Good morning! On today’s thrilling episode of Shitbox Showdown, we’re traveling to Washington State to look at two rear-drive Japanese station wagons from days past. But first, on Friday I showed you two old V8s in very different packages; let’s see which one you chose:
Looks like Frank the Fury takes the win. I’m not surprised; that’s a really cool car. And I couldn’t help thinking this weekend that “Frank Fury” would make a great private eye name.
Anyway, moving on: Today’s contestants are from different makers, but the similarities are so striking you can’t help wondering who was looking over whose shoulder. They even look similar. But the devil’s in the details, as they say, so let’s take a closer look at them and see which one you’d rather have.
1984 Nissan/Datsun Maxima – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4 liter overhead cam inline 6, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Bremerton, WA
Odometer reading: 400,000 miles (though the engine is supposedly newer)
Runs/drives? Yep!
Changing a company name is always a tricky thing. Nissan began its American operations under its Datsun name (which, I never realized, came first), but in 1983 decided to drop the Datsun branding and tell the US market that “The Name Is Nissan.” For at least a couple of years, the cars carried both badges, to help consumers get used to the Nissan name.
This Maxima traces its roots back to the Datsun 810, a larger and more upscale car than Nissan’s other offerings. It’s powered by a fuel-injected 2.4 liter version of Nissan’s L-series inline six, more famously used in the Z cars. Here it powers the rear wheels through a four-speed automatic. The seller says this engine was recently replaced; the car itself is reported to have 400,000 miles on it, but the engine is lower mileage. How much lower, they don’t say.
The car itself looks to be in good shape, at least on the outside. We aren’t given any photos inside. It’s rust-free, which itself is impressive for a Japanese car of this vintage. These early RWD Maximas are getting scarce, especially in wagon form, even here on the west coast.
The automatic is a bit of a letdown, of course, but I bet you could swap in a manual if you really wanted. Maybe out of a rusted-out Datsun pickup?
1982 Toyota Cressida – $3,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.8 liter overhead cam inline 6, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Plymouth, WA
Odometer reading: 220,000 kilometers
Runs/drives? Sure does!
Playing Chevy to Nissan’s Ford is the Toyota Cressida, which stayed rear-wheel-drive long after Nissan’s Maxima switched to front-wheel-drive. As far as I know, it’s the only Toyota model named for a Shakespearean character, though the Cressida name was never used in its native Japan. There, it was simply the Toyota Mark II.
Like the Nissan, this Toyota wagon shares its engine with a sports car, in this case Toyota’s Supra (or rather, Celica Supra in this car’s day). The 5M-E inline six not exactly the fire-breather it would become, especially when backed by a three-speed automatic as this one is. But then, this car is made for the suburbs, not the race track.
This Cressida is a Canadian model, with 220,000 kilometers on the clock, or about 137,000 miles, just nicely broken-in for a Toyota, actually. It runs and drives well, but it needs new tires, and the passenger’s side window doesn’t roll down. It has air conditioning, but of course it “needs to be recharged.” You know how that goes.
It’s in awfully nice shape, based on the photos. Again, it’s rust-free, and the blue velour interior looks nice and clean. It even has a set of those silly roof racks that our weekend warrior, Rob, loves so much.
Well, there you have it: two long-roofed, rear-drive, straight-six Japanese survivors. Both need a little tidying up, but both run and drive. Either one would be a hit at Cars & Coffee, but they’re also practical and reliable enough to use on more than special occasions. Which one is the one for you?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Extensive time spent driving many examples of both rides offered today. This is a total no brainer for me. Toyota for the win.
This was the final year of the original 810/Maxima. For the 1985 model year, they introduced the new FWD Maxima with the 3.0L V6. That car was a pretty big deal for Nissan, and a very nice car. At least that’s what my mom and I thought when I tagged along with her one day to go car shopping.
Sadly she was priced out of the Maxima, but shortly after that her boss leased her a new Sentra 5-door hatchback as a company car.
I love Toyota, but in this case, the Maxima is in better condition. The AC actually works, and it has a timing chain rather than a stupid belt. And it also has a sunroof that this Cressida doesn’t have (though it was available)
The hood ornament is also a bonus 😉
Blue interior wins it for me
I’ve got a habit of guessing my vote based on the title or image with the prices. I wanted to vote for the Datsun, but that Toyota Cressida wagon reminds me of a Mercedes W123. Then I read the details, and that (adjusted) Toyota mileage is too good to beat.
Can I pick both?
Cressida. But man that hornets nest of vacuum hoses gives me nightmares on both. reminds me of an 87 Prelude I had for a second. could never really find the actually occasional vacuum leak that would cause it to surge.
The solution on cars like this, or so I am told, is just to buy a big old assortment of hoses and replace them all. Please remember one at a time, as a one to one relationship you vacant spaces is much easier to track.
Toyota based on the fact they included photos of the interior.
My vote goes to the Cressida since it still has the original engine and the seller took pictures of the interior… so we know the interior is decent on it… unlike with the Maxima. I suspect the Maxima’s interior is probably shot given the 400,000 miles on the body.
Never Nissan…. but it’s a Datsun. Still went for the Toyota.
I actually like both cars, and picked the Cressida primarily because it seems the safer choice.
Gotta say I like the Maxima’s styling better but the lack of pics of the 400,000-mile interior gives me pause.
Mea culpa mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
Mileage aside, I significantly prefer the Toyota’s honest, well-proportioned late-’70s styling to the Datsan’s halfway ’80s styling, with the blacked-out D pillar awkwardly coexisting with the blinged-out A, B, & C.
I like both, precisely for all those reason. I love it when cars straddle eras and incorporate aspects of both – but the Cressida is really stately and ornate, like a victorian house or something.
At the first few glances, the Cressida looks too much like a GM product of the era. This one gets bonus points for the condition and interior photos. The Maxima got my preference at first, along with its extra HP and 4 speed trans, but with no pics of the interior, I gotta go with the better presented product.
I’m loving the turn-of-the-80s Japanese styling of the Cressida, and the engine doesn’t look nearly as crammed in as the Nissan’s.
I want to point out that there is a good chance the Nissan has the Voice Warning module which had a tiny phonograph record and stylus enclosed in a box (I’m not making this up). My BFF in college had an 84 sedan and you could do all sorts of silly crap to trip the warning voice. Our favorite was opening the doors while the car was in motion and the pleasant sounding/recorded lady-voice would say “Your right door is ajar. Your right door is ajar.” Amazing tech, the Nissan gets my vote for that alone.
Coincidentally, I had an ’82 Cressida sedan at the same time and it was in three tone brown. I hated it. It had an enclosed sunroof which killed the ceiling height way too much. I’m 6′ tall and my head was always brushing on the ceiling of that car. Drove me nuts. The wagon does not appear to have a sunroof which is a plus if you are tall.
I thought the voice warnings came on the next generation.
My FIL had that exact same Maxima, and it had about the same mileage. My BIL finally abandoned it around 2005, when it was more rust than steel.
Despite that, I’ll take the Toyo. I remember working on Cressidas when I was a teen, and they were a step up from everything else. They even kept on selling it after Lexus launched.
A modern Nissan with 400,000 miles would be on its 4th or 5th transmission by now. It’s sad to think of how far they have fallen in terms of quality.
I voted for the Cressida. The Maxima would also be a solid buy for what is now eff it money in the car market.
My best friend’s dad (a retired trucker) had a Cressida Sedan that he bought new in ’82. He treated that thing like an absolute treasure – I think I only rode in it one time on a trip to Maryland. I was maybe 14 at the time, but it struck me how different it was from the Chevys & Fords that my family owned. It had a digital dash and a stereo with a graphic equalizer…we were indeed living in the promised future back in the early 80’s
That was like our 1985 Camry. Japanese electronics were insane back then. Ours too had a graphic equalizer with a zillion tiny little orange LEDs that beat to the music. It made the GM products we had from that era look like dinosaurs.
Sadly this is not accurate. The odometer pic in the CL ad shows 344167.6km, which is about 206,500 miles. I think the 220,000 was the seller’s estimate for the US market.
Shoot. That’s what I get for being in a hurry and trusting the seller’s info. Good catch.
That is still ~1/2 the mileage of the Maxie. I’ll stick with my Toyota choice.
That’s where I was leaning. I don’t have a strong opinion about either car and was using the difference in mileage as the tie-breaker.
I should have voted for the Toyota, but my heart clicked Maxima. I have a soft spot for classic Nissans…
My wife’s first car in college was a 1972 Datsun 510 coupe. And yes, it was Nissan’s “daddy” so to speak. I can still remember the TV ads: “DATSUN! We are DRIVEN!” I think that’s why I would do with that Datsun long roof with a V8, but that Toyota is tempting, too.
I’m in for the Cressida. We had a brown one of that vintage. Nice size. Reliable. It was a great highway cruiser too.
I had a ’88 Nissan Maxima wagon, I would own one again in a heartbeat.