The little Datsuns of the early 70s are just about gone now, though a few still roam the streets of the Island That Time Forgot. We saw a '75 B210 last fall, and now we've got an even rarer machine in this early-70s 1200. I'm calling it a '71, but it might be a '72 or maybe even a '70; we'll need to rely on the serious Datsun fiends out there to nail down the exact year.

This car may spend most of its time garaged, but I see it on the street in my neighborhood from time to time. It appears to be an original, unrestored time capsule of an early Datsun. I'm hoping I'll be able to find the owner one of these days and ask him about this little jewel's story.


Known as the Sunny back in its homeland, the 1200 was cheap, got great mileage, and was way more reliable than its European and Detroit competition. And it has an interesting Japanese racing history as well!


Who knows, maybe this is the original Yankees bullpen car (though apparently the Dodgers had one too).