Datsun Type 13

The fully chromed, heart-shaped grille was entirely new and tilted backwards by about ten degrees, unlike the upright design used on earlier Datsuns. The vents on the sides of the bonnet were installed at the same angle as the grille and the earlier cast spoked wheels were replaced with flush, pressed steel items.^[2] Aside from the truck and a panel van, there was also a range of two-door passenger car bodies available: a Phaeton, a roadster, and a sedan with suicide doors.

Popular as a taxi in Japan, the Type 13 was the first Datsun to be exported, with 44 cars sent mainly to South Africa and Australia.^[3] Some cars were sold directly from a ship, touring the world and promoting Japanese-made goods.^[4] An attempt to clothe Type 13 bodies with locally made Australian bodywork ended in bankruptcy after a succession of logistical and engineering failures. 880 Type 13s were built in 1934 alone; the total production overall is uncertain.^[2]

As with the Type 12, the chassis was built by Tobata Casting's Automotive Division in Osaka. Tobata Castings merged with the Nihon Sangyo Co. ("Japan Industries") in December 1933. Nihon Sangyo was abbreviated "Ni-San" in the Tokyo stock exchange. After the merger, the new company traded as Jidosha Seizo ("Automobile Manufacturing"), but in 1934 it was decided to use the stock market abbreviation for the new company and Nissan was formed. The car retained the 12 PS (8.8 kW) 747 cc engine as used on the Type 12, coupled to the same three-speed manual gearbox.^[5]

The Type 13 was the last Datsun to be built mainly by subcontractors, before proper integrated series production began in 1935. There are thus large variations in the bodywork and details of any remaining Type 13s.^[5]

• Original 1934 Datsun 13 brochure (in Japanese) (PDF; 1.4 MB)
• Nissan Heritage Collection
• Ken Togo's paper Infant Industry Policy: A Case of Japanese Automobile Industry Before 1945
• Japanese Society of Automotive Engineers (JSAE)