Nissan 380

1952 380 Model

 The Nissan 380 was essentially a cosmetic update of the previous Nissan 180 truck. Nissan skipped the 280 designation and went striaght from the 180 to the 380. There was however a Nissan 290 bus built in the meantime. 

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The Nissan 180 was based heavilly on the 1937 Chevrolet truck, and the 380 was a more modern rendering of the same vehicle. The cabin area of the 380 remained largely unchanged from the 180, but everything from the windscreen forward was all new. Instead of the old cycle guards of the 180, the new 380 had front guards that were intergrated into the body, more like that of a sedan from the era. This gave the truck a rather wide flat front section, with two large grille openings, each with five horizontal bars. It is hard to make out in the main photo, but the grille bars were chrome plated. Above this wide flat front section was a rather unusually designed bonnet.

The shape of the bonnet and the engine bay was almost that of a cone with the point rounded off. The very narrow front of the bonnet featured a Nissan logo in the centre with two more smaller air intakes either side, each with a horizontal chrome strip therough them. The side of the bonnet also features a long horizontal slot with a chrome strip running through the middel with Nissan stamped of it.

 As with the previous truck models, a bus version was also offered at the same time, which was designated the Nissan 390. Numerous different versions of the truck were offered, including high roof and long body versions.

 Mechanically the 380 was very similar to the Nissan 180. It continued to use the Graham Paige designed Type A engine, which was a 3670cc 85hp 6 cylinder engine. There was a substantial change to the chassis on the 380. The new chassis has a significantly shorter wheelbase, being 4000mm long rather than 4724mm long on the 180. The 380 is longer overall though compared to the 180, thanks to a much longer rear overhang.

 The Nissan 380 was manufactured for only a brief time, from January 1952 until May 1953, when it was replace with the Nissan 480.

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Model Variations

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Nissan 380 

The Nissan 380 was the truck version.  

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Nissan 380 Cab Chassis

Cab/Chassis and Bonnet/Chassis versions were also available to allow customers to build their own custom bodies.  

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Nissan 390

The Nissan 390 was the bus version.  

1952 Nissan 380 Specifications

Length - 6358mm
Width - 2160mm
Height - 2210mm
Wheelbase - 4724mm
Weight - 4000kg
Top speed - 75kph
Transmission - 4 speed Floor change
Final Drive - 6.167:1

Engine Specifications

Model - NAK
Capacity - 3670cc
Bore & Stroke 82x114mm
Power - 75bhp@3200rpm
Torque- 152ft/lb@1600rpm
Compression - 6.4 : 1
Carburettor - Hitachi Solex 40PH single throat down draught
Final drive - 4.09:1

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