In the comments on yesterday’s Mazda 1800 wagon article, reader CoolHluke shared a link to another cool vintage Japanese project car with an interesting story of its own: this 1964 Datsun 410, with the very low VIN of 000128. Thanks for the tip, CoolHluke! (And don’t forget, this site runs on your tips!) So here’s another great candidate if you’ve been looking for an early Japanese import for your winter project; you can find it here on craigslist in Ashland, Oregon, with a $2,500 asking price (archived ad).
The 410 was new for 1964, already the third generation of the car sold in Japan as the Bluebird to be offered within Datsun’s five years to date on the American market, a sign of how aggressively the company was improving its designs to meet the needs of international audiences. The fact that the brand was also expanding rapidly in European markets at the time was reflected in the 410’s Pininfarina-influenced styling, which attractively combined traces of Fiat and Lancia in its petite forms. In the case of this car, those forms are a bit rumpled, but don’t appear to be terribly rusty. It’s a bit frustrating, however, when a car is described as needing “complete restoration,” but specifics about its overall condition are otherwise vague—pictures don’t show everything, after all.
The car is described as complete, but there are no pictures of the interior components, for example. This shot is important, though, showing that the floors appear to be quite good. The only other things we know of the car’s condition are that it rolls and the engine turns over. Not much to go on!
Still, the seller has taken pains to verify that all the numbers match, and the low production number is an intriguing selling point. There’s also some impressively cool badges and a vintage Oregon license plate to sweeten the deal! If the car is truly complete, it may not be a terribly difficult restoration, although I’m not sure how easy pre-510 Datsun parts are to come by. What say you, vintage Japanese car fans? Is this Bluebird a winter project you’d take on, or is its (low) number one you’d pass up?
And for even more rare and weird Japanese cars…..
https://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/cto/d/mazda-rx3-wagon-1973/6373988713.html
Here’s that ad saved http://www.craigslistadsaver.com/view.php?name=MazdaRX3Wagon
Love it – but the parts obscurity would make me proceed with extreme caution. The rear lights are certainly unique.
If they downsized a late 50’s to early 60’s Rambler, I think this car is what it would look like.
Looks like a good candidate for a v-8 swap….be a super fun little toy
Rock On–omg, we had that same exact RX3 wagon, same color, maybe in better shape than the one pictured . . . are you sure that is $16,000, not $1600??? Aye, that hurts! I would have been elated at the lower amount! It was a screaming little car, especially with a seemingly unlimited top end. When we got it, we had a new engine put in (largely at Mazda’s cost). It was guaranteed, by Mazda, for 50,000 miles. About 50,000.9 miles, the seals started losing compression. Purchased a couple of “For Sale” signs, and specifically told the new buyer the seals were starting to go, but he couldn’t wait to buy it . . . but for a lot less than $1600! Ahhh . . . timing is everything.
Thanks for the write up, this is my car, will gladly answer any questions and have a trove of extra parts and pictures.
fiat, lancia even a beemer (which I saw on first look).