The lineage of the Skyline reaches back to the mid-fifties, when Prince Motor Company launched the car into the luxury niche. Prince merged into Nissan in 1966 and by then, Skylines had been used for every shade of commuting as well as racing. This 1968 Skyline S57 is currently listed on facebook Marketplace with a price of $20,000, but a short couple of months ago, it failed to sell here for a high bid of $10,000. The car is currently located in Pataskala, Ohio after importation from Canada. It has a clean Ohio title. Thanks to Ted for sending along the tip!

The Marketplace ad is less revealing than the prior listing, but we learn from both sources that the radiator has been replaced with a CSF equipped with an electric fan, the 1500 cc in-line, overhead cam, four-cylinder breathes through a single Nikki carburetor, the suspension has been lowered, and the ignition coil is new. An electric fuel pump has been installed. The S57 engine developed about 87 hp, with power delivered to the rear wheels via a column-shift three-speed manual. The car rides on 14″ Watanabe wheels painted black. Surface rust on the underside competes for attention with the new-ish suspension components.

The plain dash houses a period radio and basic gauges, but relieving its austerity are several bits of bright trim. The steering wheel is cracked. The seats wore headrests at one time, and now show tears where they were removed. The car is right-hand drive; the driver’s left bolster is torn. A bit of brightwork is missing from the driver’s side door panel. Nicks, scrapes, dents in the trim, and rust of varying severity afflict the entire car from stem to stern – nothing too objectionable on its own but the sheer number of admittedly minor cosmetic blemishes helps explain the failed sale in May.

The car was repainted in root-beer brown metallic with a lighter tan roof at some point. Rust repair was performed at that time. The car comes with period brochures, though its original owner’s manual is missing. Interest in JDM cars has been keen for years now, provoked by the movie The Fast and the Furious, featuring tuners; an increasing number of performance models available for import into the US under the “>25 years old” rule, and the niche production models that Japanese automakers have supplied to the market – the NSX, Subaru’s WRX STi, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo… the list has been growing by the year. That said, a modest ’68 sedan is one thing, and a Nissan Skyline GTR is another altogether. The big bucks belong to rare, high-horsepower models, while this winsome S57 will need a discount to move it along.