A Datsun 510?! That ain’t no Datsun 510, Gilby, what are you trying to unload on us (again). Well, you’re right and wrong at the same time. Welcome to marriage. No, wait, different subject. This 1978 Datsun 510 Wagon is posted here on craigslist in beautiful Santa Cruz, California, and they’re asking $8,450. Yes, more than it cost new. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Rocco B. for the tip!
While not the iconic “Nissan Bluebird” version of the 510 (1967-1973), the classic three-box design that most of us know and love, this 510 is based on the “Nissan Violet” and is a variation of the Nissan A10 Stanza here in North America. In 1977, they added two other variations, the Stanza and Auster. Most of you have heard of the latter Nissan Stanza, and this model was known as the Datsun Stanza in Australia, and the Datsun 510 here in the U.S. and Canada, and we got them between 1977 and 1981.
Wheel covers would help this car’s looks immensely, in my opinion. It almost looks like it’s ready to be driven in the winter with those wheels, but at the same time, it’s a cool look. Or as cool as a tiny four-door Datsun wagon can be. The seller says this one was found at an estate sale for the original owner, and it has 104,000 miles on it. It could easily pass for less than half that mileage; it looks like an absolute gem. The optional woodgrain trim gives it an extra ’70s pop.
Desert Yellow is listed as a 1980-only color on my go-to paint color website for vintage Japanese vehicles – Import Archive – so I’m not sure about that. This sure looks like Desert Yellow to me. The interior is actually an olive green rather than the black or tan I expected. Peak 1970s for sure. It looks outstanding inside, other than the Jatco L3N three-speed automatic in place of a five-speed manual. But, with the woodgrain trim, you already know this is a fancy 510, sort of. The seats look close to perfect, and the rear cargo area may be big enough to sleep in on cross-country road trips. I’ve slept in the back of my old ’71 Corolla. The big flaw, or maybe the only flaw with this car, is that the windshield appears to have taken a blow at some point and needs to be replaced.
The engine is Nissan’s L20B, a 2.0-liter SOHC inline-four with just under 100 net horsepower and 102 lb-ft of net torque rolling through that automatic to the rear wheels. Yes, this is a proper rear-wheel drive car. The seller and his young son took it a few hours south to Pasadena for an AC/DC concert (+10 for getting your son started off on the right foot!), and it worked flawlessly. He says it also got 30 mpg. Now, about that asking price, especially with it needing a windshield. Have any of you owned this version of the Datsun 510?
While not a wagon, my mother’s car was a ’78 Datsun 510 four-door sedan from ~1983-87. It replaced her ’74 Maverick that by ’82 already had noticeable holes in the trunk behind both rear wheels, thanks to Connecticut winters. Hard to believe that was the norm back then; you wouldn’t see that today.
Anyway. Looking at these photos brought back a world of memories for me with that Datsun, even though our Datsun has now been out of our lives for nearly 40 years and I was 11 when she traded it for a brand new ’87 Nova. Ours was white with a brown interior. I still remember the D in the center of the steering wheel and the horn buttons on the side, the blue light on the left of the dash for the rear defroster (I think), even the little plastic flaps near the automatic tranmission stick that would move when you shifted it into gear. Must have played a lot in that car in the garage, because my only memory of actually driving anywhere in it was when the radiator hose blew on I-95 when we were visiting our aunt in Norwalk and had to hang out at a garage for a few hours while that was fixed. Oh! I also recall the vinyl seats that were close to 200 degrees after we’d leave the beach and we had to lay down towels for the ride home. Don’t see these hardly anymore. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Lovely looking car. Although I was way too young at the time to drive a car, I remember cars like this Datto. It’s rare to see one in this beautiful condition.
Japanese cars of this era were very well built. But they rusted easily , which is why you don’t see them. This one is still around because it almost certainly spent its life in a warm weather climate where salt was not used on the roads.
I owed a 1981 510 wagon with a 4 speed, I found a 5 speed in a rotted 4 door and did an upgrade. I loved that car and could not kill it. I tried to rally it and it held up well. At just shy of 200k a explorer ran a stop light and I T-boned it at 55 mph. If it was a car i would have killed them. The 510 went under the SUV and tried to flip it, pushing the side doors all the way to the drive shaft, It was saved by another car that it rolled over and crushed. The 510 held up well even in the crash. It looked like I parked on the side of the road with min damage. I broke my knee and cut my.face. They MADE me go to the hospital. If I hadn’t broken the distributor cap it might have driven home. The other cars were totaled.Tough car, not fast top speed about 110mph but could go anywhere. I think the 4 spd is still in my dads basement.
That thang so new its still in the crate !
Pretty nice clean wagon in and out that has survived the times. It would be even cooler if it was a manual, But it did make it to a AC/DC concert my favorite band which I will see here in Las Vegas next August!!
I saw AC/DC at the Summit in Houston in 1977. I drove my 1978 King Cobra there. I was going to drive my 1976 Datsun B210 fastback but my girlfriend wanted to drive with the TTops off so we took the Mustang. I hated parking the Mustang in those types of parking lots. The band was great.. The previous year we saw Lynyrd Skynyrd in the Astrodome. gone too soon.
Stout little runners….my nephew and niece grinded a standard gear box one of these through school…couldn’t break it….it was the same color combo as well !
Pinto hubcaps will serve. I put them on my ’71 Corona MkII sedan.
Probably could 3D-print the plastic bumper ends.
I would love to have this,,,WHAAAAA? Did Howard bump his head? Well, not technically, and be a nice day in the Badger before I’d spend $8grand on something like this. The state of Colorado seems to think my Jeep is worth $5500, hahahahahahaha,,ha,,good heavens, but seriously, I need something more road friendly, this would be perfect. I know my usual stance on Asian cars, and that hasn’t changed, but even I know, a car like this was one of the best cars made, for that period. Not the nicest, not the fastest, or sportiest, but for mundane traveling, can’t be beat. Can even lie down in the back. The wheels look terrible, how can anyone think that looks good? I highly doubt this car will sell for this price, as nice as it may be, condition-wise, it’s still a 50 year old Datsun that I’m not sure there’s a market for. Maybe another person from California that is used to their prices, but this to me, is a $1,000 car, tops. Common knowledge about rust, so it’s cool to see a nice one again.
I bought one of these in the early 90’s from my oldest brother. I was wanting a ride with better gas mileage as I was driving 50 miles one way to work. I gave it back to him after a couple of weeks. I couldn’t walk right after spending an hour behind the wheel of that thing