I Bet You Thought These Were Extinct: 1981 Datsun 510 Wagon vs 1981 Subaru GLF Coupe

On today’s Shitbox Showdown, I’m showing you around my own stomping grounds again, looking at some old forgotten Japanese cars that not only run and drive, they’re in regular use. But first, let’s see how yesterday’s inline sixes fared:

Comfortable win for the Hornet. I think that would be my choice as well, though I do like a good ’70s van. Lots of possibilities there that don’t involve free candy, thank you very much. (Really? That’s where all your minds immediately go when you see a panel van?) Oh, and as for what AMC stands for, I always heard “Ain’t My Car.”

Today’s choices are rare, probably even extinct, in other parts of the country, but here in the Pacific Northwest, they’re still just everyday cars. In fact, I think I’ve seen both of these cars running around, but there’s also every chance that it was a different silver Subaru coupe and a different maroon Datsun wagon that I’m thinking of. Cars this age in this condition, still earning their keep, just aren’t that hard to find around here. It’s wild, from the perspective of someone who moved here from the Midwest and is used to having seen these cars rusted out twenty years ago. But here they are, largely rust-free, still running and driving – one of them even claims to still be daily-driven. So let’s take a look at them, shall we?

1981 Datsun 510 Wagon – $3,400

Engine/drivetrain: 2.0 liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD

Location: Battle Ground, WA

Odometer reading: 147,000 miles

Runs/drives? Runs great, according to the seller

First, let’s define what we’re dealing with: This is not the “cool” 510, the “poor man’s BMW” campaigned by Pete Brock, the one everybody loves. You aren’t going to find one of those anymore for Shitbox Showdown prices, even a wagon. This is a later model, known in Japan as the Nissan Violet. It’s still a neat old car, though: Nissan’s NAPS-Z twin-spark four-cylinder drives the rear wheels through a manual gearbox. That alone makes it more interesting than a whole host of other cars.

It’s not in bad shape, either. There’s a pretty good wrinkle in the left front fender (this is what makes me think it’s the same car I’ve seen around), and the paint is faded, but true to form for this part of the world, it isn’t rusty. The inside of this car gives me a bit of nostalgia: the gauge cluster looks just like the one in my old Datsun/Nissan 720 truck. Might very well be the same part, for all I know. And I can practically hear the old Datsun key chime through the photo: “Dink-donk, dink-donk…”

One of the more popular features of yesterday’s Econoline van was its slotted mag wheels. Well, I’ve got good news for you: this car has ’em too! They’re just stacked in the back. I’m not sure why; maybe they don’t have the correct lug nuts or something. But I bet these will look great on this car.

And before anyone else says it: Yes, the price seems a little high to me too. But I’m starting to realize that the combination of age and inflation makes every price seem too high to me these days, and I bet this car will sell for close to the asking price, even with the banged-up fender.

1981 Subaru GLF Coupe – $2,400

Engine/drivetrain: 1.8 liter overhead valve flat 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: Portland, OR

Odometer reading: 133,000 miles

Runs/drives? Daily driven

Wagons don’t do it for you? OK, how about a two-door hardtop coupe with a flat-four? I don’t know what Subaru has against door window frames, but the frameless windows stretch all the way back to 1971, when this car’s predecessor was introduced. In the case of this car, the quarter windows behind the doors roll down as well, making for lots of airflow on nice days. And that’s not this car’s only party trick: if I’m not mistaken, it also has Subaru’s weird and short-lived third headlight option, though it looks like the little door with the Subaru logo on it is missing.

[Editor’s Note: This cyclops light alone would sell me on this car. – JT]

What this car doesn’t have is something all Subarus have had since the mid-1990s: four wheel drive. Subaru has offered 4WD since the ’70s, but it was an option back when this car was built. It does have the traditional flat-four, in this case a carbureted pushrod design. This one has a Weber carb and fresh head gaskets, and runs well enough to be driven daily.

Outside, it’s a little scruffy, and has a strange two-tone paint job that I don’t think is factory. In fact, the silver part almost looks rattle-canned, or at least touched up with Home Depot’s finest. The seller says it doesn’t have any rust, at least, and I don’t see any big damage, just door dings.

There is one thing that worries me a little about this car, and it isn’t the tiny guard dog. It’s the fact that the registration tags on the license plate appear to be missing, and there’s no front plate. Oregon tags are good for two years, but since COVID, the cops haven’t really been enforcing things like out-of-date registration, meaning that this car might have been running around with no tags on it for quite a while. Is that the correct plate for it? Whose name is on the title? Will it pass DEQ, with the aftermarket carb? All questions worth asking.

There are plenty of boring modern cars here too, of course. But who cares about them, when there are forty-two-year-old Japanese machines like these still running around? Neither one is perfect, but both are more interesting than some Prius or something. And both sound like they’re useable on a regular basis. Which one will it be?

(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)