mitecars.com
email: [email protected]
New Datsun (Japan)
Designed, built and raced by Jiro Shimatani
One of only a handful of New Datsun cars built by Jiro Shimatani in 1948, this is Shimatani's personal car and undoubtedly the most successful example which was produced. Featuring a cast aluminum body and separate grille, the car utilizes an independent rear suspension via a pair of swing axles and small coil springs. The car is powered by a 1947 Model 12 OS .60 spark ignition engine powering the left front wheel via direct drive. Like other Japanese tether cars of this vintage, the car was designed to race in a clockwise direction.
Jiro Shimatani was not only a race car designer and builder, but he was also a very competitive racer. And what makes this car special is that it won the first All Japan Model Racing Car Contest held in December 1948. Originally painted yellow with red trim, the car has since been re-painted black. But photos from that 1948 event show Shimatani's New Datsun car at speed on the track, plus a photo of the car being clocked by the race timer using a hand-held stopwatch. Another photo shows Jiro Shimatani after he received the "Victory" plaque given to the winner of the event.
Outside Japan, Jiro Shimatani's name is not well known, even among tether car collectors. But the post war growth in the popularity of tether car racing in Japan was due largely to Shimatani's efforts in designing and building race cars coupled with his active participation in tether car racing.
None of the cars which Jiro Shimatani designed and produced were exported directly to the United States, but a fair number of those cars did eventually make their way into this country, usually being brought back to the United States by servicemen who were stationed in the Pacific during the late 1940s and '50s.
Among the cars which Shamatani produced were the New Star, the Dat Midget, the Dat Prince, the Speed Master, and finally his most recognized car, the Midgetee (often referred to as the "Fuji car" since most examples were powered with Fuji 19 or 29 model engines).
Interestingly, even though the Midgetee was not exported directly to the United States, the operating instructions included with the car were printed in both Japanese and English. Clearly, Shimatani had American buyers in mind when he produced the car.
