1968 Datsun 1200 station wagon from North America - Comments

I purchased the car in following condition.

The radiator had the fan bashed into it.

The headlights pointed to the ground.

There was no front bumper.

The front fenders where really bashed.

The hood was crinkled like a washboard.

Windows did not roll down (driver window missing)

No signal lights (used arm signals)

Had to drive in moccasins as there was no room for shoes.

But it started.

Repaired the above for about $20.

I ran the car with no fuel gauge or speedometer.

Gear shift handle bolt broke inside hump on north shore of Lake Superior.

Parts were a major problem.

When I purchased this car for $50, it previously had an altercation with a gravel truck and had not been repaired.

I pulled the rad and soldered it at my kitchen table, tested it by re-installing it. No leaks.

Used a jack to lift the headlights, and pry the fenders off the the front tires so they would turn. I aligned the headlights using a Simmons bed-frame bolted to the inside of the front fenders. I straightened the front hood, when a friend offered to jump on it.

Woodgrain was popular then on station wagons, so I outlined where woodgrain normally was and applied stick-on woodgrain everywhere else.

Over 2000 of these cars were sold in the Vancouver

area and 16 East of Winnipeg. I drove it to Ontario and then to the Maritimes, with a 16 foot canoe on top. Subsequently I went to California and drove all over Western Canada in it.

I'm not mechanically inclined, but was forced to rebuild a carburetor in a motel in Ontario. (I found one of the sixteen sold in Eastern Canada at a wrecker yard). For $5 the wrecker told me to extract as many parts as I wanted. I picked up the carburetor, as well as a front bumper, grill, window roll-down mechanisms, drivers door glass, a jack. spare tire, wiper motor which I never had to install, radio that worked, an antenna, newer back seat, pedal covers, gearshift bolt, gearshift boot, and two boxes of other assorted parts which were mostly not needed when I sold the car for $200.

I estimate I got about 45 mpg, based on map mileage. I drove the car as fast as those cars around me and guessed the rest of the time.

This car would not die, I loved driving it everywhere, got high centered on back roads carting my canoe to back-country lakes.

Only sold it because somebody offered to give me $200 for it.

Why wouldn't the police pull you over? I think you should have tried rowing your canoe instead of driving that heap of poo.

Interesting review. Given parts you sound mechanically inclined. This car sounded like salvage yard material and yet you got it operational. I have owned 2 new Datsun 210 sedans as basic commuters later a 1982 Datsun 280zx 2+2. All were extremely reliable just had some a/c issues and premature rust. Datsuns were durable. None of these cars however ever owed me anything when they were sold. The 210 model was a new car bargain in its day. You could rack heavy commuter miles to work and not lose on your investment. The 280 zx I ran very hard and it hardly ever needed anything other than basic maintenance. It wasn't cheap and insurance was higher than it should have been, but I was young. I have owned many cars since including a 450SL, Corvette afterwards which were quite expensive to maintain and operate.