We’ve had our puppy over a year now, but the dog walks still make for prime CC spotting. This sighting was worth crossing the street for. A 1964 (if the license plate sticker is to be believed) Datsun 320 pickup, sporting a 60 horsepower 1200 cc engine. The badge under the side trim below the Datsun 1200 name proudly proclaims the horsepower. And it has a pretty big bed.
These used to be occasional sights when I was much younger, but I haven’t seen anything older than a Datsun 520 or Toyota Stout for as long as I can remember. It looks like it would be a pretty practical urban runabout and could haul more to the dump, at least by volume and maybe even weight, than my Tacoma. Though more slowly.
Sorry for the reflections
And not as comfortably. It looks like a pretty tight squeeze in that cab, and I’m not a particularly big guy. There might be a lot of arm motion keeping it in the power band with that four speed column shifter.
My wife liked it. Maybe it reminded her of the 25 year newer gray Mazda pickup she had when we met.
Sweet find! I’ve run into one or two here before. They came in two versions: with a “unibody” cab/bed, and this with a separate cab and bed.
Nissan got a strong and early start in the US with these little trucks. There was nothing quite like them available, especially after the “chicken tax” put the VW pickup out of the running.
I saw the “unibody” version when I checked some basic facts before posting this. Do you know if they were imported to the US?
I wondered about that myself, because of the chicken tax. But here’s a 1964 ad with one which they called it the Sports Pickup.
The chicken tax took effect in January of ’64. I don’t know if Nissan started circumventing it right away by adding the beds in the US or just paid the tax until sometime later. I don’t readily find a ’65 ad with the unibody.
If you want to see a really freaky unibody Nissan, have a look at a 520 double cab…
Nice work, DMAN
I find some of my best stuff while walking our Freddie. Here’s an old Datsun 620 that I can see from my kitchen window, right across the alley. It’s a King Cab and a daily driver, even with all the mildew and mismatched fenders.
Wow – what a great find! I’ve never seen one of these; I assume their life expectancy in places other than California were pretty short.
It’s a pretty good looking truck too. The long bed, and the decently-sized 14″ wheels make it look like it’s got some good hauling ability for its size.
I’m glad you crossed the street to take the pictures.
Lovely little truck! I could find a million uses for something like that.
Interesting to see – the engine might have BMC genes in it, and the styling could be BMC or Rootes without too much difficulty…..
Some Datsun pushrod engines of this era were closely related to the BMC B series engines, but I think this one was more of a clean sheet design, though as a non-crossflow pushrod four it wasn’t THAT different.
I used to see one of these regularly in the late sixties in northern Illinois so at that point it wasn’t just California buying them.
Nice find ! .
I remember these in the early 1960’s, they managed to sell more than a few to tight fi$ted (damn) Yankees, sadly they mostly rusted away in very short order .
When I bought my current house in 1988 it was a “depressed” (READ : Blue Collar Non White) neighborhood, in the first Summer two of these fine little trucklets were abandoned within a block of my house, I really wanted to salvage them both as neither has any collision damage although the tin foil bumpers and grilles were rusty, one was complete, t’ other IIRC had the tranny out or head off, typical reasons to abandon a cheap vehicle back then .
Even my ’77 Datsun 620 pickup had a tight cab, I have a 32″ inseam so I can easily fit most small vehicles but an all day drive in it was painful .
-Nate
I am a proud owner of a 1960 Datsun truck. They are a lot of fun to tinker with
Around here, compact pick ups from Datsun, Toyota, and even those imported by Chevy (LUV) and Ford (Courier) are prized, and quite valuable when in good condition. Unlike an El Camino or Ranchero they are better for hauling with a deeper and better shaped bed, and are smaller and get better mileage. I remember when these little trucks were new, they were everywhere, and often a person’s first new vehicle. They were pretty inexpensive back then.
My son was looking into a new Maverick, and they were still in short supply last year. I don’t know that a modern buyer would go for such a basic vehicle, and of course a modern version would have to meet all the safety requirements, raising the cost. I know that a Ranger p/u was very close in price to my V6 F150 Work Truck.
I used to want a little FWD Dodge Rampage compact truck, but those are really rare now. I also like the Explorer Sport Trac as a smaller crew cab truck. They sell at low prices, are they any good?
My first vehicle: A 1963 Datsun Pickup. Was never afraid of getting a speeding ticket. You could drop it out of an airplane, it would never go faster than 60 mph. I loved it.. It was 4 on the tree. The shifting pattern was backwards of any other car. Mine came with instructions typed out and glued onto the metal dashboard. I miss it.