Nissan also realised that the type of person interested in buying this class of vehicle expected more in terms of performence than that which a 4 cylinder engine could deliver. They answered this by making the 1992cc 109hp OHV 6cyl. J20 engine the standard engine for the Custom and Standard models, and then offering the 1983cc 99hp OHV 4cyl. H20 engine only as an optional base model engine. The J20 engine was basically the 4 cylinder J series engine with an extra 2 cylinders added to it.
Also introduced at this time was the new L20 1998cc OHC 6cyl. engine, which produced 123hp. This was Nissan's first overhead cam engine, with much of the development work having been carried out by Yamaha Motor. The L series engine was an engineering masterpiece. Powerful and virtually indestructable, it became the cornerstone to Nissan's radid expansion throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, and remained the primary engine series used by Nissan right into the mid-1980s. Datsun 510 and 240Z owners all claim the L series engine as their own, but the fact remains that the L series engine was initially designed and built for the 130 series Cedric, it was years before it was fitted to any other vehicles. The L20 fitted to the Cedric (later refered to as the L20A, after the introduction of the 4 cylinder L20B engine) was fitted with two Hitachi side drought carburetors similar to those used on the Fairlady.
A Diesel version with the SD22 4cyl. 2164cc 70hp engine was also available.
The tail lights on the 1966 130 are approximately 200mm tall and 170mm wide, with an amber indicator on top, a stop light in the middle and a clear reversing light on the bottom.
Nissan may have made life simpler for themselves by reducing the number of different bodies down to only one, but they made things more complex by having different grilles for each model.
The grille on the Custom Six model has 6 horizontal bars and 4 vertical bars. It has a red badge in the centre with Nissan on top and a Cedric Star below. The grille on the Standard model has 9 horizontal bars, with the 2nd and 6th bars being slightly thicker. The grille badge is the same as the Custom, except it is black instead of red. The grille on the Special Six model has one wider full-length horizontal bar that goes under the headlight binnacles, with 5 thin horizontal bars above it and 3 below. It has a Cedric Star emblem in the middle and a Special badge to the right.
The badges on the Standard Six say Cedric Six on the side and the back. The badges on the Custom Six say Cedric Custom Six on the side and the back. The badges on the Special Six say Cedric Special Six on the side and the back. The badges on the Standard four cylinder model say Cedric on the side and the back. The badges on the deLuxe four cylinder model say Cedric deLuxe on the side and the back.
The dashboard has 4 round dials around a bar speedo. It now has fake plastic wood on the dashboard instead of real wood.
The Mark I 130 series was in production until October 1966, when it was replaced with the slightly modified Mark II version.
The 130 was available in a bewildering variety of different model variations, there are at least 35 different model variations that I know of. The main models available in 1966 are listed below, but this is not a complete list of all variants.
