Hampshire car, it had already gotten a respray after some unspecified body work.
The doors rattled when slammed and the struts were pretty much shot at 65,000 miles but it was fast (92 hp out of 1600 cc) and fun. And it was mine.
It got *horrendous* mileage until I pulled the carb apart and swapped the jets (primary and secondary in the progressive 2 bbl) to their correct locations.
Within 3 years I’d end up fabricating a front floor for it after the accelerator pedal fell over.
After four years I sold it for $900 ($200 less than I’d paid for it).
It’s been many, many years since I saw one.
– Chris
I remember seeing a 1972 Datsun ad that touted it as their “expensive 2 door sedan”‘ @ $1995 POE. The 1200 was $1776 POE.
Interfaith furniture? That’s a fascinating concept.
My uncle had 37 cars in his yard (lived in the country). Semi-running cars. For some reason, he always had a lot of asian cars, mainly Toyotas and Mazdas. I remember a Corona.
I was 9 and I remember how small the back seats were. No legroom at all. I felt like I was in a death trap. I am tall, so maybe I was a big 9 year old.
Those days it was the Datsun 510 and Toyota Corona (not Corolla) duking it out for top dog Japanese sedan. These were the predecessors to the Altima and Camry, although back then they were about the size of a Honda Fit or Nissan Versa.
But that 510 was also a real looker and had that IRS tucked away back there, just like that young whipper snapper from BMW. By 1990 young hot-rodders in California were taking advantage of the car’s good mechanicals, light weight and cheap price and thus was born the Sports Compact or Import Tuner craze.
Thanks 510
Oh yes, the 510 – wasn’t it called the “poor man’s [2002] BMW” in those days?
Wonderfully inexpensive, simple to fix, and tossable thanks to that suspension. They were prone to the rust worm due to the thin sheet metal, but in California it wasn’t an issue.
The 510 was a hit upon indroduction. It was a popular club race car in the ’70s. I also prefer the three box design to the melted glob look in wide use at this time. I wonder what would be the cd number of a cleaned up 510?
72 was a great year for cars and most other things. This car brings back an awful lot of memories. Thanks for finding it.
I bought a new 510 in 1971. It had terrible “lean surge” with awful throttle response until I replaced the jets with ones from a kit that included larger jets and lighter springs for the centrifugal advance. Also replaced the stock 4″ x 13″ wheels with Corvair wheels 6″ x 13″
(as I recall) and larger tires. Overall it perfectly epitomized “cheap tin can” in spite
of it’s advanced engineering features.
classic 70s line – “if you scratch the paint, you will see the budweiser logo underneath”
CC laugh of the day!
Yes, like a beer can without corrosion resistance