I'm with Dodgy,although not up to speed on the Aus.dealer ordering process.
I think the biggest problem with all but the well trained eye is that none of the B10's came into the country with actual build dates stamped onto them(like now days)you could suss it out by chassis number sequence etc.but to the casual observer they would'nt have a clue but lots are experts if you know what i mean.
The only major/minor differance between all KB10's was the colour you chose,and yes no auto's till the long tail light model sedans.

Long live the thou

The 3 speed column shift trans was a B series option pretty much up untill the end of the 1200 model run, .......... in Japan

Vehicles for Australia were ordered by the state distributors through Nissan Australia & it was the state distributors that determined what they believed would sell well in their various states [or Territories]

In NSW, for instance, Capitol Motors ordered the 3 speed in the 1967 model range while in Victoria, it would seem that the state distributor ordered the 4 speed version for the 1967 model range.

Capitol Motors realised their mistake & discontinued the 3 speed when they ordered the new 1968 models, ... & the 3 speed was never seen again.

Both the 3 & 4 speed used the same trans case but with different sandwich plates & extention housings.
Even the 5 speed used the same basic case although in the revised [56A series] form.
The trans case always held 4 gears, either 3 forward plus reverse, or four forward with reverse in the extention housing, or 2nd to 5th in the case with 1st & reverse in the extention housing

The auto trans became available in the 1969 DeLuxe model, but not the Standard in Vic & NSW.
I have no idea what was available in the other states but this is how it seems to have gone in these two states.

As for the KB10, it was available in Australia only in the DeLuxe form & only with the 4 speed while the higher spec KB10GL in Japan could be ordered with the floor shift auto trans.

I had a 67 deluxe with 3 speed column manual at the same time as a 68 with 4 speed, both 2 dr sedans. the 3 speed was really nice to drive even after i put 13's on. 1st gear not too low on takeoff, and 2nd was perfect for corners wheras with the 4 speed often 3rd too high and 2nd too low. 67 has better looking grill, better looking dash, better looking steering wheel, better looking hubcaps and better ride as well.

1966 Oct to 1967 Sep (1967 model year) 2-Dr sedan & van only
1967 Oct to 1968 Sep (1968 model year), mild facelift
1967 Oct 4-Dr Sedan added
1967 Dec Truck (B20 Ute) added as 1968 model
1968 B10 Sunny Coupe added Jul or Aug as 1969 model
1968 Oct to 1969 Jun (1969 model year)
1969 July to 1969 Dec (1970 model year) No additional body styles

3-speed column shift

from my understanding of this models life, the early 1966 and 1967 datsun 1000's were all 3 speed column shift manuals. It wasn't until the introduction of the 1968 (in late 1967) update that the 4 speed manual and auto transmission was released. These early cars are fairly rare in Australia and most of the cars imported after the 1968 update was released.

i remember dattoman had a 3 on the tree 2dr sedan once. Also remember seeing em in catalouges so they are out there. I would love a 3 on the tree thou ute with a bench seat! Would be awesome in my books :P

So I have two questions:

How many differing types of KB10 models came out of the factory? I am talking from minor detail to anything significant?

The second question is about the gearing formats of the 1000s. There's all this talk of the rare column shift automatic transmission 1000's but all the column transmission 1000's I see are all the automatic versions.

I have the three speed manual and have a tough time convincing some people that it is a three speed manual. Maybe it's just me. Either way I spoke to a middle-aged gentlemen the other day who proceeded to tell me about my car and he got everything right ( 'It's a 1967 model, you can tell by the indicators and the grill...' blah blah blah 'I used to race those...' blah blah blah) but he couldn't get his head around the fact that it was a 3 speed manual, I had to point the clutch pedal out and everything.

Cheers