Mystery car pix

iluvmysephia1

fin - I wouldn't call myself a serious buyer on this. Probably irritate the seller in St. Louis to even call them and ask questions about the little orange one. Thanks for the pic of the 510 wagon.

stever

berri said:

Datsun made decent cars. Always seemed to me that it started losing ground around the same time it changed names to Nissan for whatever reasons.

Judging by my '99, I'd say the lost ground was later - the VQ engines finally fell off Ward's list and the CVT growing pains were awful in the last decade, and the Canton plant was a mess for a few years. I had a Datsun wagon in the late 70s and it did well, but was pretty tinny. As was the other 70s beater model I got in the early 80s. Here's a pic of the first one - note the slightly mismatched front panel - that's where I hit the Caddy in Memphis.

slorenzen

stever said:

berri said:

Datsun made decent cars. Always seemed to me that it started losing ground around the same time it changed names to Nissan for whatever reasons.

Judging by my '99, I'd say the lost ground was later - the VQ engines finally fell off Ward's list and the CVT growing pains were awful in the last decade, and the Canton plant was a mess for a few years. I had a Datsun wagon in the late 70s and it did well, but was pretty tinny. As was the other 70s beater model I got in the early 80s. Here's a pic of the first one - note the slightly mismatched front panel - that's where I hit the Caddy in Memphis.

That's a 510 wagon, right?

I got a 210 wagon as a loaner one time, and 65 horsepower was TERRIFYING in SF Bay Area traffic.

Glacially slow car...

fintail

For the price they want for it, they can deal with questions - I would have some to ask, too.

The blue car is a 411

iluvmysephia1 said:

fin - I wouldn't call myself a serious buyer on this. Probably irritate the seller in St. Louis to even call them and ask questions about the little orange one. Thanks for the pic of the 510 wagon.

stever

slorenzen said:

That's a 510 wagon, right?

Uh, yeah. I'm pretty sure that's what it was. I'm not good on recent details, much less ones from forty years ago.

iluvmysephia1

And if the Datsun 510 has an automatic tranny it seems more gutless - rowing your own 411 Bluebird or 510 would be much more appealing.

Mr_Shiftright

The 411 seems priced quite optimistically. No way a 411 should be worth more than a clean 510.

iluvmysephia1

I wouldn't give them $12,900 for it, no way.

Mr_Shiftright

The 411 isn't even listed in price guides. and I have them all. So that tells you something about market demand.

I dunno, based on similar entry-level 4 door sedans of the 60s, like Fiat or Renault or the Brits, I would think that in very very nice shape $6500 would be all there is.

iluvmysephia1

I dunno, based on similar entry-level 4 door sedans of the 60s, like Fiat or Renault or the Brits, I would think that in very very nice shape $6500 would be all there is.

Pert-near half what they want!

Mr_Shiftright

So they can ask whatever they want---First Amendment Rights even apply to used car dealers!

bhill2

slorenzen said:

stever said:

berri said:

Datsun made decent cars. Always seemed to me that it started losing ground around the same time it changed names to Nissan for whatever reasons.

Judging by my '99, I'd say the lost ground was later - the VQ engines finally fell off Ward's list and the CVT growing pains were awful in the last decade, and the Canton plant was a mess for a few years. I had a Datsun wagon in the late 70s and it did well, but was pretty tinny. As was the other 70s beater model I got in the early 80s. Here's a pic of the first one - note the slightly mismatched front panel - that's where I hit the Caddy in Memphis.

That's a 510 wagon, right?

I got a 210 wagon as a loaner one time, and 65 horsepower was TERRIFYING in SF Bay Area traffic.

Glacially slow car...

I don't think it's 510. My knowledge of Datsuns is pretty skimpy, but I would guess it's a 610.

stickguy

Steve's wagon was a 510, the later reincarnation of the name. The 610 and 710 came in the mid-70s, and have rather "interesting" styling (the current iterations have it in their genes).

This one looks like when they cleaned them up, and the 210 came around, with the 510 the larger model. Looks like an 80 or 81. Eventually morphed into the Stanza in the mid-80s.

bhill2

stickguy said:

Steve's wagon was a 510, the later reincarnation of the name. The 610 and 710 came in the mid-70s, and have rather "interesting" styling (the current iterations have it in their genes).

This one looks like when they cleaned them up, and the 210 came around, with the 510 the larger model. Looks like an 80 or 81. Eventually morphed into the Stanza in the mid-80s.

Ah. I didn't realize they had done the 510 twice. Like I said, my knowledge of Datsuns is skimpy.

stever

Barely remember that the wagon was a 510 but it got dumped in a year. The red canoe on the other hand, cost me $350 in 1974 and I sold in in 1999 for $300. I'm pretty sure that the serial number was OCA-374. The other canoe was a short timer.

iluvmysephia1

Wow - didn't remember this from studying Datsun 411/510 specs - the Datsun 411 is RWD and so is the Datsun 510! No way! Rear wheel drive so I can drift amongst the farmers out here in KansasLand. This is a labor of love. I have been looking for other 411 examples and, especially after reviewing the ad and re-watching the video no 411's anywhere else compare to the coolness of the one in St.Louis. That red (I thought it was bright orange) paint job rocks, the body is straight and the interior has nothing that disgusts or scares me silly. $12,900? shifty's idea of $6,500 would be a good offer for the car. What's a bit weird is an auction company is going to auction off a 1968 Datsun 411 and they show the St.Louis 411 in their ad. Humm...and I'm living just north of Oklahoma! Let's see - I bid up to $1,500 and if no one else is bidding, the little orange one is mine.

Right?

texases

The RWD 510 was the 'poor man's BMW 2002'. Did they have IRS?

stickguy

datsuns were all RWD up until about 1977 when the 310 came out, then was a mix for a bit. Some RWD some FWD on the small cars like the 210.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

datsuns were all RWD up until about 1977 when the 310 came out, then was a mix for a bit. Some RWD some FWD on the small cars like the 210.

Yeah... the B210 was still RWD, too..

One sick hamster on a treadmill for power..

Mr_Shiftright

texases said:

The RWD 510 was the 'poor man's BMW 2002'. Did they have IRS?

Mr_Shiftright

Quite a remarkable car the 510. It is still raced in SCCA with full Nissan support for parts. It was also the Trans Am champ in '70 and '71 (I think that's right...), soundly stomping Alfa Romeo in the 2.5L class. Bob Bondurant used them for his racing schools for a time, with Datsun support, and he claims they held up much better than the later Porsches he employed.

texases

So THAT's why there are so few clean ones left...

iluvmysephia1

Datsun engineering built the 510 to compete and beat the finest racing Porsche's of it's day. Oh yeah, it's in the reading material.

Mr_Shiftright

Egg-XACT-ly! They are all being bought up, gutted and raced.

Actually Datsun and BRE Racing didn't actually stomp Alfa Romeo---they just drove them so crazy that Alfa was caught cheating in trying to beat the Datsuns, and they were disqualified

As one Indy driver put it: "It was like IKEA challenging Porsche, building a race car from nothing, and winning"

iluvmysephia1

And I just remembered that Jay Leno had lots of nice things to say when some guy brought his 510 to Jay's hangar to have on his automotive show. He was flashing his "happycar" smile as he took it out for a spin. 

stever

Mr_Shiftright said:

Quite a remarkable car the 510.

Funny, I didn't find that 510 wagon particularly remarkable. Got three of us to Alaska in 1980 though, loaded down to the gills.

stickguy

Your 510 was nothing like the original from the late 60s.

Mr_Shiftright

You didn't buy the right one! For one thing, yours had more weight and no IRS.

I think the 510 needs to be seen in comparison to what else you could buy in 1968 for around $2000 bucks.

slorenzen

Mr_Shiftright said:

texases said:

The RWD 510 was the 'poor man's BMW 2002'. Did they have IRS?

Interestingly, if you bought the 510 wagon, it had a live axle.

The Sedans were really easy to modify and have fun with. I had a '72 510 4-door that I did a lot to(SSS engine, lowered suspension with Koni shocks, etc).

Seems most to the police know me, though...

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, a live axle and leaf springs. Not so good.

stever

stickguy said:

Your 510 was nothing like the original from the late 60s.

Part of it was that I never melded with that car - except for melding with the Caddy and spilling my ribs all over the floor. I did learn to avoid left turns whenever possible.

slorenzen

stever said:

stickguy said:

Your 510 was nothing like the original from the late 60s.

Part of it was that I never melded with that car - except for melding with the Caddy and spilling my ribs all over the floor. I did learn to avoid left turns whenever possible.

Ugh!

Sounds awful. Glad you survived...

stever

The ribs were still edible, but they were messier than usual.

Mr_Shiftright

Lucky you didn't break any ribs

texases

Those ribs weren't from the Sourdough Mining Co., were they?

imidazol97

stever said:

The ribs were still edible, but they were messier than usual.

30-second rule from Scouts?

iluvmysephia1

The ribs were still edible, but they were messier than usual.
That's the spirit!

andys120

stickguy

1952 Ford ranch wagon?

lostwrench1

Two chips on 1954.

tmart

I think your two chips are a winner! Definitely a 54 Ranch Wagon.

stever

texases said:

Those ribs weren't from the Sourdough Mining Co., were they?

That was in my Memphis days and the ribs were from Gridleys. They went downhill after the 70s due to Clyde Gridley having a heart attack while driving in '83. Mostly I get chopped pork and not ribs and don't remember the ones at the Sourdough. The ones at that chain in ANC were okay (Tony Roma's?). I got my recent BBQ fix at Bea's in Chattanooga - 60 year old recipe. Obama and Bush both missed out.

Mr_Shiftright

Well if he had a heart attack that's certainly a good recommendation for his food

iluvmysephia1

fintail - where did you find the price on the 1968 Datsun 411 Bluebird? Did you call them up? I don't see a price on it. It's at a place in St. Louis for sale right now but it's heading to Oklahoma City for auction in another couple of weeks. I don't know if I could get it for cheaper in St. Louie in person or at OKC at auction. Confusing.

Also, the car has a 1.3L I-4 cyl. with a 2 barrel carburetor. I posted earlier 1.5L. And, upon further review, the little orange one has the best exterior and interior of any 411 I've ever seen. I wonder what they'd say to a $5,000 offer? Then if they turn me down we'll just go for a trip up in the STL Peace Arch, catch a show and dinner downtown and just drive back to Kansas. No deal, no loss. I have swept the net - there's no Bluebird 411 anywhere near as nice as this one.

fintail

This is where I found it

If you really want one, start putting up ads in Seattle/Portland and maybe a little further south or east, or go to the auction - it won't bring near 12K there.

iluvmysephia1 said:

<
fintail - where did you find the price on the 1968 Datsun 411 Bluebird? Did you call them up? I don't see a price on it. It's at a place in St. Louis for sale right now but it's heading to Oklahoma City for auction in another couple of weeks. I don't know if I could get it for cheaper in St. Louie in person or at OKC at auction. Confusing.

Also, the car has a 1.3L I-4 cyl. with a 2 barrel carburetor. I posted earlier 1.5L. And, upon further review, the little orange one has the best exterior and interior of any 411 I've ever seen. I wonder what they'd say to a $5,000 offer? Then if they turn me down we'll just go for a trip up in the STL Peace Arch, catch a show and dinner downtown and just drive back to Kansas. No deal, no loss. I have swept the net - there's no Bluebird 411 anywhere near as nice as this one.

iluvmysephia1

Thanks for the link. I couldn't find that anywhere. No way for $12,900. $5,000 could fetch that car at the OKC auction, though. Then if they won't take the 5 large I could tool right over to David Stanley Kia in OKC and trade the '11 Soul in on a 2016 Soul. He's selling 'em for $14,000.

I don't know why I'm hellbent on a new car. Or even a different car, our white Soul is great. I've got that bratty kid buying a car model thing going on, really enjoying the hunt. Leno thing.

iluvmysephia1

60's car buffs! I have a question for you. Would the 1968 Datsun Bluebird 411 4-dr.sedan have been built with both a heater and an air conditioner for sale to the U.S. masses? I can't find the answer in my research and I know I could call Motoexotica in St.Louis and just ask them, but, that would be too easy.

stickguy

heater probably, but I highly doubt you are finding one with AC. Most likely dealer installed, and not likely to have been (heck, it might not be able to move uphill with it on!)

iluvmysephia1

heater probably, but I highly doubt you are finding one with AC. Most likely dealer installed, and not likely to have been (heck, it might not be able to move uphill with it on!)

I bet you and I are right, the little orange one is not gonna be equipped with factory air. Not a deal-breaker but a PITA nonetheless. I don't think I'm close enough ta purchase phase ta say the "deal-breaker" phrase, but, I'm on a kind of a kid-in-a-toy-car-store kind of a mode, so just go with it.

But yeah, the 411 Bluebird goes 0-60 in 14.2 seconds.

fintail

AC? No way - the buyer of those when new didn't want such luxury. A heater though, yes.