that car is making me happy just watching it! I'm not a massive fan of Japanese cars but when they're honest & simple like this, then I do have an interest. I love how the indicator & switch gear snap into place & that horn is just pure cute
The "cyclists bottom"?,we were enjoying the road test until you mentioned it. Now I'm watching her on a continuous loop just to spite you. Mind on the job young Hubnut!. ps,loved the wee car.
I'm going to hide this comment in someones reply section in the hope Ian does'nt spot it, but it did look a bit Austin maxi ish, oh, and what a lucky saddle!
Love the styling! Seems like a cross between a BMW 2002 and an Austin Maxi. Looks really well-made and well engineered. Not a single rattle or squeak. No wonder the Japanese made such headway into the British car market in the 1970's.
I’ve watched this video numerous times just to hear this darling little car run! Third gear has a delightful little tune to it.... kind of like a mechanical orchestra personally!
I've owned a 1969 deluxe 2 door model in Australia for a little over 10 years now. Mine is a km dash right hand drive, so it's very similar to this one in all apsects, however it does have a column handbrake instead of a central floor lever. They do indeed have leaf suspension on front and rear, and the brakes are a little bit lackluster if they have aged. When i went to test drive mine, the brakes were actually so bad that i missed where i was told to turn to head back to the owners house. He just laughed and said i'd get used to it. I ended up completely refreshing the entire brake system and it did wonders. Not only for a better driving experience for myself, but as a safety measure incase someone else needs to drive it. It's nice to see another 1000 in such great condition on the road. Thanks for the video
I had a 2001 Sentra (B15 chassis, known as Sunny in some other markets), kept it for 15 years. QG18DE 1.8 liter, 5 speed. Engineered before the Renault hookup. Nice little car. Liked it enough that I sold it to a friend who can do the minor repairs it needs. He's driven it all over the USA (very long road trips) even though it has 200,000 miles on the odo.
In Australia they were called the Datsun 1000. Haven't seen one on the road here for 30 years. They all rusted out even though we do not salt our roads. Great little cars. Engines hotted up well.
The aunt of my old neighbour had one of those DATSUN models. Used to be a passenger in it occasionally. Was rhd. The platform would morph some years later into the 120Y.
Slightly off topic but maybe of assistance, my parents had a pair of Corollas in the seventies. My father's was a '77 Deluxe estate, and my mother's was a '78 non-deluxe saloon. Differences were: deluxe has cloth seats with built-in head restraints, the non has vinyl with no restraints; the deluxe had a push button radio with five presets, similar to that in your sunny, the non has to be tuned manually Apart from that, they were pretty much the same.
I was working for the Department of Transport in 1988 shortly after Nissan phased out the Datsun brand and my supervisor, a lovely lady called Shirley always used to chuckle when she came across a record for what she referred to as a "Nice 'an sunny".
Good video that Ian, I really liked that simple little Datsun (Always had a soft spot for Jap stuff!).....what a nice car, certainly shows much better than anything built by BMC/BL.
This car was in retrospect the game changer for the car industry and heralded the demise of many British marques. Low cost, economical to run, easy to drive and above all reliable (in comparison to many) for the times these were a revelation. I often think we have gone backwards in so many ways since then. Great road test that brings back so may good memories. Thanks Ian.
I had a 1973 Datsun Sunny 1200 back in the day, wonderful little car , ultra reliable, easy to work on, I sold it privately and had over 50 phone calls in one day after it went into the local paper, the reason being they all got snapped up and exported to India for taxi work, hence there scarcity in the UK. I once saw a transporter with six used Sunnys on board heading for the docks. ( I loved the DAF collection walk round)
My first job in the automotive industry was at a Datsun dealer in Canada. We were servicing a few of these 1000s at the time, but the 510 and 1200 were taking over. We also had the 520 truck and the 240Z. What I remember of the 1000 was that they had a multi-leaf spring going from side to side for the front suspension. Thought that was pretty weird. Also, I remember somebody with a Mini coming in and buying a head gasket for a 1000 because he said they were better made, and a perfect fit!
Thank you for this, it got me thinking how Japanese car like this managed to get traction in the UK and what is often forgotten also in the German market in the early 70s. The German market is more easily resolved, in those pre Polo and Golf days, you had the likes of the ancient Beetle, crude Opel Kadett and less said about the NSU Prinz the better. However in the UK by 1969 we had been able to buy for 6 years the superb ADO16, yet people were still scared off by fwd, despite it being around since the Mini, this was reflected in the fact that in 1969 BMC built 30k Morris Minors a car that was 20 years old. The reason I believe is that having built a reliable, robust and for its time rot free in the Minor, it introduced the Mini with things such as a leaky floor because they had got seam the wrong way round. Whilst the Ado16 was a truly great car, it carried on with the Mini reputation of being troublesome and difficult to maintain and of course a reputation for rotting. One wonders if BMC had come to market with the Mini and Ado16 having engineered them so they were at least as robust and cheap to run as a Minor, then I think it is hard to see how a car like this could have got traction in the UK market.
That bodyshape was standard for all the Japanese manufacturers back in the 70s, I loved my corolla ke20, but I remember the Nissan, Toyota, mazda and mitsubishi all doing something very similar
I love those little Datsuns! Datsun was very popular in Australia alongside Toyota during the 60’s and early 70’s! I had a primary school buddy whose mum owned a blue 1000. What a darling little car, hubnut! Thoroughly enjoyed that little drive! I can see why some aussies back in the 70’s replaced the existing Vauxhall viva 1300 engine in their “Aussie Viva” it being Holden Torana with a Datsun 1200 engine and gearbox. They were just so much better and almost were a direct bolt in replacement for the viva engine. Hubnut, if you are able to get your mits on either a Toyota Corolla or starlet of the early 70’s, DO SO!! They are very much like a Datsun of the same era!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane mate. My dad had a Dato 1000 here in OZ in the late 60's when I got my license, and after a little arm twisting, was the car I did my first solo in. He had it for quite a number of years and I recall it was very reliable. A Dato 120Y was his next car, and that was just as reliable.
My dad had one in dark blue when I was 4-5 y/o. I remember my grandparents sitting at the back with me in the middle, mum, dad in the front, heading to the coast....about 8 hours drive! He used to have a roof rack too.....or so he said!
These were called the Datsun 1000 here in Australia introduced in 1967/68 and sold like hot cakes. My brother bought one brand new . They were one of the first cars in Australia that was Japanese that included carpeted floors other than vinyl, black bucket seats, radio and a heater as standard equipment without have to pay extra as with our Australian cars. We only had English cars Austen's, Humber, Rover, Vauxhall and our own Australian cars Holden Ford and Valiant back then.
I learned to drive in a '79 120Y Sunny with 450,000 miles on the clock. Bodywork was like a lace curtain but when the engine ticked over, it did so silently. It was less so when I tried to start it when it was already running! The quietness and smoothness of that engine always impressed me, especially as this particular car could hardly be described as being in its first flush of youth. Where are you now, JLG 510T? I can hazard a guess...
My mother had the estate version of this car which I once borrowed to go visit a mate. To do that I drove it from Lusaka Zambia to Bulawayo Rhodesia - 600 miles in 12 hours. Loved it.
You really should have followed that girl in the pink shorts. Now we will never know where she went. Also, after you were arrested you could have done a video called 'Inside a Dutch police car'.
A couple of notes about the Sunny: The B110 was the first generation sold in North America, beginning in 1971 powered with the 1.2l A12. Nissan's A engine was heavily cross-pollinated with the BMC A engine, to the point of having interchangeability with some components. (Which ones, I am not sure.) The A engine served as the basis for the OHC E engine which left service in some Asian markets within the last 20 years.
No, it's an oft-claimed myth. Nissan built the B-Series engine under licence, and parts can be swapped between a BMC and a Datsun B-Series quite readily. This A10 engine was all-new.
For 1969, its a pretty much timeless design. I would not even recognize this Sunny as "Oldtimer" in the streets of today. Compared to strange designs of small modern cars which I like to call "puffer fish with warts"...
I owned a Datsun 1000 in my university days in Australia. Driving the car was very pleasant because the windows were lower than other models. The worst part was that the drum brakes needed regular attention as the drums may burst . Otherwise, Datsun 1000 was a great car. Your video reminds my driving experience in Australia.
Imagine that, the cardealer (Dijkshoorn based in Capelle aan den IJssel) that sold this sweet gem of a Datsun also sold my mum a Datsun Cherry. It belonged to one of the mechanics of Dijkshoorn and it had all the trimmings such as a vinyl roof, light blue metallic paint, a very thick and super small after market racing type of steering wheel and even alloy wheels with the monster size 175/70 tires!!! Long story short; I took over mum's cute little Cherry and drove it happily for about years untill someone drove into the side and the car got totalled :(. Now the plot thickens; a deal was made between the insurance, the dealer and myself for the wreck. Since I am a private person any price must be including VAT. Now when the moment came to collect the amount the sales guy (believe he took the ownership over from Mr. Dijkshoorn) told me the amount was excluding VAT so I got less then agreed. After some angrily over and forth the insurance company instructed the sales guy to pay up the full amount. Now things got worse, the condition was that the wreck would be de registered and only used for parts, so no need for paperwork to proof I no longer was the registered owner. Now we wind about 2 years later (!!) and much to my surprise I was send a ticket for parking in a non parking zone nearby. It turned out that one of the mechanics had fixed up the wreck for his son, parents were on holiday and son thought it was a good idea for him (and his mates prolly LOL) to take the car out to the local recreation area to find no parkingspace available and left it on the side of a road. Things got settled eventually but that was strike 2 for Dijkshoorn. Yes fond memories like we all have to our first car and like most I do remember the registration: 37-FV-65 In those donkey days cars were ever so happy to get their 5ooo km service including some lube points and then was purring like a kitten again :)
What a beautiful little car. Please Mr HubNut bring one back for me... I had a Datsun Violet many years ago and I still rank it as my Favourite car ever,and I've had a few.....(50 or 60++).
It looks completely original......50 years old? WOW. Absolutely gorgeous. Did the Datsun100A/Cherry replace this as their small 2 door offering.......only from what I remember, that didn't even have a temperature gauge (just a light I believe to warn that you were overheating). Many thanks for the test drive Ian!
Thoroughly enjoyed this one. The Japanese were so good at this between 1970 and 1990. I do get a Nissa Micra K10 vibe. You should definitely drive one of those. I think you'll love it. 1:18: As someone who owned a 2004 Fiat Panda with no Cigarette Lighter, there is a chance that even that is part of the Deluxe edition :D. 2:05: You don't need a lock if you just build shit properly. 4:43: More important than wipers? Are you absolutely certain about that? 5:08: No, it's not. Confused driver from the right. I think he may have wanted to turn left and couldn't get around you anyway. 6:27: That's properly impressive for a one liter engine of that era. 7:36: Go Ian :). 11:43: PtschTOOT!
You always find the neatest little cars to drive! In the States, as I recall, this model was introduced ca. 1970 as the Datsun "Li'l Something"; there was a coupe model as well, called the "Something Special". Both had the 1200cc motors here. That 2nd gear whine is very reminiscent of our family's series of Datsuns, two 410-series Bluebirds, and even the 510s we had had a similar gear sound. And, umm, apologies in advance, for 7:30, but, cue The Mixtures and "The Pushbike Song"! Sorry...
Nice Datsun, nice ride, nice reporter. I remember Datsun's quite well. I think in 1984 / 1985 approx, they were Nissan Sunny instead. Although I find the Datsun more unique and just a little bit nicer. I remember a Datsun Bluebird which changed to Nissan Bluebird. Or for instance, the infamous Datsun Cherry that changed into Nissan Cherry. Right, you can't have always a comfy ride like a Solara. That being said, I am looking forward to your next video, it's hard to keep up almost, but you can still keep them coming which is always a pleasure to watch.Must be said!
I enjoy watching a Chris Harris video (he has a prized, much loved 2CV too) but living outside the UK, Ian's very easy-on-the-ear west country accent is an absolute delight to listen to and a reminder of home. I never thought I'd enjoy content with such old and average (admittedly characterful) cars - but I'm converted! I even got to see a DAF City Car yesterday (via Ian's visit to the DAF museum) which I had the Corgi version of as a kid in the early 70s)
Absolutely agree about the Mazda - when I had mine yonks ago I felt the gearing was odd and it got breathless on hills. Bad times when you live in the highest point in your town
I have to visit the Netherlands sometime in my life. They like all the same things I do (no, not exotic tobacco) including a love of cars. Even though they aren't allowed to drive quickly, when you are in an aging Nissan Sunny that is positively advantageous. No problems keeping up with"modern traffic"!
my first car was exactly this. it was called the datsun 1000 here in canada. not very popular until it became the datsun 1200 with a bigger engine and macpherson strut suspension replacing the single leafspring front suspension. yes you read that correctly, double wishbone with crossmounted single leaf spring under the engine. similar in concept to the corvette rear suspension. yes it is a steering box(not rack and pinion), brakes all drum
My dad, who was a Vauxhall car salesman in the mid 70s, rather predictably, didn't have much good to say of Japanese cars of that time. Comments like 'tinny plastic rubbish' were fairly normal whenever he saw one on the road. I think that view was not uncommon in the UK from the 60s on for a bit. Anything Japanese was thought of then by many as cheap and rubbishy, unfairly or not. Interesting, then to hear the other side of the coin decades later from yourself, Ian. In the end he relented, and bought a new Honda when he retired in the early 90's. He adored that car, he kept it well looked after until he died 20 years ago.
Great little car, I do love those 60s and 70s Datsuns. they were so reliable. I took my test in a Datsun Sunny 120Y in 1977. Passed first time thankfully. Great video.
I'd love to see you drive an original 70s Alfasud. As a kid I desperately wanted one, but our soggy British ones were always destroyed by rust. You still see relatively unrestored examples driving about in southern Europe.
What a sweet little Datsun! I do prefer the 1970s 120Y - especially in turquoise with dustbin lid hubcaps. Also worthy of note is how nice the road layout in some Netherlands towns and villages is. Not much traffic and nice looking houses with big windows. British town planners could learn a lot from the Dutch, add into the mix how to design proper cycle routes.
You know a vehicle has been well cared for over the years when the Cosmoline(wax) is still abundant in the engine bay. Sadly we never got the Datsun Sunny in the United States. The entry level Datsun back in the day was the 210. There was the mid range 510 and upscale 710. I would love a very simple car like the Sunny. I mean there is zero technology which is alright with me. 😁 btw I was gonna say something about that beautiful cyclist but now I won't. 😋
A 4door version of that car (Datsun 1000 in Oz) was my 1st., and only, NEW car, I liked it a lot being small and nippy in the city. It had a transverse leaf spring in the front and you needed to change down a gear for sharp corners, I got distracted once by an erratic pedestrian and forgot to change down as I flicked it around a "left" and got a very good,close-up, look at the bitumen through my drivers side window before I got the nearside wheels back on the ground.
Hi.You drive and test the grandfather off the nissan´s sunny and almera.that was the first sunny from nissan\datsun.great car´s today and on the past.nice video.Thank´s
Really nice car, and really liked the way owner has gone to town with the waxoyl, the car will now live forever as engines are bulletproof reliable too.
I had the B310 which was the fourth generation (and the last rear wheel drive Sunny) and the gearbox whine sounded exactly the same, and yeah the Nissan A engine has to be the sweetest pushrod engine ever built - not the usual sewing machine ohv noises of a Ford Kent or an BMC A-Series. The basic powertrain package of the Sunny never really changed until the B11 in 1982 when they switched to front wheel drive and the overhead cam E engine came in.
Spot on comment, nut I'd maybe put the 850 reliant engine above it as the sweetest pushrod engine, that really is sweet, but definitely the sweetest 1ltr plus, just shows what bmc could have done if they'd developed the A series engine, rather than churn out the same garbage for a lifetime
There’s something charming about the simplicity of that little car. Just give me AC, head restraints, and an airbag and I’d be perfectly happy with it today.
Another good one. Very interesting that it produced 58 bhp from that 1000 cc engine in 1969. My, new in 1986, Fiat Uno 60s made 58bhp from it's 1100cc engine.
Some Datsuns were considered the equivalent of a low-price BMW back in the day. In the US for example, the Datsun 510 has today just as much of a cult following as the BMW 2002. Most had very refined controls in general -- snickety-snack transmissions were a Datsun norm -- and were engineered as good as anything of the time, with a focus on low maintenence costs and long-term robustness. You can find these qualities in first and second-gen Micras, too.
Wow, super interesting - it looks, sounds and feels like a cross between an Austin Maxi and an Austin 1100! Datsun really did their homework, I'm completely blown away! 😀
Wonderful rear end 😆...I love the old datsuns . My mother had one many years ago and on occasion would let me have a little drive. So simple and just a pleasure to drive.
What an utterly charming and pretty car that is. As you said Ian, it’s easy to see how the U.K. lost its crown when put up against competition like that. Had it not been for anti-Japanese prejudice from the British public at the time, they’d have been even more successful sooner...
I like that heater assembly - "what you see is what you get". Imagine taking that to a garage for a repair and getting charged "one and a half hours of work, 150 e + VAT". Would you complain?
Really like these old Japanese cars, thanks for taking the time to upload all these videos while travelling around the Netherlands, love them. Hope you're having a great time out there.
I’ve only discovered your RU-vid in the last month or two. Loving the latest instalment. I’ve currently got a mk3 Mondeo zetec-s saloon v6 that I’ve owned since 2010. Sadly rust has got into the pillars in the boot and is now sitting in my back garden as I’m convinced one day it’ll be a desirable classic. I learnt my lesson after scrapping my first car in 1991 ......a 1979 850cc mini that would probably be worth a bit of money as a shell.. keep up the good work and safe journey to Croatia and back
