Last weekend, I posted a good number of cars photographed on bleak parking lots completely devoid of snow. Guess what? The snow finally came during the last couple of days, along with freezing -15°C weather. This weekend is thus nominated the Snowed-In Weekend; some of the cars photographed in a warm garage, some outside.
But here it is, one of the most iconic cars that ever populated Finnish roads in the ’70s: the Datsun 100A. It received a befuddling amount of nicknames during the following years: Apinadatsun (Monkey Datsun), Junansulake (Train Fuse) among the most popular.
And it’s easy to see why: the 100A is at the same time hideously ugly and immensely lovable. As a design piece, it’s incredibly recognizable from a mile away and would definitely deserve to be celebrated even more.
The E10 100A had a one-litre A10 engine producing 53hp. Not a lot, but every single horsepower probably got beaten for its worth on Finnish backroads.
I like the shape a lot more than the equivalent Civic. I’ve never driven one of these, but would definitely look forward to it.
The rear wheels are in the corners, giving the car probably a lot more interior space than you would presume by looking at it. Also, note the numerous rust proofing stickers.
Period correct wheels, too, in tiny size.
The 100A was hugely popular back in its day, and when the E10 shape production ended in 1974, an immense amount of cars were stocked at the Finnish importer and sold as new until 1978. That’s why the photographed car is a 1976-registered one.
[Copyright 2014 Hooniverse/Antti Kautonen]
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