[Roadsters] 310 Roadster - 1962 or 1963?

[Paul Courson]

Dave,

Thanks for sharing the basis for the 1962 reference.

I did a search on google.jp and there are many references, photos, and
literature that have the SPL310 linked with 1962, supporting that as
year zero for the body style we are celebrating.

A non-copyrighted photo appears to have been taken in a Nissan museum.
Its file name is among the references I found.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/1962_Datsun_Fairlady
_01.jpg/1024px-1962_Datsun_Fairlady_01.jpg

Thanks for creating a nice car ornament.  You've got my order.

Paul C.
Annapolis, Maryland





On Fri, May 4, 2012 at 1:01 PM, David Patten <futofab at gsinet.net> wrote:
> 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 B Datsun Fairlady Roadster to
> 280ZX, the Z Car Story B 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 B 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 B the
> definitive details .
>
>
>
> Another source of stating the 310 as a 1962 is the Heritage Collection part
> of on Nissan s 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 B 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
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