1981 Datsun 510 from North America - Comments

Nothing ever went wrong. Brake pads wore down, then I didn't have any money so I never changed them. Calipers worked to grind for a while, then I used the emergency brake for the last year I had the car. Car only died when a drunk lady in a Cadillac hit me head on. I ended up on the hood and unconscious. I miss my car.

Two friends of mine and I bought this car in 1990 from a Priest. We took it through much of Central America and Mexico. We even had some stone rasta in Belize hack off the catalytic converter so we could take extremely cheap low octane leaded fuel. One time we were saving gas by turning off the car and drifting down mountains and my friend accidentally shifted it into reverse. The car spun out and made horrible noises. Despite this, it started again and never had a problem. This car made it up muddy jungle passes that 4x4 Mercedes and military jeeps couldn't. If you have one of these for sale. Please email me. I am desperate for another. wredfern@hotmail.com.

This is certainly an endorsement of the durability of those old Datsuns; if this dupe and his friends couldn't destroy it, apparently nothing can...

I don't believe that this review is an "endorsement review." Datsun 510 was rallied in East African Safari rally in 1970. Safari rally is the worst rally of all the rally, out of 95 cars that started the rally only 19 finished it. Out of the 19 cars 6 of them were Datsun 510. They can handle a lot of beating.

Re the above comment: notice the review is of a 1981 510, a rather blandly styled and completely forgettable appliance of a car, nothing like the older models whose popularity Nissan hoped to capitalize on by resurrecting the 510 name.

And who knows, they may try it again, especially now as car model names seem to be getting replaced with numbers or acronyms whose significance is not always clear...

You definitely don't see a lot of the Datsun 510's on the road anymore I can tell you that much, I think that the Datsun 510's should of been on par with the Toyota Camry's, Toyota Corolla's, Honda Civic's and Honda Accord's, I'm starting to be a big fan of the Japanese cars of the late 70's/early 80's and I would like to get my hands on a 1978-81 Datsun 510.

I agree with the late 1970's/early 1980's comment.

My parents bought a 1980 Tercel new. I used it most of the time once I got my license and that car took endless abuse from horrible western New York winters to five partying college kids on a roadtrip. It had ONE problem in the seven years with our family (kept popping out of fifth gear).

Today, while cars have gotten more sophisticated, they are simply unreliable compared to Japanese cars of the past. My 2005 Chevy Aveo (made by Daewoo) is lightyears ahead of the Tercel in terms of comfort, features, and safety. But I doubt it's going to be anywhere near as reliable.

And I cannot fathom anyone owning a modern car past its warranty. A simple computer problem can easily set you back thousands. I bought the Aveo because it is very "primitive".

I fully admit the Tercel was not perfect especially if you take into consideration its safety equipment, but the reliability was truly exceptional.

I recently ran into an older gentlemen running a 1971 Datsun 510. He had the back bumper taped up due to being hit by someone... but everything was original. Upon pulling up next to him and commenting on the car, he told me it was the best car he'd ever driven. He bought it brand new in 1970.

My first car was a '76 Datsun 710, and following that, I had 3 510 wagons (1978-79) and finally a '79 510 2dr. sedan, which I still have! These cars all had the 1952 cc engines (2.0) and they were/are BULLET PROOF! The reason for their demise was the rusting bodies, especially in Toronto where they put TONS of salt on the roads in winter.

One time I drove one of the wagons without any oil and coolant in the middle of a hot summers day, driving from down town Toronto to the suburbs (North York). I expected the engine to seize (needles were off the scale!) but didn't care since I had to get rid of one of the cars anyway. Pull into the driveway, shut off the engine and started it back right up! NO PROBLEM! EVEN THE NEXT DAY! HA! I LOOOVE these cars!!!

"13th Oct 2005, 16:16

Re the above comment: notice the review is of a 1981 510, a rather blandly styled and completely forgettable appliance of a car, nothing like the older models whose popularity Nissan hoped to capitalize on by resurrecting the 510 name."

I had an '81 510, and I disagree with your sentiment. I miss my car like mad - I still have the ignition key, ten years later. When I got rid of it my 510 had just rolled over 300,000 miles, and was going strong, despite a little cough, but who among us wouldn't have a little cough at that point? In the time I had it, 183,000 miles the water pump quit, at 220,000 miles I had to replace the head gasket followed shortly by a worn clutch cable, and rounding up on 300k the carburetor just couldn't take any more; this car never gave me any trouble, and I feel the repairs I had to do were more than fair compensation considering the mileage accrued, and the age of the car.

I needed a daily driver, and reluctantly used my 510 for leverage on a newer car, when rebuilding the carburetor for the third time was no longer cutting it - iirc, replacement for that exact model was not an option at the time. It brought me a decent chunk for trade, but I wish I had never done it, ten years later.

I weep, I weep...

I just bought a 79 510 wagon for 290 dollars at auction with 80 00 ks!

That '81 Datsun wagon that just sold today on Ebay was cherry... at $2630 and 65,000 miles, you couldn't get a better one... I didn't bid, I wanted a stick shift!