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EARLY DATSUN
BOOKS
This is a list of books relating to pre 1970 Datsuns, or that will be of interest to Early Datsun owners. Many of the books listed here are no longer available new, so you will have to keep an eye out in secondhand bookshops and at swap meets etc. If you know of any other books let me know. |
| FAIRLADY - Japan's First Sports
Car
by Phill Brook The definitive book on Datsun Sports cars. Exhaustively researched, beautifully presented, if you are in any way interested in Datsun sports cars you have to buy this book. Avaliable online at www.users.bigpond.com/fairlady/ . Don't wait another minute, buy it now ! Alan's Rating; ***** a must have! DATSUN AUTOMOBILES FROM JAPAN by Halwart Schrader published by Schrader and Partner GmbH Munich, Germany 1976 This is one of the best books on Early Datsuns I've ever seen. Printed in Germany with text in German and in English, it includes well over 100 photos (all black and white unfortunatly) covering every major model from 1932 to 1976, plus pre Datsun cars including the Dat, Datson, Gorham and Lila. Why it took a German to write the most detailed book on Early Datsuns I'll never know, but I'm sure glad he did. Alan's Rating; ***** start looking for it now! THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE JAPANESE CAR by Marco Ruiz published by Crown Publishers Inc. New York,USA.1986 A very good book about the Japanese car industry covering all major brands. It has a large section on Nissan and a very small section on Prince. Mostly all the photos are in Black and white. I think it is still available. Alan's Rating; ***** a must have! THE OBSERVERS BOOK OF COMMERCIAL VEHICLES by L.A.Manwaring published by Fredrick Warne & Co. London UK 1966 A little pocket book by the company that makes all the observers books of birds, butterflies, etc. Has photos of all major makes of commercials available in 1966. Has a section on Nissan and Prince plus all the other Japanese makes. Alan's Rating; *** info on trucks and utes is hard to find THE RECKONING by David Halberstam published by Bantam Books London 1987 "How Japan beat the United States in the auto industry war and rewrote the rules of international buisness competition." This book explores the difference between Japan end the USA by examining the history and buisness practises of Nissan and Ford. No photos and practically no model info but it does have one of the most thoroughly researched corporate histories of Nissan (and Ford) you will ever see. Alan's Rating; **** like all good books, in this one the good guys win! NISSAN SILVIA RESOURCE BOOK compiled by Alan Bent I can't forget to mention this book! This is a book that I compiled and wrote myself. It is intended as a reference book for the owners of the Nissan Silvia CSP311 coupe, but it will also be of interest to anyone wanting to learn more about the Silvia. (three print runs over three consecutive years all sold out, may be fourth edition next year, maybe!) Alan's Rating;*****buy it now! ( I may be a little biased on the subject) CAR AND DRIVER ON DATSUN Z, 1600 AND 2000 published by Car & Driver Magazine Los Angeles 1985 A book reprinting road test articles by Car & driver magazine (not the worlds best car magazine) about Zs and Fairladies. Mainly all Z stuff you can get anywhere, only 2 articles on Fairladies. Alan's Rating; * don't bother DATSUN ROADSTERS 1962-1971 published by Brooklands Books Surrey England Reprints of articles by several different motoring magazines, covering Fairlady 1500, 1600, 2000 and SP213 models and Bluebird P311. Alan's Rating; *** a good selection of articles DATSUN ROADSTER PARTS CATALOG printed by Rallye Enterprises Ltd. Rallye Enterprises is a buisness in the USA run by a major Early Datsun nut and specialises in parts for Fairladies. There is practically nothing these guys can't get for your Fairlady. His parts catalog is very detailed containing many exploded views reprinted from original Nissan parts books.(exploded views are extremely useful when rebuilding things such as carbs, steering boxes etc.) It also has heaps of great tips and tricks to keep your car going, plus road tests and pretty pictures. You can order it from Rallye Enterprises, P.O.Box 367, Graham, Washington,USA, 98338. Or e-mail Dann at Rallye@datsunroadster.com Alan's Rating; **** a must for Fairlady owners FAIRLADY-1 published by Neko Publishing Co. Ltd. Fairlady-1 is the first book in a 3 book series about Datsun Sports Cars. Fairlady-2 and Fairlady-3 are mostly about Z cars. Fairlady-1 is about the Fairlady 1500, 1600, 2000, the Silvia and the 240Z. It is a spectacular book, with many detailed photos of each model, including many close-up photos. It probably makes facinating reading too. I wouldn't know because the only thing wrong with the book is that it's all printed in Japanese! You can still learn lots about the cars as the Japanese use the same number system as we do. Even still, it's worth getting just for the pictures. Oh, the other problem with the book is that it's enormously expensive. Don't expect much change out of $100. Alan's Rating; ***** if you can read Japanese, **** if you can't FAIRLADY-2 published by Neko Publishing Co. Ltd. Fairlady-2 is mostly about Zs, but there is some interesting stuff. There is a section about the Fairladys that competed in the Monte Carlo rally, a small section about the Fairlady SP213 and a section with Fairlady production numbers and a list of the original paint codes. As with the Fairlady-1 book, it is all in Japanese and is expensive. Alan's Rating; *** if you can read Japanese, ** if you can't DATSUN 311-1600 & 2000 SPORTS CAR published by Chilton's This is a reprint of the factory workshop manuals for the Fairlady 1600 and Fairlady 2000.The factory manuals aren't the best, but there is a lot of useful information. DATSUN 311-1600 & 2000 SPORTS CAR published by Motorbooks International Basically the same as the book listed above. This is a reprint of the factory workshop manuals for the Fairlady 1600 and Fairlady 2000. NISSAN/DATSUN - A history of Nissan Motor Co. in USA by John Bell,Rae published by McGraw-Hill This is a 330 page book about the history of Nissan in the USA from 1960 to 1980. To be honest I haven't read it all yet. I read a small section of it when I bought it and the bit I read was filled with inaccuracies and errors, this has put me off reading any more of it, it has cast a question mark over the quality of the research the author has done. Alan's Rating; * there is no point having a big flashy book if it's contents are of questionable quality PETERSEN'S COMPLETE BOOK OF DATSUN published by Petersen Publishing Like most of Petersen's car books it is half history and articles and half 'how to do it' tune up guide, because of this mixture is compromises the book and it isn't a particularly good tune up book or history book. It is mostly about 1970s Datsuns but there are some very interesting sections on early Datsun history and it is worth getting just for the article on the history of Datsun commercial vehicles. Alan's Rating; **only a few pages are worthwhile reading, but those pages are particularly interesting. THE COMPLETE BOOK OF JAPANESE IMPORT CARS published by Petersen Publishing Should have been called 'THE IN-COMPLETE BOOK OF JAPANESE IMPORT CARS', it is a very basic overview of mostly 1970s model Japanese cars, though the article about a guy putting a 283 Chevrolet V8 into his 320 is good for a laugh. Alan's Rating; * if you see it for sale somewhere for $1 get it, otherwise don't bother. CHILTON'S REPAIR + TUNE-UP GUIDE - DATSUN 1961-1972 There are a few different versions of this book but the first version is the one to get, it covers the models from 1958 to 1968, plus the early book has a groovy 4 page section with clear plastic sheets showing the internals of an engine. It is not fabulously well detailed but does have some pretty useful repair information. Alan's Rating; *** some interesting and useful content Nissan printed workshop manuals, owners manuals, parts catalogs and sales brochures for every model they made. These range in quality from extremely helpful to a laughable joke. No matter what the quality of the manual it is always good to get the manuals for your car. Nissan can't supply them anymore so keep an eye out at the swap meets. Nissan also printed other cool things such as specifications books, flat rate schedules (to tell dealers how long it takes to do certain jobs on each model) and "General view of Nissan Motor Co." books detailing all their products for each year, all are worth looking for. back to the Index Page |
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