Junkyard Find: 1978 Datsun 510 Sedan

by Murilee Martin

March 15th, 2012 5:43 PM

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Wait a minute— this Malaise Era heap, with its solid rear axle and AMC Hornet-esque lines, this car can’t be a 510! That’s what I thought when I spotted this car at a Northern California self-service yard last month, having forgotten that Nissan’s American marketers slapped 510 badges on the 710/Violet/Stanza/200B for the ’78 and ’79 model years. This is the first time I’ve seen one of these things in at least 20 years.

This car was no doubt a perfectly serviceable commuter, with its L20 engine and nicer-than-the-Chevette interior, but it’s no more a 510 than the ’91 Olds Calais Quad 4 was a 442.

This factory FM radio was probably a $300 option when new. Yes, the old days sucked in many ways.

#1970s #1978 #1978Datsun510 #AdventuresInMarketing #California #Datsun #Datsun510 #DownOnTheJunkyard #Junkyard #JunkyardFind #Nissan #Malaise #MalaiseEra

Murilee Martin

Writer d'Elegance Brougham Landau.

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2 of 31 comments

Arwen on Mar 07, 2013

What junk yard is this in? I need parts!

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Seane on Jan 22, 2020

(Australia) I had a tan coloured one of these. Drove it through my university years and for a total of 9 years all up. Went brilliantly before eventually rusting out under me.

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