Junkyard Find: 1983 Nissan Sentra Sedan
The Corolla and the Civic get all the attention when we think about the Japanese subcompacts that put the fear into Detroit during the final years of the Malaise Era, but we mustn’t forget Nissan’s replacement for the rear-drive Datsun 210: the Sentra. You don’t see many early Sentras in junkyards these days; they haven’t been a common sight in The Crusher’s waiting room for a decade or so. Here’s one that I spotted in California earlier this month.
1983 was the first full year of Sentra sales, and it was also the first year in which Nissan badges were bigger than Datsun badges. I don’t recall ever hearing the Sentra referred to as a Datsun, though the ’83s did have “Datsun by Nissan” badges on the trunklid. By ’84, all the American ex-Datsuns were 200-proof Nissan.
I’ve owned a couple of these cars, and I recall them being nowhere near as fun to drive as the contemporary Civic and not quite as comfortable as the Corolla. They got great fuel economy, though, and they once roamed the streets of America in numbers equal to their Honda and Toyota counterparts.
You’re looking at 69 horses of Nissan E16 power. Weighing only 1,900 pounds, this car got highway mileage into the 50 MPG zone. Of course, once gasoline prices dropped well below a buck per gallon in 1985, American car buyers didn’t care so much about that number.
It’s a steal!
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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Hey... I actually drive one of these every day. 2 door hatchback, mud brown outside & tan interior. Just got the air conditioning working today, actually. Tin can or no, I love the car. I bought it from a kid 3 years ago for $750, really clean inside and out. It's my daily driver, 15K miles per year. When I bought it, it had 150,000 miles, and it is just now getting to the 200,000 mark. I drive it hard every day, just about peg the needle (not too hard when the speedo maxes out at 85) but I also use full synthetic and keep up on all the maintenance. My biggest problem? Rock chips. Apparently, there is only one windshield left in the entire WORLD for this car (at Pilkington Classic,) and after I use that one up, I won't be able to register it here in Utah anymore. So I have to be extra damn careful behind those gravel trucks...
My father bought one new in 83, (traded in a Pinto) so in 91 the car became mine. I can attest that on a road trip from Atlanta to Orlando with two adults one kid and all the luggage that little car did get 49 miles per gal. My father was upset that it wouldn't break the 50 MPG mark. The wheels were warped from the factory and since the dealers and Datsun/Nissan were still trying to make a good name for themselves they replaced them with a set of Italian Mags someone else had ordered and never came back for. When I got done with it, that had to be the only Sentra out there that was factory red, 5 speed, factory A/C, mag wheels, aftermarket pop up sunroof, and a decent AM/FM cassette stereo, and factory sport mirrors. The other commentors were correct, the top end was 87 mph downhill with a tailwind. I know because that is what the state trooper put on the ticket, and I had it flat out floored.