Remembering Japanese cars from the past

Tag: skyline HGLC10

Watch Hakosuka Skylines being Unloaded in 1972 – Friday Video

Back in 2008 I started to research early Datsun and Nissan history. One of the things I quickly discovered was that the Hakosuka Skyline was sold here in the Netherlands as the Nissan 2000GT and 2400GT. Ever since, I have been on the hunt for old brochures and other memorabilia proving its existence!

Nissan 2000GT or 2400GT?

Today we have one such a things: a short newsreel from 1972 covering unloading of Japanese cars in the Rotterdam harbor. I was very happy to spot various early 1970s Datsuns and most of them were of the type 100A (Cherry E10), 1200 (Sunny B110) and 1600 (Bluebird 510). My jaw dropped to the floor when I spotted two Nissan Skyline C10s driving down the ramp!

Pair of Nissan 2000GT or 2400GT HGLC10
Pair of Nissan 2000GT or 2400GT HGLC10

If this screencapture is too blurry, a few frames advanced you can clearly see the surfline on the first of the pair of Skyline C10s:

Continue reading

Car feature: Nissan 2400GT HGLC10 at Garage Denissen

About five years ago I found a Dutch Nissan 2400GT brochure for sale on our local classifieds and I posted photos and scans of this brochure on my blog. Then I got contacted by Frans-Jan Petrij about his two Nissan 2000GT and 2400GTs and I posted a few of his photos. One thing led to another and I got contacted by a Nissan dealer called Fons Denissen who told me he actually has a Nissan 2400GT HGLC10 in his showroom!
Nissan 2400GT HGLC10 at Garage Denissen
Obviously I visited the Denissen dealership in 2010 and took a lot of photos of the 2400GT that was crammed between a few modern Nissans and at the back of the dealership there was a Datsun 240Z on a pedestal. Unfortunately my digital camera was dysfunctional so most photos were scrambled and had black lines in the photos. So I made the promise to return to the dealership and I finally was able to keep my promise and visit them again.

In the four years that passed a lot had changed at their dealership. They now also represent the Kia brand, the Datsun 240Z has gone and the Nissan 2400GT took its place on the pedestal: Continue reading

Familiy Album Treasures: Hakosuka towing a caravan

A picture of a Nissan 2000GT towing a caravan is nice, but having a Nissan 2400GT following right behind it is EPIC!
Nissan 2000GT towing a caravan
Nissan 2000GT towing a caravan

The picture was sent to me by Dutchman Frans-Jan Petrij. I found him a year ago through a topic on ZCars forum where he said he used to own several Nissan 2400GTs and 2000GTs (only 59 were delivered in Holland!). I wrote to him several emails and he sent me some pictures of the cars he used to own.

This picture was shot at the Kandersteg pass in Switzerland. He and his family used both the 2000GT and 2400GT to haul the whole family to Switzerland and both the 2000GT and 2400GT took turns to pull the caravan. Of course both cars didn’t have to put any effort in it to do their jobs! ;)

Scans of the Dutch Nissan 2400 GT catalogue

I’ve finally finished scanning the Nissan 2400 GT brochure I bought earlier! It took me a while because I also wanted to translate its contents first and then publish it here. ;)

The cover:
Dutch Nissan 2400 GT catalogue cover
Dutch Nissan 2400 GT catalogue cover

The first page:
Dutch Nissan 2400 GT catalogue page 1
Dutch Nissan 2400 GT catalogue page 1

The second page:
Dutch Nissan 2400 GT catalogue page 2
Dutch Nissan 2400 GT catalogue page 2

Basically the text says the interior is a very roomy interior (five persons) and a very good readable dash.
Full translation can be found here:
http://www.banpei.net/image/nissan-2400gt-catalogue-page-2

The third page:
Dutch Nissan 2400 GT catalogue page 3
Dutch Nissan 2400 GT catalogue page 3

This page gives an overview of all safety features (cage-constructed and two waist seat belts) and shows all important specs. I hope I translated all specs correctly, so don’t pin me down on that! If you have a correction for that: please let me know! ;)
Full translation can be found here:
http://www.banpei.net/image/nissan-2400gt-catalogue-page-3

The fourth page:
Dutch Nissan 2400 GT catalogue page 4
Dutch Nissan 2400 GT catalogue page 4

Text is not that important: it sums up all key characteristics a bit. What is a bit weird is that they call the car durable. Keep in mind that, as far as I know, there are no Nissan 2400 GT’s left in the Netherlands! There are some 2400 GTs left in Portugal, Finland and Switzerland though… Also durable means something else nowadays: would they have planted 1200 trees to compensate its CO2? Or did they construct it out of only re-usable materials?
Full translation can be found here:
http://www.banpei.net/image/nissan-2400gt-catalogue-page-4

And the last page:
Dutch Nissan 2400 GT catalogue rear
Dutch Nissan 2400 GT catalogue rear

Not very interesting. It says the catalogue is from 1970-1972, which are the years the Nissan 2400 GT was sold in the Netherlands.

Hope you appreciated me sharing this with the rest of the world! :P
I only placed smaller versions of the scans online with watermarking (to prevent hotlinking/stealing). If you need the originals for some reason or you want to buy that brochure for some rediculous price, don’t hesitate to contact me! ;)

Another genuine Dutch Datsun catalogue

Got another present from the postman earlier this week:
Dit is Datsun: Dutch catalogue (cover)
Dit is Datsun: Dutch catalogue (cover)

This is a 28 page catalogue to celebrate the 6th anniversary of Datsun in the Netherlands. It also featured a small part about their almost finished new HQ near Lisse.

Dit is Datsun: Dutch catalogue (fold out)
Dit is Datsun: Dutch catalogue (fold out)

The mid sections contains a few fold outs from which this one is the most interesting: the 1972 lineup:
– Datsun 100A (Cherry E10)
– Datsun 1200 (Sunny B110)
– Datsun 1600 (Bluebird 510)
– Datsun 1800 (Bluebird 610)
– Datsun 2400 (Cedric C230)
Nissan 2400GT (Skyline HGLC10)
– Datsun 240Z

Yes, that is not a mistake I made there: Nissan sold the Skyline on its export markets under the Nissan brand. There could have been various reasons to do so from which I personally think it had to do something with the Prince merger…

Dit is Datsun: Dutch catalogue (2000 Hardtop Coupe)
Dit is Datsun: Dutch catalogue (2000 Hardtop Coupe)

As you could see there was a gap in the lineup: the only car not featured in the lineup was the 2000. In the next fold out this car is highlighted as the new model of the 2000 range with a nice drawing of the 2000 Hardtop Coupe. The 2000 is also known as the Nissan Laurel C130 and is very very popular car as a zokusha. ( ? ??)

Of course this catalogue will be scanned and posted here, just like the Nissan 2400GT catalogue I’m currently scanning. (?-ยด)>

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