Engine Numbers

Foreign Differences

Fairlady? 

How Many Cars Built?

Who's got the last one built and when did production stop?

Right Hand Drive Vin#s

Production
Dates

Keep in mind foreign cars used to be titled as year SOLD not necessarily the model year they are. To the untrained eye the cars look alike, but they aren't. To translate into American terms and to use an icon most will recognize, take the 57 and 58 Chevys. If a 4-eyed 58 was titled as a 57 would you refer to it as a 57 Chev? Not hardly. There are no 68 1/2 cars, there are no "early 70" cars without square side marker lamps in the US. They are the model year they are, regardless of what the title shows. Informed roadster owners already know this, but incorrect statements continue to be printed in various places. On January 1, 1969 vehicles began coming with production dates, and by the end of 1970 they were finally attached in a way they would be permanent (well at least they wouldn't fall off after the glue dried out!). The tag only showed date of production, the car would have to meet whatever emission and safety requirements that were in effect for that date. The tag does not show the "model year", which can be different. A "4/69" car is a 69, but a 7/69 is a 70. That's where the VIN (vehicle identification number) numbers come in to play. The fact that we have listed "XX year cars are from VIN 10000 TO 20000 does not mean there were 10,000 cars, it only means that the cars from that model year fall in to THAT RANGE. After 35 years of accumulating VINs from all over the world, it is easy to see that blocks of VIN numbers were skipped or otherwise not used, and where in the numbers this occurred. Many of the cars have been altered by owners which can make some cars a puzzle to identify. (We refer to these as omelet cars.) The following information applies to cars destined for North America only. The exact VIN break can be off in either direction a few numbers. For more info on VIN peculiarities and help in VIN and engine number location on your car please see "Identifying Your Roadster".

63 1500 .SPL310-00087 to 00400 Pretty much visually identical to the more common 64's, but some had script style "Datsun" emblems on the front fenders instead of the usual "Fairlady, and the same Datsun emblem in place of a Datsun 1500, or Fairlady emblem on the rear of the car. A single SU carb feeds the engine. The fuel pump and glass fuel filter are combined in one unit. Chrome valve cover, cast iron master cylinder. Generator, not alternator. Nissan sales brochures show WIDE whitewalls were used. NOTE: Highest vin found so far in this group is SPL310 - 00366.

64 1500 .SPL310-00501 to end (est. 3816) + 00001-00075* 4 large even sized gauges on the dash (not 2 big and 4 little like 65's) non-opening side triangle vent windows, trunk hinges on the outside of the trunk and a twist-to-open trunk handle. (65's have a trunk handle that is a non-moving chrome strip.) The rear shelf behind seats should be about 11 inches deep and not about 2 1/2 feet deep like the 65's. Originally came with a sideways back seat, and even if it has been removed, pocket for the sideways passenger's feet will be there. Hood emblem is one piece (not individual letters like 65's.) Dual carbs, alternator and aluminum valve cover. Side moulding runs all the way to front of car. This is possible as fenders are almost flareless. *NOTE: Japanese sources indicates 00001-00086 were manufactured at the end of 64 production, which could explain why they have higher engine numbers than other 64's. If so, this would mean 00087 is the earliest 1500 Fairlady. Unfortunately this is contradicted by the lowest engine number we show, G 69242, which was installed in SPL310-00075! Car 00076 also has a low engine number. Since SPL310-00070 came with G 89992 we believe the change happened somewhere around 00071-00074. NOTE: No vins found between SPL310 - 00809 and SPL310 - 01288 NOTE: No vins found between SPL310 - 01648 and SPL310 - 02013 RETURN TO TOP

..

65 1500 .SPL310-10000 to end (est. 11124) Two seats not three as earlier cars. Has opening triangle vent windows, a chrome strip for a trunk handle (but with external trunk hinges), 2 large and 4 small gauges, and individual hood letters. A true 65 would also have 2 suitcase-type (or J-hook type) top to windshield latches, NOT 3 knurled knobs like the 62-64's. A true 65 would also have a large rear interior deck (package shelf) like the 1600's (about 2 1/2 feet deep). The battery would be under the hood, not behind the passenger seat like the earlier 1500's. All 1500's should have small flare fenders with side trim running all the way to the headlight scoop. All 1500's were positive ground and had drum front brakes.(I have seen some late 65's that have discs, but all have been 2nd or later owner cars so as yet I haven't found one I was sure hadn't been converted).

65/66/67 1600 .SPL311 00001 to 11000 Inside of the vent windows and windshield frame are chrome, not painted silver. Handles and interior trim are also chrome, not painted or black like the 67 1/2's. Gauges have a chrome ring, not black. Small gauges in dash are alone. All guages single, not combined with one gauge on top of the circle, one on the bottom. Dash has 4 toggle switches, including wiper. Seat back has no latch to keep it from going forward. Fenders have medium flare, hood support is on passenger side (right front). No visors. All engine threads SAE. Emblems should say "DATSUN 1600" in a straight line. NOTE: Only 5 vins higher than SPL311 - 10349

67 1/2 1600 .SPL311 11001 to SPL311 17000 Gauges have black rim, not chrome like 67, inside of w/shield frame, vent frames, door handle pockets dull grey not chrome. Larger flare on fenders. Aluminum rear brake drums. Dual tank brake master cylinder. Emblem (1600) on side of car is BELOW side moulding, Datsun emblem is above side moulding.. Small gauges combined 2 to a circle. Dash has 3 toggle switches, wiper is now separate pull switch. Inside door handles pull OUT to open door, not back like earlier 1600's. Has door lock buttons, earlier 1600's do not. Engine & transmission metric. Side moulding is dished out, not IN like earlier 1600's. Speedo goes to 120, tach to 7000. Fenders have large flare like later cars, not medium flare like earlier... NOTE: Only 2 vins found between SPL311 - 15265 and SPL311 - 17000 RETURN TO TOP..

67 2000 SRL311-00001 to 01000 Also referred to as "67 1/2 2000" Same as 67 1/2 1600's. The only low windshield, flat dash 2000. Also had unique stainless trim around license plate area. Tach goes to 8000rpm, speedo to 160mph. Headlight "scoops" are "satin" finish. Only outer edges are chrome like 1500/1600 and 69-70 2000. NOTE: Have found only 1 cars with a vin between 00343 and 00400 inclusive, and only 7 cars above #701. point to only 650 LHD 2000's being made.

68 1600 .SPL311-17001 to 24000 68 2000 .SRL311-01001 to 07000 Windshield frame no longer detachable. Three top latches, not two. Triangle vent windows do not open. Gauges "sunk in", outer door handles pull up, not push button like earlier cars. Mirror above windshield, not on dash as on earlier cars. Last year for license light in bumper on USA cars. On 68 2000s Headlight "scoops" are "satin" finish. Only outer edges are chrome like all 1500/1600 and 69-70 2000. Speedo on 1600 reads 120 max, on 2000 it's 160. Tach on 2000 goes to 8000, on 1600 to 7000. Fuse box has one row of fuses. NOTE: Only 2 vins found between SPL311 - 22638 and 24000 NOTE: Only 9 vins found between SRL311 - 05978 and 07000

69 1600 SPL311-24001 to 27000 69 2000 SRL311-07001 to 13000 Teardrop shaped front marker lights, small round rear side marker lamps. License light on each side of license plate, not in bumper. Bumper "rubbers" on behind each end of bumper. True 69 and 70 cars also have vin number on plate on drivers side of dash behind windshield. The 69 and 70 models originally would have come with a front apron (piece behind front bumper below grill) that had large center vent holes, not the smaller of previous years. (See sheet metal new parts page) Fuse box has 2 rows of fuses.Steering box changed to recirculating ball style at SRL 09000, SPL 25000. Among the electrical differences, true 69-70's have a 9-prong turn signal switch, not 6 prong like the 68s. NOTE: No vins found between SPL311 - 24765 and SPL311 - 25001. NOTE: Only one vin found between SPL311 - 26746 and 27000 NOTE: No vins found between SRL311 - 12944 and SRL311 - 13000

70 1600 SPL311-27001 to end.((est. 31350) 70 2000 SRL311-13001 to end...(est. 14450) Rectangular side markerlamps, larger rear reflectors next to lower taillights, not above as on 62-69's. Front park lamp lenses do NOT have chrome rim around them. Most dash knobs have drawings not words like 68-69. Stainless trim above top of windshield frame is no longer used. (only visible with top off) Some 70's had extra fuel vapor tank mounted on forward wall of trunk. NOTE: Only two vins found between SPL311 - 30099 and 31002. NOTE: Highest 1600 vin found so far is SPL311-31304 NOTE: Highest 2000 vin found so far is SRL311-14420

The preceding are just some of the differences. There are many minor changes throughout the production. (some cars have also been "modified" by their owners) Speedo's on 69 & 70 read to 140, not 160 or 120 like 67 and 68's. The large gauges on 69 and 70's do not have the chrome circle in the center that the 68's do. The panel behind license plate is angled in at the bottom of 68-70's so that license plate is more vertical. Some 70's also have evaporative fuel controls which among other items necessitates a secondary tank on the forward wall, inside the trunk. Overall the body can look the same if you are new to the car. 1500's have "small flare" front fenders, 65-67 1600's have "medium flare" and 67 1/2-70's have "large" flare front fenders. Rear fender flares vary also. There are 5 different hoods, all of which will bolt on and fit the opening, but vary by latch, emblem holes, position and type of hood support and the moulding on the front edge of the "scoop." The list goes on as some of you have found out trying to swap parts. To help ID cars with lots of missing parts you can check these pictures of what the transmission humps of some unaltered floors look like. RETURN TO TOP

.

Foreign Differences Cars not destined for the USA and Canada can have small differences. Could be left or right hand drive. Front turn signal lenses can be clear or orange. Rear signal lenses on 63-68 were amber. Rear emblems on even later cars may say "Fairlady" instead of Datsun. Side emblems on non North American 65-67s may say "Fairlady." Bumpers may not have holes for guards. Some cars have the USA 69 style teardrop side lights on the front fenders. Most 67-70 non-North America 2000's came with Solex Carburetors. Later (68-70) cars came with a passing light feature not found on North American cars. No emission controls were installed. Some cars back to 65 have the teardrop front side marker lights, but no rear side marker lights. Some 69-70 cars in some markets stayed with the 68 type rear bumper and single license lamp design. There's some great shots of some RHD cars in the book "FAIR LADY, JAPAN'S FIRST SPORTS CAR" available in our Literature Section.

Engine Numbers The engine number will not be the same as the chassis number. U20 engine numbers usually are 400-500 numbers higher, which allowed for spare engines and from the right hand drive cars taking engines from the same numbered supply. The R-16 engine, which began production in 1965, was also used in the RL411 Sedan and Wagon, which was produced in greater numbers. Variations of it's kissin' cousin the H20 continued to be used in a number of other passenger and industrial installations. The G-15 engine was also used in a number of other vehicles. The only major differences are in the R-16 in that at R-40000 the number of main bearing saddles was increased from 3-5 (although it's debatable whether or not that was an improvement) and some of the threaded holes were changed to metric specifications. The year of the engine does not matter unless you are dealing with some emission requirement. As best we can figure; the starting numbers for a given LHD model year are estimated to be as follows. There is sometimes overlap at the beginning and end of a year as they didn't always take the engines in exact order of when the engines were actually produced. If you have a car close to the beginning of a model year and find this information to be inaccurate please let us know. As with all Nissan figures, numbers are approximate. 63 G15 70000 66 R16 02000 69 R16 70000 68 U20 01700 64 G15 72000 67 R16 18000 70 R16 93500 69 U20 07500 65 G15 91000 67.5 R16 40000 to R16 120200 70 U20 13700 65 R16 00001 68 R16 58000 67 U20 00001 to U20 15600

Wait, don't I have a "Fairlady"? "Fairlady" is a model name Nissan started using on its sports models after a Nissan executive saw the broadway play "My Fair Lady." It is still used on Z cars that are kept in Japan or exported to certain destinations. Most of Nissan's cars and trucks had names in the 60's. These names were pulled off cars destined for North America. I've always guessed it had something to do with heading off sales problems with their names. Fairlady, Cherry, Sunny, Violet, Bluebird. Are these the cars of the American Male? We have heard a number of versions from owners about the "Fairlady" name and how it applies to their car. (Is this how fables are born?) We've had quite a few people call and say they have a 196_ "Rallye Roadster". My favorite is the gentleman who called for parts and said he had a 1967 Ladybug. In the 80s I found an ad in the newspaper for a 1967 Datsun Pink Lady. In 2002 someone emailed me looking for parts for a 1965 Fire Lady. (They DID say their car was RED...) RETURN TO TOP

Production Dates These are somewhat of a guess. Some of the very low VINs could have been produced months earlier. Lead times require protoypes to be made long before the model changes are in production. Most manufacturers don't give these prototypes VIN numbers. These dates indicate when quantity production for sale was begun. Factory figures often may be "Introduction" dates as well as "Production Start" dates. 63 SPL310* 9/62-6/63 ... 69 SPL311 10/68 - 6/69 64 SPL310 6/63- 6/64 70 SPL311 6/69 - 6/70 65 SPL310 7/64 - 1/65 67 SRL311 5/67 - 9/67 65-67 SPL311 1/65 - 2/67 68 SRL311 10/67 - 9/68 67.5 SPL311 3/67 - 9/67 69 SRL311 10/68 - 6/69 68 SPL311 10/67 - 9/69 70 SRL311 6/69 - 12/69 * The lowest vin numbers 00001-00086 were assembled 7/64, at the end of 63-64 production, which explains why they all have very high engine numbers. Go figure!

Who's got the last one built? When did production stop? Highest Vin Numbers Found (so far) Before Model Changeover or End of Production: 63 SPL310 - 00365 67.5 SPL311 - 16397 67 SRL311 - 00967 64 SPL310 - 03798 68 SPL311 - 23870 68 SRL311 - 06979 65 SPL310 - 11120 69 SPL311 - 26940 69 SRL311 - 12944 65-67 SPL311 - 10967 70 SPL311 - 31304 70 SRL311 - 14420 . LATEST KNOWN PRODUCTION DATES SPL311-31154 produced in 4/70 SRL311-14346 produced in 11/69

Sales Dates (USA) Again, accuracy is something wished for but not often attained when it comes to "official" recordkeeping. From Nissan USA's sales charts we present the following: SPL 310 NOV 62 to JUL 66 SPL 311 JUL 65 to DEC 70* SRL 311 AUG 67 to FEB 71* Which could explain why there are roadsters titled as 1971s. Back then it was legal for manufacturers to make "new" cars out of storage lot queens.

How many cars were built? Good question, to which there are many answers. The right one is elusive. Numerous "official" figures for each year exist, but can be argued to be wrong by contradictory data. After 30 years we have spent with the roadster as a hobby and later as a business we have recorded a good percentage of the vin numbers, spread pretty evenly throughout the range. Many times we have every 3rd or 4th car or every 10th car, or sometimes 3-4 in a row. We thought we had the run of numbers laid out, but recent information brings up the possiblity that certain vins in the progression were skipped. If a block of numbers is missing or just a small scattering of numbers has been found it may indicate the areas where vins were skipped. Please...feel free to prove us wrong! (or at least throw in your 2¢ worth) How many cars total? Pick a number, and if you speak forcefully, you can be the AUTHORITY! (because we sure don't know.) Taking into account the recent information on vin skipping, I'd be inclined to go along with the figures previously published in the Neko Fairlady Vol II book. Their figures were calendar year not model year, so we have refigured to show model year which is what everyone wants to know. From this I would surmise the following: 1500 LHD 4,157 ............ 1500 RHD 2,749 1600 LHD 26,425 1600 RHD 959 2000 LHD 12,877 2000 RHD 2,129 TOTAL 43,459 TOTAL 5,837 TOTAL 49,296 LHD Estimates 63 1500 290 ............ 68 1600 5800 64 1500 2860 68 2000 4930 65 1500 1100 69 1600 2530 65-67 1600 10400 69 2000 5900 67.5 1600 4300 70 1600 3400 67 2000 650 70 2000 1400 This contradicts the Nissan ID guide that shows sales amounts for left hand drive cars. I believe the difference can be explained. Although it states 3000 more 2000's were sold in the LHD configuration than the total number of 2000s built, it shows that about 3000 less 1600's were sold than the amount built. And to add to the confusion, some of the year by year LHD VIN numbers in the "official" parts book are mixed up with the RHD VIN numbers, which were completely different. Production figures in the Neko book are by calendar year, not model year so it makes it difficult to nail down the individual numbers. The 2000 figures we decided on based on quantity of known engine #s. We will update this page as more rumors, theories, suppositions and possibly facts surface. We welcome any comments or information that any of you can provide. If you think "official" figures carry any weight, forget it. A recent Nissan parts guide shows the roadster ending production 9/69 when we've seen numerous VIN tags that prove that wrong. As mentioned above; the vin number guide in the "official" parts book even has the RHD and LHD vin numbers mixed up. Whether there were 50,000 cars or 60,000 it doesn't much matter now, as a big percentage of them have been recycled into soup cans. What we need to do now is take care of what's left. RETURN TO TOP

.......................