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02/12/2010, 16:35
Story And Images By MURRAY HUBBARD
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If you look at the history of Nissan sports cars not a lot has changed from the 1960s when the Datsun Fairlady roadster was a cheaper alternative to MG and Triumph, the British sports cars of the day. Fast forward to 2010 and the descendant of the Fairlady, the stunning 2010 Nissan 370Z is a cheaper alternative to the likes of Porsche.
Our featured car is the Datsun Fairlady 1600, a car first shown as a concept at the Toyko Motor Show in 1961 and released in 1965. There’s no mistaking the car’s resemblance to the MGB. While the Fairlady name was accepted in Japan, Australians stayed away en masse when the car was introduced here. In the 1960s if you wanted to be taken seriously you did not drive a car with the same name as a musical stage show. Imagine owning one: A friend: Is that your car? You: Yes, that’s My Fairlady! Oddly enough, the American market did not seem to mind the name and the car sold it’s sox off. The buyers, needless to say, were mainly women.
It did not take long for Nissan to rectify the name in Australia and before long the car was simply known as the Datsun 1600, and sales in Australia became slightly healthier. But the damage was done and the car failed to create much more than a sales ripple. In the mid 1960s Japanese cars were new to Australia and were commonly called `Jap Crap’, which is another reason for the poor sales. It took us some time to realise just how good Japanese cars were. Another point for clarification, the name Datsun. There was never a car company called Datsun but there was a Japanese car company called Dat, which called its smaller cars Datson, and was taken over by Nissan. Nissan changed the name to Datsun when producing smaller cars.
What the 1600, and the 1967 introduction of the Datsun 2000 did create, was the platform on which to launch the iconic Z series of sports cars, the 240Z, 260Z, 280ZX and 300ZX and the reintroduction of the Nissan 350Z and 370Z. The Datsun 1600 was an honest performer with the in-line, overhead valve 1600cc four cylinder engine with twin SU carburettors and hooked up to a four speed manual shifter and driving the rear wheels. The classic sports car foundation.
These cars were not the first Nissan sports cars, but they were the first to come to Australia. Nissan’s quest for a decent sports car started with a series of cars, the first of which hit the decks in 1959 and called the S211 sporting a 998cc engine. This was followed by S212 (1.2 litre) , S213 , SP310, (Datsun 1500) SP311 (Datsun 1600) and SRL311 (Datsun 2000) from 1967, which also boasted a five speed manual transmission. Nissan realised to develop its image it needed a hero car and the Datsun 2000 was designed for that purpose, as a car capable of being raced, and finishing at the pointy end of the field. It did this with some success. The Datsun 2000 was a genuine 190 km/h (120 mph) sports car, so it was no slouch.
The Datsun 2000 ran to 1970 when production ceased and Nissan cranked up the production line on the iconic 240Z. This car was in a lot of ways the pioneer for Nissan in Australia. It was fast with a top speed of around 200 km/h and had a sleek new look, we think, inspired by the then 10 year-old Jaguar XKE or E-Type. Indeed, we recall it being called a `poor man’s E-Type.’
SPECIFICATIONS
Datsun 1600
Length: 3953mm
Width: 1495mm
Height: 1315mm
Wheelbase: 2280mm
Wheels: 14 inch
Tyres: 5.50 – 14 – 4p
Turning circle: 9.8m
ENGINE
Model 12 also known as the H16
1.595 litre/97.32 cubic inch
Cast iron head and block
4 in-line
Overhead valves
Bore/stroke: 87.2mm x 66.8mm
Compression: 9.0:1
Power: 96bhp @6000 rpm
Torque: 103ftlb @ 4000 rpm
Idle: 650 rpm
Engine weight: 155kg
Fuel tank: 43 litres
Transmission: Four speed, one reverse. Synchromesh made under licence from Porsche
BRAKES
Front: Disc
Rear: Drum
SUSPENSION
Front: Independent coil springs/torsion bar stabiliser/double action dampers
Rear: Semi elliptic leaf springs/double action dampers.
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