The
Bluebird was branded in Japan as a Datsun until 1979/80 at the release of the
910 series, the Sunny until 1980/81, a year before it changed to front-wheel-drive,
and the Fairlady until 1969/70, when it was replaced
by the Fairlady Z.
The specs sheet hereunder, handles the post-war Japanese Datsuns and successors (including the hand-built Silvia,
announced at the September 1964 Tokyo Motor Show for Japan as Datsun Coupe
1500, but eventually sold as Nissan Silvia at its introduction in April 1965,
presumably because of its elevated price).
Datsun
Whereas the
mid- to late-fifties commercial derivatives simply were based on the sedan with
its separate chassis (a stretched utility was added in 1958), the early-sixties
320 series commercial derivatives all were on the longer chassis with torsion
bar front suspension, after the sedan/wagon, now called ‘Bluebird’, had
switched to a semi-monocoque body with coils in front. With a weight of over 1,000 kg, the 320
commercial line (including a 2-door wagon) used 14 inch wheels, and kept the
4-speed transmission, while the Bluebird 310 series passenger cars had only 3
forward speeds and 13 inch wheels. In a
country like South Africa, the pickup (‘Mossie maar
man’) would soon become the best selling in the utility field.
A similar
chassis layout was used for the next 520 series in 1965, 8 cm wider than the 410 Bluebird, with a
long-wheel-base pick-up model added later in the year, while in Taiwan, a
4-door double cab pick-up and a 4-door wagon were created by Yue Loong. Again, in 1966, 1967 and 1970, this 1-ton
pick-up was the best selling utility in South Africa, thereafter beaten by the
Toyota Hi-Lux.
This series
was replaced in 1972 by the 620 (single and 2- and 4-door double cab)
pickup. Yue Loong again created a 4-door
wagon, as well as a 2-door wagon with side benches, and a stylish
short-wheelbase 4-door double cab pick-up.
Datsun
Bluebird
An
independent front suspension with coil springs, was initiated in the 1959/60
310 Bluebird sedan still with the rigid leaf suspension at the rear, and
continued in the 1963/64 410 series, which now had a full monocoque body,
slightly narrower than its predecessor, and would remain Japan’s best selling
car until 1965, when Toyota’s lustier Corona (incl. utilities) had arrived, 5
cm wider than the Bluebird. Lifting the
sloping rear end of the Bluebird sedan in spring 1966 didn’t help, also as
Toyota had added a hardtop, and even a hatchback to its line. Nissan would make its 1965 pick-up and
wagon/van derivatives 8 cm wider than the 410 passenger car line, and
denominate it the 520 series, rather than 420, and without the decreasing
character line of the Bluebird wagon.
Then for
1967/68 came the illustrious 510 Bluebird with struts in front and a rear
semi-trailing coil suspension, but the wagon kept the rigid leaf rear
suspension, that was originally intended for the sedans as well and used in
Latin American and South East Asian countries like Mexico and Taiwan, and for
the taxi in Japan by 1971/72, to be succeeded by the 1973 Nissan Violet
(710). The 510 series was called as such
in the USA and 1300/1400/1600 in the export, and would continue for a year next
to the 610 series. In Japan from
September 1970, a year before the arrival of the Bluebird-U, the L18 1770cc
engine was introduced in the SSS for a year.
The 1971/72
Bluebird-U (export Datsun 160B/180B, initially also 1600/1800) 610 series
retained the semi-trailing arms at the rear, except for the wagon. In the United Kingdom, ‘Bluebird’ was added
to the number/letter designations.
The 1976/77
Bluebird (810 series) reverted to the rigid leaf rear suspension for the
Japanese domestic and general export markets, except for the SSS and 6-cylinder
models, and then after a year changed to Nissan’s first live axle with coils,
earlier in 1977 introduced in the Laurel.
In Europe and Australia the semi-trailing independent rear suspension
was retained, and in some markets like Australia and Sweden replaced by the
live axle as well by 1977/78 for the sedan models. By 1979, the ‘Bluebird’ name was generally
adopted in Europe. The Datsun 810 cars
for North America (6-cylinder) kept the semi-trailing arms. In all cases however, the wagons had the
rigid leaf rear suspension.
The next
generation 1979/80 910 series Bluebird arrived as a Nissan in Japan, but was
elsewhere still a Datsun until 1983/84.
By 1982, the ‘Bluebird’ name was adopted generally in the export
worldwide. From 1982, wagons for Japan
(but not the business-oriented ‘van’), Europe and USA/Canada adopted the 4-link
coil rear suspension. Six-cylinder
models were now reserved for North America.
Datsun
Sunny
The 1966
Sunny had a transverse leaf wishbone front suspension, and a rigid leaf rear
suspension. The larger 1970 (110 series)
models changed to front struts, retained by the 1973 (210) models. The 310 series 1977/78 models received a live
axle at the rear with coils, except for the wagon. In 1979 arrived a wagon with lowered roof on
the rear coil suspension, called Sunny California in Japan. This generation became a Nissan in Japan for
1980/1981.
In South
Africa in 1977, the (110 series) Datsun 1200 ½-ton pick-up or bakkie (load box)
in Afrikaans, then sold as ‘Datsun 120Y’ was the best selling utility (often
used as a private car), after the (210 series) 120Y/140Y car range had been the
best seller there the previous year.
Toyota entered the Publica-based 1200 pick-up (also known as Corolla
pick-up) in late 1977, for some years.
By 1980 Nissan fitted the 1.4-litre engine and renamed it the ‘Datsun
1400 Bakkie’. During most of the 1980s
it held the 3rd place in the commercial vehicle field, far
outselling its front-wheel-drive competitors Ford/Mazda and Volkswagen
(Golf). In October 1985, after a
production run of 125,000 units, Nissan raised the cab with 3 cm, and the rear
window moved backward with 55 mm, while power front disc brakes were fitted. Then, in March 1988, a 5-speed gearbox became
available. Production would end here in
2007, while in Japan, where the above amenities (incl. the 1.4-liter engine)
weren’t included, it had stopped 9 years earlier for the export (with
assembling in Ecuador ending in 1999).
With thanks to South African CAR magazine
Nissan
Silvia
Based on the 210 Sunny, the odd-looking S10 model was over 5 cm wider,
but kept its (leaf spring) rear axle tread.
Exports occurred only to USA/Canada, where the majority of the cars were
sold. Originally, a rotary engine was
planned.
The later
Silvia/Gazelle S110 model was based on the 1977 Violet, but was 8 cm wider and
rode on larger wheels. Silvia and
Gazelle arrived as a hardtop, followed by a hatchback later. Mexico took the opportunity to build the
hardtop next to its (Violet) sedan, with the old 1.8 ohv engine.
From 1980,
after the hatchback had arrived, the Silvia alone would outsell the Celica in
Japan, until a new Celica arrived in mid-1981.
Silvia/Gazelle combined outsold this new Celica, as Nissan had added a
turbo shortly before. After Toyota added
one in autumn 1982, the Celica would dominate.
The Silvia was sold at the Sunny outlets, and the Gazelle (slightly more
expensive and luxurious) at the Nissan Motor store, next to the Laurel and
Cedric. Three out of four was a Silvia.
Nissan Sunny (B11) October 1981
After 15
years, the Sunny again had refined looks, and changed to
front-wheel-drive. The 2-door sedan now
was denied to Japan, while restricted to Japan were a 1.5-litre injection
engine, accompanied in September 1982 by one with a turbo. The (2.5 cm) lower Sunny California was
continued. After the facelift in October
1983, the Japanese were offered a cute 14 cm shorter 3-door hatchback,
replacing the slow-selling coupe, that was continued elsewhere. This hatchback became available with the 1.3
engine only by April 1985, not to affect sales of the March.
For a
limited number of left-driving markets Nissan installed the 988cc engine, used
in the Cherry. At the other side of the
spectrum to better comply with exhaust regulations, the United States, where it
was the best selling ‘import’ model (built there from May 1985), received a 1.6
litre carburetor engine with 3-way catalyst, that was also used from 1985 in
selected markets in Europe. Mexico also
fitted the 1.6 engine and even added a turbo, keeping the carburetor. The Sunny B11 was also assembled in Greece,
where it was the best-selling car in 1983.
The Nissan
Motor dealer outlets sold from 1982 the up-market Laurel Spirit clone with one
to every seven Sunnys sold through the Sunny outlets,
reduced to every ten the next year. The
Sunny B11 was the second-best selling car in Japan and built in the Zama and
Murayama (ex-Prince) plants. The Laurel
Spirit (and the Sunny for Europe) outlived the Japanese Sunny B11 for about a
year.
In October
1982 arrived in Japan the higher Sunny AD Van with a rigid rear axle and leaf springs,
and with Pulsar AD Van and Datsun AD Van clones for the respective dealer
outlets. In July 1983 came a 1.3 2-door
Sunny AD Van, replacing the 310 model, with 2-seat windowed 1.3 and 1.7 diesel
variants, followed by 4-door 2-seaters in September 1985. A panel 2-door was available in the
export. In May 1988, the three car lines
were united and called Nissan AD Van, to be replaced in October 1990.
The Sunny
B11 was maintained at the arrival of its Sentra B12 successor in Chile (till
1993) and South East Asia (till 1995).
In Chile it became the best-selling car in 1989 and 1990 after it was imported from Mexico by
1986.
3 October, 2019