1932 Datsun BuildClick here for the most recent update on this build.
The Concept
I'm planning to build a very non-traditional locost and enter it in the $200X Grassroots Motorsports Challenge. The idea is pretty straight-forward:
| These tubes.... |
...and this station wagon |
will make a life sized version of this |
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I plan to build and drive a replica of the Datsun Type 12 Phaeton, a car I've only seen from photographs and from my hotwheels-sized dicast model (....still in the package.) This replica will use a frame made of one inch square steel tubing (locost-style). The drivetrain and rear suspension will be taken from a 1982 datsun 910 (maxima) station wagon. The station wagon's engine bay is 42 inches long....more than half the wheelbase of the original car. Clearly, a bigger engine and a bigger driver (me) will demand a bigger car. That means the locost replica will be proportionally similar, but the diminsions will be different.
Production History:
Less than 150 of them were built in 1932. They were also built in 1933, but I don't know how many or if any of them were built in later years.
| Links to photos of the Datsun Type 12 Phaeton | My 1982 Datsun Maxima Station Wagon |
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| Original Datsun Type 12 | Locost replica of Type 12 |
| Overall length | 2,710mm (106.69 inches) | ~131" |
| Overall width | 1,175mm (46.26 inches) | ~57" |
| Wheelbase | 1,918mm (75.51 inches) | ~93" |
| Tread (track??) | 965 mm (37.99 inches) | ~53" |
| Engine | Watercooled, 4-cylinder, sidevalve
748 cc and 12 HP |
watercooled, 6-cylinder, SOHC
2.4 liter L24(e): 120 HP |
| Price | ¥1,350 | ~$2000 |
| Source | Nissan Heritage | |
Design Goals
Engine bay: 42" long x width @ front???
Crew compartment: 45" long
This picture of a Type 12 Phaeton has been labled to show
some of
the details I'd like to incorporate in my locost
replica of this car
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