(first posted 7/31/2012) Fast, sexy, and exotic. None of these words have ever been used to describe the Datsun 210. Homely, reliable, and adequate have likely been used more often than not. For reasons I can’t articulate, even to myself, I’ve always had a soft spot for the 210. Perhaps it was the yellow Datsun Sunny (one of the other names the 210 had in other markets) my aunt had in the UK. I don’t recall the details of it very well, unlike the Renault 5 another aunt had, but I do remember thinking there is some sort of rightness about it. Perhaps my love of slightly different but humble cars can be traced by to those trips over to the UK. Humble; yes that’s probably the best word to describe the 210.
For North America, the 210 replaced the B210. Why the B was dropped from its name, I don’t know; but in other parts of the world it was known as Sunny, B310, or 120Y, 130Y, 140Y and 150Y depending on engine displacement and market. There was even a version built for Taiwan into the 1990s known as the YLN 302 and 303. Under the skin it was similar to the B210 but the rear suspension was upgraded from a leaf sprung rear axle to a four link set up still with a live axle.
Engine-wise, all 210s used the venerable A-series in various displacements. For North America there were 1.2, 1.4 and 1.5L versions; in other markets the 1.2L was the most common. The Datsun A-series is distantly related to, though certainly not identical to the British Austin A-series featured in Minis, Sprites, Minors, etc. The Datsun A-series was the longest lived child from a Datsun-Austin fling.
It is a bit clouded as to when their hookup began. Some say the first Datsun car, the Type 11, was a knock off of the Austin Seven. The exterior dimensions are the same as well as the engine design. Certainly wouldn’t have been unusual as numerous companies were building Seven-derived cars, licensed or otherwise. Herb Austin actually brought in a 1935 Datsun to examine it, but didn’t pursue any legal action.
With World War II interfering in Datsun’s development, the next real step in our story comes in 1954 when Nissan reached an agreement with Austin to legally build their products under license. Nissan/Datsun built the Austin A40 and A50 with the B-series engine, all the while gradually increasing the local content of the cars. Amazingly they went from CDK (complete knock down kits) to 100% Japanese builds in only a handful of years. They also gained access to Austin’s technology and started to add their own improvements to tolerances and build quality.
The next step in our story was the Sunny, which was released in 1967 sporting a 988cc A-series engine based roughly off the Austin A-series engine. The Datsun version featured a different head than the Austin engine, with a wedge-shaped combustion chamber and aluminum construction. Non-siamesed intake ports and more bottom end bearings were further upgrades to the Austin design. The A-series was enlarged to become a 1.2L, then redesigned in 1974. This allowed 1.2L, 1.3L, 1.4L and eventually in 1979 1.5L displacements. Amazingly the 1.5L version was produced all the way to 2009 for the Vanette C22.
I had a 1981 210 two sedan for a short time with the 1.2L engine; it ran very smoothly and sweetly, just like the stereotypical sewing machine. It was a tiny little thing and looked a bit lost in the engine compartment. The “stroker” 1.5L ones don’t run quite as smooth but is still a charming little motor.
This one is a long, long way from home. Going by the Texas plate it, it likely traveled at least 2600kms or 1615 miles, if we estimate from the center of the state. That’s a long drive in something like this. I did that trip last year, but in a modern minivan and can’t imagine what it would be like in an elderly Datsun with no A/C. Hopefully the owner had the sought-after five speed transmission to give it some highway legs.
This 210 is obviously well loved, as it had been treated to some Minilite-style rims, but suffered some nasty body damage on the passenger side. The windshield was duct taped in as well, so perhaps it happened along the way. It didn’t look like it was a practical proposition to fix so I’d wager its days of being on the road are numbered. Those wheels and tires are probably worth more than the car at this point.
I actually left a note on the windshield to see if the owner would be willing to sell as the compact mechanical bits, which would have been ideal for a project of mine, but I never did hear anything back. Funnily enough, an older lady noticed me placing the note, and said that if I’d hit it, the owner would likely not notice nor care. When I explained I was hoping to buy it she seemed a quite mystified, and I overheard her explaining to her equally mystified husband that I actually wanted to acquire the car!
I never thought I would come to appreciate 1980’s car design, but after looking at this Datsun, well, it’s changed my mind. I like the clean lines of this car, minus the federally mandated 5mph bumpers that made every 80’s design a challenge in esthetics. But I look at the overwrought designs sitting in the dealerships today and I yearn for a return to simpler times. The mini-lite knock offs gives it that Bob Sharp Trans Am look to her. Too bad about the passenger side!
The ad is an eye opener, too. 36 to 47 mpg; another benefit of the lightweight car. Safety devices and efi aside, have we really made that quantum leap in our cars of today? Nice write up!
MPG estimates from those late 70’s and early 80’s ads though are way out there sometimes, not impossible, but they acheived those numbers at like 40mph with a 90lb driver in a stripper without a single option.
Popular Mechanics got a 81 base Escort with 4-speed to 45mpg at 55 mph. So it can be done, just not comfortably.
You know, leaving the “B” off probably save the company enough money to pay for the person who came up with the idea to leave the “B” off in the first place. If you sell enough, the plastic savings adds up.
I had a 3rd gen Honda Accord with the pop up headlights. After a few years, the wires connected to the lights stress fractured because there wasn’t enough slack. I added about 8 inches of wire to each light.
They sold about 1,000,000 of these Hondas in North America.
I forget if it was one wire on each side or if the ground was at the housing.
But, if each car had the extra 16 inces of wire, that would have used up 16,000,000 inches of wire or 252 miles of wire.
Too bad about the passenger side.
The base B210 2 door sedan was called the “Honey Bee” . It had a little cartoon honey bee behind the rear side window. So maybe that had something to do with B in B210. When they dropped the B , the bee disappeared too.
The daily newspaper I worked for in western Kentucky has one of these — an absolute stripper with an all-vinyl interior, the manual trans shifted smoothly, and the steering was light and precise. The downside was twitchiness on icy roads and a blisteringly hot interior in the summer, with a noisy fan that emitted cold air with all the vigor of an asthmatic blowing through a straw. The other newsroom car, a 1985 Mazda 323, with an automatic, accrued miles about four times faster than the 210.
My old 210 had the base interior. No carpets just rubber floor mats. No arm rests either.
Wow. EPA ratings of 36 and 47 mpg. These numbers put my Honda Fit to shame. This would make a great little city car. Lately, I have had a real, inexplicable yearning for a super-simple strippo rwd Japaneese car. My friends BigOldChryslers and 73ImpCapn are probably worrying about me. Is old JP going all wobbly? Probably not, but if I ever get to my 31 car daily driver collection, something like this will be one of them.
Cars like this with significant body damage make me sad. Just the other night, I was cruising my local CL and found a low mile slant six 66 Belvedere sedan with the entire right side messed up. Nobody will ever fix it, and an otherwise lovely old car will become an organ donor.
Don’t forget, those are old un-adjusted EPA numbers. Adjusted, they’d be about 30 and 38, or something like that. The EPA site may have them.
I had a 1980 210 with the 1.4L engine. It did get an honest 39mpg on the road but any hill of any size required downshifting to 4th.
I dont get how people go all WOW about the MPG numbers from these older ads, and then ask why “cant cars do this today?” Well, this 210 doesn’t have 18 heated bluetooth leather wrapped DVD navigational airbags, for a start…….
Or a heck of a lot of weight. Or an air conditioner. Or any number of things that auto bloggers complain that cars are too overloaded with, but won’t buy a car for themselves without them.
Can you buy a new car without A/C these days? In theory it is possible but I bet there aren’t too many sitting on dealer lots without it. I could live without A/C (and mostly have via used cars) but the wife couldn’t. Of course I don’t live in Texas or a similar climate either … resale value would take a pounding as I suspect a nearly new but used car without A/C would be near unsellable.
OK, I’m odd. Then again, I commute by motorcycle. All three of my cars (Ranger, xB, 924S) have perfectly working air conditioners. And unless it’s a downpour, I prefer to have all the windows open instead. Oh yeah, I live outside of Richmond, VA.
When living in Virginia, I opted to buy a brand new a 1983 Dodge D-150 Miser slant-six pickup . . . sans air. Traded in my extremely unreliable 1982 Norwood-built Camaro Sport Coupe (2.8 V-6 which HAD air). Piss poor mistake (not dumping the lousy Camaro, but getting the Mopar pickup without A/C).
Eventually drove that truck to California and the Bay Area was OK for no A/C . . . but . . . the drive across summertime Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska (not to mention leaving Virginia and traversing through Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois) was “quite warm”. So was Wendover, Utah. Resale/trade in values in the ’80’s meant you took a hit with no A/C. So I learned . . .
Said Mopar pickup had the “lean burn” computer (?) (module?) attached to the air cleaner, to wit, the Norfolk Dodge dealer advanced the timing a hair so it would run (and keep idle) properly. Just meant 89 and above octane fuel. (Did not have the lean burn removed as was the custom in Virginia and elsewhere then as I was transfering to my original home state of California . . . so I knew what was in store . . . )
Anyway, back to our story . . . I miss the simplicity of a basic car like this. Nissan Versa claims to be the lowest priced car sold in the USA . . . and that is a no A/C stripper.
Last new car I saw without A/C was mine, to my sorrow. A 2006 Chevrolet Aveo. Couldn’t see that crippled Daewoo four pulling a lame Daewoo compressor; it had all it could do to pull the car.
That was it. I had never had air before, but following it, my Yaris has it. So did my “other car” my fire-sale 2007 Chrysler minivan (bought eight months into the 2008 model year for a song). And so does my current, full-size van.
I’m older now and more dedicated to my comfort. Doing without air conditioning…I don’t care HOW many windows go down…it aint’ happening.
Carmine you are so right! People today are so spoiled they have no idea….my friend’s 1980 210 was as light as a feather, slow as molasses (which it often smelled like inside when she turned on the heat) and felt like a deathtrap which it truly was if you compare it to even a basic Nissan of today…..plus most cars today have a/c, safety features galore and are usually loaded up…..today’s technology is amazing and people should be grateful!
Not to mention how tinny the body was in Datsuns (and doubtless other brands too) circa 1980. I remember when Wheels tested the Stanza, they said the body flexed so much over bumps that the doors moved in their apertures. Lightness is great, don’t get me wrong, so long as it doesn’t come at the expense of strength.
Doors flopping around and horrific B pillar shake have been Datsun hallmarks for a while 510 1600s shudder atrociously on corrugated roads very flimsy construction my 120Y shook like a Jelly on bad roads yet had no rust at all but it was light and got great gas mileage.Here it is in the southern Tasmanian forest.
I had a Datsun 1200 as a teenager and while I really respect what a good, basic car it was, I shudder to think what would have been the result of even the most minor collision.
No thanks.
My first car was a 1979 210 deluxe with super ice cold ac!!!
The first accident, I was stopped at a red light and a drunk in a Ford LTD wagon rear ended me at what the police estimate to be 48mph. The 210 had about $1000.00 damage but I drove it home and to the body shop. The ford was towed to the scrap yard. The second accident, my 210 was sideswiped by a Chevy Nova.
the right side of my car looked like the picture above, but I drove it like that for two more years. The last accident a 1978 Monty Carlo ran a red light and t-boned the right A-pillar of my 210. I drove my car to the body shop, the Monty had to be towed. I retired my 210 in 1999 with 377000 miles on it.
Joe
The phrase “your mileage may vary” sprang from these type of claims. Hell, even Nissan wasn’t confident, check out the fine print in the ad “actual mileage may differ….highway mileage will probably be less”.
I think the early Datsun (actually Nissan in Japan I believe) was licensed by Austin. That and the acquisition of Prince was what put them where they were by the 240Z time period.
Old cars like that with body damage would be a perfect candidate for making a trike. I would love to have that. Better than starting with a VW
The Seven style one wasn’t but the 50s and 60s ones definitely were.
Fieros seem popular choices for trikes – engine in the back and relatively affordable still.
Is it my imagination or the last-gen of the Datsun 210 taked some cues from the 1980-83 Toyota Corolla?
The Japanese A series is a very popular swap into Morris Minors here and that plus the mini stocks on speedway circuits have eaten the 1200cc datsun population there are very few complete cars left. NZ had its own model of these too the triple S, Datsun sent engines direct from Japan to a local tuner Dennis Marwood who extracted another 25hp then sent them to the assembly plant for instalation. SSS Datsuns were quite sought after and clones were also popular in their day good cars on the rally circuits though it was all over by the time these boxy models debuted.
A college buddy bought a new B210 in 1981 during his junior year at UCLA. For the first four weeks, he enjoyed the car. On week 5, while parked, it got crushed by a run away trash truck. Car looked like a steel pancake.
On week 6, he bought a used 1976 Olds 98 that gave him 125,000 miles. In 1988, 3 years after passing the bar, he bought a new Corvette that he enjoys and still is his daily driver. His ex-wife drives the 2011 CL 500.
First right hand drive car I ever drove..Bright yellow Datsun Sunny stick shift, in Fiji, at night and drunk too! We did make it 25 kms back to our hotel…great fun those rental cars! The next day we drove across the island to Suva…a real torture test on very bad roads that were all torn up for constuction…car came through with flying (I’m sure we got airtime!) colours.
I loved these cars. In hindsight, instead of selecting a 1980 Toyota Tercel base as my first new car in the day, I kinda wished for one of these. RWD, solid rear axle, easy and simple OHV four. I did test drive a 5 speed version of this car in 1981 . . . at the old Datsun dealer on Kapiolani Boulevard in downtown Honolulu. You definitely needed thick coats of Ziebart or Quaker State “caramel gooey” rustproofing in the islands as these cars would (and those not taken care of most certainly did) disintegrate from the Hawaiian salt air.
Fast forward to the fall of 1983, I was in Grenada and spent about a month there (post-invasion). We had a fleet of very abused rental cars, two of which were 120Y’s, ’79 vintage. One was an automatic, but third world equipped – no NOTHING. Only option was an automatic. It had vinyl seats, rubber floor mats, no heater, no defroster, no radio, no ventilation device of any kind except to slide open each individual vent slide and open the windows! The other 120Y was a little more deluxe; it had an AM radio (no broadcasting radio in Dec ’83/Jan ’84 Grenada) . . . carpet, four speed. Grenada had much to be desired for “roads” in the post-communist-puppet-government day.
I never changed so many tires in my life (Grenada). Also, my first experience driving right hand drive on the left (Ex-English Colony; Commonwealth Country). Cool shifting with your left hand driving on the left. Not so cool with my first encounter in an intersection and roundabout. Whoops . . . . similar to my first trip to England where I almost got run over crossing the street (because I looked “left” first . . )
Back out of the rabbit hole and out of the weeds, I admired these cars for their simplicity, ease of operation and their reliability. Occasionally, you see an old example in Hawaii, but what few remain have body panels flapping and have surf racks on them, or, they’re in fair to wonderful condition in Northern/Central/Sac. Valley California.
My wife-to-be bought a brand new Datsun B210 in 1974. What an unrepentant dumptruck that was. Not one single redeeming quality. In the evenings we would sit on our front stoop, sip Juleps, and listen to it rust. And that was in Maryland! I have never bought a Datsun/Nissan since.
Legendary and true story:
Many moons ago, before my uncle became rich and (modestly) famous, he owned one of these, complete with mismatched tires that would make the car shake, shimmy and shudder any time he went over 35.
One day we were going to a baseball card auction (where I bought a mint 1956 Elston Howard, but that’s neither here nor there), he let fly the most incredibly ripe fart ever known to man. He had to pull over so we could evacuate the car, and there we stood on the side of the road, laughing hysterically for 10 minutes before we could get it together and keep going.
This car remains forever in my mind because of that, and remains one of my most amusing childhood memories. As soon as I saw this post I began to laugh like I was 10 again and it had just happened.
I never thought of these as Homely. Its actually quite smart looking with the “Minilites” (minus the little dent of course).
I tend to MM about 70s/80s RWD imports. A Supercharged VG swap would really wake that thing up!
We had some of these things, probably ’78/’79 models, as Driver’s Ed stickshift cars in 1991 along with a Malibu of identical vintage. I suppose the fact that the things had taken Driver’s Ed student abuse testified to their durability, etc, but the super cheap and miserable vinyl interior, made, apparently, out of deflated swim toys, attached to the tin can outside . . . ugh. The Malibu seemed incredibly luxurious and desirable in comparison. Even a Chevette seemed, although inexpensive, honestly so. These seemed to add “sadomasochistic” to “inexpensive” to get “cheap and miserable.” By the next generation, a decent cloth interior could be had in the Sentra, but not in the base version, which was just as Calvinistically Character building as these things. The interiors of these things launched a million J-cars, Escorts, and Omnirizons. Who cares how long it lasts if you hate every minute you drive it?
Oh, I have to say this car was infinitely more restrained than Datsun/Nissan’s previous atomic-insect flights of fancy. Remember the era of Japanese “surface excitement” in which everything came looking like it drove off the loading dock through a Pep Boys? oooo, Datsun, and all the Japanese made some FUGLY cars in that era.
It always puzzled me why Datsun/Nissan reversed the model numbers for different markets. The Datsun 120Y made sense as it was a 1.2L, likewise the 180B and its 1.8L. But reverse them to 210 or 810 etc?
I knew YLN built Datsuns/Nissans under licence, but had no idea the old Sunny survived until the 90s! I feel more informed now, thank you David! The solitary google pic I could find shows the YLN 303 gained more wrap-around bumpers and swanky wheelarch moldings:
As I looked at the picture of the YLN I couldn’t help but wonder if there is a benefit to having side mirrors so far ahead mounted on the fenders. When my father bought his 62 Mercury Comet, he paid extra for the driver’s side mirror. They mounted it on the fender, not too far away from the A pillar.
I have a friend that bought a used 1980 210 5-speed coupe in 1985. It was light blue with blue vinyl interior and had fairly low mileage – I think it was around 40k when she got it. She loved that car. But I remember how slow that car was and how tinny it felt. It was so slow it was actually dangerous! It was reliable, though – her father got it after she bought a new Sentra in 1988 but eventually he had to junk it because it wouldn’t pass inspection due to the severe rusting problem these cars had. Funny how the advertisement has a full paragraph about how well these cars were rustproofed! LOL
I find it amazing how advanced cars of today are in comparison to these older vehicles. When people compare things like gas mileage they should realize that the only way back then to get good mileage was to make a car as light as can be and basically get a stripped down model. There were no safety items like airbags or ABS…these cars were death traps! I’ll take the cars of today ANYDAY!!
My question is are the Datsun b210 still around? Especially in the Hampton road area.
They did not drop the B entirely, it just referred to the Hatch back version, whereas the Sedan was the standard 210.
My mother bought a B210 new in ’82 ant it racked up well north of 250,000 miles in almost 10 years. At the time of it’s death it was essentially held together on hopes and dreams, my older brother killed it by leaving water in the engine instead of Anti-freeze; water froze and engine went pop.
I owned a ’79 B-210 fastback. I think mine had a 1.4L, I know it had a 4 speed and not the 5 speed because I wanted to swap it out for a 5 speed and never did. It did have A/C, and it was ice cold.
I actually only had around $1,200 in it after rebuilding the front suspension and steering, 4 new shocks,new brakes, and giving the engine a good tuning. It was in good shape for it’s age, and ran/drove like new. It got about 40mpg or better, and I drove it for about a year. I sold it for $2,000, so I ended up making a decent little profit off it.
I got my parents 79 datsun 210 for college… drove that thing into the ground but it was a GREAT car. I replaced the tranny on my own, it only weighed about 50 pounds.. had stuff break on it, but the parts were cheap and plentiful.. my best story.. I used to drive this thing down in the country on dirt roads, two lane roads, etc.. ALL over the place. Through streams, grassy fields, forests!! LOL.. I had a friend tell me I too that car places his friends with 4×4 trucks wouldn’t go! Fi it got stuck, just get a couple of guys, lift the car up, and move it.. One time, my friend and I were coming back froma bonfire in the country, ‘rat-racing’ with a friend in a big plymouth down a bunch of back gravel roads, WAY too fast. I knew the roads pretty well. We were coming up to a bridge across one of the local small rivers. The road turned left onto the bridge, the back right. The left on the bridge had a hill to the right. This hill had washed down in a pile of sand. By the time I saw the sand, it was too late, I was going WAY to fast still! And I ALmost made the turn, but not quite. Rolled it over upside down into the river, about 15 feet deep in the middle. It was winter, the water was clear, and I was hanging upside down in the car, the lights were still on so you could see into the water and the bottom of the river, a river I had floated down a bunch of times.. I couldn’t read the darn seatbelt button. my friend. who wasn’t wearing his seatbelt, was upright and pawed at the door, finally used his feet to push it open and swim out. in came the water. What a weird feeling!! upside down, under freezing water, in my car, with the lights on!! The water helped me float up and reach the button. I undid the seatbealt and swam out. I was a little freaked out. We went back, hired the local towing company to go pick it up for us for $50 bucks. Towed it home, drained the oil and replaced it, charged the battery, and she started right up. Ran better than ever!! Only a dented roof and broken windshield. I found a crawdad in the engine compartment later that summer.. What a stupid and truly memorable experience. I loved that old car. Bought another and ran it into the ground too. A perfect starter car back then. Good in snow, rain, you name it. easy to fix. lots of stories… I’d love to find another and take it down into the country.. I have a Honda Fit now. It’s the closest I’ve found to the feel of that car.. and it’s a lot nicer ;0)
Here is a 1979 210 that I ran across in my travels in Lebanon. It was owned by the gas station attendant where I pulled in to fill up my Land-rover Discovery seen in the background. It had more bondo than metal but the man was so proud of his car and it gave him more happiness to own it than us in the US owning a Ferrari.
Another shot of the same car.
The second photo of this car. I think it is a 1200 and not a B210
My grandpa had one when I was a kid. It was a washed out yellow color. It had the automatic and t was slow. When we went to New Hampshire it would barely go up the hills. It had no room and plain seats and a very annoying dinger thing when you started it. Up. I sat on the hood when it was new and y behind left a dent n I got in trouble. I hadn’t expected that be I.g bbrought with sturdy Pontiac. It was reliable and good on gas but not to well liked. He traded it on a 300zx
I had my yellow 210 for 9 years. It was just like the one in Cheech and Chong’s “Things Are Tough All Over”. No power windows, power brakes, A/C, or (like David Saunders said) no arm rests. I did add a hitch to it and pulled trailers of sand, junk, and boats with it. Great economy car. No speeding tickets as it was pretty much topped out at 60 mph.
A co-worker had one of these for years and years, his to/from work car.
Maytag reliable, freezing cold A/C (the fan switch only worked on the high setting), squeak/rattle free, thin vinyl seats that split in several places. It received minimal maintenance but did get regular oil and fuel filter changes (at my insistence).
A Japanese interpretation of my Aunt’s ’63 Chevy II, IMO.
Never loved, but always depended on.
His daughter got it as a college car hand me down for her 120 mile commute. Even she and her boyfriends could not kill it!
The post-Katrina U. S. Corps of Engineers faulty levee break flooding finally killed it by filling it with water over the top of the car, peacefully parked in the back yard of his Lakeview neighborhood in New Orleans. IDK how long it sat in the flood water. Days? Weeks? Much of New Orleans was evacuated and flooded at this time.
He said his daughter started bawling as the wrecker towed it away, several months later. “Post-K” was a highly emotional time for many Native New Orleanians.
Since my co-worker had forgotten to cancel the full coverage insurance he had placed on the car when he bought it, many years ago, he received more than the auction purchase price in compensation!
I always liked these simple jap boxes. Never owned one, but I would if one popped up.
great article. nudged me to reminisce. i had 1 of these given to me free as a hand me down from a sis. manual trans. very reliable since not much to go bad. no AC, no carpet, PS or radio. the best “work” and “winter beater” surpassed only by later Festivas for those purposes. learned to make use of powerband and shift points in this. actually was a fun little toss a bout but eventually succumbed to the rust reaper.
I forgot about the 210 and have to say it was the 3rd worst car I’ve ever driven behind the ’84 Fiero and a late 70s Datsun 510 (not the good one).
The 210 was the first rental car I ever got to drive, as a kid when we took a family vacation to Hawaii. I somehow convinced Dad to let me take it out one night. My first inclination was to see how much abuse the car could take. This was way before that Chevy Chase scene at the Hertz counter and I felt almost like a pervert that I could have these desires no one else did.
That 210 was bright yellow, automatic and had gray vinyl on the seats and floor. I remember marveling at the tinniness of the dome lamp. The A/T shifter, on the other hand, was oddly robust. I cannot agree with David when he says the 1.5 was “not as smooth but is still a charming little motor”. It felt it had poor NVH.
As detailed in the book “Nissan/Datsun in the USA 1960-1980” a B210 was the 2 millionth Nissan sold in America. That was in 1976. Was sold to some guy who’s name I don’t remember in Aurora CO.