The Second World War ended on the 2nd
of September 1945, when Japan officially surrendered. By the end of the
war the Nissan Motor Company was a mess.
Like all the other Japanese car manufacturers
Nissan had been required by the Japanese military to transfer all of it's
production into military vehicles. With the exception of a few sedans built
for military use during the war, mainly the large Nissan 70 sedans, passenger
car production at Nissan had ceased in late 1938. Nissan's production throughout
the war was mostly the large Nissan 80 series trucks. As the war progressed
materials became harder to find, and as a result the trucks started to
be built without many parts such as the guards. Eventually towards the
end some had timber cabins as the supply of steel ran out.
By the time of the surrender Nissan's
production had almost ground to a halt. After the was U.S. General MacArthur
began implementing the program to get Japan's economy back on it's feet,
and to start rebuilding the war ravaged country. Two of the things the
country needed was employment, and trucks to help with the rebuilding,
and restarting the car industry was a way to provide both.
In 1946 Nissan started to gear up and
prepare to begin production again. Factories were rebuilt and repaired,
and the first new Datsun was designed and was ready to go into production.
With material shortages still a problem, and no time or resources to develop
a completely new vehicle Nissan decided to produce a modified version of
the pre-war Datsun 17T. The new vehicle would be called the Datsun 1121,
and it went into production in August 1946.
The 1121 was a very, very basic vehicle.
It used the chassis and mechanicals of the Datsun 17T, but with a new body.
The body itself was crude and rough, most of the panels were either dead
straight or had just one simple curve. All the beautiful ornate details
of the pre-war models was gone. Chrome was impossible to get, so none was
used. The complex grille of the 17T was replaced with a sheet of steel
with holes punched in it. The front guards were just a sheet of steel with
a bend in it.
The engine used was the old pre-war
Datsun type 7 engine, with was a 722cc side valve four cylinder that produced
16hp.
The 1121 was nothing more that a basic
stop-gap model until a better vehicle could be designed and built. It was
in production for only a few months until it was replaced by the Datsun
2124 in February 1947. |
1946 Datsun
1121
Specifications
Length - unknown
Width - unknown
Height - unknown
Wheelbase - 2005mm
Weight - unknown
Top speed - 80kph
Transmission - Floor
change 3 speed |
Engine Specifications
Model - Type 7
Side Valve 4 Cylinder
Capacity - 722cc
Bore & Stroke 55x76mm
Power - 16hp@3600rpm
Torque- unknown
Compression - unknown
Carburettor - unknown
Final drive - unknown |
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