The Datsun 160J probably isn’t a car which immediately springs to mind when you think of mid ’70s rallying, but those in the know will tell you that it was actually immensely successful, even conquering the gruelling East African Safari rally every year between 1979 and 1982. The Safari hasn’t been a part of World Rally Championship since the early noughties but its spirit lives on through the Classic Safari, a very nearly as strenuous event for those cars which contested it in period, and it was for this rally that we helped build the Violet you see here.
The story of how this unassuming looking Japanese saloon conquered one of the world’s mot demanding rallies was both convoluted and compelling, so much so that it was documented in the August 2018 issue of Classic & Sports Car.
“The bardfind 160J was stripped and sent to Retropower near Hinkley to make good, add the reinforcements and fit the rollcage.”
“It’s testimony to the quality of the car and that the team built, to the efforts of Pali and the service crew volunteers that, on a relatively minimal budget, they finished the Safari 15th overall.”
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