Here’s another in the seemingly endless supply of nice, somewhat-vintage Japanese pickups for sale. This 1981 Datsun 720 Diesel King Cab is listed on eBay and by the time you see this I’m sure that it’ll have met its $3,200 reserve. There is also a $4,800 buy it now price for those who can’t wait. It’s located in El Paso, Texas.
I’ve used (overused) the phrase box-checker before but this truck is one box away from checking them all for me. Not being a 4×4 that box is missing, but as far as being a small pickup with a 5-speed and a diesel, not to mention being in what looks like great condition, those are a lot of boxes for me. Some of them don’t work for everyone, of course. The diesel part doesn’t work for a lot of people and some would rather have an automatic. That’s the beauty of living in the free world, we can all pick and choose which boxes are checked on our vehicles.
“This truck spent its life in HOT / Dry Parker Arizona so its NOT rusty.” It sure looks great and as usual, there’s a reason: it’s been repainted once by the original owner. They say that it was “repainted by the original owner but has not been wrecked. The front bumper doesn’t even have any dents in it. All the glass is perfect…no chips or cracks.” They go on to say that the “truck doesn’t even have dents in the bed.” This truck has “A/C but the belt has been removed (might have a bad compressor…haven’t checked it).”
The interior looks good and it appears that the driver’s seat may have been reupholstered. It seems to match pretty well and unless a person was heading to vintage Japanese car shows it should work fine. The dash plastics look like they have been in Arizona and Texas for the last 37 years, there’s quite a bit of fading and some cracking. The King Cab area looks good and it would sure come in handy with such a small pickup interior otherwise. There are no engine photos, unfortunately, but here is a YouTube video of it running. This one should have Nissan’s SD22 2.2L inline-four diesel which would have had 61 hp. This is not a quick truck to drive. They say that “where it sits in my driveway is spot-free! NO oil leaks.” Nice. If a person were looking for an interesting and slow-but-useful pickup it would be hard to beat one like this 720 diesel.
Aw, nobody on the cherry Datsun? Most of us would love to buy a simple truck like this again. I’d have to think the diesel, once again, is the downfall of this truck. Very few people want a diesel today. Shame, I’d like a gas job like this, sure was somebodys pride and joy,,just no smokey, gutless, hard starting diesels.
I’d buy a Toyota Diesel truck if I could find one near where I live. I consider it damn unforgivable that the small displacement diesel was never popular. I’d buy a Toyota Tacoma if I could get it with a turbo diesel engine.
I love mine it run great if any one wants know how fix front end tire problems I know the Fix. Bought new right off the ship.
Yup, but we had a 81 Isuzu diesel Pu’P, great truck,5 speed, our help ran the stuffings out of it but we sold the business, I kept the truck and I drove it for 3 years, sorry I sold it. 40 MPG, The only thig I didn’t like was the oil filter, would usually dump it fill of oil on the floor when changing. I LOVE dIESELS
Don’t see a shot of the engine. Probably doesn’t matter that much. The SD22 is a damn tough engine and will go a long way. A lot of people jerked them out and overhauled them because of a cold smoke/hard-start condition, only to find that nothing changed. The trouble-maker was a timing device mounted on the injection pump drive was likely fouled with sludge. I’ve had lots of these units come into the shop and cleaning the timer was an instant tuneup. Need to change your oil more often and run a hotter thermostat; it doesn’t hurt them to run them near boiling. One real beef I’ve got is the super complex startup/shut-down mechanism. The designers must have gone through the COMPLETE BOOK OF HOW TO MAKE IT AS COMPLICATED AS POSSIBLE, by R. D. Culous. Kind of like a 2-speed axle motor. It would roll the fuel control lever to the excess fuel position for starting, then, upon starting, it would shift to the run position. It worked fine when new, or until it had gone through its first winter, then it was dead useless. A new unit cost more than the average mortgage, not to mention, you would likely have to wait for the new unit to come from Japan. You could get the same result with a couple of bowden cables; one for cold start, and one for shut-down. Rigged lots of them.
I looked hard at these in ’81. On paper I liked the Nissan better. The Toyota was another running, quieter, better-steering and had a more relaxed ride. Bought the Toyota and never looked back. Would have been nice to have a king cab, but I was looking for a 7′ bed to camp in. If the Nissan’s bed had been a few inches longer, the cab might have swayed me to buy one like this. I’d love to have it now, but would get in trouble if I brought another toy home.
Nice looking truck. I remember when the Datsun/Nissan pickup could’ve been had with a diesel engine. To say that I was disappointed when it was pulled from the US market would be putting it mildly. We had full-sized trucks by Ford and Chevy/GMC, what’s wrong with having a small to mid-sized truck with a diesel engine?
I made my living with diesels, and they , while superior motors, are a bit rough around the edges. Trucks like this are grossly underpowered, noisy, diesel costs more than gas now, cold weather woes, generally more dependable, but a pain when they do need service, and the fumes, while smelled like money to me, are poisonous, and a leak free exhaust is imperative. The only diesels I like for smaller trucks, are the Cummins diesel, like Dodge. These small diesels should be powering a reefer trailer, that’s about it.
I don’t get why small displacement (2.0 – 3.0 litre) diesel engines weren’t popular here in the USA. Emissions be damned. I’d buy one if there were places to service them.
What I don’t understand is while larger displacement diesel engines are allowed to power trucks, school buses, transit buses, etc. why they’re not allowed to power smaller trucks, like the Toyota Tacoma, the Nissan Frontier, etc.
It’s got a lot to do with the extra weight. There’s a lot more pressures within a diesel and it’s just got to be more heavily built. Take the SD22 engine and put it up beside a 2.2 gas pot and you’ve got over 100 pounds for the diesel. Take that up to 3/4 ton size and you’re already seeing some front heavy trucks, even with engines like the Cummins 5.9/6.7, or the Ford Power Stroke and the GM Duramax. A 5.9 Cummins weighs a lot more than a 360 (gas) V-8, even though they’re the same displacement. Go back to the Oldsmobile 350 diesel. If the diesel would’ve been built to really handle the demands of a diesel engine, it would’ve weighed 1,000 lbs, enough to warrant overload springs on the front end…
I agree. Diesel engines have to be heavier in order to withstand the compression they’re known for, not to mention the torque. So why not produce a smaller version of the diesel engine for light trucks and compact trucks?
Auction update: this truck sold for $3,560, a heck of a deal!
I agree.
I used to have one, started in the winter every time no problem, it run 70 down the road. Put over 100,000 on it. Love it. Just traded for a Jimmy S15 so I could pull my boat better. I get into 30 mile hour head wind it run out power pulling boat, had to drop back 4 gear. 50 miles hour. Had the throttle lock set so cruse at 55. If only Datsun put the 6 cylinder diesel motor in it I still be driving it. I did fix the tire wearing problem. Had a lot fight with Datsun on that, figured out problem torsion bars, re splined.
I had this exact truck – 1981 Datsun diesel king cab. It was a great motor as I drove quite a bit and diesel was cheap back then while gas prices shot up quite a bit. Had to use cardboard in on the grill in the winter and with no block heater put a light bulb in the engine area with a blanket during the winter. It only didn’t start once at -15 degree morning. The problem with it was the New England winters and salt/sanded roads. By 1987 the body was shot, but the engine lived on as someone took it out to power one of their local farm projects. Last year I went back to diesel with the Dodge eco diesel. They are unbelievable…get up to 27mpg and 17 mpg pulling a boat 65 mph.
I consider it damn unforgivable that the diesel engine wasn’t continued into the later Nissan branded trucks. I would’ve bought one if it were available, preferably a turbo diesel.
I had a 1981 regular cab I loved this truck. If this one was still for sale I would strongly think of getting it. I was young and dumb when I had mine. Found it had a governed motor. So I held it to the floor and speed shifted all the time 1,2 and 3rd Geer rubber. I won alot of bets on that. Still got 48 mpg.
I bought one brand new in 1981 put over 150000 on it, power blue, I know how fix the front tires so quit wearing out inside of the tires. It make 70,000 miles on tires. Love the truck. Wish I had state 6 cylinder in it like Maxim Car they had. I never get rid of it.
I have one of these trucks and I love it and it’s never let me down. that engine has never broken down never had any issues. I always use some diesel injector products to keep everything working. I’ll never let this truck go all my other cars I have had were a let down. but this truck kicks ass and I gave it a pipe sticking up out from the bed and it sounds great. when I cruse at 60mph it just hums along. I can cruse at 70mph and it dose not make too much noise but it still looks and sounds great.
I just bought a little diesel truck exactly like this one. The engine and tranny is in perfect condition and starts/runs like a new one (178K), but the body is completely rusted out. I’ve got a question for ya’ll shade tree mechanics out there.
Just how hard would it be to drop this engine and transmission into a newer Nissan 4×4 body and drive train? When I was younger and had a totally decked out shop, I would attempt the swap without blinking an eye.
But, now that I’m much older and got a little “hole in the wall” shop, I hesitate to jump in to anything that’s going to take a lot of “engineering”. So, with all the knowledge that is hidden within this group, just how hard do ya’ll think this swap may be? Thanks for your help!
I bought one brand new in 1981 power blue. One important thang is tires wearing in inside. Ground problem set up for gas engine. Need take torsion bar loose move one more spline so goes Right hight will not wear on the tires. Love mine wish keep it. Power blue.
the tranny is the same as the gas ones just see if you can swap the bell housings
The more I see these old cars and trucks, of 40+ yrs ago, the more I wish today’s cars and trucks were like cars were then.
If anyone is interested, I have a Datsun truck just like this one, except mine is red. I absolutely LOVE this old truck. I have had it for years and it has never let me down. It is by far the most dependable vehicle I have ever owned! At 190k miles the body is about shot from various dents and rust, but the engine, tranny, etc. operates like a new one. It has always started in winter or summer. I was sure that I was going to keep this truck for the rest of my life (I’m 68 now), but I have a bum shoulder and this truck does not have power steering. I’m really sad at the thought of selling this truck. I’ve had a ball experimenting with different fuels. It will run on old motor oil, kerosene, old cooking oil and it runs great on old auto. trans. fluid! It has the original Clarion stereo in it. It also has the original jack, tools and owner’s manual. .As rare as the smaller diesels are now, I know that I will never find another one. It runs great and is still my daily transportation. If anyone is interested I will be asking around $5000. for it. I live in E.Tenn.
@Wes Gordon – Send it in and we will auction it for you!
That’s a thought, thanks. Right now I’m having to depend on it until I get my other ride up & running.
I brought one new in 1981 power blue. Love truck had fight with Datsun on front end ailment found problem fix it run 150,000 no problems love truck. If re spine the torsion bars one notch front end rase up right hight tire quit wearing on inside.