I have a love-hate relationship with Japanese cars, but adoration is always the strongest emotion. I love the reliability, simplicity and the aftermarket support.
The Nissan Silvia is a great example of this; built with the intention of being a cheap, compact and sporty rear-wheel drive car. When you tell someone you have a Silvia they assume you have an S13, S14 or S15.
These are the familiar versions; every man and his dog knows what an S13 is, and it's the same with the S14 and S15. They became popular during the 1990s, thanks to a blend of affordability and rear-wheel drive joy. A combination made in drifting heaven.
So, that’s what they were used for – and many were used and abused.
There was life before the S13, and it all started with the hand-built, first-generation Silvia CSP311, of which just 554 were produced in the 1960s.
The first mass-produced Silvia was the Datsun Sunny Coupe-based S10. This car was sold as the 'New Silvia' in Japan, but marketed as the Datsun 200SX in the US. The S10 is incredibly rare and values reflect this.
Next was my favourite Silvia, the S110, but in common with its predecessors, almost impossible to find. I've only ever seen one for sale and I think it had a tree growing out of it. Still, that drew my attention away from the rust.
Finally, came the S12, which was, in my opinion, the first real Silvia. It was offered with a multitude of engines, depending on the market; some were even sold with an early 1.8-litre turbocharged twin-cam from the S13. That said, most came with the older single-cam version.
The S12 is largely forgotten, primarily because it couldn't drift like the older Silvias and it lacked the tuning capabilities and aftermarket support. What's more, being an ’80s car, it didn’t achieve classic car status until last year when the earliest S12s gained MOT and VED exemption.
It’s almost in a state of limbo: too old to be an iconic ’90s Nissan, but too young to be a classic Datsun.
The S12's chassis is a blend of Nissan parts from the same era. One of the reasons I bought one was the fact that I could use newer Silvia parts. S13/S14 coilovers bolt straight on with a few suspension bits swapped over, while the engine mounts are the same from the S12 onwards, so the newer SR20 engines can bolt straight in. The same goes for the RB engines from the Skyline, although this is a trickier and more expensive proposition. For those skilled in automotive fabrication or customisation, welder job opportunities offer a rewarding career path, particularly in tasks like modifying chassis components or creating custom mounts.
If you are looking to buy a Silvia S12, you may need to be quick. People are starting to notice the potential and I don’t think this article will help...
