Bluebirds have featured pretty prominently in my roster of Nissan products. As they should: with over four decades in the Datsun/Nissan JDM range, it was the carmaker’s most ancient nameplate, so there are quite a few about – some more interesting and common than others, of course. It has taken a long while for the 410/411 (i.e. 2nd generation, 1963-67) to make an appearance, but I wanted it to be something special.
There are a few saloons about, but when I encountered this wagon at the usual gingko tree-lined place a couple weeks ago (a very unusual occasion: only Japanese cars were present that Sunday), the time to write up one of these beauties had finally arrived, and a fitting finale to my projected JDM Wagon Week was in the bag.
Our esteemed editor Rich Baron has regaled us about the 410/411 Bluebird in a previous episode, so I’ll be very brief on historical background. This second generation Bluebird was launched in 1963 and, compared to its 310 predecessor, introduced two main innovations: unit body construction and design courtesy of none other than PininFarina.
Initially, the Bluebird was available as a four-door saloon and a wagon, with a two-door saloon joining the range (at least in Japan) a little later. Some cars were sold with a 1-litre, but most of the early model saloons got the 1200cc inherited from the 310 Bluebird. A 1.3 and a 1.6 litre engine took over in mid-1965, even as the Bluebird – now called 411 – had to compete with an ever-increasing amount of local rivals and Nissan launched the Datsun 1000 Sunny as their new smaller model.
Our feature car is a stunning example of this later 411 Bluebird. Oddly enough, the car got a minor facelift in 1965 and a butt-lift in 1966, with blockier taillights located a little higher up than before for the saloons. The blockier taillights could not be repositioned for the wagons though, for obvious reasons. But the 410/411 Bluebird wagon was a curious beast: there wasn’t just a pre- and post-facelift wagon, there were also two additional variants.
Here they all are. The 410 wagon (top left) and 411 wagon (top right) are straightforward enough – same car, pre- and post-facelift. On the other hand, the 1966-67 four-door VP411 van (bottom left) had a completely different tailgate and small taillights. The 1965-68 two-door 1300 van (bottom right) with the vertical taillights is a false friend: it was actually the old Datsun Pickup chassis with the 1.3 litre engine and rebodied with a 411 front end. Need an aspirin yet?
Our feature car’s owner was justly proud of his wagon’s amazingly pristine condition. So much so that he propped up the hood for yours truly to take a gander. Open up and say aah… I mean, B-Series!
Actually, Nissan called this the J-Series, but it’s an evolution of the BMC B-Series. This is the 1.3 litre version (1299cc, 72hp), the 90hp 1.6 (which was actually a direct descendent of the B-Series) was not available on the wagons. Transmission-wise, one had a choice of the basic 3-speed or the optional 4-speed manual. A Borg-Warner 3-speed auto was also on the options list, though I doubt many wagons would have gotten one of those.
Awww, all that beautifully fresh mintiness on the body and in the engine bay, and we can’t get a glimpse of the (doubtless also perfect) upholstery? Ah well. It’s the height of summer, 35-degree Celsius and 80% humidity – and for once, no aftermarket A/C poking from under the dash, so I guess a cover does make sense. Could have been a bit less… floral, but to each their own.
The 410/411 was quite successful: Nissan sold over half a million between 1963 and 1967. But apparently, the Japanese clientele was a little underwhelmed by the car’s styling and the Bluebird actually lost market share due to this fact (mostly to the Toyota Corona). Tastes were different, back then. If one were to put the shovel-nose Corona and this Bluebird side by side, I wonder who would prefer the Toyota today – I know I wouldn’t.
What was the main gripe about this handsome Pininfarina design? According to the Japanese web, the answer was then quite unanimous: folks did not like the drooping beltline. This was the reason why Nissan switched the taillights late in the game – the saloons, at least, had a less droopy look. But not the wagons. And it’s true that once you see it, it’s hard to ignore, especially in profile.
It’s not as noticeable when looking at the car from certain angles, though. Personally, I think the Bluebird’s characterful and Italian-infused front end makes up for the alleged tail-dragging.
As a matter of fact, you could put a Lancia shield or an Alfa Romeo Biscione in place of that (rather anonymous) Datsun script, and it would have worked perfectly.
That’s another thing that is curiously absent from Nissan products of this period: no logo. They had a perfectly serviceable one for their literature and the 310 Bluebird had one that could have been carried over to this generation, but no. Toyota had the same policy for ages, too. Quite a head-scratcher, especially when nearly every other Japanese carmaker had some sort of emblem on their products by this point on time.
That’s all for the JDM Wagon Week, then. We’ll see what next Monday brings. But it’s not all for the 410 Bluebird, I can promise you – another variant has already been captured and will have its day on CC eventually. Until then, don’t let the door hit that drooping behind on the way out.
Related post:
Curbside Classic: ’65-’67 Datsun 411 (Bluebird) – “El Añejo” (The Aged One), by Rich Baron
Good find, though I can see what you mean about the droopy look. From the side it isn’t that far from Pininfarina’s later Peugeot 204. It could also be close to what Pininfarina could have done with the BMC 1.6 range if they hadn’t let them stagnate after 1961. The slightly widening indent accentuates the fall, of course, so I had a go at removing it to create just a single fold line.
Something about that rounded-off dash makes me think ‘Lancia’ too.
Now you’ve pointed out the drooping waistline, I cannot unsee it.
It was what made the BMC cars look so bad – particularly the 1800 & Maxi, with the awkward pillar angles & short noses making them look as if they’ve been crash-tested.
It seems to flow better on bigger cars (Austin 3-Litre & IKA Torino, for example) but BL even persisted with it for the Maestro & Montego. Or Messtro…
The B1 Audi 80 got away with it – perhaps due to its wedginess.
What a find and car. I don’t mind the droop. It does have a lot of glass making it look a touch top heavy but it is quite a pretty car. The same abundant glass likely makes it easy to drive and see out of. The pale yellow and chrome wheel covers suit it quite well.
Somwhat perversely, perhaps, I always liked the look of these.
The droopy butt (reverse wedge?) makes me think of a cartoon car accelerating hard. Admittedly that’s quite a stretch with only 1.3 litres of adapted BMC castoff for power, but these were a really attractive design, especially when viewed alongside the shovel-nose Corona. Datsun were really on a roll in the mid-late sixties.
Alec Issigonis admitted that he couldn’t style cars.
I think his problem was that he used to do little side-elevation sketches featuring that cartoon lean-forward look. They looked great.
But when one translates it to a 3/4 view, it looks like Roadrunner just pulled the fake tunnel off the rock wall…
One might have thought that PF would have known better.
BTW, I think Datsun improved the cast-off BMC engines quite usefully – they evolved into some reasonable powertrains, whereas the originals failed to.
A very cool old Datsun.
I have seen very few of them – and that I remember – probably 40 years ago.
While I grew up surrounded by imports – NONE of them were Japanese. Dutch, German, Italian, Swedish, French – NOT Japanese.
That is a beauty.
That ‘drooping’ bodyside groove seems inspired upon Pininfarina’s 1961 Cadillac Jacqueline concept (along with a whole lot of the sedan’s rear styling).
What I lovely find. I truly love the styling of this generation of Bluebirds, nonewithstanding that the Corona sold better.
I found a rather worn-out wagon of this generation here in El Salvador back in 2018, way out in the boonies. It was nighttime, however, and the photos didn’t capture it quite as I would have liked it to.
I really like this color and fantastic paint job .
I seem to recall most Bluebirds being light blue, gray or green .
Yes, Nissan made very good use of the BMC ‘B’ series engine, it was made as an industrial engine well into the 1990’s that I know of, the cylinder heads were cheap new and bolted directly on to older Austins, MG’s and other BMC products .
-Nate
Very rare model here Bluebird assenbly was done in NZ for this model but disassenbly took place for most of them when they hit the road Nissan improved the Austin B series engines but the cars themselves lacked the severe service testing BMC put their cars through in Africa,
Ive seen one wagon here that I can remember and very very few sedans survived, Bluebirds just didnt get to be old cars very often.
I had a 410 when I was in the Army in Hawai’i. Paid whole $500 for it. 1.2 l engine with four on the tree. Worked great until a leak in the differential caused that to start making noise. People always knew it was me. What surprised the daylights out of me was when I was leaving to return to the Mainland, I got $600 for it, bad diff or not. It was perfect for a place with a max. speed limit of 45.
A nice find. I really enjoy the lines, including the droop. Wonderful proportions, character, elegance…and it sits very nicely. A jewel.