If a regular vintage Japanese sedan or pickup isn’t unusual enough for you, consider this 1970 Datsun U521 double-cab pickup. A what?! This extremely rare, restored gem is listed on eBay with a buy it now price of $13,800 or you can make an offer. It’s located in Solvang, California, northwest of Santa Barbara. Let’s check it out.
The first thing you notice is that it’s jacked up in the back like we used to do to our cars in the 1970s. Wait, no it isn’t, that’s how it should look, it’s a pickup! The first thing I noticed is how perfect this example looks. I saw one for sale in Costa Rica a couple of years ago in what looked like original condition and it was about half this price, sans shipping, of course. This one has been restored inside and out and it looks great.
The U521 was Nissan’s designation for a double-cab pickup and it was an updated version of Datsun’s 520 pickup. From the front, you’d never know that this one had seating for four or even five inside. Coincidentally, this pickup was also in Costa Rica and that’s where it was restored, in 2013 according to the seller. And no, it isn’t made for serious hauling duties, that’s what your honkin’ four-door 4×4 pickup that gets 9 mpg is for. Although, the 521 was the first half-ton small pickup in the US.
This is a bit of a restomod-restoration which I’m personally not a huge fan of being a nerdy original-spec lover, but it looks tidy none the less. The seller says that it has power windows and locks which obviously wasn’t even on Nissan’s radar in this era, at least on pickups. It has a four-on-the-tree – which doesn’t roll off of the tongue like three-on-the-tree does – but sort of like Nigel Tufnel’s amp on Spinal Tap, it’s one gear better! Yes, this pickup has a back seat which in my book as about as cool as it gets for a 48-year old Datsun two-door pickup.
That’s a lot (lot = LOT) of blue under that hood/bonnet. As you may have noticed from the 1300 badge on the tailgate this should be Nissan’s 1.3L inline-four which would have had 67 hp. This must be a late-1969 truck since the engine would probably normally have been a 1.5L four with a whopping 76 hp for a Datsun 521 pickup in 1970. This truck isn’t perfect but it sure looks unique and there is absolutely no question that the next owner should have the only one at any car show in the US, even a southern California vintage Japanese car show.
There was no doubt in my mind who posted this, and I’ll 2nd his exclamation,,”A WHAT”? Got to be THE most practical vintage Asian car I’ve ever seen. I always kind of liked the 510, I wonder if this has IRS, unlike the wagon, which did not, to me, the 510’s most redeeming feature. The 510 was cheap, tinny car( that ran forever) and I certainly wouldn’t spend that kind of money on any 510, but clearly, the seller can ask what they want, try and find another. Very cool find, tip of the hat, Scotty!!!
No IRS—leaf springs are visible in the first pic, and the lowering blocks/shackles (last pic in the listing) are for a leaf-sprung live axle. VERY cool truck. I’m seriously tempted based on rarity and uniqueness alone.
GhostNote, buy the truck, enjoy a day in Solvang and have fun driving this little Datsun home.
A very cool find, Scotty!
Wow that is freakin cool. The original Baja Seems to be a reasonable price for a unicorn
It appears to be a Japanese 4 seat ” El Camino / Ranchero. It looks a lot more like it was built on a 510 wagon platform than from a pickup. I would think they would have sold these in an RHD version in Australia as well as in Japan – the Aussies love their utes !
Here’s a Volvo ute from Hemmings
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/volvo/122/1796784.html
Precursor to the Subaru outback baja maybe?almost 40 years older!
Very cool! I guess there’s a fine line between a “pickup truck” and a sedan with the trunk lid removed. Not sure if this crosses that line.
At first, I too thought it was sedan with the trunk lid removed, but 510’s didn’t have this big a trunk.
Looks like the battery has more cubic inches then the engine
Must be an optical illusion
The U521 is a truck. The body is mounted to a full frame like used on the regular 521 pick-ups sold in the US.
This model was never offered in the US and most were RHD for sale in Japan and Australia. The factory LHD makes it an extremely rare vehicle.
I purchased a ’66 V520 from the owner of this truck. You couldn’t find a more honest and cooperative seller to buy from.
This would be perfect for the trash run on Saturdays. At our camp that’s maybe two bags of trash and a beautiful ride through the country in SW NH. Would like to have…
This lil truck/car is just too cool & in great shape can’t recall ever seeing one like it.
I used to drive a ’71 521 Datsun Pickup back in the early 80’s in NoCal.
We dropped a 2.0 Liter SSS twin-SU-carbed engine in it (…imported from Japan, & routinely sold for approx $300 back then), & that thing would SCREAM up & down the roads of the SF Peninsula! :-)
510s & 240Zs were very popular back then also, so finding/adapting high-performance add-ons was not too difficult.
This U521 “ute” would benefit greatly from the addition of one of those SSS motors!
(…although CA’s strict emissions laws would probably prevent such a mod these days.) :-(
It’s pretty cool if you look at it for a while. Seems like it could have been the inspiration for Subaru to create the Baja!
This is cool! The first time I have seen one. I thought it was a wagon conversion since you could see the leaf springs.
Those little 1400 pushrod motors can scream also with the right goodies.
I think I bought the one you had seen in Costa Rica. It was imported into Florida this summer and I bought from the importer in August.