Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. The Datsun 510 is a rare sight on the street these days, and we've seen just one (this '71 sedan) in this series prior to today. Now we're adding another, and a wagon at that!

I'm not able to get an exact model year for this car, what with my lack of early-Datsun expertise, but the pre-Malaise bumpers and side marker lights indicate that it's probably a late-60s/early-70s car. I'm sure there's someone out there who can point to some year-specific items and get us an exact year (this car isn't listed in the state smog check database and, no, I'm not willing to risk the rage of car owners by trying to get the VIN off the dash tag).


The wagons don't have the snazzy independent rear suspension installed in the sedan and coupe 510s, but they were still pretty good performers for their day. Other than the big tires, this one appears pretty close to stock condition, but there's no telling what's under the hood.


It's great when two DOTS cars live within sight of one another; that's the Evil 1970 Cadillac across the street.

Send an email to Murilee Martin, the author of this post, at murilee@jalopnik.com.