Wednesday, October 3, 2007

S50 or BLSID

n 1961 Fuji Precision Industries changed its name to Prince after the 1954 merger, and the S50 series was launched. This was the second generation car, and became one of the more desirable cars in Japan. It was powered by the G-1 engine, a 70 hp (52 kW) version of the old GA-4. A 1862 cc engine was also available, delivering 91 hp (68 kW).

In 1962, this model was restyled as the S21S series.

The S50 was further developed with new styling for 1963, and was sold in some markets with an A150 designation.

In 1966, Nissan and Prince merged and the S50 also appeared with Nissan Skyline badging. This model lasted in production through 1967.

S54

Prince created a racing GT Skyline In May 1964. It was based on the S54 and used the larger 6-cylinder G-7 engine from the Gloria S40, though the car needed an 8" extension to the wheelbase (all forward of the cowl/firewall) to provide space in the engine bay for the lankier in-line six. When it entered the 2nd Japanese Grand prix they hoped to win the GT-II class. Competitive against the Porsche 904, the Skyline managed 2nd through to 6th places.

Largely due to the success of the race vehicle, the Prince 2000GT (also called GT-A, GT-B, S54A and S54B) was released to the Japanese market. There were two versions produced:

* S54A - 1988 cc G-7 single-carb I6, 106 hp (78 kW)
* S54B - 1988 cc G-7 triple-carb I6, 127 hp (94 kW)

The B model featured three Weber 40DCOE-18 carburettors, a limited slip differential, 5-speed manual transmission, and power brakes. Both the B and A used front disc brakes with dual pistons.

S57

The S50 Skyline was updated to become the S57 in 1967. It used a Nissan engine, the OHC 1.5 L (1487 cc) G15. At 88 hp (66 kW), it was the most-powerful engine in the Japanese 1500 cc class.

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