Datsun does not build many cars like the Datsun Type 17: a Phaeton body / Phaeton / Roadster (car) / Roadster / Coupe / Sedan (automobile) / Sedan with 722 cc Type 7 I4, built from 1938 when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together.
The background
The Datsun Type 17 is a small car produced by Datsun in Japan either in 1938 exclusively or from 1938 to 1944. It was the last in a line of Datsun small cars produced before Nissan's resources were diverted to military materials for the Second Sino-Japanese War.
The engineering
Under the skin sits 722 cc Type 7 I4. Kerb weight is 630 kg. The gearbox is a 3-speed manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2005 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Where it sits in Datsun's history is not in doubt: the Datsun Type 16 came before it; the Datsun DA followed it; it was built at Yokohama, Japan. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Volkswagen Beetle, the Lincoln Continental, the Toyota Toyota. Its Datsun stablemates include the 280Zx and the 310.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Datsun Type 17 — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.