They were once everywhere, possibly as many as the amount of Protons plying the roads today. Owners swear by its maintenance simplicity, reliability as well as ability to run just on petrol fumes. Sales were so consistently good that it was sold more than 10 years with merely a couple of cosmetic updates throughout its lifespan.
The car in topic here is the legendary Nissan Sunny 130Y B11. First brought in by Tan Chong Motors in 1982, it replaced the equally popular Datsun B310 120Y. Priced below RM18K, it was Nissan’s first front-wheel driven mid-sized family sedan. Early versions had a ‘Datsun’ plaque portraying the Nissan – Datsun branding transition. Styling was probably done by someone with a ruler. The front was penned to be rakish with slanted nose and A-pillars. Nonetheless, the rear was more pleasing to the eye compared to the bigger cc Stanza/Langley. The most noticeable parts are the oversized absorber bumpers which serve by minimizing impact and damage.
Design was generally rather plain both inside and out. Inside, it’s an all grey affair. Even so, controls and meter readouts are straight-forward. The meter of initial 2 versions had yellow back-lights and was later updated to red for sporty appeal. Interior space was considered very generous, easily occupying 5 without fuss. One interesting feature was the amount of compartments namely the integrated ones in the door handles. Handy, when one needs to keep items concealed like wallets and handphones.
In the engine bay, the 1270cc SOHC 8-valve straight-four looks rather petite with plenty of space to spare. Nothing fancy with the carburettor fed unit that pumps out a modest 59hp. On the move, it picks up speed leisurely. However once up to cruising speed, the 5-speed long-throw gear ratio coupled with all round independent suspension made it an easy choice for long hauls. Even so, many did wish for better air-conditioning and dreaded the somewhat heavy steering. One of my friends even called it a tank once.
Along its production period, there were a handful of facelifts and versions. The first facelift or more popularly known as the Extra 1, came in 1983. It had a revised front grill, twin side mirrors as opposed to 1 previously, a centre console compartment, and covers for the rear number plate lights. The second facelift in 1984 (Extra 2) saw revised rear lamps, front grill and lights design, meter lighting, rear seats etc. This continued till the 90s where the bumpers had the option to be in body colour. Along the way there was a stationwagon version with its sporty-raked rear windscreen and a more budget edition with square head-lamps, partly exposed inner door panels, minus the inside door-handle compartment and rev counter.
Until today, it is still regarded as one of the most reliable fuss-free cars locally. Some simple repairs just required a pair of pliers and screw drivers. So it comes with no surprise that it was once the best seller for years during its heyday.
Pictures from Zerothundred.com, Wikimedia.org, Lowyat.Net and Nissan.com.jp
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Thanks for sharing i have’t see before such kind of pics of Nissan sunny.
Gary,
Color selection is completely up 2u. My personal favourite is metallic gold/beige/champage n complete in stock form. Panda Sunnys looks nice too but rather plain Jane compared to current cars.
For seats, my family’s ride had it done in a cushion shop complete with additional foam inserts n greyish fabric covers. Ours is d ori non-Extra version, thus d rear back rests didnt hv d headrest so it looked a bit flat. Probably ur biggest headache is d dashboard d door panels, as d dashboard is prone to warping n cracks while d door handles will b’come brittle from sun light. U can easily customize d door panels as its basically a flat covered door board wit openings for d window winders, handle n openers. As for d dashboard, most major ‘repair work’ involved transplanting dashboards from other cars due to d Sunny’s age n rarity at chop shops.
Hello Sir, am so happy to come across your website, as i been trying to search for a true Nissan Sunny 130Y lover or another word a true Legend… When my Dad for the first batch of Nissan Sunny 130Y in 1992, that time was still a child and was my Dad first new car. This car has sentimental value to me cause my dad, best friend drove sunny personally to delivered to our house. That moment I told my dad, that the only thing want is not your property or money but just your Nissan Sunny 130Y;) After he retired plus had problem driving manual and eyes site was weaken and that moment my wish came true….he handed me the car key and said now its your and your all maintenance is under my care….:D
My family, friend and even strange asked to sell it off as it was near….what 29years has gone pass and this my 2nd engine change and 1st time, while dad was still driving it and 2nd time just before CNY 2011. Now am also planning to change the face lift with new paint, interior, dashboard and etc…. but the problem am having is that I don’t know where or how to go about it…. am afraid that there some people who just wanna make money of me and I do have a budget too but also i need your kindness help and advice to guide me through to see the car transform once again to brand new Nissan Sunny 130Y.
Currently, am doing stages due to my budget…. most of underneath the hood had been change but now I wanna take the next step is to paint and touch up all the holes and rust…..due to my own ignorance due my teenage days as i didn’t really had the money to maintain the car according…. that’s why my mom always said to take care of a car is harder then taking care of a wife….LOL;)
Ok enough for all the sentimental stories. Now am decided to few colours… 1st: choice is Black Matt, Why cause it compliment the bumper and just got feeling it might look good and gold sport rim to compliment the colour. 2nd: champagne colour or the same colour as Honda City 96 model, which visualize in some of the sunny colour. 3rd: Am still open to it but due to my budget i have to serious choose the right colour or else would regret.
I also plan to do my interior as per in the pic above and was wondering if you do know any that specialize in rebuilt the seat or interior as per in the pic above period:D and I also need to do the carpet and above interior as it all got holes…. If you do know anyone who able to rebuild nissan sunny 130y with quality finishing….. I this idea came to me when i saw the TV series PIMP MY RIDE….that when the light bulb on my head light up once again…..cool;)
I would seriously appreciate your kindness to help to give advice…which i can rebuild sunny once and be proud of it again. I notice how people has become so material this day as they see what car you drive and the way they had look at me but due to all that….bottom of my head am still proud driving this beautiful fuel saving Nissan Sunny 130Y….cool;)
would always be great to have tea tarik and talk over it….cool.
You can also reach me at my mail:
E. garyquay@gmail.com
M. +6016-628-9013
Great & fitting article, NYC! Partly in reminiscent of my Dad, I can remember full well about that little SUNNY- the man so cherished! In a reasonably good shape, but nothing to shout about…Oh! ..Well,… maybe its reliability (it being engineered on the premise of bare basics, simplicity & all).
But feeding on fond memories, the exceptional sturdiness of that front bumper is what got to me! Practically collision proof! ..Non the worst for wear when it was involved in a pretty solid fender bender, decades ago with a Granny period Datsun(its front end’s damage being massive with the radiator spewing steam…Dat Sun!).
Yes! That piece of crap spun some heart breaks too, constantly overheating with a cracked cylinder block. If you don’t know any better, you’d have figured someone replaced the coolant with milk! And get this…some wisecrack replaced the thermostat, and bypassing the radiator electric fan.
Sometimes it felt like a big block V8 with the fan forever working even if the engine temperature is ideal. It was a case of I’d my cake & ate it already too…I didn’t want anymore!
Strangely, the air conditioning never ever seemed to work very well.
Ultimately, it wasn’t the car itself that made it great! It was the accompanying history charting such things like the caring temperament of the owner etc…..
Or perhaps all the Sunny owners before never had it so good, not without having experienced the Splendid Peugeot 504 back then. Well, that was a totally different ball of wax, wasn’t it! But mostly, it would be about the person whom I missed very much; and who had passed on.
P/s: Would somebody with a suspect frame of mind; and who PLANS to buy the GTR dude’s souped up (what -you-may-call) car, please stand up and be counted!
Thanks for the comments.
My family and extended members at one time had 3 Sunnys. Very hardy work horse. Only issues were aged-parts (minor rusts, service-due steering rack n torn interior door handles).
Agree with Tim that cars nowadays are more into looks than durability.
Hi everyone,
I had been driving my sunny 130Y years1992, for about 4years+ since I went to study at KL. Now, even after I start working, I still driving it every weekend( weekdays working at singapore)& because no $ to buy another 1. lol…
For me, sunny 130y was and is really a good car in terms of fuel efficiency and reliability. Until now, i had done a lot of modification on it which includes dark blue metallic paint(my dad is a car painter), Toyota AE86 front bumper+satria skirt), nissan sentra rear bumper+custom skirt), custom air filter, custom fuel pressure regulator, 195/50 R15 sport rim, custom piping( with original exhaust manifold because my radiator has been modified when i get this car so cannot change, custom mid sportbox, 2 inch piping all the way to sparco muffler.), tinted, and with some led underground light kits.
For the interior, the dashboard has been spray with blue n grey colour and without any major mod because that time still a student. FYI, the top speed is 165km/h tested at highway!:) and if i’m not mistaken, it knock to 100km/h in less than 13sec. The engine respond is quite good because the car is not too heavy(roughly 850kg?). The ori hp is 59hp but after some of my performance mod, i think the hp should has been increased to at least 65-70bhp. The car is well taken care by me. I sure do the engine oil change every 5k or even less with spark plug changed to make sure it has better performance>.< The are others mod which are too many to type here.
Currently, I'm going to modified the Perodua Kenari 'headlamp' onto my Sunny, because my sunny headlight is damn poor. The headlight is too old and very hard to find the spare parts:( .
And after a careful consideration, finally i decide to sell my sunny..haiz..
It was a tough decision for me but i had no choice because Im going to get a better car for better performance. At 1st, i decide to do an engine swap,(ga16de,E15det, bla bla bla) but after a very careful consideration, my final decision still change another car, such as Honda EG, EK, Mit Evo7, Subaru Ver7, Mazda RX-8, Skyline GTT,Silvia S15 or Fiat Coupe with are all the cars in my list now..hehe..
I will upload my sunny soon after i polish it shine shine and this car will start for selling hopefully by next year..
Good to know that. Japanese cars from the late 80s and early 90s, especially Nissan Sunny and Toyota Corolla SE G are really reliable and good cars. This is why they managed to get such a good reputation and branding. But nowadays their quality ain’t that good as the old times.
Good info bro… I have two sunny’s by the way,my dad bought it on 1984 and 1992… currently im using the 92 model,just like what you say it is a legendary car… hahaha… nissan sunny is a car of my life,…
I drove one of these for many years, but then when kau lui susah sikit man, the problem is interior all koyak di. But it was a good albeit dangerous car, haha