Hello Larry,
Nissan was the Corporate name, and Datsun was the Car's Brand name. Kind of
like what General Motors is to Chevrolet. Therefore you would buy GM parts
for your Chevrolet, Pontiac, etc. The 1970 SRL311 2000 that I own with
original motor also shows Nissan embossed and painted on the valve cover.
Nissan is also shown on the serial number plate under the hood. Most likely
you have the original valve cover that came with the engine.
One of the interesting things about Nissan historically, is that they would
make tremendous strides in "Marketing" the companies products, then all of a
sudden they would change directions. Many times these changes would cost
them tremendous amounts of consumer recognition especially in the United
States. The Datsun to Nissan name change was used as a case study, by some
marketing courses in the late 1970's. Unfortunately it was used as a case
study of what not to do.
Mr. K recognised the importance in name recognition. Mr. K did a tremendous
job in quickly building the Datsun image in the United States with racing,
and advertising. Mr K had a passion for Datsun cars, and it showed in his
leadership. In the early 1970's Datsun was ahead in name recognition,
product, and dealer strength, compared to all other Japanese car
manufacturers. The Datsun 240 Z was an unbelievable success and created the
coveted "Halo" effect for Datsun. The small Datsun Pick Up truck also
created several new trends for the US market (1st successful small pickup,
1st successful extended cab pickup, etc).
Some industry watcher say that, the car's brand name change from Datsun to
Nissan contributed to a general decline for Nissan's product recognition.
Enjoy the ride,
Mark Gill
Denton, Texas
SRL311 14359
>From: "Meston, Larry" <lkmeston@pscnet.com>
>Reply-To: "Meston, Larry" <lkmeston@pscnet.com>
>To: "'Datsun Roadsters'" <datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net>
>Subject: " Nissan" Valve cover
>Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 13:09:48 -0700
>
> Recently someone pointed out that "Nissan" was embossed on my valve
>cover,
>and wanted to know how that could be since this was a Datsun roadster, and
>Datsun hadn't changed their name until sometime after 1969. I looked at
>him
>blankly and said "That's a good question, I'll ask the group"
> Is mine a 'retro' cover, or is this the way it came??
>Larry Meston
>69 SU 2000
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