MEET THE OWNER – CHRIS JAMES AND HIS NISSAN STANZA
By Ellie Priestley |
18th June, 2020
When looking at photographs of 1980s traffic, you often encounter Japanese cars that have now almost entirely vanished – the Mitsubishi Spacewagon, the second-generation Honda Accord, and the Nissan Stanza. The last-named was once as much a part of respectable suburbia as listening to The Archers.
The T1-series debuted in 1981 as the company’s first medium-sized FWD cars. Some markets used the “Violet” badge, but UK models were named Stanza and, after 1983, sold as a Nissan rather than a Datsun. There was a choice of three, four and five-door version, all offering ‘exceptional economy, maximum interior space and an extremely high level of comfort and convenience’. All of which appealed to motorists who wished to reach their next appointment without their car expiring on the outskirts of Basingstoke.
Today, there are a mere eleven Stanzas left on the road in the UK - six Datsuns and five Nissans. The owner of one of these ultra-rare Nissans is Chris James, who drives a blue 1985-model five-door Jubilee - the limited-edition version that celebrated 50 years of Nissan. This fine machine is ‘basically the final result of a 25-year hunt for another good one, I had a saloon Stanza as my second car back in 1990. It was light years ahead of the Renault 18 I’d had as my first car. Better ride, better interior, better mpg, better spec etc.’
The quest continued for many years; even by the late 1990s, the Stanza was becoming an unusual sight. However, ‘about three years ago, I bought a saloon almost identical to my old one. Only 53k miles, but not in great shape. It was partially recommissioned but was found to need far too much work to get roadworthy again’.
The Nissan was temporarily retired to the James garage. Meanwhile, in the spring of 2019, ‘a five-door popped up on FB Marketplace; 33k miles, basically one lady owner from new down in London’. Back in 2013, the vendor had ceased driving and rested the uber-brown Stanza ‘when she was caught speeding by a camera and was utterly mortified’. Chris took the train to Romford where he bought the Nissan and drove it 260 miles home ‘without issue!’
Of course, two Stanzas would have been more than sufficient for any ordinary mortal, but Chris is clearly the automotive equivalent of a “Three Shredded Wheat” man. ‘I had my train ticket booked for the following Thursday to get the brown one. I was at work, a busy Easter Sunday in my coffee shop - and my mate messages me saying “I’m sure I won’t be the first to send you this!”. Yes, it was the blue Jubilee.
Naturally, Chris had to investigate such a Nissan immediately. ‘I called one of my staff to come in and cover me for a couple of hours and set off straight away up the A19 to Sunderland’ where George, the seller met him. The Nissan ‘had been locked in the garage of a house across the road from him’ since 1987. At that time, the original owner acquired another car and the Stanza ‘got used to store bags of rubbish, Xmas decorations etc.’
When the first owner passed away, the Nisan was left to his daughter. ‘She didn’t drive, so it still didn’t move, and she died single in 2019. The house and contents went to probate/auction, and George saw the auctioneer arrive at the house’. When the garage was opened, the Stanza was exposed to daylight ‘for the first time in decades’.
Such a Nissan left Chris in somewhat of a quandary as he had already committed to purchasing the brown Stanza. ‘I felt I couldn’t buy another, however much I wanted to, so I drove back down the A19 without agreeing to anything.... for a short while!’. It ultimately proved impossible for Mr. James not to buy the Jubilee - ‘I rang George by the time I passed Peterlee on the way back down to agree to buy it. Well, it would have been rude not to!’.
And so Mr. James became the owner of a trio of Stanzas within the space of one week. Shortly afterwards ‘I was offered my old Nissan Maxima back in a swap for the brown one’. Today, ‘the blue saloon is now a parts donor car, hoping to keep the lovely blue hatchback healthy’. And it is indeed a pleasure to see a car that evokes so many memories. This is a vehicle that dates from a time of vaguely “New Romantic” youths lurking around the Wimpy Bar and Boxerbeat by The Jo Boxers on the sound system at Our Price Records…
WITH THANKS TO: CHRIS JAMES
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