The 110 was available in 2 door and a 4 door sold as the Convar. It has the D10 series 860cc 20hp side valve 4cyl. engine continued over from the earlier DB model.

DATSUN  112
(1956 Model)

For some reason they went from the 110 to the 112, missing the 111 designation. The 112 had a power increase to 25hp for it's D10 side valve 4 cylinder engine.

DATSUN  113
(1957 Model)

The 113 appears to be identical to the 112 in it's specifications.

DATSUN 114
(1957 Model)

The Datsun 114 enjoyed a big increase in power thanks to a new engine based on an Austin design, the C series 988cc 34hp OHV 4cyl. engine. This new engine design would be used by Nissan for the coming decades. It's basic architecture was used to produce the later E, E-1, J, J15 and J16 engines, with the J16 being used in Datsun Homer trucks right up until the late 1970s.

DATSUN 115  (possibly non-existant)
(1958 Model)

In each of Nissan's parts books from the 1960s there is a section in the front called 'Table of Part Type', which lists, in chronological order, every model built since 1957. The table in every book shows a model 115, and shows it listed after the 210 (from 1958) but before the 211 (from 1959). No Nissan sales literature I have seen in over 20 years of research has shown any evidence of a 115 model ever existing, and certainly no photos. It would make no sense to produce a new version of the 110 line after the introduction of the new 210 model. There is the distinct possibility that they intended to build a 115 model, and assigned a model designation to it, but instead managed to get the 210 into production before the 115 could be built. Or, it may have been built and I just haven't found it yet. If you have any information about this model please let me know.
The books also list a 125 model pick-up that also doesn't appear to exist, this is listed chronologically next after the 115.

DATSUN 1000 210
(1958 Model)

The 210 is essentially the same as the 114, with a new design front guards and grill, chrome side stripes and a new dashboard. It continues to use the 114's C series 988cc 34hp OHV 4cyl. engine. Nissan's production almost doubled after the introduction of this model.

The 211 has a new design grille with 10 smaller horizontal bars instead of the 210's 3 bars. The side strips now continue the full length of the car.

DATSUN  BLUEBIRD P310
(1960 Model)

The P310 Bluebird was a giant leap forward from the P210 series. It heralded the arrival of the first truly world class Japanese car. Gone was the 210s gawky looks and exposed door hinges, replaced instead with an attractive new design, featuring the attention to detail that soon sent Nissan from a tiny manufacturer to the worlds 5th largest car maker. The 310s grille is narrower than the 312 grille, the 310 grille sits between the indicators, the later 312 models have a grille that partly encases the indicators. The 310 tail lights are quite small compared to the later 312 models. The crease in the panelwork that runs just beneath the side mouldings drops sharply at the rear just before the tail lights. It continued to use the 210s Austin derived engine, the 1189cc 48hp OHV 4cyl. E series engine. It had a 3 speed gearbox and seperate chassis construction. Available in 4 door sedan (P310) and 5 door wagon (WP310). There was a smaller engined version available called the '310' , which has the 988cc 37hp OHV 4cyl C series engine.

DATSUN  BLUEBIRD P311
(1961 Model)

The P311 is basically the same as the P310, but if you put your foot on the accellerator and you'll notice the changes that were made. Power is up by 25%, thanks to a new twin throat carburettor and some other engine modifications. The new engine was now designated the E-1, and was a 1189cc 60hp OHV 4. New also was the 'Full Synchro' 3 speed gearbox. Available in 4 door sedan (P311) and 5 door wagon (WP311). There was a smaller engined version called the '311' which had the 988cc 45hp OHV 4cyl C-1 series engine. 

DATSUN  BLUEBIRD P312
(1962 Model)

The P312 is mechanically the same as the P311, with the 1189cc 60hp OHV 4cyl. E-1 series engine. New body features a new much larger (and better looking) tail lights, the 1962 model has one piece tail lights with the amber indicator lens on top. It also has a new grille that now half encases the indicators, in the centre of the grille is a square section that protrudes slightly. The top section of the grille has four horizontal slots. It has a new dash board with a pronounced forward facing fold on the top. The crease in the panelwork that runs just beneath the side mouldings now continues straight to the end of the car. Available in 4 door sedan (P312) and 5 door wagon (WP312). There was a smaller engined version available called the '312' which has the 988cc 45hp OHV 4cyl C-1 series engine. The DP312 was a 'deluxe' version with different upholstery, carpet and larger side mouldings.

The car pictured above is actually a DP312-L, which was an interesting new model variation. This car  was known as the 'Fancy deLuxe', and was the same as the 'deLuxe' version but also was fitted with 'Ladies Car Accessories'. The items that were deemed necessary for a female driver included larger internal door handles, a shoe rack for high heel shoes, yellow or pale green upholstery to match similar external paint schemes and a flasher relay that plays organ music when you use the indicator instead of just clicking.

DATSUN BLUEBIRD P312
(1963 Model)

The 1963 P312 is pretty much identical to the 1962 model except for a change in the grille and tail light design. It continues to use the 1189cc 60hp OHV 4cyl. E-1 series engine. The tail lights are now a two piece design with the red stop light lens on top and the amber indicator beneath. The new grille no longer has the protruding square section in the middle, it now has eight smaller horizontal slots at the top. Available in 4 door sedan (P312) and 5 door wagon (WP312). There was a smaller engined version available called the '312' which has the 988cc 45hp OHV 4cyl C-1 series engine. The DP312 was a 'deLuxe' version with different upholstery, carpet and larger side mouldings.

There was a pick-up and a van that were based on the design of the 310, 311 and 312 Bluebird sedan. Although they appeared to nearly identical to the sedan they actually had a different chassis and suspension. The sedans had independent front suspension with coil springs but the pick-up and van had torsion bar front suspension. The pick-up and van were refered to as the 320 series, and you can see them on the Small Commercial Vehicles page.

Big changes for 1964. Replacing the English inspired design of the 310/311/312 series was an all new shape by the Italian designer Pininfarina. New too was the unitary construction of the body, rather than the seperate chassis of the previous model. It continued to use the same 1189cc 60hp OHV 4cyl. E-1 engine as the P312. This model has a grille with 4 groups of 3 horizontal bars and 6 vertical bars. The grille has a large round emblem with a gold 'D' in the middle. Tail lights have a large round stop light. Available in 2 door sedan, 4 door sedan (P410) and 5 door wagon (WP410).

DATSUN BLUEBIRD P410
(1965 Model)

In September 1964 there was a change in the design of the grille, the new grille has 13 horizontal bars and 9 vertical bars, the middle horizontal bar and the 3rd and 7th veretical bars are slightly larger than the rest. The large round emblem has been replaced with a rectangular shaped emblem. It now has rubber blocks on the bumper over riders.

DATSUN BLUEBIRD P411
(1965 Model)

The P411 is pretty much identical to the previous P410 except it now has a new larger engine. The new J13 engine is a 1299cc 67hp OHV 4cyl and is a development of the previous E-1 series engine. It was available in a 2 door sedan, 4 door sedan (P411) and 5 door wagon (WP411).

DATSUN BLUEBIRD P411
(1966-1967 Model)

In late 1966 there were some changes made to the P411. The new grille has 7 horizontal bars and has a narrow emblem with a 'D' in the centre and a red rectangle above the D and a blue rectangle below. There is a new tail light design, they are a rectangular shape and now have a reversing light between the stop and indicator lenses.

DATSUN BLUEBIRD SS DP411
(1966 Model)

The SS Sports Sedan was identical to the P410 and P411 sedan except it had twin 38mm SU carburettors and a different exhaust system. The first version of the SS, which came out in 1965, is the DP410-MTK, had a 71hp version of the 1189cc OHV 4cyl E-1 engine. The second version, the DP411-MTK, which came out in late, had a 78hp version of the 1299cc OHV 4cyl J13 engine. The only external visual difference between a P410 and the DP410-MTK is the SS emblems on the 'C' pillars and a different grille emblem. The DP410-MTK grille emblem is the same as the 1965 P410 except is has 'SS' on it instead of 'D'. In 1966 there was a new grille and a new long badge saying "DATSUN', which was later used on the side of the 1967 1/2 to 1970 export model Fairladys. It was available in a 4 door (DP410-MTK and DP411-MTK) and a 2 door (DP410-RTK and DP411-RTK). All SSs had 4 speed floor change gearboxes.

DATSUN BLUEBIRD SSS R411
(1966 Model)

This interesting little car had the Fairlady 1600's 1595cc twin SU carb. 96hp OHV 4cyl. engine, giving it a power to weight ratio of 109hp/1000kg. The engine was a bit of a tight fit, the only way they could make it work was to have the exhaust come straight out and through a hole in the inner guard into the wheelarch area and then go down under the car. Early R411s had drum brakes all round but most had front disc brakes and drums at the rear. All R411s had a 4 speed close ratio gearbox. There are a couple of different variations of the SSS (Super Sports Sedan), the early models had the same grille as the P411, but the emblem said 'SSS' instead of 'D', later models had a grille with 2 groups of 5 horizontal lines, with a long "DATSUN' emblem, which was later used on the side of the 1967 1/2 to 1970 export model Fairladys. The USA got 2 versions of the R411, they got the SSS and also a more basic version that had the dashboard of the P411, the basic models didn't have SSS emblems but instead had '1600' emblems. The USA also got an optional 3 speed Borg-Warner automatic transmission. It was also available in a 2 door sedan (R411-R). The USA also got a wagon version (WR411).

There are a few variants of the 410 and 411 series. The DP410 and DP411 was a 'deluxe' version with different upholstery, carpet and larger side mouldings. The DP410-L and DP411-L was the 'Fancy Deluxe' version with 'Ladies Car Accessories', the items that were deemed necessary for a female driver include larger internal door handles, a shoe rack for high heel shoes, yellow upholstery and a flasher relay that plays organ music when you use the indicator instead of just clicking. There was a pick-up and a van that were based on the design of the P410 sedan, they were similar in appearance to the sedan but they actually had a different chassis and suspension. The sedans had independent front suspension with coil springs but the pick-up and van had torsion bar front suspension. The pick-up and van were refered to as the 520 and 521 series, and you can see them on the Small Commercial Vehicles page.

DATSUN BLUEBIRD P510
(1968 Model)

An enormous selling car. The P510 was fitted with the all new L13 1296cc 77hp OHC 4cyl. engine or the L16 1595cc 96hp OHC 4cyl. engine. It had independent rear suspension and front disc brakes. Available in 2 door sedan, 2 door coupe, 4 door sedan, 5 door wagon (without the independent rear end) and the SSS super sports sedan, in 2 door and 4 door, with a twin SU 109hp version of the L16 engine. Continued in production until 1972.

earlydatsun.com focuses on pre-1968 models. For more detailed information about later model cars, such as the 510, we recommend visiting our links page to find websites relating to these models.
 
 

CUTIE FACT - Nissan were originally going to call the 310 series cars the Datsun Snowbird, until someone pointed out that the term 'snowbird' was actually an 1950s American slang term for a cocaine addict. This wasn't the only time the Japanese had to change a potentially inappropriate car name. In the 1990s Toyota were about to release their new large family sized car in Australia, which was to be called the Toyota Centaur. In 1943 a Japanese submarine torpedoed an Australian Naval Hospital ship, that was clearly marked with red crosses, called the HMAS Centaur off the coast of Brisbane killing most of the 300+ injured people onboard. After this was pointed out to the local Toyota executives they decided to re-name it the Toyota Avalon.