After a few less than successful attempts at building a sports
car Nissan finally got it right in 1962 with the Datsun Fairlady SP310.
The previous SPL212 and SPL213 Fairladys were rather attractive little
cars, but their performance never matched their sporty looks, and this
reflected in their sales. From 1952, when the first Datsun sports car,
the DC-3 was released up until 1962 when the SP310 arrived, Nissan's total
sports car production amounted to only 515 vehicles. In the eight years
from 1962 until the end of the decade Nissan would sell over 50000 sports
cars, nearly one hundred times more than the previous decade, all thanks
to this beautiful little car.
The new Fairlady was a significantly better car than it's predecessor.
Like the previous Datsun sports cars the new SP310 was based on the mechanicals
of another car in the range, this time it was the 310 series Datsun Bluebird
sedan. The 310 Bluebird was a giant leap for Nissan in mechanical sophistication.
The older sedans were all rather crude, with their chassis and suspension
based on Datsun truck designs. The 310  Bluebird
was very different, and no longer shared any of it's undercarriage with
a truck, instead it had a purpose built chassis with double wishbone front
suspension. A heavilly modified version of this setup was to be used on
the Fairlady. The two main rails of the Bluebird chassis, plus the front
crossmember that the suspension attaches to, were used on the Fairlady,
but significant alterations were done to the rest of the chassis to strengthen
it. The centre part of the chassis rails were doubled, with a second U
shaped section welded under the existing rails. The thin rails that connected
the two main rails on the Bluebird were removed and replaced with much
heavier box sections, similar in size to the main chassis rails. Then the
chassis' most dramatic feature was added, a massive X brace under the seats
that linked both main rails. This feature gave the chassis enormous torsional
strength.
The steering and suspension systems were a modified version of those used
on the Bluebird. The upper and lower wishbones were essentially the same,
but the Fairlady had a different sway bar design, which attached to two
inverted towers under the chassis and then slotted directly into the lower
wishbone. The complete steering system was the same as the Bluebird, except
that the steering box has a larger diameter sector shaft. The rear suspension
featured a live axle design, but instead used the bigger differential and
axles from the larger Cedric sedan. The front and rear spring rates were
very different to those on the sedan.
Also carried over from the Cedric sedan was the engine. Earlier
Fairladys used the same engines as the sedans they were based on, which
meant they used the 1189cc E and E-1 engines. The SP310 used the 1488cc
G series engine from the 30 series Cedric sedan, which apart from being
a substantially bigger and stronger engine than the E series, it also featured
a cylinder head with four intake ports instead of the two on the E engines.
The G engine used in the Cedric had a dual throat down draught Nikki carburettor,
the version used in the Fairlady instead had a single side draught 38mm
Hitachi carburettor, which was very similar in design to the British SU
carburettor. The Cedric produced 71hp while the Fairlady produced 77hp.
The gearbox used was a 4 speed floor change unit with synchromesh on 2nd,
3rd and 4th gears.
The body of the SP310 Fairlady was very attractive. The occasional less-educated
person will claim that the Fairlady is a copy of the British MGB, though
the fact is that the Fairlady was first displayed in 1961, well before
the MGB made it's appearance. In reality the two cars arent even remotely
similar, apart from the fact they are both small convertibles. The Fairlady
if anything has a more Italian look, and holds more in common with the
1959 Fiat 1200 convertible than anything British.
The front of the car features a grille with a chrome surround
that contains a pressed metal grille with five horizontal bars and nine
vertical bars. Either side of the grille sits the headlights, which are
recessed into chrome plated scoops. The bonnet has a raised bulge in the
centre with a small air intake scoop. The car's wheelarches have a small
flare front and back. A rear fin, something akin to a subtle version of
the one seen on a Sunbeam Alpine, is located at the back of the car, starting
just behind the  door
opening and continuing through to the back of the car. Mounted at the back
of these fins is the car's most distinctive feature, it's tail lights.
These consist of two round chrome assemblies on each side that protrude
from the back of the car, and are stacked vertically. Above these is a
reflector in the shape of a smaller version of the bigger tail lights.
The car has a polished stainless steel strip that travels along the entire
length of it's side. On the front guard, just above this strip and close
to the door opening, there is a Fairlady badge. On the bonnet there is
a wings shaped badge with Datsun on it, the same badge is used on the rear
of the car. The boot lid has exposed hinges and a twist to open handle
on top of the boot lid.
Inside the car lives it's other distinctive feature, it's third seat. While
most cars of this size are all two seaters the Fairlady features a sideways
facing third seat. This uncomfortable and cramped little seat sat higher
than the front seats and placed your head above the height of the windscreen,
exposing your head to the wind and all those insects that usually splatter
on the windscreen. This odd feature disappeared from the car late in 1964.
The dashboard of the car is painted the same colour as the outside of the
car, and has four large round dials with a black surround. A small centre
console hangs under the dash and contains a radio and vent controls. The
soft top has a antiquated design, with a frame you have to unfold and assemble
before rolling the fabric over the frame.
In June 1963 an altered version of the SP310 was released.
The first cars used the G series engine with a single side draught carburettor.
In the revised version the G engine was fitted with a new intake manifold
with two 38mm side draught Hitachi carburettors. At the same time the old
pressed steel tappet cover was replaced with a new finned alloy cover.
A new lighter 4 into 2 into 1 pressed steel extractor was also fitted.
All this increased the power from 77hp to 85hp. The only significant external
change was to the badge on the back of the car, which now said Datsun 1500
instead of simply Datsun.
These early three seater Fairladys were in production from
October 1962 until August 1964, when the car was replaced by the two seater
Fairlady SP310. |
A sales brochure for the Datsun Fairlady SP310
|
1962
Datsun Fairlady Specifications
Length - 3953mm
Width - 1495mm
Height - 1275mm
Wheelbase - 2280mm
Weight - 870kg
Top speed - 150kph
Transmission - 4 speed Floor
change |
Engine
Specifications
Model - G
OHV 4 Cylinder
Capacity - 1488cc
Bore & Stroke - 80x74mm
Power - 77hp@5200rpm
Torque - 87ft/lb@3600rpm
Compression - 8.0 : 1
Carburettor - single side
draught 38HJB Hitachi
Final Drive - 3.889 : 1 |
Engine
Specifications
Model - G
OHV 4 Cylinder
Capacity - 1488cc
Bore & Stroke - 80x74mm
Power - 85hp@5000rpm
Torque - 87ft/lb@3600rpm
Compression - 9.0 : 1
Carburettors - twin side
draught 38HJB Hitachi
Final Drive - 3.889 : 1 |
|
