Junkyard Gem: 1978 Datsun 510 Wagon

1977 was one of the years of Peak Wagon in the United States, a year in which automobile buyers right here can select amongst 47 various models of terminal wagon (the wagon matter for 1964 was 47 too). The options were a little reduced in 1978, yet we were still in the Golden Age of Japanese station wagons below back then. Toyota offered Americans three wagon selections for ’78 (Cressida, Corona, Corolla) and also Nissan was right there with the Datsun 810, 510 and F-10. Here’s one of those all-but-extinct 510 wagons, found in a self-service yard near Sacramento, California.

Nissan played fast and loose with US-market Datsun design names throughout the 1970s and right into the 1980s, so today’s Junkyard Gem isn’t related to the renowned 510s of the late 1960s as well as very early 1970s. This vehicle is an A10 wagon, called the Nissan Violet Van or Auster Van in its homeland. The original 510(based on the inner classification Nissan assigned to the 1967-1973 Bluebird)was such a success in the United States that Nissan just reused the name for the variation of the A10 Violet marketed below for the 1978 via 1981 model years. Things got back at much more complex with the 810 a little bit later on, when it progressed right into the Datsun 810 Maxima, then the Datsun Maxima by Nissan, and also lastly the Nissan Maxima. The generation of Violet after this one was sold below as the Datsun(and afterwards Nissan)Stanza, yet don’t blend the Prairie-based Stanza Wagon with the Stanza auto!.?.!! Eventually, the Altima replaced the Stanza as well as the Nissan Violet disappeared. This wagon has correct rear-wheel-drive, like the original 510, and it featured a correct L20 1,952 cc four-cylinder engine. This set had the cylinder head and all accessories tugged off years(most likely years)earlier, however you can still see some bits suggesting that costly($580, or$2,765 in inflation-adjusted 2022 bucks )a/c was set up.