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[revolting peasant]

[Shep Shepherd]

Fabulous stuff. I really like the Skyline - I wonder if there are any left?

[eddyramrod]

I nearly had one of those E20 vans! Way back in 1993, when I sold my Mk3 Escort van, the buyer wanted it to replace his rotten E20. I so nearly did him a part-ex deal, but I was in dire need of cash at the time. My van was crap, so what was his like!

[worldofceri]

That Skyline is HOT.

[Pillock]

Violet SSS - what's a "rear passenger walk in device"?

[seth]

After reading that initial blurb I'm convinced I need a Datsun.

 

That HQ building should be a mecca for UK Datsun owners. Anyone know if its still there? I also like the quintissential English backdrops, particularly the boxy silver 280C blending perfectly into the medieval wattle and daub setting.

[HillmanImp]

Datsun. 1980.

 

Enjoy.

 

 

 

I used to live on Columbia Drive opposite this in Durrington. It was frigging brilliant when lightening hit it. It was empty for years after Nissan left and probably still is now.

 

The local sports club was pretty much still sponsored by Nissan for years afterwards as it still had all the Nissan stuff that they had given over the years such as crashmats, tramampololines and benches with Nissan on.

[HillmanImp]

After reading that initial blurb I'm convinced I need a Datsun.

 

That HQ building should be a mecca for UK Datsun owners. Anyone know if its still there? I also like the quintissential English backdrops, particularly the boxy silver 280C blending perfectly into the medieval wattle and daub setting.

 

http://worthingoffices.co.uk/

 

[freebird]

Considering just how prolific they were in churning out zillions of cars in the 70s and 80s and helping destroy our own car industry, so few cars have survived.

Does that mean that they were all built of shit or did the Japs grasp the "throwaway society" long, long before we did?

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Was the Violent smaller than the Bluebird? I remember Bluebirds of that era being pretty cramped inside...

[CreepingJesus]

^The Violet was smaller than the Bluebird; altho' the Violet coupes were pretty long. Just narrowish.

When we moved house in '80, one of the first things I remember was spotting a Violet SSS along the street. I thought it was a proper hot rod! It was later part-ex'd for a Bluebird SSS.

The rear seat entry thingy, was that function where you pull the lever up on the seat side, to tip it forward, and the whole seat slides forward on its' runners. (IIRC) Later appeared just about everywhere on 2/3 door cars, but I wouldn't bet against Datsun having invented that. I could be utterly wrong of course .

[retrogeezer]

Cool, thanks for taking the time to scan/upload that.

[Negative Creep]

Considering just how prolific they were in churning out zillions of cars in the 70s and 80s and helping destroy our own car industry, so few cars have survived.

Does that mean that they were all built of shit or did the Japs grasp the "throwaway society" long, long before we did?

 

 

Was it not more to do with their low resale and epic rust?

[freebird]

Considering just how prolific they were in churning out zillions of cars in the 70s and 80s and helping destroy our own car industry, so few cars have survived.

Does that mean that they were all built of shit or did the Japs grasp the "throwaway society" long, long before we did?

Was it not more to do with their low resale and epic rust?

Fair point. They did rust like the Titanic. My Dad had a dogeared 120Y Coupe. Bloody good car, so comfortable and everything user friendly, spot on. I can see the appeal.

[Pillock]

Early Japanese cars didn't have a great deal of rustproofing, in the same way that domestic stuff that gets imported - FTOs, Estima Enemas, Pajeros and the like - has little protection. I know a guy with an FTO who has just accepted the fact it'll need welding for every MoT. I believe it comes down to the fact they don't salt the roads in winter? Or it never rains. Or the amount of rice around the place soaks up moisture or something.

[Barrett.in.the.USA]

They were actually built a helluva lot better than most European cars of the time. Mechanicals are notoriously bombproof, but even the rust wasn't so much worse than any other car of the 70s/ early 80s - they lasted so long with zero maintenance to the oily bits no one looked after the bodywork- but they were seen as bland white goods by the majority of people so whilst people have always been taking the time and money to preserve (equally bland) eurotin of the period the Jap stuff just got binned. Even now you'll have a hard time convincing most cla**ic enthusiasts that anything from the Far East is a desirable object...

[gtd2000]

Considering just how prolific they were in churning out zillions of cars in the 70s and 80s and helping destroy our own car industry, so few cars have survived.

Does that mean that they were all built of shit or did the Japs grasp the "throwaway society" long, long before we did?

 

The Japanese didn't destroy our car industry - the unions helped and "we" simply did not produce products that were are reliable as the Japanese.

 

Japanese cars were originally very poorly rust proofed, and suffered from horrendous depreciation due to the lack of badge credibility - even although they were generally far more reliable products. History has shown they did make superior products, as far as reliability was concerned.

 

By comparison the European products were not much better but they could hide behind their long established badges.

 

My Father drove mainly Ford cars when I was a youngster and most people scoffed when somebody owned a Japanese car. They were viewed as being simply worthless after a couple of years.

 

I've told this story before but my father bought a new FIAT 126 due to the fuel crisis (Reg No. NSG 916 M) it was a piece of crap that never started in winter and had to be resprayed after 2 or 3 years of use.

 

The MK2 Ford Escort estate that replaced it (KKS 429 P) was not much better at starting and needed a bottom end respray 3 years later in 1979...a Ford Cortina replaced that - which I don't remember as being particularly problematic.

 

Motoring changed in 1983 when my dad traded in the Cortina for a Datsun Sunny Estate - it moulded my future choice of cars instantly - it did everything it said on the tin and had more bells and whistles than anything previously.

 

End of story

[boobydoo]

I'm sure there's a Skyline on ebay at the moment. A green one. The one in the pic here is a facelift with square headlamps...they looked much nicer with the original twin headlights.

[barefoot]

The Violet 160 SSS had a five speed box with first on a dog leg - that's more than hot rod.

 

But my old man had a 1.0 Cherry like the one at the top.

It was painfully underpowered & reading the numbers, not that economical, but the dash board did light up like it was Christmas.

[seth]

...whilst people have always been taking the time and money to preserve (equally bland) eurotin of the period the Jap stuff just got binned. Even now you'll have a hard time convincing most cla**ic enthusiasts that anything from the Far East is a desirable object...

 

That.

 

Odd that the line of trees planted along the front of the HQ all seem to have gone.

[Spottedlaurel]

What Barrett says is pretty much true. Go to a show now and most people there are still very snobbish about Japanese cars and generally only a few will be in attendance. Let’s face it, pretty much all cars are cynically designed and churned-out to (hopefully) make somebody some money, what’s the problem?

 

Of course they rusted. Just like pretty much everything from that era.

 

The obscurity/unloved status only adds to the appeal. Over the last 23 years I’ve now had examples of pretty much every model in the range, my favourites from this era are the Violet (aka 160J) SSS, Skyline (240K GT) and Laurel (240L). Owned the Skyline for nine years, took it to Norway twice and didn’t ever think I’d sell it, but it needed more work than I could afford and I wasn’t able to enjoy it any more. Never yet strayed into the Z/ZX world, Mrs SL would probably think I’m having a midlife crisis...

 

I did go to the old HQ building, I think about 1995. The warehouse was still full of parts which were slowly being sold off, don’t know what was going on in the offices. There was a showroom there. I’ve got loads of hitherto unpublished photos taken round the place from the Type Approval process each model had to go through.

 

The 280C photos were taken at the Weald & Downland museum.

 

Just about to jump into my Laurel for the drive home from work, enjoying the superb luxury while being wafted along by the smooth six cylinder engine. I shan’t explore the limits of the safe, predictable handling too far (it’s actually pretty good) but I shall wallow in the superbly comfortable ride.