In the grand scheme of automotive events, a good show should be a walk in the park. Track days are tough to organize, expensive to host and usually difficult to participate in, and there’s always an element of danger that — albeit adds to the excitement — is still dangerous. Ditto for drifting, off-roading (to an extent) and others, which require navigating a bit of stress in order to enjoy the fun.
But a successful show can happen with little more than exhibitors who are happy to show the fruits of their labor, some vendors to promote and hopefully sell some of the latest related swag, and enthusiasts eager to bask in the glory of it all, free from concern. Bonus points if there’s free admission and parking.
Not surprisingly, that’s the exact recipe the creators of Nissan Jam applied to their recent 5th-annual bash, and all showgoers needed to do was stroll through Anaheim, California’s peaceful La Palma Park to enjoy some of SoCal’s cleanest vintage and modern Nissan and related builds.
If you’re familiar with any of SoCal’s similar events throughout the year — T.O.R.C., JCCS, etc. — you can probably guess how the turnout among exhibitors was. Late-model and vintage builds appeared to be present in equal numbers, as did the proportion of show/street/performance themes of build.
Sure, S13 and S14 Nissan 240SXs are still the hot platform among young, street-driven and drifting enthusiasts today, and there were plenty of them at Nissan Jam (though not a single S15, sadly).
However, collectively their numbers were dwarfed by vintage Datsuns, namely the venerable 510, 240Z and plenty of less commonly seen models.
One of those less-common models was the S12 Nissan 200SX, which more than a few showgoers mistook for AE86 Toyota Corolla party-crashers.
Nissan Zs outside of the S30 were also popular, with lots of clean Z31 and Z32 examples, and even more Z33 and Z34 350Zs and 370Zs.
More a fan of the Skyline than the Fairlady? Nissan Jam had you covered there, with lots of clean examples from Hakosuka through their latest: the 2017 Nissan GT-R NISMO.
FWD fan? Not to worry. There were even more than a few Sentras, NX2000s, Altimas and more for you to lust over.
Oh, you said vintage FWD. You’re a picky one, but OK. How about this pair of slammed and very cool PU11 Nissan Maxima wagons? You’re welcome.
Our favs? Those PU11s for starters, or this 3SGE Beams-powered ‘71 Datsun Truck.
But Joel Tan’s ‘72 Skyline still wins our hearts with its retro race-inspired styling (with just a touch of Bosozoku style) and Mikuni-carb’d L-30 straight-six. Straight sex, and you can read more about it in our full feature here.
