Introducing the Datsun 120Y 

My late father had this car from 1977 to 2017 till my brother sold it off. A true rugged, durable and tested car and a beauty inside out if you notice the difference in design details...

Did a 65 mile round trip, five days a week into Edinburgh for three years in a blue 120Y in the early 1980’s. Never let me down once. Perfect mechanically.

Owned a 78 B210 for 13 years. Rusted out. Lived in northern Michigan. Put chains on rear wheels and went thru the snow and ice, no problem. Nice car.

Love Datsun 120Y. My Dad used to own this car.

I worked in Saudi Arabia in the early 1980s and these little Datsun 120Ys were everywhere, one step up from the various ubiquitous Datsun Pickups - often driven by very young (13+) drivers. Their cars were usually covered in dents too, but sometimes the kids would clean them up and add extra lights and stuff. Occasionally you'd even see one with a camel in the back!

Back when I was young (I'm 50 now), these were quite a common sight on British roads, they were renowned for being very reliable, but the bodywork would be very prone to rust as was the case with most Japanese cars of that era. I had a friend at college who had one, and he often used to give me a lift in it - was very nippy and comfy. I think these were the predecessor to the Datsun Sunny, which became the Nissan Sunny - which my father had 2 of in succession. When you read your odometer, this had a final digit in yellow colour meaning that that digit is "10ths" of a Kilometre, so the five digits in white are the actual distance covered by the car - 06023, which is likely to have gone round the clock once, I think its probably done 106023 km, as most small engined cars from the 1970s would not do over 200000. It could have done 206023 km , but I think it unlikely. It's a nice car for its age, possibly heard an exhaust leak, which would be easy enough to sort, otherwise seemed to run OK. Perhaps it could have issues with the accelerator pump diaphragm causing hesitation on revving, but I'm sure you will sort it.

I only recall UK spec cars having a vinyl interior and the only metallic paint we got here was light blue. Where they became a game changer over UK made cars was the radio and front seats with head rests AS STANDARD !!! Rust wasn't an issue - they rusted ok but so did everything else lol

What a great looking car, I’ll look forward to watching your progress with it 👍

So cool! When I was a little kid my Mum had one of these in turquoise after she passed her driving test, hope you have the really cool hubcaps in the boot.

Best car ever never let me down 🎉🎉🎉

Loved these old Datsuns, my mother had two Cherrys in the 70's, although rust was a big problem they were technically advanced compared to British cars of the time, easy on fuel and reliable. The equipment levels were also great too compared to other cars we'd had.

i drove one of those when i was 17 only once, i found it really nice to drive, surprised that survived most turned to dust, they ran well engine wise usually on the weakest petrol

I remember seeing those on the road in high school. Here in the states it was called Datsun B210

I live in Australia and in the early 2000's there were still quite a few, but as the 2000's rolled on they just disappeared quickly!

I loved this car. I owned a 78 model in the early 90s. Bought it for 7K NOK and it was in very very good condition actually. It was original orange color, and it ran perfectly. Heater was okay, but needed time to warm up. Alternator(dynamo) only delivered I think it was 35 amps? Not sure, but it was a problem when I wanted to run my extra fog lights while playing my stereo at least. :D Looking forward to more videos on this car! Good luck min danske ven! :D

I had a 1978 2 door, really easy to work on, great little car, but sadly to much rust to deal with in the end😒

This car was called the Datsun B210 in the US. Great little cars. I learned to drive a stick-shift in one.

Again a very cool 😎 car! Our nany drove a brown metallic one in the early 80’s ! She had also a bleu transistor radio full with stickers of slade! Another trip down memory lane!

My mate's mum had a 120Y and I learned to drive in it. It had nearly half a million miles on the clock (no kidding!) and the bodywork was like a lace curtain. Yet the engine was almost silent on tickover and it was utterly reliable. That makes me think this car you've got will make an excellent daily driver and it's something a bit different. I'm in the UK and they aren't common here any more. There was a time when there was at least one on every street. Two of my school teachers had them. They were extremely popular and I remember them being an absolute bargain second hand! They were so cheap but with minimal maintenance they just went forever...until the floor fell out...

Cool car congratulations on your purchase.

I love the sound of a datsun

As a kid I remember a neighbour buying one of these one summer in the mid 70s, lots of people in the street, my dad included were quite despondent because it was Japanese, that was untill the first typical damp cold British winter weather came in, whitl all the Austins, Triumphs and Ford's were churning away flattening there battery's trying to start the datsun would start first time every time and then go on to jump-start many other cars in the street. Over the years the amount of Japanese, Germany and Italian cars increased.

What a cute and cool little car, congrats on the purchase dude!

My first car in 1985 was the Datsun 120Y cost me £120 , the interior was the exact same as yours but the body was mustard yellow , rotten sills and holes in the floor pans finally sent it to the scrap yard and it was only about 8 years old.

Love this car, might be my new favorite of yours but you have some great projects

The secret to a great paint job is preparation preparation and yet more preparation lol. Beautiful car to get back on the road, always fancied one back in the day and also the Datsun Cherry, love a cherry.

Owned one of these in my college days. With a total displacement capacity of only 1.2 L (of the 4 cylinders), it had great gas mileage (over 40 mpg) which was very good for an almost-always broke college student, LOL. Reasonably fast on the highway. And the rear suspension was leaf spring.

What a great little car and a good buy, my Grandad had one of these in white and would pick me up from school in it sometimes , I can still smell his pipe smoke whenever I see one!

Nice car Seppo! I can't wait to see more!

Love it. I don't think we got that colour interior in the UK. The only ones I've ever seen, were all black interiors.

These won the Total Oil Economy run in Australia in the 70's returning 44mpg. Nothing was more economical. They also came in 5 body styles. I once went in a manual and was surprised how quiet it was inside and in an auto, was surprised how well it went.

These used to be a common sight in Australia but rarely see one now.

After the Metro and the Princess, you now add another of my all time faviroite cars. Looking forward to seeing your work on this beauty

What an amazing find! I bought a 1976 120Y in 1978, it was the newest car I had ever owned at that point. Compared to most Brit family saloons it was a revelation. Factory fitted radio that didn't whine when I revved the engine, whisper quiet engine on tickover, everything worked as it should; and it stayed that way throughout my ownership. Loved that car and regretted letting it go. Seems I dodged a bullet though, as they did rust everywhere! Yours looks like the rust has been sorted, can't wait to see underneath. Good luck with the project.

Wonderful car and project! My first car was Datsun 100A F11, then the later squarer 120Y. Great cars. Looking forward to seeing more!

Grille and headlights, look like a robot face.👍👍👍 ...Wonder what that baby would be like as a rally car? 😄 ...This one, really could become a cool one.....

Can't wait to get home later and have a watch. I have an orange 120Y that I get out to drive once or twice a year. The 120Y was never given much love but they seem to be having a little resurgence in popularity these days.

great colour. rust repair was a bit hard to look at but nothing worse than i could do haha andif it works it works, atleast they primered it :) looking forward to the next vdeos tip check behind the front fender (take them off) and check the structural metal for the struts, mine were swiz cheese. and make sure to service your breaks

Wow. Thats a cool car! I would get me a japaneese car if that era. They really have the coolest looks! 🤩. I wouldn't resist either!

Hey mate, congrats on the Datsun! I’m building one on my channel too. Plus there’s another 4 door on another channel called Project-Y. Looking forward to seeing more. It’s looks like a great base for a nice car

This is a very cool car

i seriously looked at buying a Datsun B210 (the American version) in the late 70's. opted instead for 4-cyl 79 Mustang, which i totalled in 1980.

My mum had one pretty much identical (black interior). It was about 5 years old and it had already been resprayed. As a young lad it was frankly embarrassing to drive, but secretly I quite liked it 😂

The Datsun brand was renamed Nissan in the 80s they were fantastic cars to buy as they had all the items built in that other cars did not.

Datsun was the original name of what later became Nissan.

That's a great looking car, I remember seeing these around when I was very very young in the early 80s. By the way the part of Denmark you are in looks a lot like Lincolnshire in England where I live (that was part of the Danelaw in centuries past!)

Apparently those Nissan A-series engines (Nissan & Datsun are the same car company) had some design improvements integrated into them from the badge-engineered BMC B-Series engines they made previously, so in a way, they have some loose relation to the Metro and Princess... :D

Really great car. They were everywhere here in England when I was a kid, we had one but the Estate. Not seen one in silver before, do you think that’s the original colour? The interior is fantastic. Good luck with it!

i called it, nice find sir

I don't blame you for buying that

I got one 2years ago its a 1974 modell 2door its a projekt and im thinking of going ower everything becuse they are so rare here in norway becuse they all rusted away and whats fun is that my dad allways wanted one when he was about 20 becuse a old lady had one and then he asked if it was for sale and it wasent and then he saw it 2 weeks later i think almost where i live on this old road 5min away and after that it got smashed up and some one idiot had bougth it😕. So my dad was just as innlove whit my datsun as i was when we had a look at it i think it only was out 40minutes before i asked about ut and i whent 2 days later and i bougth it and its wery clean for rust to be a norwegian car and the oldest modell. I hope to see more content whit yours😄. If you thougth why i dont just fix it allready i can explain easy im 17 years and im at school 8hours a day. And dayli drive a old 80s tractor that im fixing and planing to make money on and so i can buy my self a dayli and ger my drivers licens😅

What a great car, I would be happy too to have one of these! Since I sold my Trabant, I only had Japanese cars, also had a '78 Corolla that was fairly similar to this 120Y, even in color. I don't know how the parts supply for the 120Y is in Denmark (in my country it is basically non-existent), but I think if you will manage to fix this 120Y up, it will be one of your most reliable oldtimers!

That is the year that some of the engines were starting to be less mechanical

Very cool project! Maybe this is not the case for the Datsuns, but on my Honda CB550 from 1978, all the screws look like Phillips head screws, but they are actually JIS (Japanese industry standard), and they’re really annoying when you only have Phillips head screw drivers - just a heads up, since you said you’re not used to working on Japanese cars! :)

Goodness me your busy, you must have a very patient partner

I assume it will be an easy project for you....... What can go wrong in a 70's DATSUN (japanese saloon car in general...)? Oil, petrol and some basic maintenance and it will run for EVER!!!! I owned and kept in action till 2013, a 1978 KE30 Corolla saloon, quite similar to this, as most of the japanese saloons of that era. In my country, 120Ys were selling like crazy at that time (affordable family transportation), but it was notorious for the bad handling of the rear axle (stock leaf springs), having the nickname "moving coffin". 120Y Coupe is more interesting designwise....... Nevertheless, looking forward to see this project as well!

Biggest enemy these had was RUST, mechanically they were Bullet Proof!! Datsun/Nissan same company, Nissan was used moreso on the cars they confident in, Datsun was used on the mainstream cars, the 120y was popular in rallying being lightweight rear drive the engines were capable of decent power, originally the Datsun engines were basically a copy of an A series ie Mini except Datsun improved the breathing intake and exhaust, which on the A series was NOT good!!

Vi er virkelig lige du og jeg, 120 var min første bil der næsten gjorde at jeg blev fyret på Mercedes hvor jeg var i lære 😂

Put aside insidious rust for a minute, things have got really out of hand at home. how much are haircuts in your country?

Get spirit for loving Datsun B 210 faster

Clean it up n make it a show car !!! 🙏😊 Show me your "restoration" capability 🤣

Nissan IS Datsun