The seller of today’s Nice Price or No Dice Datsun relates in the ad having driven the car from Santa Cruz to Pasadena for an AC/DC concert. That’s pretty metal for a car with, albeit fake, wood on the sides. Let’s see if we think its price tag rocks our world.
When Walt Whitman wrote “I Sing The Body Electric” in 1855, the concept of electricity and its magical properties was still not common knowledge. In fact, the first practical electric motor, demonstrating the conversion of electrical energy into mechanical motion, had been devised by the English physicist Michael Faraday only a few short decades earlier, in 1821.
It’s unlikely that either Mr. Faraday or Mr. Whitman could have conceived that two centuries after that invention, electric motors would power not just stationary machines, but would fundamentally alter public and private transportation across the globe. We looked at one of those game changers yesterday, a 2022 Rivian R1T Launch Edition pickup truck. At $44,500, it came in at less than half the cost of a new one, and with a good bit of warranty left on its big-boy battery and four drive motors, there wasn’t too much to call it out over for its age. That was enough for the majority of you. Given the truck’s massive four-motors-worth of torque, it’s unsurprising that it pulled out a 57% ‘Nice Price’ win in our vote.
Humble origins
Before there were practical electric cars or even gas/electric hybrids, the key to frugal driving was small cars with small engines. That’s how all the Japanese carmakers gained a foothold in the U.S. market, leveraging shifting buyer preferences during multiple fuel crises in the 1970s. Of course, there’s only so much blood to be squeezed from that stone, and once established, the first thing each company did was send over larger, higher-margin cars, filling even more niches.
Datsun (now Nissan) started out with small sedans, sports cars, and pickup trucks in the 1960s, but expanded its lineup with each succeeding model. Today’s 1978 Datsun 510 wagon is one of those larger models, though in the grand scheme of things, it falls in the middle of the marque’s lineup. In fact, you can trace its lineage directly to the present-day Altima. Back in the ’70s, however, the 510 could be considered the first retro car, as the model took its name and rectilinear, slab-sided styling from the very popular 510 of the first half of the decade. That was in stark contrast to the inelegantly bulbous bodywork of the 710, which the new car replaced. Unfortunately, the late ’70s 510 didn’t retain either the independent rear suspension (coupes and sedans) of the earlier cars or their well-balanced good looks, so they never proved as popular.
A family affair
This one found a home, though, and by the looks of it, a pretty good life for itself. According to the ad, the car has just 104,000 miles on the clock and has spent its life pampered in a garage when not cruising around crunchy Santa Cruz, where it was sold new. These were always intended to be practical cars, not sporty racers. Taken in that light, there’s a lot of appeal to its simple 2.0-liter SOHC inline four and three-speed automatic drivetrain. In U.S. guise, the L20B four made 97 horsepower and 102 pound-feet of torque. With the automatic, expect zero to sixty times that could be counted on a calendar, but the seller says the car still gets upwards of 30 mpg on average, so it’s not all bad news. The seller also reports that the car has long been professionally maintained and is presently in “excellent” running and driving condition. That led the seller to take the 510 on a family road trip to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to see AC/DC in concert. Hells Bells, indeed!
Original paint, and an awesome color combo
On the looks front, there are some pluses and some boogers. Overall, it looks pretty good in the ad. The yellow paint and wonderfully era-correct faux woodgrain are both original and have held up amazingly well. So too has all the brightwork, including the chrome-plated bumpers and the four-bar roof rack. The bad news is that there’s a crack in the windscreen. That’s on the passenger side, out of the driver’s line of sight, but should be fixed nonetheless. Getting glass for that may prove problematic, though. It’s a similar story with the missing rubber end piece on the front bumper. Where might a replacement be sourced for that?
In the cabin, everything seems intact and in great shape. Not only that, but it has a green carpet and upholstery that, along with the black dash and yellow exterior, makes the car look like a giant easter egg. The carpet could stand some cleaning, and some of the plastic trim is turning gray with age, but it’s all perfectly livable.
Put that tax refund to work!
A clean title, current registration, and a recently-obtained smog test certificate make this 510, in the words of the seller, “an awesome vintage wagon that is ready to live life and make memories” for a new owner. If a buyer asks nicely, maybe the seller would even toss an AC/DC cassette in on the deal.
To begin that journey, the seller has set the Datsun’s price at $8,450. Let’s see if we agree. What’s your take on this road-trippin’ throwback vintage wagon and that $8,450 price tag? Does that feel appropriate given the car’s condition and presentation? Or is that too much for what was once a throw-away car?
You decide!
San Francisco Bay Area, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
Help me out with Nice Price or No Dice. Contact me at [email protected] and send a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your commenter handle.
