1968 Datsun 510 Sedan (Project Datto)

[Magnum]

So it was you who Shiffer was talking about!
anyway its good to know that an AL member got that sweet ride

[Octanehead]

Hmm my work here is done! Who knew one little FB msg would lead to all of this!

[Komisiripala]

oh nooo it isn't... we're only just starting!!

[carboy2011]

@ Komi

congrats on ur great buy machan

pls post more better quality pics

I assume that the A/C was fixed aftwards and not factory spec

where in SL did u find this?

congrats once again mate!

[Clark's son]

Nice to see it in the hands of a doctor

BTW start with the gear knob it really doesn't deserve to be in this car

[Komisiripala]

@ Komi congrats on ur great buy machan pls post more better quality pics I assume that the A/C was fixed aftwards and not factory spec where in SL did u find this? congrats once again mate!

charith from octane heads found this for me. just casually mentioned it to me, and i jumped at it. i missed the 1600 510 givantha has, so i didn't wanna miss this.

[Komisiripala]

so, my first brush with classic car-ness:

last night the compressor and alternator went kaput. got the alternator fixed this morning. it was a circuit that had fried:

and then got a little bit of 2013 in the car. it had one key for each door, another for ignition, and yet another for the fuel lid/boot. so i got bara to put in a remote central locking system:

they also fixed the light switch, which was dangling from below since the original was broken. i love how that car is so well put together:

[Pericles]

You mean you've been driving past my house all day?

And I hope you get rid of that barrel, looks waaay outta place.

[Komisiripala]

wait you live next to premaratne's garage??

[The Don]

Komi, machan, if you take your car to a good old fashioned lock smith, he might be able to get everything to work from one key. I am not sure about the ignition because sometimes its replaced with something completely different but if all the lock barrels are original they can take the barrels apart and reset them and cut one key that works with all of them.

Had this done on an old car when my father lost the key.

[CyRaX]

Our cars are our family. They've gotten us through the darkest times. At times they make life worth living

Im stealing this

[Komisiripala]

Yes don I'll look into that. Today I'm gonna fix the AC. And if time permits get some floor carpets.

[Jaliya48]

Out of curiousity, how many KMs are on the odometer? Looks 42,000 to me!

[Mr.VW]

This is my 510

[Pericles]

wait you live next to premaratne's garage??

No no, but if you had to go from Mount to Bara, that involves driving past my house. Well, past my lane

[Gummybr]

This is my 510 248674_468283899873575_1093595306_n.jpg

What another?

BTW Komi, since you got your hands on a the 510 you gotta read about Mr. K who was instrumental in the production of the 510 and he hated the Bluebird name so the American cars were named Datsun 510. Interesting story of how he took Datsun to great heights in America, he was also named as the father of the 240z. Now past a century he still goes strong.

[Rachitha]

This is my 510 248674_468283899873575_1093595306_n.jpg

Just after a full restoration? More pics pls.

[Komisiripala]

Wow those lights look pretty clean!

[iRage]

Wow..interesting turn of events when you stay away from AL for a few days...nice car Komi...I am sure you won't let the two kids get jealous of each other

Surely the lights on the white one are new ?

[Gummybr]

Here you go, have a read about the man known as Mr. K

The Strange Odyssey of Yutaka Katayama: The Datsun 510 and the Rise of Japanese Cars in America Written by Aaron Severson Tuesday, 25 December 2007 19:23

Today, there are quite a few American buyers who have never purchased a domestic-brand car, and who are as loyal to Toyota or Honda as a previous generation was to Ford or Chevrolet. It was not always so; Toyota began importing cars to America in 1957, Nissan in 1958, but in the early years, Japanese cars were rarer in most parts of the U.S. than Roll-Royces or Ferraris. Few Americans had seen them, and the handful who took a chance on these unfamiliar little cars came away unimpressed.

When did the tide turn? Many point to the 1970s and the wake of the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, but a major turning point came with the 1968 debut of the Datsun 510. This is the story of that car and of the man most responsible for its creation.

THE DREAMER

In 1960, a young Nissan executive named Yutaka Katayama came to California to compile a marketing report on the company's fledgling U.S. operations. Katayama was a rich kid from Japan's Saitama province, who had missed military service in the war because of bad eyesight. Unlike many auto executives on either side of the Pacific, he was also an automotive enthusiast. Katayama had founded the first sports car club in postwar Japan, and prior to joining Nissan in the 1950s, he had contemplated starting his own car company. He still dreamed of creating his own small sports car.

Katayama was not very happy at Nissan, where he had until recently been manager of advertising. Nissan was an extremely conservative company, even by Japanese standards, driven more by union cronyism than any love of cars. Katayama had become frustrated with the company's stodgy management, which considered him something of a rebel. He had managed to antagonize several members of Japan's Miyake labor union, making himself a variety of powerful enemies. Many Nissan middle managers were union members, and union loyalists tended to have favored positions, whether they were qualified for them or not. Although Katayama was an enthusiastic and inventive promoter, it would be fair to say that his talents were not widely appreciated by the home office.

Two years earlier, Katayama's greatest promotional achievement had nearly destroyed his career. In 1958, he persuaded Nissan management to let him enter two factory teams in the Australian Mobilgas Trial rally. Katayama had thought the grueling, 10,000-mile (16,000 km) rally would be a good showcase for Nissan's small Datsun sedan, which was underpowered, but rugged and dependable. Nissan management had been extremely hostile to the idea, fearing international humiliation if the Nissan teams lost. It was only through considerable browbeating that Katayama got his cars and his drivers -- all of them union loyalists with no competition experience. Despite those obstacles, and the daunting challenge of the rally itself, Katayama managed to forge his unenthusiastic drivers into a cohesive team and lead them to victory. One of the two Datsun cars won its class, while the other achieved a credible fourth place. The rally earned Nissan a good deal of favorable international publicity and briefly made Katayama a national hero in Japan.

Like a general who wins a popular but politically inconvenient victory, Katayama returned to a chilly welcome from Nissan management. He discovered that while he was gone, his job had been given to a more loyal executive, and for a while, there appeared to be no place for him in the company at all.

Finally, one of his few remaining allies in the executive ranks suggested the American assignment. The U.S. was new territory for Nissan, in every sense of the word. The company had sold fewer than 100 cars in 1958, their first year in the States, and two years later, they had yet to sell their 2,000th car. Nissan had little understanding of the American market, and their efforts to date had been marked by a deep-seated timidity.

Katayama's initial mission was market research, a provisional assignment, but six months after he arrived in California, he was made the permanent head of Nissan's west coast operations. It was clearly intended as a form of exile, but at least he still had a job.

THE VISITOR

Katayama's new job would not be an easy one. The first Nissan car to be sold in the U.S. was the Datsun PL210, modeled on the British Austin; Nissan had earlier built the Austin A40 under license. By American standards, the PL210 was a dismal little car. It was mechanically sturdy and fuel efficient, but it was noisy, clumsy, and agonizingly slow. Its 1.0-liter (61 cubic inch) engine had only 37 horsepower (28 kW), dooming it to be forever challenged by steep hills. Its brakes weren't much, either, although American cars of the time certainly had nothing to brag about in that department, either. In all, the PL210 was ill-suited for American roads and driving habits, and even Nissan's few U.S. dealers were disdainful of it.

The subsequent Datsun 310, launched in 1959 and known in Japan as Bluebird, was a little bit better, but still far from inspiring. By the time it arrived, American buyers looking for a frugal and practical small car had many alternatives, including the new Ford Falcon, Chevrolet Corvair, and Plymouth Valiant. Those six-cylinder compacts weren't as thrifty as the Datsun or its small, European peers, but they had the advantage of familiar nameplates and a far more extensive dealer network.


The early-sixties Bluebird 310 is 153.9 inches (3,910 mm) long on an 89.8-inch (2,280 mm) wheelbase. Its engine was up to 1,200 cc (73 cu. in.), with a whopping 48 gross horsepower (36 kW) -- better than its 210 predecessor, but still rather underpowered for American roads. The evolutionary 311 benefited from a synchronized low gear, helpful with the weak-willed engine. (Photo © 2006 Tennen-Gas; used under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 license)

Considering Nissan's conservatism and terror of humiliation, it's entirely possible that the company would have withdrawn in quiet disgrace from America by the mid-sixties, had it not been for Yutaka Katayama. Unlike his peers, Katayama liked America, appreciating even the things that made most Japanese immigrants uneasy. He was convinced that there was great opportunity in the U.S. market, and he took a long, hard look at what it would take to succeed there.

Over the next few years, Katayama built up the Datsun dealer network, realizing that Volkswagen's well-organized, well-equipped, courteous dealers were a major part of that brand's U.S. success (something today's VW management could do well to remember). He also befriended the engineering study teams the home office periodically sent to America to evaluate the technical needs of that market.

Nissan's upper management remained frosty towards Katayama, convinced he'd gone native among the gaijin, but he was getting results. He became a popular, enthusiastic presence throughout the U.S. organization, becoming universally known as "Mr. K," even to the traffic cops who issued him so many speeding tickets. By 1965, Katayama had become the first president of Nissan Motors Corporation USA.

Katayama's biggest problem was still the cars themselves. Nissan did not have the development budget of its American and European rivals, so developing cars specifically for the U.S. market was out of the question. Worse, management strenuously resisted Katayama's cries for more powerful engines, plusher trim, more options, and other changes to suit American buyers; the dictates of the Japanese home market kept winning out. In the early sixties, most of Japan had speed limits of 65 km/h (40 mph) or less, fuel was expensive, and tastes were conservative. As a result, Japanese cars were ill suited to the U.S., where roads were wide and smooth, and gasoline still cost 30 cents a gallon or less. NMC USA also found to its frustration that getting the home office to address even well-known, obvious problems -- such as batteries that were inadequate for reliable starting in cold east-coast winters -- could be an uphill battle. Mr. K was building a good organization, but he still lacked a credible product to sell.

THE SPOILER

In the early sixties, few Americans expected much from small, cheap, imported sedans, beyond low price and good mileage. Thus, the arrival in 1966 of the compact BMW 1600-2 was something of a shock. The 1600-2 was a shorter, cheaper version of BMW's mid-size "New Class" sedan of 1963 vintage. It had a 1.6 L (97 cu. in.) SOHC four-cylinder engine; all-synchro four-speed transmission; front disc brakes; and fully independent suspension, with MacPherson struts in front and semi-trailing arms in back. This was fairly advanced hardware for the time, and it paid dividends in performance. It could accelerate from 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in 11.4 seconds and top an honest 100 mph (160 kph), rivaling many V8-powered American sedans. Gentler driving could return up to 28 mpg (8.4 L/100 km). With a base price starting at $2,477 POE New York, the 1600-2 wasn't much more expensive than a six-cylinder Ford Mustang, which was slower, thirstier, and clumsier. It was compact but roomy, peppy but economical, and built with typically German thoroughness.

The 1600-2 immediately won rave reviews from car magazines like Car and Driver, which anointed it the best compact sedan they'd ever driven. The 1600-2's market penetration was ultimately limited by a smallish dealer network and a series of currency revaluations that pushed its price out of the bargain realm, but it raised the bar for what an affordable, compact sedan could be.

http://ateupwithmotor.com/compact-and-economy-cars/70-datsun-510-yutaka-katayama.html

[Supra_Natural]

Here you go, have a read about the man known as Mr. KThe Strange Odyssey of Yutaka Katayama: The Datsun 510 and the Rise of Japanese Cars in America Written by Aaron Severson Tuesday, 25 December 2007 19:23

Today, there are quite a few American buyers who have never purchased a domestic-brand car, and who are as loyal to Toyota or Honda as a previous generation was to Ford or Chevrolet. It was not always so; Toyota began importing cars to America in 1957, Nissan in 1958, but in the early years, Japanese cars were rarer in most parts of the U.S. than Roll-Royces or Ferraris. Few Americans had seen them, and the handful who took a chance on these unfamiliar little cars came away unimpressed.

When did the tide turn? Many point to the 1970s and the wake of the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, but a major turning point came with the 1968 debut of the Datsun 510. This is the story of that car and of the man most responsible for its creation.

THE DREAMER

In 1960, a young Nissan executive named Yutaka Katayama came to California to compile a marketing report on the company's fledgling U.S. operations. Katayama was a rich kid from Japan's Saitama province, who had missed military service in the war because of bad eyesight. Unlike many auto executives on either side of the Pacific, he was also an automotive enthusiast. Katayama had founded the first sports car club in postwar Japan, and prior to joining Nissan in the 1950s, he had contemplated starting his own car company. He still dreamed of creating his own small sports car.

Katayama was not very happy at Nissan, where he had until recently been manager of advertising. Nissan was an extremely conservative company, even by Japanese standards, driven more by union cronyism than any love of cars. Katayama had become frustrated with the company's stodgy management, which considered him something of a rebel. He had managed to antagonize several members of Japan's Miyake labor union, making himself a variety of powerful enemies. Many Nissan middle managers were union members, and union loyalists tended to have favored positions, whether they were qualified for them or not. Although Katayama was an enthusiastic and inventive promoter, it would be fair to say that his talents were not widely appreciated by the home office.

Two years earlier, Katayama's greatest promotional achievement had nearly destroyed his career. In 1958, he persuaded Nissan management to let him enter two factory teams in the Australian Mobilgas Trial rally. Katayama had thought the grueling, 10,000-mile (16,000 km) rally would be a good showcase for Nissan's small Datsun sedan, which was underpowered, but rugged and dependable. Nissan management had been extremely hostile to the idea, fearing international humiliation if the Nissan teams lost. It was only through considerable browbeating that Katayama got his cars and his drivers -- all of them union loyalists with no competition experience. Despite those obstacles, and the daunting challenge of the rally itself, Katayama managed to forge his unenthusiastic drivers into a cohesive team and lead them to victory. One of the two Datsun cars won its class, while the other achieved a credible fourth place. The rally earned Nissan a good deal of favorable international publicity and briefly made Katayama a national hero in Japan.

Like a general who wins a popular but politically inconvenient victory, Katayama returned to a chilly welcome from Nissan management. He discovered that while he was gone, his job had been given to a more loyal executive, and for a while, there appeared to be no place for him in the company at all.

Finally, one of his few remaining allies in the executive ranks suggested the American assignment. The U.S. was new territory for Nissan, in every sense of the word. The company had sold fewer than 100 cars in 1958, their first year in the States, and two years later, they had yet to sell their 2,000th car. Nissan had little understanding of the American market, and their efforts to date had been marked by a deep-seated timidity.

Katayama's initial mission was market research, a provisional assignment, but six months after he arrived in California, he was made the permanent head of Nissan's west coast operations. It was clearly intended as a form of exile, but at least he still had a job.

THE VISITOR

Katayama's new job would not be an easy one. The first Nissan car to be sold in the U.S. was the Datsun PL210, modeled on the British Austin; Nissan had earlier built the Austin A40 under license. By American standards, the PL210 was a dismal little car. It was mechanically sturdy and fuel efficient, but it was noisy, clumsy, and agonizingly slow. Its 1.0-liter (61 cubic inch) engine had only 37 horsepower (28 kW), dooming it to be forever challenged by steep hills. Its brakes weren't much, either, although American cars of the time certainly had nothing to brag about in that department, either. In all, the PL210 was ill-suited for American roads and driving habits, and even Nissan's few U.S. dealers were disdainful of it.

The subsequent Datsun 310, launched in 1959 and known in Japan as Bluebird, was a little bit better, but still far from inspiring. By the time it arrived, American buyers looking for a frugal and practical small car had many alternatives, including the new Ford Falcon, Chevrolet Corvair, and Plymouth Valiant. Those six-cylinder compacts weren't as thrifty as the Datsun or its small, European peers, but they had the advantage of familiar nameplates and a far more extensive dealer network.

The early-sixties Bluebird 310 is 153.9 inches (3,910 mm) long on an 89.8-inch (2,280 mm) wheelbase. Its engine was up to 1,200 cc (73 cu. in.), with a whopping 48 gross horsepower (36 kW) -- better than its 210 predecessor, but still rather underpowered for American roads. The evolutionary 311 benefited from a synchronized low gear, helpful with the weak-willed engine. (Photo © 2006 Tennen-Gas; used under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 license)

Considering Nissan's conservatism and terror of humiliation, it's entirely possible that the company would have withdrawn in quiet disgrace from America by the mid-sixties, had it not been for Yutaka Katayama. Unlike his peers, Katayama liked America, appreciating even the things that made most Japanese immigrants uneasy. He was convinced that there was great opportunity in the U.S. market, and he took a long, hard look at what it would take to succeed there.

Over the next few years, Katayama built up the Datsun dealer network, realizing that Volkswagen's well-organized, well-equipped, courteous dealers were a major part of that brand's U.S. success (something today's VW management could do well to remember). He also befriended the engineering study teams the home office periodically sent to America to evaluate the technical needs of that market.

Nissan's upper management remained frosty towards Katayama, convinced he'd gone native among the gaijin, but he was getting results. He became a popular, enthusiastic presence throughout the U.S. organization, becoming universally known as "Mr. K," even to the traffic cops who issued him so many speeding tickets. By 1965, Katayama had become the first president of Nissan Motors Corporation USA.

Katayama's biggest problem was still the cars themselves. Nissan did not have the development budget of its American and European rivals, so developing cars specifically for the U.S. market was out of the question. Worse, management strenuously resisted Katayama's cries for more powerful engines, plusher trim, more options, and other changes to suit American buyers; the dictates of the Japanese home market kept winning out. In the early sixties, most of Japan had speed limits of 65 km/h (40 mph) or less, fuel was expensive, and tastes were conservative. As a result, Japanese cars were ill suited to the U.S., where roads were wide and smooth, and gasoline still cost 30 cents a gallon or less. NMC USA also found to its frustration that getting the home office to address even well-known, obvious problems -- such as batteries that were inadequate for reliable starting in cold east-coast winters -- could be an uphill battle. Mr. K was building a good organization, but he still lacked a credible product to sell.

THE SPOILER

In the early sixties, few Americans expected much from small, cheap, imported sedans, beyond low price and good mileage. Thus, the arrival in 1966 of the compact BMW 1600-2 was something of a shock. The 1600-2 was a shorter, cheaper version of BMW's mid-size "New Class" sedan of 1963 vintage. It had a 1.6 L (97 cu. in.) SOHC four-cylinder engine; all-synchro four-speed transmission; front disc brakes; and fully independent suspension, with MacPherson struts in front and semi-trailing arms in back. This was fairly advanced hardware for the time, and it paid dividends in performance. It could accelerate from 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in 11.4 seconds and top an honest 100 mph (160 kph), rivaling many V8-powered American sedans. Gentler driving could return up to 28 mpg (8.4 L/100 km). With a base price starting at $2,477 POE New York, the 1600-2 wasn't much more expensive than a six-cylinder Ford Mustang, which was slower, thirstier, and clumsier. It was compact but roomy, peppy but economical, and built with typically German thoroughness.

The 1600-2 immediately won rave reviews from car magazines like Car and Driver, which anointed it the best compact sedan they'd ever driven. The 1600-2's market penetration was ultimately limited by a smallish dealer network and a series of currency revaluations that pushed its price out of the bargain realm, but it raised the bar for what an affordable, compact sedan could be.

http://ateupwithmotor.com/compact-and-economy-cars/70-datsun-510-yutaka-katayama.html

Haha gummy, the moment I saw you mentioning Yutaka Katayama I was over on AUWM looking for the article to link here.... Superb piece of reading, just like all of this guy's work.

And Komi, once again, congratulations machan! Best of luck with her...

[Mr.VW]

Hey.. yes all the lights are brand new..

[Cyclist]

Hey.. yes all the lights are brand new.. 1551_468283706540261_1435143287_n.jpg422636_10150575526546190_754007664_n.jpg

Looks awesome ! great car!

[MasterDon]

Wow great car Komi!even Jay Leno has one!...you wanna exchange it for my tr2?

[H.C]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Mr.VW" data-cid="233408" data-time="1361522606"><p>

Hey.. yes all the lights are brand new.. <a href='http://forum.autolanka.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=1399'>1551_468283706540261_1435143287_n.jpg</a> <a href='http://forum.autolanka.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=1400'>422636_10150575526546190_754007664_n.jpg</a></p></blockquote> Interior pics please!