Nestor Moya took the time to properly measure three different Datsun SU needles, the M39, M43, and M66 needles. These happen to be some of the more common needles in use, so this information is all the more valuable. As you will see in the graph and table below, the actual measurements vary greatly from those published in Honsowetz's How To book.
Accordingly, I have taken down the previous table and graphs, as it is obvious that data cannot be used even for comparative purposes. Nestor used a caliper to precisely measure each needle at 0.1" stations and averaged the measurements of each pair of his needles. This is not directly comparable to the 1/8" stations used by British needles, but it is accurate. You can take these measurements and plot them on a graph if you want to compare them to other Datsun or British needles.
Thanks again to Nestor Moya for all his work!
| 0" | .1" | .2" | .3" | .4" | .5" | .6" | .7" | .8" | .9" | 1" | 1.1" | 1.2" | 1.3" | 1.4" | |
| M39 | 0.0902 | 0.0871 | 0.0847 | 0.0823 | 0.0804 | 0.0784 | 0.0769 | 0.076 | 0.0751 | 0.0735 | 0.0713 | 0.0688 | 0.0671 | 0.0653 | 0.0639 |
| M66 | 0.0898 | 0.0884 | 0.0873 | 0.0853 | 0.0828 | 0.0808 | 0.0784 | 0.076 | 0.0733 | 0.0718 | 0.0703 | 0.0688 | 0.0674 | 0.0658 | 0.0642 |
| M43 | 0.0905 | 0.0873 | 0.0849 | 0.0828 | 0.0805 | 0.0788 | 0.0771 | 0.0761 | 0.0759 | 0.0732 | 0.0713 | 0.0689 | 0.0665 | 0.0654 | 0.0646 |
This graph gives a pretty good representation of the profiles of the three needles. The graph shows the M43, M66, M39 needles, front to back ("M66" is missing from the z-axis)
Datsun SU Needle Part Numbers:
| M66(sss) | 16354-22011 |
| M83(gx) | 16554-H2316 |
| M43 | 16354-15810 |
| M76 | 16354-A8710 |
| M73 | 16354-E3210 |
| M87 | 16354-H6000 |
| M70 | 16354-A7710 |
| M6 | 16354-16710 |
| M26 | 15354-10400 |
| M15 | 16354-12210 |
| M36 | 16354-14610 |
Click here to download an Excel file containing all the needles (Brit and Datsun), suitable for sorting or framing.