and other Early Datsun Sports Cars
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and other Early Datsun Sports Cars |
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DATSUN ROAD STAR 1935-1941 In 1935 the Road-Star had a 722cc 14hp 4cyl. engine. In 1937 it was changed to a 722cc 16hp 4cyl. engine. It was also available as the Datsun Coupe, which was the hard top version. It was in production until the outbreak of World War 2. 
DATSUN DC-3 1952-1958 The DC-3 was the first post-war Japanese sports car. It had an 860cc 20hp 4cyl. engine. She had leaf springs all round and a 3 speed non-synchro gearbox. It could seat four adults (Japanese adults) and had a top speed of 70 kph. 
click here for detailed photos of the DC-3 
DATSUN SPORTS S211 1959-1960 The S211 had a 988cc 37hp 4cyl. C series engine. The S211 is an extremely rare car, with a total of only 20 ever built. It is visually similar to the Fairlady SP212. The two most obvious differences are that the S211's doors have a curve on the lower front corner, the SP212's door comes to a 90 degree right angle. Also the SP212 has a Fairlady badge on the front guard, the S211 has a small emblem that is incorporated into the stainless steel moulding on the side of the car. There were also slight differences in the windscreen frame and interior trim.
click here for detailed photos of the Sports S211 
DATSUN FAIRLADY SP212 1960-1961 The SP212 had a 1189cc 48hp 4cyl. E series engine. This 4 seater car was fitted with a 4 speed gearbox, 'A' arm torsion bar front suspension and drum brakes.The total production of the SP212 was 288 and the total for the SP213 was 217. This was the first car to bear the 'Fairlady' name, which has been used for all of the "top of the range' Nissan / Datsun sports cars from 1960 up to today's Nissan Fairlady 300ZX. The name 'Fairlady' was thought up by Katsuji Kawamata (Nissan's president) after he saw the Broadway play "My Fair Lady" while in the USA in 1959 inspecting local dealerships. Apparently he was so impressed with it he named the S211's replacement after the play. From 1965 onwards most export Fairladies were given a number instead of it's real name. Eg. 2000 Sports, 240Z, 280ZX, etc. 
DATSUN FAIRLADY SP213 1961-1962 The SP213 is pretty much identical to the SP212, the only major difference being the new 1189cc 60hp 4cyl. E-1 series engine. The engine is pretty much the same as the E series engine but has gained an extra 12hp thanks to a new 2 barrel Nikki carburettor and a modification to the camshaft. There was also a slight change to the axles and the brakes. 
DATSUN FAIRLADY 1500 SP310 1962-1964 The SP310 originally had a 1488cc 75hp 4cyl. G series engine with a single Hitachi SU carb. Most have the 1488cc 85hp 4cyl. G engine with twin Hitachi SU carbs. The 62-64 model is the 3 seater model, with a third seat mounted sideways behind the driver(on RHD cars). She has 13 inch wheels with drum brakes on all 4 wheels. As with the SP311 and the SR311, the SP310 has double wishbone independent front suspension with telescopic shock absorbers, cam and lever steering, leaf spring rear suspension, a 4 speed gearbox with synchros on 2nd, 3rd and 4th, and a huge cross-braced seperate chassis. CLICK HERE TO SEE A PHOTO OF THE SIMILAR NISSAN SILVIA CHASSIS. The 3 seater has a dash board with 4 large round guages and a large "holy cow" handle on the passenger's side of the dash board. It has a large one piece 'Datsun' emblem on the bonnet, all others have individual letters 'D-A-T-S-U-N' of the bonnet. All SP310's have polished stainless steel trips that run the full lenght of the car with the Fairlady badge mounted near to the door opening. They have a slightly smaller air intake on the bonnet. The 3 seater's battery lives under the third seat. The SP310's hubcaps cover the whole wheel rather than the 1/2 caps on later Fairladies. They have exposed boot lid hinges and have the "egg crate" grille. The 3 seater had the really horrible 'assemble it yourself' soft top. Total production of all Fairlady 1500s is 6906. Only about 500 were made with the 75hp, single carb engine before they changed over to the 85hp, twin carb engine. Other than the obvious extra carb., the 85hp version also has dome top pistons (compression up from 8.0 to 9.0), a hotter cam, a redesigned exhaust manifold and a heavier clutch. It's gearbox ratios are about 12% lower than the one on the 85hp engine.
click here for detailed photos of the 1964 Fairlady SP310 
DATSUN FAIRLADY 1500 SP310 Late 1964-1965 This is a change-over model featuring parts from the 3 seater and some elements of the soon to be released Fairlady 1600 SP311. About 1500 of the 2 seater 1500s were made. It was mechanically the same as the 3 seater but the body is a little different. The groovy little back seat is gone, replaced with a padded parcel shelf. The battery now lives in the engine bay. The big lever handle on the boot lid has been replaced with a small chrome strip handle, the key hole is now on rear panel, above the no. plate. It now has a vastly improved fold down soft top frame. Best of all it gets the great looking 7 guage dashboard. This is the same as the SP311 dash except that when the ignition is off, the fuel and temperature guage needles come to rest on the right side. It now has a centre console / arm rest, this is similar to the SP311 unit except it doesn't have an ash tray. Unfortunately the fully upholstered boot is gone, replaced with a daggy rubber mat. It still has the 'egg crate' grille.
click here for detailed photos of the 1965 Fairlady 1500 
DATSUN FAIRLADY 1600 SP311 Late 1965-Early 1967 The SP311 has a 1595cc 96hp 4cyl. R series engine with twin SU carbs. The early engines have 3 bearing crankshafts and a cast iron cylinder head. From engine # R-40001 onwards they had a 5 bearing crank and an alloy head. It now had gearbox with Porsche designed synchros on all forward gears. The car now has 14 inch wheels and disc brakes up front. The new wheels now need bigger wheel arches. As a result of this the chrome strips can no longer fit over the front arches, so the strips now stop just behind the arch with the badge moved forward to the wheel arch end of the strip. The grille now has 3 horizontal bars. The boot hinges are now mounted internally instead of externally. It now has smaller hubcaps. 11000 low screen SP311s were made.
click here for detailed photos of the 1966 Fairlady SP311 
DATSUN FAIRLADY 2000 SR311 1967 DATSUN FAIRLADY 1600 SP311 1967 In 1967 the Fairlady's body and trim were slightly altered, and it was available with both the 2000 and 1600 engines. Nissan continued to offer both engines in most markets right up till the end of production. The 1600's engine continued on basically unchanged. The 2000 featured a heavily modified R series engine designed specifically for the Fairlady. It came in two versions, one had the 1982cc 135hp OHC 4cyl. U20 engine with twin SU carbs, the other having the 1982cc 150hp OHC 4cyl. U20 engine with twin 44mm dual throat side draught Mikuni Solex carbs. The 1967 car looks similar to the 1966 model but in fact every major panel was altered, the most obvious differences being the wheel arch flares and bonnet air intake. Other changes included the addition of a chrome number plate surround and a new grille for the 2000, featuring an attractive 'D' emblem in the centre. Inside the car were new seats with headrests and different internal door fittings. The 1965-1966 model had one of the best looking dash boards you'll ever see, anything that beautiful should not be messed with, but unfortunately in 1967 they did mess with it. They started by combining 2 guages into 1, leaving only 6 dials on the dash. But worst of all, anything that was chromed on the previous model was now painted with the dullest, daggiest grey paint they could find. Mechanical changes include the addition of a tandem brake master cylinder, finned alloy rear brake drums and smaller rear brake cylinders. The 2000 also had a 5 speed gearbox with over-drive on 5th. This model is often refered to as the '67 1/2' model or the low screen 2000.
click here for detailed photos of the 1967 Fairlady 2000 
DATSUN FAIRLADY 2000 SR311 1968-1970 DATSUN FAIRLADY 1600 SP311 1968-1970 In the post-Ralph Nader world of the late 1960's cars had to become safer, unfortunately this usually means less attractive. The Fairlady was no exception to the rule. The new model for 1968 lost it's metal dash board and got a deformable plastic one, plus lots of other padded bits inside the car. The body was entirely new, the most obvious difference is the windscreen frame, which is now part of the body, and is about 2 inches higher. It now has recessed external door handles, new seats, different side chrome strips and, for the first time on a Datsun sports car, windscreen wipers that actually remove rain from the windscreen when the car is travelling over 10 miles an hour. The high screen cars have the most bewildering number of variations. Over it's 3 year life it had changes to it's steering, electrics, external lamps, bumpers, window handles, etc. etc. Some countries had emision control systems (yuck!) and really ugly side marker lights and big rear reflectors. The 1968-1970 model high screen cars are the most common of the Early Datsun sports cars with over 23000 of them made.
click here for detailed photos of the 1968 Fairlady 2000 
NISSAN SILVIA CSP311 1964-1968 The Nissan Silvia was a 2 seater coupe that was built on the chassis of the Fairlady. The CSP311 has a 1595cc 96hp 4cyl. R series engine with twin SU carbs. To learn all there is to know about the Silvia click on the 'Silvia' emblem below to visit my new Nissan Silvia Homepage . This new website now replaces the old Nissan Silvia page of the Early Datsun Homepage. 
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