On 07/27/97 16:16:57 you wrote:
>
>We have a Datsun 510 2 door racing with VARA. The owner claims it is a
>1967 model that was available in Japan in 1967. As fas as the US dealers
>are concerned, there were no 1967 510's in the USA.
>
>Does anyone have any documentation as the existance of the 510 model in
>Japan in 67?
>
>It is being run in production class and should belong in exibition class
if
>it was not produced in 1967.
>
>Any comments?
>
>
Taking a break from the "honey do" list with a nice cold one and thought I
would extend that break by looking up the answer to your question. It
appears the 510 was made and sold (in Japan at least) in 1967.
A quick glance through my reference on 510's (pretty light) turned up this
information from you. My reference ("The World of Automobiles, Illustrated
Encyclopedia of the Motor Car" ) indicates Nissan and Prince Motors merged
in 1966. The merger gave Nissan a new factory and the test track at
Murayama near Tokyo, making Nissan Japan's largest automaker. The next year
saw steady expansion of production and exports, as well as the introduction
of new models.
"Of these, perhaps the most important was the 510 Bluebird, a car which
appeared shortly after the Mark 2 Ford Cortina..." The article goes on to
say the Cortina and 510 were almost the same size and weight, the 510 having
a 1600 OHC engine and IRS. The engine was the same as the 1600 Sport
(roadster) sent to America to obtain a piece of the MGB market. That
section closes with, "The new Bluebird formula was repeated in 1968, the
following year, with the larger 1800 Laurel."
I think the Mk 2 Cortina was introduced in 1966 (Myles?), so from the dates
I would say 1967 is very likely for the car in question. Thanks, that
turned out to be a two beer question :}
Jerry
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Jerry Liudahl - Eugene, Oregon USA
Old Irish Racing Club: http://pw2.netcom.com/~oldirish/oirc.html
Purple Lips Racing - Lip Service Racing Teams
Austin Healey, Datsun, Jaguar
E-mail: oldirish@ix.netcom.com
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