Datsun/Nissan VIN Repository??

[zerow]

Is there a way to find out which dealer a Datsun car or truck was originally sold from?? I know that General Motors cats can make a call and get information about their specific model, where it was made, where it was shipped to, etc, etc. Maybe it's a stretch, but I got all teary-eyed nostalgic seeing the pic from the SoCal get together in August at the old Fontana Datsun (I was born in Fontana ;)) My dad bought the 610 sedan I've got when I was three years old, and it was 8 years used at the time, second owner, from an Isuzu dealer in Riverside. I am sure it may have been a local sale as the mileage was only 83K when he bought it. I just want to represent and maybe even get some shots of her at her old dealer. (BTW: Yes, Isuzu/420 fans, this means I will have some license plate frames available off my sedan from the old Riverside BUDD Isuzu) hehehe....

[Pacific coast Datsun]

Good idea & id also like to "track" both my Datsun's. Id assume a call into Nissan corperate may be in order. Maybe they have a way to find out what vehicles went to what dealer. Or..go to the Datsun heritage museum & ask the prople who run that,they may know. As far as the "Fontana" Datsun dealer pics it was kool...like stepping back in time...

[Gensaiken]

I'm pretty sure the numbers aren't like the GM system. I think the most you might find is a record of what vin numbers ended up at what dealerships but who knows where that record might be burried. :(

[lynchfourtwenty]

whats isuzu got to do with bud an 420? lol should i be a isuzu fan? wtf? lol :P

[zerow]

whats isuzu got to do with bud an 420? lol should i be a isuzu fan? wtf? lol :P

 

I wasn't "pinching on" anyone, lynchfourtwenty...When I had the plates on my 610 in high school, the frames said RIVERSIDE across the top and in larger letters on the bottom BUDD. I got a lot of looks and laughs, and considering my extracurricular activities in high school... :rolleyes:... consequently "branded". At least I was an honor grad, just smoked more than I should have.

[lynchfourtwenty]

hehe i see i see :P

[zerow]

Good idea & id also like to "track" both my Datsun's. Id assume a call into Nissan corperate may be in order. Maybe they have a way to find out what vehicles went to what dealer. Or..go to the Datsun heritage museum & ask the prople who run that,they may know. As far as the "Fontana" Datsun dealer pics it was kool...like stepping back in time...

 

I can only smile. As long as you truck guys can have it in your heart to welcome a sedan into a picture like this...

 

As long as I can get a dealer where the big truck dropped her off, that is good enough for me. I want to look for and sport some license plate frames from that dealer. Most people toss that kind of stuff, but I like nostalgia, and if the dealer wants some shots of her for their lobby, so be it. Most Nissan dealers look to artsy on the inside nowadays anyway. Liven it up, send them a pic of your Datsun today!

[moparvwfreak]

you can also do something like that with later model (81+) VWs. hell you can get a "birth certificate" from them. it would be kinda cool though to have that info for datsuns as well. someone call nissan and find out?

[Tedman]

I'd be surprised if there's any record anywhere of what Datsun dealer originally sold what cars in what year, but you never know. If you know what city it was sold when new, somewhere surely there exists a list of Datsun Dealers during that time period. I guess I'm lucky. I bought my car from the original owner. I have the warranty booklet and other docs that show the Datsun Dealer it was purchased from:

Good luck!

[zerow]

I will call Nissan Corporate HQ on Monday and check this out. I got to thinking, and I'm aiming this at those who are a little older than I: What year were the Datsun Guarantee Cards handed out with the cars?? I have one, it's not the one for my specific car, but I will make some blanks from it and have my information put on it. A nice piece of nostalgia, brought into modern day.

[zerow]

I'd be surprised if there's any record anywhere of what Datsun dealer originally sold what cars in what year, but you never know. If you know what city it was sold when new, somewhere surely there exists a list of Datsun Dealers during that time period. I guess I'm lucky. I bought my car from the original owner. I have the warranty booklet and other docs that show the Datsun Dealer it was purchased from:

Good luck!

 

Darned good question, Tedman. And LUCKY YOU! I could only wish for something like that. I can assume that since there are a couple of dealers near Riverside, I am sure it would be one of them, but who knows. Most of these cars were bought from dealers that had some credit or credit union/bank set up with the company the first owner would have purchased it from. I had a '71 Toyota, I was 3rd owner, and it was bought from a dealer in Long Beach, CA. The original owner worked for one of the supermarket chains, lived here in Riverside and he would commute to work. I sold that car with its original license plate frames still attached.

[Steroid]

This is a good and important thread. I am hoping that the Nissan Museum folks recognize what We have been learning and compiling here. I think that a "consultant" from Our forum should be added somehow to what they are doing. I am sure that We have gained information that even they don't know about. I have been an advocate on history since joining both forums. It DOES need to be placed somewhere. More on that later..

 

On the Fontana Datsun picture: This idea came about from a conversation with Joe Mollis, who was a founder and met at Fontana Datsun with SCDP 30+ years ago. You will see and hear more shortly on that subject, but We're (Guy, Mark and Myself) are not quite ready to correctly fill in that story in history. There were photos taken years ago of the SCDP club at the same building. That is what We tried to re-create. Also ( see the black and white photos in the 620 gallery section) the Escondido chapter did the same at Escondido Datsun. It was VERY cool to be allowed to take those photos. Maybe next year We can DOUBLE the vehicles in the photo!! Cars too!!!

[lynchfourtwenty]

i think steriod invented "customizing" datsuns.. its only a legend.. or a myth.. but some say its true.. :P

[djlotus]

Now I may be wrong, but can't you look into the past owners via title from the DMV? At one point or another the dealership holds the title.

[Gensaiken]

Now I may be wrong, but can't you look into the past owners via title from the DMV? At one point or another the dealership holds the title.

 

for some cars they have no records in a certain state till recently or some states like california if they haven't been registered for X amount of years the record is lost.

 

My car has been in oregon since 98 but before that I have no idea where it came from.

[OL YELLER]

Ya mean like havin this stuff?...This is my 72 620 and the original owner still lives in Garden Grove and is watchin and waitin fer me to finish "her" truck.

 

[MikeRL411]

Whoever I finally leave my 1967 RL411 to will be in hog heaven. I have my original bill of sale, all license plates that were ever on the car since 1968, copies of all service / repair orders and the original distributor cover, "Datsun" marked original spark plug cables and original mechanical voltage regulator.

[zerow]

This is a good and important thread. I am hoping that the Nissan Museum folks recognize what We have been learning and compiling here. I think that a "consultant" from Our forum should be added somehow to what they are doing. I am sure that We have gained information that even they don't know about. I have been an advocate on history since joining both forums. It DOES need to be placed somewhere. More on that later..

 

Steroid, Thank You. I have been thinking this out since I got the wife's project (a 1953 GMC 1/2 ton Long Bed truck) I would love to know my sedan was watching traffic at the old Fontana Datsun, or Riverside Datsun, waiting for her buyer to take her home. I get waaaay too attached to cars, and I have known where every car I have bought was originally was purchased, except the truck, which was narrowed down to the Northern California area by GM. Enough about that for now...

 

Nissan has got something, I can feel it, it's just a matter of prying, or whatever is necessary, to get it out to the public. Grandma with her old 510 wagon, toolin' around to get groceries, does not care where her car came from, she probably has owned it since new. It's the small crowd of us who get excited about another Datsun thats completed and saddened to hear another Datsun is at the junkyard that want to know. I forget who had the VIN lineup for the 510s, we don't need that here on Ratsun, we just want to know where our car/truck had come from, and give a little something back to the dealer.

[Steroid]

Thank You for the complement! If I am known for anything, it will be for bringing BACK 70s truck customization, I guess. I wasn't even driving yet when I started noticing customized trucks. I do not get credit for "inventing" truck customizing. I merely noticed it at My first run in 1975 and was off and running. When We get finally to hook up with Ron Mangus and Jim Knight, We will get a better idea of when it really started. By the time I went to My first run there were already minitrucks with walkthru conversions, molded flares and hoodscoops, etc. They get the credit.

 

Now on the VIN subject: Maybe We can get a sticky with the title of "verified dealerships", or something like that. ONLY if We supply the address and name of a dealership We could almost track them all down. Above are 2 dealerships that I never knew existited. It would be cool to find where all, or at least most, dealerships were located. Make it a "no talking thread" with ONLY the listings. MORE HISTORY!!!!!

[MikeRL411]

I bought my RL411 from Staley Motors in Great Falls Montana in 1968. He sold the dealership 2 years later and the new owner renamed it International Motors. Staley always maintained that his dealership was the second authorized in the Continental USA. Datsun acknowledged the San Diego dealership, still in existence, was number one, but only acknowledged a list of the "first ten" beyond that. Staley got them to unofficially say that his dealership was in the first five, but would not put it in writing. Would someone ask Mr. K at the Datsun museum on 12 September if he has a record of the early dealerships?

[zerow]

Now on the VIN subject: Maybe We can get a sticky with the title of "verified dealerships", or something like that. ONLY if We supply the address and name of a dealership We could almost track them all down. Above are 2 dealerships that I never knew existited. It would be cool to find where all, or at least most, dealerships were located. Make it a "no talking thread" with ONLY the listings. MORE HISTORY!!!!!

 

Roger that. Good Idea. Lets make the first two dealerships the Escondido Datsun and Fontana Datsun, and filter by state, if possible.

[Steroid]

I have addresses for the Escondido, Barstow and Fontana dealers. Spence Low (if interviewed) can fill in a few details. His father owned (I believe) Azusa Datsun. When Spence took a truck and added Jeep 4X4 stuff, His $$$$$ was off and running! I'm sure He is full of info. Mark has an awesome piece from Pacific Datsun. Also, plate frames can verify towns that had one. I had forgotten until Randy posted those photos about LaMans Datsun on E Street in San Bernardino. Can a sticky be added and somehow watched so that only dealers (no talking) are listed??

[OL YELLER]

Peter West Datsun..1601 Santa Monica Blvd..Santa Monica, Calif

 

Torrance Datsun....Hawthorne Blvd. Torrance, Calif.

 

Harbor Datsun..Pacific Coast Hwy....Harbor City, Calif.

 

Pomona Valley Datsun...Holt Blvd...Pomona, Calif

[Steroid]

I wanted to post this photo as a case in point to the earlier discussion of how early customizing was going on. This photo is from May 1975. It was taken at My first run. At this point My truck was somewhat stock........ wheels, a few tricks, window curtans, etc. But look at Daryl Eve's "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow". He has done almost everything imaginable by late 1974 or early 1975. Molding, shaving, walkthru conversion camper shell. This work had to have been begun in 1972 or 1973 at the earliest. That gives a timeframe on a full custom of that era. It took Me another year and a half to get My Datsun SS to this stage of the game. That makes Daryl at least 3 years ahead of My first custom.

 

[zerow]

I made a call to Nissan Corporate this morning. I was directed to their customer service department. I had requested to find out if Nissan Corporate had any information regarding where a particular Datsun was first sent to and ultimately sold by. I think I blew the gal's mind when I gave her my Datsun's VIN number, and it wasn't 17 digits. She placed me on hold, and after not long a wait, was told she did not have a way to find that information. Well crap...:mad:

 

I can hold out hope that someone, somewhere, might have this information stored away and we can get at it. In the meantime, keep hope alive...