(first posted 9/18/2015) The other day here at CC we had a lively response to the question “Which Once-Common Cars Don’t You See Anymore?” Dozens, if not hundreds of cars were listed as having absented themselves from the streetscape. In perusing the list, I don’t think there was one that I wouldn’t be able to find in Eugene. In short order, at that. Maybe I should give myself the CC Challenge and see how many I could shoot in one hour?
One car that was noticeably absent from the lists was the Datsun 310, perhaps because it was never that common in the first place. But before we’ve totally wiped it clean from our mental servers, let’s refresh the memory banks about a car that can still be seen here in Curbsidelandia as a daily driver, with a bit of luck. In both coupe and five-door versions, at that. And its predecessors and successors. I know; I’m bragging again. But that’s why CC exists in the first place; how could I let these old Datsuns and others go by without their moment of fame?
The Nissan Pulsar N10 (Datsun 310 in the US; Datsun Cherry in Europe) had a tough act to follow: the infamous Datsun F-10 (Nissan Cherry), often considered one of the ugliest cars ever (yes, I found one of those in Eugene too). It was the product of Nissan Design’s Long Dark Night of the Soul. Or maybe just a bad batch of sashimi.
The F-10 only came in coupe and wagon versions to the US, but with its successor, the 310, Nissan decided to chase the class-leader VW Rabbit/Golf. Like so many other small cars of the time, the Golf Mk1 left its unmistakable imprint on the 310 hatchback, right from the very Golf-esque grille.
Given that the 310 arrived in MY 1979, four years after the Golf, any resemblance to it should not be surprising. This particular brown five-door 310GX is exactly like one that Stephanie’s dad owned back in the day. I can just see him behind the driver’s wheel, driving up the hill from his job teaching English at Humboldt State University. No, not all English Lit profs drove Saabs.
These 310s were a modern design all-round and should have been competitive, but American buyers seemed happy enough to keep buying the cheaper old-school RWD Datsun 210. And under the hood, US-bound 310s still got the old pushrod A-series engine as also used in the 210 as well as millions of other Datsuns. Outside of the US, starting in 1981, the Pulsar/Cherry got the new SOHC E15 engine.
I saw this 310 Coupe chuff up at a bank parking lot while I was at the plumbing supply shop across the parking lot, and I was quite thrilled; I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen one, and had long given up hope. It doesn’t have quite the cult following of the F-10, so this might well be the last of its kind in these parts.
Its styling clearly pays homage to the F-10 coupe, which gives the coupe a decidedly different vibe than the clean and Euro-looking five door. Nissan had a thing about oddball coupes, one it wouldn’t give up on for quite some time.
The Pulsar Coupe had established a reputation for going its own way, ever since the F-10. The successor to the 310 Coupe was this very wedgy Pulsar NX, sporting very eighties tape trim.
It in turn was followed by this Pulsar, which was actually quite a nice design, if also a bit out of the ordinary, naturally.
Especially with its variable rear end that allowed it to be converted to a shooting brake (“Sportbak”). Now that’s one I’ve not seen in decades (the Sportbak).
Back to our beloved 310 Coupe: Like most Nissans/Datsuns of the times, these were generally rugged and serviceable cars. The old A-series engine had proven itself millions of times over, and the transition to FWD did not seem to diminish these Datsun’s durability to any significant extent, although the old RWD 210 was rather legendary in that regard. There was no X-Body syndrome with the Japanese transition to FWD.
Regarding the multiple naming of these cars: in the US, the transition from Datsun to Nissan was a long and painfully drawn-out affair, and these cars were from the early phase, still officially Datsuns, but “by Nissan”.
This survivor is saddled with an automatic. Let’s just say that that when I heard it drive off a few minutes later, it was a bit wheezy and didn’t exactly exude much dynamism. Well, the carburated little four made all of 65hp, and a few of those got lost in the torque conversion. Not a particularly happy combo, as compared to the five-speed stick, which still was no power house, but at least could be caned for a bit of fun.
If you’re not yet suitably impressed with the old Nissans of Eugene yet, I also stumbled into this Nissan Pulsar (N12) five door hatchback six blocks from my house, a car so rare I had forgotten that it existed. A Pulsar five door in the US? Yes, for one year only (1983) it was offered here. It took a bit of doing to confirm that, as very little info on it being sold in the US is available. How many were sold? And how many are left?
So now we’ve filled in another hole in the history of Datsun thanks to these old veterans, and showed you the kind of cars that actually are getting a bit scarce on the ground here. And thanks to this 310 coupe, I think that I’ve shot pretty much every significant generation/model of Datsuns sold in the US.
Oh right; No Datsun 1000 (PL). Better keep my eyes peeled. One’s bound to show up one of these days.
Related reading:
1977 Datsun F-10: It Flunked Beauty School
1983-1986 Nissan Pulsar NX: Staying Sharp In The Eighties (Mike Butts)
1983 Nissan Pulsar Five Door: So Rare I Forgot It Existed
The N12 also came as Holden Astra by Nissan ironicly my dads firm had just taken on Datsuns as this happened so had Pulsars and Astras in the showroom, just like not too long before that Holden Geminis and Vauxhall Chevette twins on display together. Nice twin yellow utes in the first picture, Various Datsun/Nissan hatchbacks have been sold here supplemented by shiploads of ex JDM used ones its hard to work out the various models, the earlier Cherry was here my brother had one.
Your Ford seems to have its eye on a different Japanese babe. Probably figuring out how it can “accidentally” start up and jump the curb and make some time with her.
I still see the odd Sunny (210) or 120Y (B210) around, but it has been years since I last saw a 310! I’m pretty sure – and perhaps Pete or Don can correct me here – that in Australia, we only got these as a five-door hatch. I recall a family friend’s mother having one before she passed, in brown. The 310 seemed to be much less popular than its successor, because I’m pretty sure I saw a few N12 Pulsars back in the day.
I don’t know if it was the kind of people who bought the Pulsar/310 or their durability, because Corollas of that era seem to be MUCH more common (true cockroaches of the road). However, I would pose that the more conservative Datsuns – 210, 120Y, Bluebird – were much, much more popular with older folk, hence why you still see them today. Pulsar/310s probably skewed younger and thus were not as babied.
Datsuns rusted out pretty quick in coastal Aussie , unless they were really well looked after and babied they just didnt last.
I’d have to check my old Wheels collection to be sure, William. The five doors were not that common when new anyway. N12s were everywhere, by comparison.
I had the 3 door coupe as a first car in Oz.
If the 5-door Datsun 310 came in a color other than brown, I don’t remember it. Seems like they were ALL brown.
Two other things I remember about this car:
– There was a third body style, also a hatchback coupe but with a larger rear side window and a more conventional hatchback without the wraparound glass. Inside, it had a roomier rear seat than the more rakish coupe seen here, but still considerably smaller than a Golf/Rabbit’s.
– Although other world markets got the five-door from the beginning, I think only the two 3-doors were sold in the U.S at first, with the 5-door arriving later though I don’t recall by how much.
I had a friend with a post-facelift 310 that I rode in occasionally. I recall it being gold/beige with the same tan interior shown here, with nice ribbed velour seats enliving up the otherwise plain interior. It was one of the hatchback coupes, but I can’t remember which one.
And I very much remember the ’83-only Pulsar hatchback because my brother owned the 3-door version for a few years. It was sold until partway through the ’83 model year, so it really was sold in the U.S for only about 8 months.
I also recall a more conventional hatch. And IIRC, the rear quarter windows could be operated by the front seat passengers. Two little levers between the seats allowed you to flip them open and closed.
This would be the more conventional hatch, the other model being a liftback coupe.
Rear view.
Hello…
Does anyone know who owns this blue Datsun 310 GX?
“Although other world markets got the five-door from the beginning, I think only the two 3-doors were sold in the U.S at first, with the 5-door arriving later though I don’t recall by how much.”
According to a 1988 Consumer Reports used car guide, “mid-1980”.
I bought this guide when it was new, in the spring of 1988, when I was a senior in high school. In its review of the first-generation Pulsar, the ’83 5-door hatchback is not only mentioned in the text but also shown in a photo. As a result, I have long been aware of that one-year-only model’s existence.
In the early 1990s, when I was in college, I had a co-worker who was a few years younger than me (probably a senior in high school) who drove a blue blue 1979 310, the same body style as the blue one in the second photo above. Here in Massachusetts, these were already uncommon sights by then.
The 5-door debuted late worldwide, but there was a trunked 4-door sedan sold in other countries which had the same fastback profile as the non-coupe hatchbacks.
One minor possible correction. My 80s consumer guide lists the 81-82 American 310 having a 67 hp ohc 91 cubic inch four. The 79-80 having the pushrod 65hp 85 cubic inch ohv engine. I would have expected more of a power boost but that may have been when the 310 got a catalyst.
Nice find. I think it is fair to say that the Rabbit or the Omni might be a touch better designed. I wonder why the 210 was continued through the F10 and 310? Even Toyota I guess offered the Starlet for those who didn’t yet trust the Tercel.
The info on the switch to the OHC engine is a bit fuzzy. You may well be right.
I see to recall that when Nissan went to the OHC engine in the 310, they also reversed the layout of the engine and transaxle. Can anyone confirm this?
BTW, my ’84 NX with the 1.6 OHC gave me as much as 50 mpg on Interstate 5. Cheap to run.
The 310 coupe is a rehash of the F10, which is itself a ripoff of the Citroen SM. I like Robert Opron’s original best…
I don’t recall ever seeing many 310s. A buddy of mine moved to Los Angeles for about a year. He went there with a Kawasaki 750 but after a couple of trips in the LA freeways, self preservation kicked in and he traded the bike in on a gold 310 hatchback. I think his was the only 310 I ever rode in.
Toyota and Nissan had (have?) several sales channels in Japan and as a result they produced a couple of products that seemed to fill the same market niches. One sales channel must have gotten the wild styling and adventurous engineering (example: the 310 with an OHC engine), while the other got the conservative styling and engineering (example: the 210 with OHV engine)…..at least that’s my theory.
Trying to decide which product to sell in which markets must have been a headache. “Do we satisfy our (potential) customers or follow the advice of local buff books”?
Like a previous poster noted, the 310 seemed to be sold in either brown or gold, and no other colors.
I never considered a Japanese car at this time and so wouldn’t have considered a new 310 or a new VW Rabbit, I would consider that to be an apples to oranges comparison.
From an American perspective, it seems like the F-10 and 310 existed to give Datsun an FWD car (Japanese cars are not my strong suit; I had thought the 310 predated 1979, and had been Nissan’s first FWD car in the U.S.). Once the FWD Sentra replaced the RWD 210, I guess it didn’t make sense to sell both the Sentra and the Pulsar 5-door hatchback in the U.S. market, explaining why the latter had such a short stay here.
I bought a 82 310 new, red w/grey interior; three door hatch, GX trim but not the goofy GX roofline, looked almost like an Audi GT or so I kept telling myself. E15 engine was noisy (dealer said “Aluminum valvetrain cannot muffle sound well”) and an icky clunk from on to off throttle (dealer said “excess drivetrain lash, they all do that”) and slow, really slow. But comfortable, handled OK if not like my modded 510 that preceded it it (obviously!). Got back to back 47 mpg tankfuls on one road trip. The rear quarter windows were controlled by cable, the levers cleverly placed at the back on the console, anyone in the car had access. With the back seat folded, the hatch would take two bicycles, or two people for “a hug”, barely. Overall, nice interior for an econobox but then, I like mouse fur.
Drove it for a year and a half, After a few months with the 84 Rampage I replaced it with, I wished I had the 310 back. Have not seen a 31 on the road in a long, long time.
Owner must hate his 310 as the keys are still in the ignition.Perhaps its not worth steeling. Course there s is no car crime in Oregon?.
Good noticing. There is car crime (although it’s dropped a lot, like everywhere else) here, but who would think of taking this? Except me, perhaps?
Where is it? I’ll go take it for a test drive!
A lady I worked with in my first job out of college had one of these (a ’79); she lived in the same apartment complex as I, and we used to carpool to work (mostly because we got good parking that way). We would rotate driving every 3rd week in our own car, the 3rd member of the carpool was her boyfriend/finance. Interestingly we all had 2 door cars in the carpool and all front wheel drive; I had a ’78 Scirocco, her fiance had a ’78 Ford Fiesta. She had a name for her car “Florence” (not sure where that came from). It was a pretty comfortable car and had lots of standard features that they used to brag about, like cloth seats, AM radio, remote hatch release…today these are pretty much given but back then the manufactures used to use these small features in comparison advertisements to get you to consider their offering. Eventually they married and moved away from the apartment complex, but I still think of her driving that Datsun (even though I’m sure it is long gone).
I’m a longtime hatchback nut, I really liked the 310 5 door car, in fact my current car is the modern version of the old Rabbit, I have a ’00 VW Golf….I’ve just added a couple of doors in 35 years. Nissan hasn’t sold anything like this in years (probably the 310 was the last one) so I’ve had to stay with VW to keep my hatchback habit.
The Nissan Versa Note probably comes close to being a modern 310 5 door, but a “sporty” 3 door hatch? Those are few and far between.
Ford sells a 3 door hatch in other markets, but not in the U.S.
VW sells a 3 door Golf here. It’s a pity the GTI is a five door. Might make the jump to that base Golf next year if the dealer can find one with a stick in an attractive color.
Yes, I persist in my automotive masochism by driving a stick in Portland traffic.
The Five Door Hatch is very Simca-esque in its appearance.
At the angle of the first and next-to-last photo, it resembles an 8/10-scale Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, which was the best selling sedan of that era. It’s especially evident in the rear side window, where you see a sharp, straight beltline, and then it suddenly curves upward where it meets the sail panel.
Coincidence? I think not…
YEAAAAHHHHH!!! Thank you Paul for making this a most special day. The 310GX has finally graced the pages of Curbside Classic.
I see this Datsun by Nissan 310’s rear plate tabs expired in 2013 unless the 2015 or 2017 tab fell off so I wonder how long till this Datsun gets noticed by a city employee(s). Perhaps I need to pay more attention to these old Datsuns/Nissans before they vanish. What happened to your truck Paul, looks like your rear plate took a walk.
Plates? What are those?
Actually, it’s there; just not on the bumper, but tucked under the bed.
Got a laugh at the lit professor in the Saab stereotype. I’m a lit professor and had two Saabs before coming to the realization that lit professors don’t get paid enough money to keep Saabs running!
Thanks, Paul, for the write-up!
Year’s ago, around 1992, I sold my rusty 1979 VW Rabbit and bought a slightly newer Datsun 310. The 310 was the “3rd” body style mentioned by Ia673 and MFred. It had triangular rear windows that opened by levers (between the front seats?) connected to cables. Although Nissan sort of copied the M1 Rabbit/Golf with the 310, it was actually a very different driving experience. While the little base-model Rabbit zipped and handled great, the 310 had poor acceleration and loose steering. The 310’s interior was cheap, and the red plastic faded over time. The seats were low and uncomfortable. It was not a very satisfying car to drive, although it did give me several years of trouble-free service. I’ve always missed the Rabbit, but I never missed the 310.
Not exactly a once-common, now-rare car, but the sight of cracked dashes and crumbling, faded colored Japanese plastics has certainly become a thing of the past.
What you said is gold. I bought a new 1 in 1980 but it was not the GX model it had vinyl seats no air conditioning and it rode terrible and had no said all that I got 55000 miles out of it before I was stationed in Guam and brought home a new CRX in 84…. But gripe in about that car it never broke down on me and I kept the oil changed so that’s one thing I guess…
I remember the Datsun 310. At the time, I thought it was hideous looking. I preferred the F10 it replaced.
I dated a woman who owned a brown 310 4 door. It was … um, an OK car. Of course, at the time I was driving a brown 720 pickup. As to the F10 having a cult following, well I suppose that could be true of any car, but is a tiny group of 2 or 3 strange people really worthy of the term cult?
It’s Fall ,1980, my roommate has dropped out of college in favor of taking a tech job at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. He needs to commute everyday from Charles Village, Baltimore, a distance of 40 miles one way, and needs to buy a car. I have blown my $300 earnings from my summer job on a 1962 Dodge 330, which proves to be too rusty for my then-simple skills at repair to get it through the Maryland State Inspection process required to fully register the car. They give me a ‘temporary registration’ to facilitate travel to a state approved Inspection Station.
We get the great idea of using my Dodge as a trade-in so I can get rid of it and he can lower his purchase price. We venture into a Dastun dealer in the North Baltimore Suburbs. Do you remember how rapacious the Japanese Dealers were in the ’70s and ’80s? (They were awful, dishonest, crooks as they could sell anything on the lot!) We’re sold on a red, demonstrator 310 hatchback with that same awful black bonnet in the rear. They offer him financing, demand I co-sign, and send us home to ‘await approval’. On the way back, Towson’s finest stop me for driving my car on an ‘inspection plate’. Luckily we have his deposit receipt to show it was a purposeful, legal use!
Two days later he’s told the car was sold to someone else, he should come back and choose a different car, maybe used? He instead selected a different dealer, make, model. I guess that’s another story. Ford Dealers were civilized folks, and didn’t want to see me or my Dodge. I had to give it to the building super to get it out of the apartment complex parking lot.
How could someone drive a first-model, 1981 Escort Hatchback for the next 14 years? He moved to California, back to Philadelphia, driving that thing all along and to all points in between.
Would the Datsun 310 have lasted as long?
I looked at these Datsuns back in the day to buy new. I recall being very unimpressed by the styling.
Looks like Nissan is using the F-10 for it’s styling cues on the new Maxima and that SUV/CUV thing they’ve just released.
Motor Trend on the F-10: The Car That Fell To Earth……
I had an ’79 for (4) years. It was dependable in comparison to my (2) Beetles. It was great on gas and the front seats folded down. The big issue was power. This thing was so weak one of my brothers friends named it “The Electric 310”. Several times while commuting on 95 in CT. the accelator stuck. Not surprising since I had to usually had to put it to the floor just to make 65mph. Replaced it @160K with a ’72 Carina. Oh what a feeling to have more power. Sold it to a guy who couldn’t drive a standard so he could start coming to work. He saw him again.
Either the passage of time, or the car’s rarity have dimmed its unrepentant hideousness but these were UGLY, UGLY cars when they were new, along with the B210s and F10s, and they were ugly inside and out. The styling cues that work on a larger car just do not work on a 3/4 scale car. They were tinny and plasticky inside with a cheap, flimsy feeling. Perhaps if this were parked next to a contemporary Monza hatchback, or Colonnade Century, you’d get a better idea of how really dreadful this car looked. Not a good line on it.
I was born in ’76 so there were a fair number of ’70s Datsuns and Toyotas running around while I was growing up, and they gave me a bad case of Brougham fever.
Same styling themes as the concurrent C210 Skyline. And yes, I always thought these were ugly too.
“Maybe I should give myself the CC Challenge and see how many I could shoot in one hour?!
Please, try it!
Dat’s-un ugly car!
I actually prefer the styling of the F-10 – its pure, unadulterated hideousness is part of its charm. The 310GX looks like Datsun was actually trying to make some of the F-10’s styling themes more attractive and presentable. No. The front-drive coupe’s remake into the 310GX was about as successful as trying to make Malort taste delicious. Either you liked the original, or you didn’t. The late-80’s Pulsar, however: still a knockout all these years later. Datsun’s / Nissan’s is one wacky family tree.
This tiny responsible good car was named Datsun 310 just for American market . But worldwide it was normally sold as the Datsun 120 – A
This is one I had completely forgotten about, though as soon as I saw the photos it was an “oh yeah, THOSE” moment. Long gone from the roads around here.
Does it get any weirder than Datsun styling in the 70’s? These are odd, but relatively sedate compared to the F-10 and the 1st series 200SX (S10 Silvia). Peak Japanese Weird, those two.
Still no mention of the 1980 Datsun 310 GX coupe. My dad bought a used one for me in 1985 at the San Francisco Autocenter. That little fellah drove me back and forth to school in the Midwest three times, going through 30 states. Unfortunatedy I crashed it beyond repair on July 26, 1989 in Fairfax, CA. Ironically, I sold the carcas of my beloved automobile to a guy named Dodson.
The 1980 was a unique model, with square tail lights divided into 3×3 grids resembling a tic tac toe board.
I’d love the opportunity to own another one. But I can’t even find them for sale online.
Datsun N10 was very popular in northern parts of Europe, especially in Finland. N10 came in 1979 with 1,2 and 1,4 A-series engines, and in 1981 they were replaced with 1,0; 1,3 and 1,5 litres E-Series engines. Majority of vehicles were sold here with 4 speed manual, but coupe had also 5 speed manual and a handful automatics made it here (never seen one myself).
Most of the cars were 2 door hatchbacks (or 3 door as we say it here), also 4 door and 5 door versions, coupe and a station wagon were available. First models had round headlights with metal bumpers, later ones got square headlights with plastic bumpers.
N10 Cherry was once one of the most populars cars in Finland, and these days in the summer time you still can see these on the road well maintained with enthusiasts 🙂
1982 came the N12 Cherry. 1,0; 1,3; 1,5 petrol and 1,7 diesel versions were available. 3 door and 5 door versions and automatic option on the 1,5 E-Series engine. 1,7 diesel had 54 bhp and was very reliable and fuel consumption was minimal. 1,5 engine was the most common soght with manual transmission. Sedans were sold under the name Sunny, engines were the same.
N12 was also manufactured in Italy as Cherry Europe, but it didn´t succeed well, the japanese ones were more reliable and better made. Alfa Romeo Arna was an attempt to gain ground in the southern parts of Europe but it failed miserably. It had a boxer engine from Alfa Romeo, different rear axle but the body was pretty much the same as Cherry.
I had an 1981 310. It was one of the worst cars I ever owned. From what I remember the chassis was straight from the F10’s with some new body work slapped on. It was severely underpowered and had the noisiest interior of any car I’ve owned – I think it’s the cause of my current hearing loss. I had VW Beattles passing me in the mountains. It handled poorly – although I could get it up on 3 wheels in turns in typical hatchback fashion! It started rusting after two years, the muffler fell off when it was three years old. After five years every single interior plastic knob and lever had snapped off – I had mini vise grips everywhere. The exterior door handles broke off – a problem with all Datsuns of that era. There was a tiny jet/orifice in the bottom of the carburetor float bowl that constantly got clogged, had to adjust the valves once a year, it went through CV joints like no tomorrow, the boots just wouldn’t last, but that it typical of the era also. Good things? The engine was indestructible. It had a cracked head gasket and I didn’t know it. For six months I kept having the fill the radiator, I thought it was leaking. Finally one day the darn thing hydro locked there was so much water in the engine! I drained two oil pans of slimy oily water from the engine, fixed the head gasket, and drove it another two years. It never burned a dropped of oil – or water for that matter…lol. It was also two cars in one, a Dastun and a Nissan, it had both badges on the hatch. It’s demise came when the half-shaft flange bolts fell out at the transmission and the flange slammed through the transmission housing leaving a rubble of broken gears inside. I guess I didn’t properly torque the bolts on one the CV joint replacements I did… oh well, good riddance:)
Oh yeah, I forgot, my accelerator stuck also. The cable got frayed at one of the supports near the carburator. Probably because the carburetor had been taken off and put back on 14,000 times. I did get 42 mpg on one tank, 32 to 38 mpg was normal, with the pedal mashed to the floor most of the time. I think it did 78 mph tops!
The third clutch replacement I did on the 310 took me less than 20 minutes, closer to 15 minutes I think! I remember I had my wife time me. You jack the car up, remove the tire and inner fender access panel, pop the hood, disconnect the clutch cable, unbolt the primary drive gear, pull it our through the access panel. From the hood, remove four bolts and the top bell housing cover from the bell housing. lift out the clutch, unbolt the pressure plates, insert new clutch ring, reassemble, done! You didn’t need to get to anything underneath the car.
My first car was a Datsun 310 coupe. I’ve been trying to find a photo of one for years to show my kids… but this is the first one I have seen and it is even the exact same colour!! Brings back many memories!!! Thankyou!! I have never seen another one exactly like it since then (25yrs ago). My kids thought it looked lame lol… but I loved it! It was the most economical car I have ever owned!!! Thanks again?
They must have come in other colors because mine was a silver. Bought it used in 1986 when I got my permit 3 door hatchback. Had over 120,000 miles. Still remember it and wish I had never sold it. Had the blue disco seats and the rear windows were controlled by the emergency brake by sliding levers. As a new driver, I drove that car into the ground I had it for 3 years. Wish I could find a picture of one in that color.
I Love the history of all cars. Here’s my little gem, Rescued her out of the airport hangar that sat for 15 years put on some little wheels and here she is
Thx for reposting. BTW seems Nissan still can’t get out of its own way.
Basically extinct here now odd ones get found in back yards rusting away but on the street nope havent seen any in years.