[Roadsters] 310 Roadster - 1962 or 1963?

[David Patten]

There has been some disagreement on the first year of the 310 series
Roadster.



The 310 Roadster was first introduced to the public in the Fall of 1961 at
the Tokyo Auto Show. The US public saw the car in April 1962 at the New
York Auto Show. (There is a short video, more of a newsreel, of the 1962
New York Auto Show on the internet that shows the 310 Roadster, but I was
unable to find it for a second time to provide a link.)



Based on information provided in the book Datsun Fairlady Roadster to
280ZX, the Z Car Story by Brian Long, he states that the first SP310
roadsters (RHD) were 1962 with a total of 187 cars but the first to be
exported were in 1963. So it is quite likely that the LHD SPL310, exported
to the US was marketed as a 63 model but the original SP310 Roadster was
considered a 1962 in the Japanese domestic market. Long admits that the
earlier edition of his book had errors in production dates and numbers,
which with the help of Nissan Shatai, he calls his later book to be the
definitive details.



Another source of stating the 310 as a 1962 is the Heritage Collection part
of on Nissans Global website. There you will find the SP310 shown as year
1962.

Link: http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/HERITAGE/datsun_fairlady_1500.html



So while the SPL310 may have been marketed in the US as a 63 model it
appears that Nissan considers the 310 Roadster started in 1962.



While this information may not satisfy all, I feel comfortable that 1962
should be considered the first year of the 310 series Roadster when looked
at on a global basis.

--
Dave Patten, Owner

FutoFab, LLC
199 Stark Hwy So
Dunbarton, NH 03046

Website - www.FutoFab.com <http://www.futofab.com/>
e-mail - dave at futofab.com