The previous 211 series cars were well built and robust designs, but still had antiquated features such as exposed door hinges. The new 310 had hidden door and bonnet hinges, the only disapointment being the boot hinges which were still external.
Mechanically the car represented a major leap in technology for Nissan. The old reverse Elliot I beam front suspension of the 211 had been replaced with a thoroughly modern independent double wishbone front suspension design.
For the engines Nissan continued to use the 37hp C series 988cc OHV "Stone" engine first introduced only a couple of years earlier in the Datsun 210, as well as the 1189cc over head valve 48hp E series engine, which was the primary engine in most export markets.The badges on the car say Datsun on the bootlid, with Bluebird on the front guards and a round badge on the bonnet with the name Datsun circling a stylised D. Later 311 and 312 models have either a Datsun 1000 or Datsun 1200 badge at the back of the car.
These early 310, and also the next 311 model feature a pronounced droop at the back of the car, in the fold that travels along the side of the car. The fold runs straight along the side of the car, and then inexplicably drops downward at about a 75o angle about 3 inches from the tail light. This fold is the only thing that spoils an otherwise very pretty car, and was leter recitfied in the 312 series.
The tail lights on these early cars are a small kidney shape, later models have a larger upright bullet shape. Standard model 310s have no strips along the side of the car, but the deLuxe models feature a full length stainless steel strip. DeLuxe models also have stainless steel door window frames. The grille on the 310 is narrow, and sits between the front indicators, in later models the grille partially frames the indicators.
