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earlydatsun.com
The Complete Guide to Classic Datsun Cars and Trucks |
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earlydatsun.com
The Complete Guide to Classic Datsun Cars and Trucks |
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| Datsun W110
The Datsun W110 was the station wagon version of the Datsun 110 sedan. It was introduced at the same time as the sedan and features a two piece cargo door, with a framed glass section that opens upwards, and a lower section that folds downwards. Mechanically it is the same as the sedan. |
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| Datsun M110
The M110 is an ambulance / medical specialty vehicle based on the W110 wagon. |
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| Datsun 120
A range of small commercial vehicles based on the Datsun 110 sedan were also produced at the same time. This range of vehicles, called the 120 series, included a pickup truck and a light van. More information about these vehicles can be found in the Datsun 120 section. |
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| Datsun K110
An interesting variation of the 110 sedan is the K110, which is a convertible version of the sedan. Little is known about the K110. This photo is from a 1955 brochure called "Outline of Nissan Datsun 1955" which is a 20 page booklet that is more like a company prospectus. It features photos of factories, assembly lines and test tracks, as well as all the vehicles they built in 1955, including the K110. Yet this seems to be the only mention of the K110 anywhere. No brochure seems to exist, and the 1955 Nissan full line brochure shows six vehicles in the 110/120 range, but the K110 is not listed. I was fairly convinced that the K110 was purely a show car or prototype, until I found a brochure for a 1958 A20 Datsun Cablight truck, which features a photo of a Cablight passing a K110 that is parked on the side of the road, complete with Japanese number plates. More interesting still is the fact that this car has round tail lights, which would indicate it was from a later 112/113/114/115 model range. A tin toy model of the K110 also exists. The mystery deepens. |
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The
Datsun 110 went into production in January 1955. The 110 was the first
car in a line of vehicles that would eventually evolve into the Datsun
Bluebird, a car that would become the backbone of the Datsun range for
decades to come. The basic architecture of the 110 would continue in production,
with a few minor changes, until July 1959, by which time it had evolved
into the Datsun 211.
Styling was fairly modern for it's time, especially when compared to the
previous DB models. There are certainly styling cues taken from Austins
of the era, but with enough details to give it a distinctly Japanese character.
It's giant 15 inch wheels, sitting inside it's completely open wheelarches,
give the car a very upright appearance. The
dashboard in the 110 featured an instrument cluster that was rather inconveniently
located in the centre of the dash, on the following 112 model the instruments
were relocated to be in front of the driver.
The grille on the 110 featured two large horizontal chrome bars, with a
large portion of the grille being painted instead of being chrome plated.
The car has it's front indicators placed at the front of the car, either
side of the grille opening. At the back of the car there are two tall and
narrow oval tail lights. The following 112 model had round tail lights,
and no front indicators. Instead, the 112 had small bullet shaped indicators
that sat on the top of the front guards.
made
version of the single throat down draught Solex carburettor. The D-10 produced
25hp at 4000rpm.
