There are many myths about the design of the 510, including one that Pininfarina designed the body. The 410/411 was Italian drawn, but not the 510, though some design cues are common between the cars. Another is that the 510 was just a restyled Prince car; this too is untrue.
The 510 body was actually designed in house by up and coming designer Teruo Uchino, a Nissan employee since 1963. Uchino developed his skills under the tutelage of Shiozo Sato, the man who designed the beautiful yet tragically under produced Toyota s600 sports car, and did the major work on the Datsun roadsters.
Teruo Uchino was given the task of designing a total replacement for the 410 Bluebird, with the goal being to built a less Italian looking car, yet a far from Austin looking model. Critics have called the design of the 510 a rip off of the BMW 1600, but if you look at the Nissan President of 1965 or a Toyota Crown, its not hard to figure out that Uchino's design inspirations were probably based a little closer to home. A larger car of the same era, the Nissan Laurel, shares a striking resemblance to the 510 as well.
Although the 510 was intended to be a completely different car than the 410, One of the few things that Teruo Uchino did take from the 410 was the side crease, or the "supersonic line" as it was dubbed at Nissan Design. The rest of the car was supposed to be as inoffensive as possible, while being enough of a new to take on the competition in the States. Uchino then basically balanced the rest of his design ideas around this line, bringing a flowing yet conservative style to the rest of the car. The 510 has nothing that sticks out, and despite its often "Boxy" description, it has very few truly straight lines on it, especially when compared to later Hl510 and the sedans of the late 70's and the 80's. The end result was a body design that was never meant to thrill, but was pleasing and, more importantly, not offensive.
The goal from the beginning was to make the 510 the first Japanese car that would be widely accepted in the US, though it was not really purpose designed for that market. Teruo Uchino and the rest of the Nissan team were constantly getting calls from Nissan USA president Yutaka Katayama, affectionately called "Mr. K".
Mr. K wanted a car that Americans could really get excited about, not another economy car that lacked any flare or performance. Mr.K wasn't just a businessman either, Yutaka Katayama knew a thing or two about building cars, including racecars. He built several advanced prototypes of his own, some of which still amaze and inspire today. And it was Katayama who took a Nissan team to Australia in '58 to compete in the 10,000 mile Red-Ex rally, one of the most difficult races in the world. His team of Datsuns won it, giving Nissan its first international racing victory.
Mr. K saw what Americans wanted in a car, and spent many long phone calls to Japan trying to convince designers to build his visions. He was very impressed with the BMW 1600, and decided that that car should be the benchmark of the next Datsun sedan. Mr. K was seen as a bit of an outsider in the Nissan framework, being a Japanese Christian and a bit of a radical thinker, and being one of the few people in Nissan that understood how Americans did business. He saw what was needed for success in America, but couldn´t stand trying to wade through the huge bureaucracy of Nissan. He needed a car With modern styling, but more importantly, with enough power for American roads. What he needed Was an entry level sporty sedan with a 1.6 liter engine.
To get his 1600 engine and European style car built, he had a meeting with a high ranking Nissan exec and convinced him that this was the way to go. The Nissan exec basically said 'okay, you write a memo to that effect, sign my name to it, and we'll get this project under way'.
Katayama sent the memo out with the Nissan exec's signature on it. It caused quite an uproar among other more conservative execs', mostly because they could tell it was actually from Katayama. The Nissan exec backed Katayama up, saying it was as much his idea as Katayamas'. Thus the basis for the 510's L series engine went to the design team.
While the styling goal of the 510 was to be relatively tame, the engineering targets became another matter altogether. With Katayama's pushing, the 510 was to be the model that once and for all killed the American conception of the Datsun as a slow British car copy. Some of the engineering know-how for this upgrade would come from a recent acquisition of Nissans', The Prince Motorcar Company.
The first Nissan engine similar of the L series engine came out in mid 1967 in the 2000 roadster. This 2 liter powerplant, the U20, was designed by the new combined engineering team at Nissan, put a Prince Mercedes based head on a modified and stroked Austin based roadster 1600 block and came up with a SOHC engine capable of 150 horsepower.
The 510 was given a 1.6 liter L engine, a design not far from the U20, with 1.3, and 1.4 liter versions in some markets. The L16 was rated at 97 horsepower, but most agree that that number was probably a bit optimistic.
While the engine itself may have been a Prince-Nissan hybrid, the rest of the 510's handling and layout was actually dreamed up by the original engineers at Nissan.
Kazumi Yotsumoto, Nissans head of design, was the man responsible for what made the 510 a truly fabulous car to drive. His goal was to make the 510 a car that was an extension of the person who was driving it.
Under his direction, the Nissan design team came up with a light unibody platform that supported a fully independent suspension, and a rock solid drive train. The end result was a very well balanced car with handling that put it in a very different league than competitors in its price range.
But the real miracle of the 510 is not its style, its performance, or its handling. None of this was new or exceptional technology. What set the 510 apart from the competition was its price: about a dollar a pound in the US.
510's started rolling of the production line in September 1967, the first having the serial number 510000011 stamped on the firewall behind the engine. Numbers 1 through 10 were probably test cars.
The 4 door appeared first, with a wagon version, then a 2 door sedan version. A 2 door Coupe version was also built, but it was only available in Japan.
When the first 510 rolled off the ship in California, Mr K was ecstatic. He declared that "this was exactly what he needed". Mr. K made everybody drive the car, from his top execs all the way down to the secretarys at Nissan USA. He finally had a car he could sell to Americans.
At the time of the 510's introduction, the US industry was in the middle of its muscle car era, with many legendary nameplates hitting their peaks or coming into production in 67, i.e. Mustang, Camaro, Corvette, etc. Mr. K knew this market was a hard place to get noticed. As a result, he did his best to "Americanize" all the Datsuns that showed up on his territory. One of the first things he did was dump all Bluebird and Fairlady references from Datsun marketing, and from the cars themselves, to make the cars sound a little less wimpy. The 510 would be no different.
510's were initially marketed as the 510(in Canada as the Datsun 1600) and were available in 4 door and wagon to start, with 2 doors marketed as the "Datsun/2" making it to the US late in '68. All came standard with Bias ply 5.60-13 whitewall tires, an L16 engine, a 4 speed standard transmission- automatic was an option, vinyl floor mats, and opening rear windows. You could drive one away for just $1996 for the 4 door, or $2196 for the wagon.
Katayama's marketing vision included a 510 commercial that became a bit of controversy and a legend at the same time. The commercial was of a woman driving a 510 along a twisty California coast road, the 510 hugging the corners through rain soaked roads. There were no words, just classical music, then just a Datsun logo at the end. Critics at Nissan asked, "how can you sell a car on without telling people about it?" Katayama "pictures" quieted them, turning their "thousand words" into 40,000 510 sales in the first year.
Robert Link, Nissan USA's senior vice president declared that the 510 "marked the end of all the ridiculous talk that Japanese cars were made out of melted down beer cans." His words would ring true at the end of the century, when a panel of auto enthusiasts selected by Road and Track would call the boxy little 510 "one of the hundred most important cars of the 20th Century", high accolades if you consider the number of different cars produced, and some of the names left off that list.
New owners soon discovered that their peppy little car could annoy the heck out of MG and BMW owners... and as a result, inspired the odd one to try the 510 out on the track.
One of those to give the 510, and the roadster, a shot on the track was Bob Bondurant and his fledgling race driving school. Bondurant approached Datsun after being turned down by other manufacturers. Mr. K agreed to give Bondurant a 510 and a pair of roadsters. I turned out to be a wise move. Bondurant started out his new students in the 510, then moved them up to the 1600 and 2000 roadsters as they got better. The 510 took the abuse very well compared to the Porsches that followed when Bondurant and Datsun parted ways for a couple years, the Porsches all developed serious structural cracks in the body.
The 510 for '69 was an upgraded beast. It underwent all sorts of minor engineering and equipment changes through 68-69... making the 68 a nightmare to find parts for. Changes I've come across so far include: tie rods, control arms, hood, all the lights, grille, wipers, seats, door hardware and mechanisms, park brake, pillar vents, head, brass drive gears... and a few more things I've forgotten. There are even a few items that changed from early to late 68, like the grille, and the hood(different support pattern).
Road and Track noted that the 510 "is wooing the non-enthusiast American buyers out of the domestic showrooms."
Nissan set up its competition department in '69, and unofficial "factory supported" race teams were set up to run the roadster, the new 240Z, and the 510. Brock Racing Enterprises in the West, and Bob Sharp Racing on the East Coast. This lead to several Datsun publications showing owners how to modify and upgrade their cars with Nissan Competition and other aftermarket parts. BRE went on to take the SCCA Trans Am 2.5 title in both '71 and 72 in a 510. Bob Sharp started winning with Datsuns as early as '68. Famous 510 pilots include Sharp, Nascar's Bobby Allison , Trans Am Champion John Morton, Jack Scoville, Porsche driver Peter Gregg, Mike Downs, Bob Sharp, Walt Maas, and actor Paul Newman, who learned to race at Bondurants school, and started his early race career in a 510.
1970 saw an interior restyling of the 510, including a new round gauge dashboard, seats with headrests, and more. The 70 510 retailed for $1935 for a 2 door, $2035 for a 4 door, and $2265 for a wagon. Sales really picked up in late '69, propelling the 510 into very respectable numbers in the US, an upward trend that would continue through 71 and 72. The 510 took off as a racecar this year, taking victory after victory on race tracks and rally courses.
The 510 went through little change for 1971 or 72, with minor cosmetic and engineering upgrades. It did make racing history, taking the SCCA Trans Am title in both 71 and 72(see the separate Trans Am section). Datsun did introduce a new car to America that year, the LB110 or Datsun 1200, which sold very well.
1973 was the final model year for the 510. Both the 4 door and wagon were dropped, leaving just the 2 door to carry on. It was replaced that year by the rather ugly 610. In its final year the 510 still managed to sell 30,688 units, bringing the total number of 510's sold to over 400,000 worldwide.
Why did Nissan discontinue the 510 when it did? There is the obvious reason, Nissan had a habit of changing models every 4 or 5 years, and with that change, upgrading engine size. The 240z had a 2.4 liter engine, the 260z a 2.6 liter. The 510 a 1.6 and the 610 a 1.8. The 610 was supposed to be the next evolution of the 510. There are several other theories, the most plausible being that is was simply too good of a car to keep selling at that price. It would take away from other more luxurious models that Datsun wanted to introduce, like the 610. Car manufacturers make more money off option loaded cars, and the 510 was not one of these cars.
Whatever the reason was for the 510's demise, it was in hindsight, one of Nissan's most loved cars, a feeling they tried to get back with the late 70's 510. Unfortunately the magic just never came back. Sure, there are a lot of prettier cars in the Nissan stable, and a lot more in Japanese auto history, but the 510 holds a special place in the scheme of things. The 510 was supposed to be an unassuming looking car that delivered a little more than it appeared it should. It ended up delivering about 400,000 sales around the world, knocking the VW Beetle from the top spot for a year or two, two SCCA Trans Am championships, an East African Safari championship and class win, plus thousands of national and international rally and racing wins(they're still happening to this day). Though often snubbed and overlooked by auto enthusiasts, racing historians, and even by other Nissan collectors, the 510 has proven itself as one of the greatest Giant Killers in automobile history.
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Edited by: http://p086.ezboard.com/bamigosdosjaponesesantigos.showUserPublicProfile?gid=umtali>Umtali at: 7/10/07 18:03
The 510 body was actually designed in house by up and coming designer Teruo Uchino, a Nissan employee since 1963. Uchino developed his skills under the tutelage of Shiozo Sato, the man who designed the beautiful yet tragically under produced Toyota s600 sports car, and did the major work on the Datsun roadsters.
Teruo Uchino was given the task of designing a total replacement for the 410 Bluebird, with the goal being to built a less Italian looking car, yet a far from Austin looking model. Critics have called the design of the 510 a rip off of the BMW 1600, but if you look at the Nissan President of 1965 or a Toyota Crown, its not hard to figure out that Uchino's design inspirations were probably based a little closer to home. A larger car of the same era, the Nissan Laurel, shares a striking resemblance to the 510 as well.
Although the 510 was intended to be a completely different car than the 410, One of the few things that Teruo Uchino did take from the 410 was the side crease, or the "supersonic line" as it was dubbed at Nissan Design. The rest of the car was supposed to be as inoffensive as possible, while being enough of a new to take on the competition in the States. Uchino then basically balanced the rest of his design ideas around this line, bringing a flowing yet conservative style to the rest of the car. The 510 has nothing that sticks out, and despite its often "Boxy" description, it has very few truly straight lines on it, especially when compared to later Hl510 and the sedans of the late 70's and the 80's. The end result was a body design that was never meant to thrill, but was pleasing and, more importantly, not offensive.
The goal from the beginning was to make the 510 the first Japanese car that would be widely accepted in the US, though it was not really purpose designed for that market. Teruo Uchino and the rest of the Nissan team were constantly getting calls from Nissan USA president Yutaka Katayama, affectionately called "Mr. K".
Mr. K wanted a car that Americans could really get excited about, not another economy car that lacked any flare or performance. Mr.K wasn't just a businessman either, Yutaka Katayama knew a thing or two about building cars, including racecars. He built several advanced prototypes of his own, some of which still amaze and inspire today. And it was Katayama who took a Nissan team to Australia in '58 to compete in the 10,000 mile Red-Ex rally, one of the most difficult races in the world. His team of Datsuns won it, giving Nissan its first international racing victory.
Mr. K saw what Americans wanted in a car, and spent many long phone calls to Japan trying to convince designers to build his visions. He was very impressed with the BMW 1600, and decided that that car should be the benchmark of the next Datsun sedan. Mr. K was seen as a bit of an outsider in the Nissan framework, being a Japanese Christian and a bit of a radical thinker, and being one of the few people in Nissan that understood how Americans did business. He saw what was needed for success in America, but couldn´t stand trying to wade through the huge bureaucracy of Nissan. He needed a car With modern styling, but more importantly, with enough power for American roads. What he needed Was an entry level sporty sedan with a 1.6 liter engine.
To get his 1600 engine and European style car built, he had a meeting with a high ranking Nissan exec and convinced him that this was the way to go. The Nissan exec basically said 'okay, you write a memo to that effect, sign my name to it, and we'll get this project under way'.
Katayama sent the memo out with the Nissan exec's signature on it. It caused quite an uproar among other more conservative execs', mostly because they could tell it was actually from Katayama. The Nissan exec backed Katayama up, saying it was as much his idea as Katayamas'. Thus the basis for the 510's L series engine went to the design team.
While the styling goal of the 510 was to be relatively tame, the engineering targets became another matter altogether. With Katayama's pushing, the 510 was to be the model that once and for all killed the American conception of the Datsun as a slow British car copy. Some of the engineering know-how for this upgrade would come from a recent acquisition of Nissans', The Prince Motorcar Company.
The first Nissan engine similar of the L series engine came out in mid 1967 in the 2000 roadster. This 2 liter powerplant, the U20, was designed by the new combined engineering team at Nissan, put a Prince Mercedes based head on a modified and stroked Austin based roadster 1600 block and came up with a SOHC engine capable of 150 horsepower.
The 510 was given a 1.6 liter L engine, a design not far from the U20, with 1.3, and 1.4 liter versions in some markets. The L16 was rated at 97 horsepower, but most agree that that number was probably a bit optimistic.
While the engine itself may have been a Prince-Nissan hybrid, the rest of the 510's handling and layout was actually dreamed up by the original engineers at Nissan.
Kazumi Yotsumoto, Nissans head of design, was the man responsible for what made the 510 a truly fabulous car to drive. His goal was to make the 510 a car that was an extension of the person who was driving it.
Under his direction, the Nissan design team came up with a light unibody platform that supported a fully independent suspension, and a rock solid drive train. The end result was a very well balanced car with handling that put it in a very different league than competitors in its price range.
But the real miracle of the 510 is not its style, its performance, or its handling. None of this was new or exceptional technology. What set the 510 apart from the competition was its price: about a dollar a pound in the US.
510's started rolling of the production line in September 1967, the first having the serial number 510000011 stamped on the firewall behind the engine. Numbers 1 through 10 were probably test cars.
The 4 door appeared first, with a wagon version, then a 2 door sedan version. A 2 door Coupe version was also built, but it was only available in Japan.
When the first 510 rolled off the ship in California, Mr K was ecstatic. He declared that "this was exactly what he needed". Mr. K made everybody drive the car, from his top execs all the way down to the secretarys at Nissan USA. He finally had a car he could sell to Americans.
At the time of the 510's introduction, the US industry was in the middle of its muscle car era, with many legendary nameplates hitting their peaks or coming into production in 67, i.e. Mustang, Camaro, Corvette, etc. Mr. K knew this market was a hard place to get noticed. As a result, he did his best to "Americanize" all the Datsuns that showed up on his territory. One of the first things he did was dump all Bluebird and Fairlady references from Datsun marketing, and from the cars themselves, to make the cars sound a little less wimpy. The 510 would be no different.
510's were initially marketed as the 510(in Canada as the Datsun 1600) and were available in 4 door and wagon to start, with 2 doors marketed as the "Datsun/2" making it to the US late in '68. All came standard with Bias ply 5.60-13 whitewall tires, an L16 engine, a 4 speed standard transmission- automatic was an option, vinyl floor mats, and opening rear windows. You could drive one away for just $1996 for the 4 door, or $2196 for the wagon.
Katayama's marketing vision included a 510 commercial that became a bit of controversy and a legend at the same time. The commercial was of a woman driving a 510 along a twisty California coast road, the 510 hugging the corners through rain soaked roads. There were no words, just classical music, then just a Datsun logo at the end. Critics at Nissan asked, "how can you sell a car on without telling people about it?" Katayama "pictures" quieted them, turning their "thousand words" into 40,000 510 sales in the first year.
Robert Link, Nissan USA's senior vice president declared that the 510 "marked the end of all the ridiculous talk that Japanese cars were made out of melted down beer cans." His words would ring true at the end of the century, when a panel of auto enthusiasts selected by Road and Track would call the boxy little 510 "one of the hundred most important cars of the 20th Century", high accolades if you consider the number of different cars produced, and some of the names left off that list.
New owners soon discovered that their peppy little car could annoy the heck out of MG and BMW owners... and as a result, inspired the odd one to try the 510 out on the track.
One of those to give the 510, and the roadster, a shot on the track was Bob Bondurant and his fledgling race driving school. Bondurant approached Datsun after being turned down by other manufacturers. Mr. K agreed to give Bondurant a 510 and a pair of roadsters. I turned out to be a wise move. Bondurant started out his new students in the 510, then moved them up to the 1600 and 2000 roadsters as they got better. The 510 took the abuse very well compared to the Porsches that followed when Bondurant and Datsun parted ways for a couple years, the Porsches all developed serious structural cracks in the body.
The 510 for '69 was an upgraded beast. It underwent all sorts of minor engineering and equipment changes through 68-69... making the 68 a nightmare to find parts for. Changes I've come across so far include: tie rods, control arms, hood, all the lights, grille, wipers, seats, door hardware and mechanisms, park brake, pillar vents, head, brass drive gears... and a few more things I've forgotten. There are even a few items that changed from early to late 68, like the grille, and the hood(different support pattern).
Road and Track noted that the 510 "is wooing the non-enthusiast American buyers out of the domestic showrooms."
Nissan set up its competition department in '69, and unofficial "factory supported" race teams were set up to run the roadster, the new 240Z, and the 510. Brock Racing Enterprises in the West, and Bob Sharp Racing on the East Coast. This lead to several Datsun publications showing owners how to modify and upgrade their cars with Nissan Competition and other aftermarket parts. BRE went on to take the SCCA Trans Am 2.5 title in both '71 and 72 in a 510. Bob Sharp started winning with Datsuns as early as '68. Famous 510 pilots include Sharp, Nascar's Bobby Allison , Trans Am Champion John Morton, Jack Scoville, Porsche driver Peter Gregg, Mike Downs, Bob Sharp, Walt Maas, and actor Paul Newman, who learned to race at Bondurants school, and started his early race career in a 510.
1970 saw an interior restyling of the 510, including a new round gauge dashboard, seats with headrests, and more. The 70 510 retailed for $1935 for a 2 door, $2035 for a 4 door, and $2265 for a wagon. Sales really picked up in late '69, propelling the 510 into very respectable numbers in the US, an upward trend that would continue through 71 and 72. The 510 took off as a racecar this year, taking victory after victory on race tracks and rally courses.
The 510 went through little change for 1971 or 72, with minor cosmetic and engineering upgrades. It did make racing history, taking the SCCA Trans Am title in both 71 and 72(see the separate Trans Am section). Datsun did introduce a new car to America that year, the LB110 or Datsun 1200, which sold very well.
1973 was the final model year for the 510. Both the 4 door and wagon were dropped, leaving just the 2 door to carry on. It was replaced that year by the rather ugly 610. In its final year the 510 still managed to sell 30,688 units, bringing the total number of 510's sold to over 400,000 worldwide.
Why did Nissan discontinue the 510 when it did? There is the obvious reason, Nissan had a habit of changing models every 4 or 5 years, and with that change, upgrading engine size. The 240z had a 2.4 liter engine, the 260z a 2.6 liter. The 510 a 1.6 and the 610 a 1.8. The 610 was supposed to be the next evolution of the 510. There are several other theories, the most plausible being that is was simply too good of a car to keep selling at that price. It would take away from other more luxurious models that Datsun wanted to introduce, like the 610. Car manufacturers make more money off option loaded cars, and the 510 was not one of these cars.
Whatever the reason was for the 510's demise, it was in hindsight, one of Nissan's most loved cars, a feeling they tried to get back with the late 70's 510. Unfortunately the magic just never came back. Sure, there are a lot of prettier cars in the Nissan stable, and a lot more in Japanese auto history, but the 510 holds a special place in the scheme of things. The 510 was supposed to be an unassuming looking car that delivered a little more than it appeared it should. It ended up delivering about 400,000 sales around the world, knocking the VW Beetle from the top spot for a year or two, two SCCA Trans Am championships, an East African Safari championship and class win, plus thousands of national and international rally and racing wins(they're still happening to this day). Though often snubbed and overlooked by auto enthusiasts, racing historians, and even by other Nissan collectors, the 510 has proven itself as one of the greatest Giant Killers in automobile history.
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Edited by: http://p086.ezboard.com/bamigosdosjaponesesantigos.showUserPublicProfile?gid=umtali>Umtali at: 7/10/07 18:03
