Tag: Datsun

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Datsun’s back!

Since the last news splash about Nissan re-launching the Datsun brand, myself and many others have been on close watch, anticipating it’s return – and it looks like that day has come! After 30+ years, Nissan brings back the Datsun brand to the emerging markets of India, Indonesia and Russia with the Datsun Go.

datsunGo

The Datsun Go is a 5-seat hatchback aimed at first-time car buyers, looking to post for sale next year for about $6730 USD (400,000 Rupees). With a price tag like that, even in these markets, one can get into a Go and.. go (ahem). It’s certainly without a doubt that Nissan hopes to bring back the Datsun name with similar success it saw nearly 50 years ago when introduced to the US market.

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The side view shows design cues of the Nissan Leaf…

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Will we ever see Datsun back in the states? In the short term, probably not. Remember, Nissan’s original purpose for Datsun in the US market nearly 50 years ago was to get into the US market – test the waters so to speak. Of course Datsun became an instant success, and by the early 80’s, they change Datsun back over to the Nissan name. And as they say, the rest is history.

However, imagine Nissan make a strategy like Toyota… If Datsun where to be imaged as the young, starter vehicle for the young generation – it’d fall square in competition with Toyota’s Scion brand (and that took off well with both young and aged demographics). A strong argument can easily be made for a US re-launch as those familiar with the Datsun name are now grown up and have teenage kids who are ready to drive. As for price overlap concerns, the now mid-class Nissan shouldn’t have to worry as Toyota has already proven that cars like the Corolla and Yaris can sell well alongside Scion’s xD and iQ. Actually, the passenger car price overlap between Toyota and Scion is over 50% ($14k-$30k, $16k-$25k respectively).

If I had my way, Datsun re-entrance into the world market is just a stepping stone of things to come. As Nissan secures Datsun’s foot hold in the world, they’ll have time to re-position Nissan / Infiniti, introduce it to the European / Chinese markets, and eventually bring back Datsun into the states. Come on Nissan, let’s make it happen.

Read more on Datsun’s return and the Datsun Go at Datsun.com

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Wear from the car cover

I love my Datsun 280z, so of course, I’m gonna get a car cover for the times i’m out of town for an extended period of time. From rain, sun and the occasional bird mishaps, it should protect it, right?

But goes it protect it from itself?! read on…

So I got a car cover the last time I went out of town, and needed it sooner than I could do mass amounts of research and still have it shipped on time – so off to the auto parts store it went and picked up a Budge “the Shield” car cover.

The Shield seemed like a decent, durable car cover – Tyvek material, elastic edging. It also has a 10 year warranty. For those who are looking to fit a Z, size 4, semi-custom fit worked well.

One thing I didn’t like was that there were no instructions.. haha yes, like most things, “who needs instruction?”. And for a car cover, “who really needs instructions? just put the thing on!”. Well there are two sides to the car cover: the white Tyvek side, and a gray side. There’s a tag that says which part goes in front.. but nothing about which side goes inside or out! Of course, the picture on the box doesn’t help, it looks like grayish-white.

My guess was, white on the outside. The Tyvek on the Shield car cover should be smooth enough to wipe off bird doo-doo, and it’s the best to reflect sun off the car. That protects it from the outside, but what about the inside?

Check out what happened to the rear corners…

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Some black wear / residue formed on the car from the car cover… it buffs out, but I reeeaally don’t like that. Seems really counter productive for a car cover. My guess is that it was windy, and the constant shifting of the cover caused the issue.  For a box that says Five Gold Star Protection Rating.. it’d give it 3 – works in a pinch, but maybe not on your pride n joy.

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Stopped on San Tomas…

Yep, I got stopped on San Tomas… by an enthusiastic guy rolling in his silver Izuzu Trooper. He was yelling out something, but my window was up – blast manual windows. After getting it open at a stop light, we had a side to side car chat about Z’s. He remarked what a great 280z car I had and that he’s the owner of a ’71 240 Z for which he’s done all the drive train work on. Cheers to another Z kept on the streets, and out of the scrapper! :]

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Old Parked Cars – the blog

Just found another great blog on old cars called, Old Parked Cars.

Two brother, Ben and Tony Piff, snap photos of… you guessed it, old parked cars. It’s great.

Seemingly within this rural town in Oregon, they spot old cars everywhere they go, and going on 4 years of it! From Alfa to SAAB, Buick to Dodge, they’ve managed to see rust buckets to gems – and none without at least just a little bit of character. And yes, they’ve snapped Datsuns. Below is a link just with the Datsun tag, but check out their entire site too – some wicked fun stuff on there.

http://www.oldparkedcars.com/search/label/Datsun

In addition to Bring-A-Trailer and Craiglist, Old Parked Cars will certainly become part of my morning read. Here’s some from Datsuns from the site:

’71 Datsun 1200 Fastback

’64 Datsun L320


’76 Datsun F10 Hatchback

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Turning 350z Heads

Hahaha quick post – just the other night I pulled up at stop light to make a left, and the 350z to my right (going straight) was checking out the car (hand over chin)… light turns green, and he’s still there eyeballin’. Not till another car zooms by does he realize that he’s been distracted by an old school Datsun Z.

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The Datsun Z…used as a kit car

Say what? There’s a Datsun Z kit car?! Well, not exactly, it’s more like there have been many Datsun Z’s used as the basis for building another car…

First thing that comes to mind: who in the world would do such a thing?! I mean the S30 Datsun Z body is incredibly beautiful and has a timeless design and aesthetic with plenty of critcal press to back it up. Ok ok, so what if “beauty” is truly in the eye of it’s beholder… and abominations like a S13 Nissan Silvia rock-crawler wasn’t to be called…an abomination? (actually..that particular one is kinda neat…)

Case in question: A Datsun Z turned Ferrari 250 GTO.

I guess there have been a number of these conversions, and like all project cars are in varying degrees of completion and success. This particular Datsun Z / Ferrari replica conversion comes from Craigslist. At first I thought it was a Ferrari post with “Datsun” in it’s laundry list of keywords, but what gave it away at first glance?

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The triple gauge humps on the dash. Ah ha! it’s a Z.

Hmm is it worth it? Should people do these types of things to already beautiful cars? I suppose in the end, the build is still in the eye of the builder. And though it’s too bad another Z gets taken off the road, I suppose what remains is a driver’s happiness. But in reality, you know how these project cars go… it’ll probably never get on the road and get re-posted on CL 3-5 years later, unfinished.

 

 

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Handle the Door Handle

Sigh – the door handle…

A few weeks ago, I noticed the door handle of the 280z just kinda hanging loose… Still able to open the door, but a loose handle could mean eventual non-working doors, and cross our fingers, maybe prone to brake-ins. If anything else, the tolerances of the Datsun 280z are surprisingly tight in some places, and a loose door handle can actually mean chipped paint! ouch! (you can spot the chip in the lower right).

I took an hour this morning to fix it all up and correct a few things along the way – let’s go!

Daily-Datsun-Door-handle (8)

Oh, here’s what you’ll need to tighten up a 280z door handle:
– 8mm wrench
– philips screw driver
– flat head screw driver
– paperclip or allen wrench (to get the window crank cotter pin out)

Per the S30 service manual, take off the arm rest, window crank, door escutcheon plate, and don’t forget the door lock post (just twist to take that off). Using something flat, gently pry off the door panel.

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Once you have that door panel off, window all the way up, you’ll be able to see the two nuts holding the door handle in. Use that 8mm wrench.

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In the meantime, I also able to finally glue the vinyl covering and lube up the door lock mechanisms.

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When put back together – that door couldn’t close sweeter, and the door handle is perfect.

Daily-Datsun-Door-handle (1)

Eh.. now for the reason why I noticed this in the first place was the paint chip caused by the loose door handle…eventually have to get to all these stupid paint chips.

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Zpotted: Skinny Puppy 510

Rolling around Office Depot to do a return, and a gunmetal gray 1969 Datsun 510 pulls up just as I do the same!

A nice fellow (didn’t get his name) just recently got his 510 back from having work done by Troy Ermish (very popular 510 mechanic in Tracy, CA). I guess the work took several years to complete (ugh)! “Skinny Puppy” (as noted by the sole sticker on the rear windshield) sported lowered suspension, blacked out bumpers, rear bubble flares, and circular rear side markers. And if it’s from Troy, it probably has his 2.5″ exhaust down pipe. Well, here it is.

Daily-Datsun-Zpotted-510-SkinnyPuppy (7) Daily-Datsun-Zpotted-510-SkinnyPuppy (1)  Daily-Datsun-Zpotted-510-SkinnyPuppy (6) Daily-Datsun-Zpotted-510-SkinnyPuppy (5) Daily-Datsun-Zpotted-510-SkinnyPuppy (4) Daily-Datsun-Zpotted-510-SkinnyPuppy (3) Daily-Datsun-Zpotted-510-SkinnyPuppy (2)

 

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