To compete with a wide variety of British-made sports cars, Nissan got into the fray in the 1960s with the Fairlady roadsters. Wearing Datsun badging in the U.S. (Fairlady doesn’t sound too manly), they proved more dependable than their English counterparts and were the forerunners of the popular 240Z/260Z/280Zs of the 1970s. The numerical designation represents the engine size, so 1600 stood for just shy of 1600-cc (just as the 1500 and 2000 had the same logic). From Jefferson, North Carolina, this ’70 1600 (also known as Sports 1600) is available here on Barn Finds Classifieds for $17,500 and is said to be a fun little car to drive.
It was never clear to me why Nissan called their products Datsuns in the U.S. Both names were easy to say and had the same number of letters. It wasn’t until 1986 that Nissan would drop Datsun from its branding. The Fairlady sports cars dated back to 1959 and would evolve over the next dozen years. The 1.6-liter inline-4 was deployed beginning in 1965 and would be used through 1970. The little autos made work of independent front suspension using coil springs over hydraulic shocks. The powerful little motors produced 96 hp using twin SU carburetors and helped these Datsuns reach up to 105 mph.
With its black stripes and the # 43 on the hood, this ’70 Sports 1600 looks as though it may have seen some time out on the racetrack. But no indication is made by the seller whether any attempts have been made to make it a competitor (note the roll bar). At 105,000 miles, we’re told it runs well and apparently comes with two sets of wheels, the ones it’s wearing plus the originals.
There is no indication of rust, the body and paint look to be good enough, and those decals I mentioned are said to be vinyl clings that will pull right off. The interior looks quite nice and a car like this would probably give you fewer mechanical headaches than ones the Brits built in the same era. The rear license plate is from Delaware, a different state than where the car is available.
I know the seller; outstanding guy!
These are good cars. Well built, good power and handling, and a lot of fun to drive. Only thing they need is rust proofing the inner enclosed metal areas as they will quickly rust if exposed to water. Nice car.
Maybe the seller could give answers as to why the
decals/numbers are on it,& why it’s registered in another
state?
It’s not been a racer decals are on there because previous owner and myself both thought they look good. Picture of rear was old one I had on phone when I purchased the car.
That would be a cool car to drive on weekends. Fun and loud! At my age I be able to get in … But getting out that’s another issue!😂
In 1931, DAT Motorcar Co. chose to name its new small car “Datson”, a name which indicated the new car’s smaller size when compared to the DAT’s larger vehicle already in production. When Nissan took control of DAT in 1934, the name “Datson” was changed to “Datsun”, because “son” also means “loss” (損 son) in Japanese and also to honour the sun depicted in the national flag – thus the name Datsun: Dattosan (ダットサン, Dattosan).[4] The Datsun name is internationally well known for the 510, Fairlady roadsters, and the Z and ZX coupés.
My admittedly thin understanding of the origin of the Datsun name is that it dates back to the DAT Motor Vehicle company, founded in 1911, with its first vehicle produced in Japan in 1914. (DAT are the first letters in the last names of the three investors.) Later, after a merger, the company produced a smaller car in 1932 that seemed a successor to the earlier DAT. That came to be called Datson. But because “son” has some less-happy interpretations in Japanese, it was changed to “sun.” As Datsun was already an established brand for Nissan’s vehicles, it likely was a logical name to use with the brand launch in the U.S. in the late 1950’s. (Certainly, anyone correct me if I have all that wrong.)
I heard they first marketed the cars in the US because Nissan in Ww2 produced airplanes that were very important in Japans fight. There was thought that using the Nissan name would affect sales. I had a 1600 Fairlady that would drive circles around 4 cyl MGs and Triumps. Always wanted a 2000 but they were rare, and had many 240s and 280s. Just have my daughter my heavily modified 260 that was converted to a convertible
Nice little Datsun. My brother had one of these long ago. This one’s priced like a 2000 though. For the ask on this one there are many more interesting choices from my golden era of the 60s and early 70s.
such an exact copy of others (but what’s 1 to do coming out of the decimation they did?). Nice car. I prefer the Honda S500 thru 800 (nother Brit copy, Y not copy the best @ the time?)
Would I rather the 2000? yes!
510 2 dor, mayB (esp w/a i6),
240? yes,
their p/u or waggy, of course.
But as the other ol timers on here say: “would not kick it out of my ‘xxx’ (pick 1).”
I don’t remember this car, but I like it. I was teaching in west Texas at the time, which may be why I don’t remember seeing it. Folks out there mainly were pickup folks, Chevy and Ford cars back during that time. I really don’t remember seeing any Japanese cars back then, not until I moved back to the Dallas area.
I have owned me some Datsuns. My first was a 70 1600 roadster. In total I owned two 1600s, three 2000s including one 67.5 solex 2000 number 248. four Zs two with v8 swaps. one 510 wagon. I turned 70 last year and sold my last one, that’s 50 years with Datsuns. (1972 to 2022)
New pics of car with most decals removed and undercarriage.