Inside Sayama-san’s Masterpiece: A Perfectly Built Datsun Sunny B210

I had the pleasure of hanging out around one of the cleanest, most lovingly-built Datsun Sunnys you’ll find in Japan; a special B210 owned by a cool dude called Sayama‑san.

I’ve been chasing this story for years, seeing his car slowly build up as he participated in shows like the Mooneyes Street Car Nationals and the Hot Rod Custom Show. I waited patiently for him to finish off the biggest element of the build – the engine bay – to later discover that he also had recently finished up his stunning garage, a proper man cave celebrating his love of bikes and cars. It was about time I headed up to Gunma and spent an afternoon with him!

Sayama-san’s story doesn’t begin with four wheels—but with two. Like a lot of Japanese guys of his generation, he grew up modifying 1970s and ‘80s Japanese motorcycles with his friends. This led to him building his very own bosozoku bike, which quickly turned into quite the lifestyle as he embraced the fashion and culture as deeply as he possibly could. This is something that’s beautifully presented across one section of the wall in his garage, right next to his California-inspired dwelling. 

By the mid nineties the bikes quickly got replaced by cars, as he and his friends chased after a more hard-hitting fix. Before he knew it he was racing on the Wangan on board a fully tuned FC Mazda  RX-7 – moving onto an FD. He spent years driving along the Bayshore Route and generally doing what most of us did in video games. He casually plays it off as a crazy time in his youth, but one he had a lot of fun in; I bet we can’t even imagine how insanely special these years must have been! He’s a guy that likes to mix and match, so his passion quickly shifted over to offroad and American cars, owning a string of varied vehicles over the period where he set up a family and dedicated himself to dad-duties.

Fast forward that and as soon as the kids were old enough, he was back into JDM cars – however this time slightly different. I was humbled when he told me that the content I covered in Japan and around the world gave him inspiration for his next build, wanting to do a rare Japanese classic with a bit of a foreign show-car vibe. That’s precisely how he got to the car I was there to check out, the sleek Sunny Sedan. 

It’s a bit confusing, as the little compact Sunny is actually a two-door – but this particular body style was referred to as a two-door sedan, differentiating it from the sleeker two-door coupe.

The build took close to a decade to get right, and now he’s pretty happy that the car is complete. As with the best cars out there, it looks like he went all-out on it, but in reality he actually kept it pretty simple when it comes to the looks, cleaning up the body meticulously rather than changing the looks with exaggerated kits as many do.

Taking care of rust spots, dings and the beating it had taken after 50 years of life was important to guarantee a glass-like finish on the custom paint. This is an interesting one as he had always liked the olive green from older Jeep Wranglers, and ended up choosing this for the little Datsun – but also for the restoration job he did on his bosozoku bike, and now even the lifted Chevy truck he’s building outside his house! Imagine the truck towing a trailer with the Sunny loaded up on the back, rolling to a Mooneyes show!

Opening the bonnet, I found one of the most meticulous engine bays I’ve come across in Japan. Sayama-san told me how he had a plan in his head of how the A-series motor had to look, sourcing the right parts to make it happen and envisioning what needed to be coated, painted and polished. The result is a beautifully shaved engine bay, a built up and stroked engine punching out impressive performance through the Keihin FCR carbs. The whole mechanical ensemble seems to float in the glossy paint-match engine room, it’s all a sight to behold, beautiful in execution but equally as functional when you get on the loud pedal.

We headed out for a quick ride around the Gunma countryside and I was impressed how explosive the Sunny felt. It’s nimble, responsive—but it’s also comfortable, refined, and precise. Sayama-san wasn’t after raw brutality, he was after purity but with a modern day execution.  I took a moment to appreciate the interior: simplistic, uncluttered, with just enough modern touches to make it reliable—but no unnecessary gimmicks. The seats, the steering wheel, the refinements, every surface has been curated coming all together in a cohesive way.

What do I love most? The uniqueness. There aren’t many B210s like this one. It doesn’t try to be something else, it honours its roots while elevating every aspect. From the subtle exterior cues to the hand-finished engine bay to the way it drives—this car stands out because of the person behind it.

Sayama-san, with his bikes-to-cars story, his passion, his patience, his dedication—it all culminates in this machine.