The Nissan D21, known as the Hardbody here in the US, was quite an upgrade from the previous Nissan pickups which were more pragmatic work trucks. This 1989 Nissan Hardbody SE Kingcab 4×4 5-speed pickup is loaded and rust-free and it can be found listed here on eBay. It’s located in Los Angeles, California, there is no reserve, and the current bid is $2,550.
The Nissan or Datsun 720 was the predecessor to the Hardbody trucks and they were ancient in comparison. I like ancient so I’m ok with that. The 720 was the first Nissan truck that was built in America, in their Smyrna, Tennessee plant, and the Hardbody was the first Nissan truck that was designed in America at Nissan’s new design center in San Diego.
The Nissan Hardbody came out for the 1986.5 model year and they had a double-wall bed which gave them the name Hardbody. They were quite modern-looking compared to the 720 pickups and this example looks like it’s a true time capsule. The seller says that it’s rust-free and it sure looks like it is. They have included several underside photos and it looks rock-solid. It’s been in California its whole life and they do say that it has had one repaint at a Nissan dealer back in 1995.
The bed looks almost perfect as does the interior, including the Kingcab area behind the front seats. The fold-down seats would work in a pinch but not for tall people or for long distances. The seller says that this truck is loaded which thankfully doesn’t include an automatic transmission, this one has a 5-speed. There is also a sunroof or moonroof depending on how a person defines that and there are several definitions.
The engine is Nissan’s VG30E, a 3.0L V6 with around 145 horsepower. This truck runs and drives perfectly and it was always stored indoors when it wasn’t in use. Have any of you owned a Nissan Hardbody pickup?
Years ago, I owned a 96 4 cyl. Nissan truck. Solid. Dependable.
My present truck (pictured) is a 2002 Frontier, 6 cyl. with 97K on it. I have hauled everything from pavers to sod to furniture along with countless relatives. Original AC still working. Uses no oil. Will never part with this one.
As for the truck featured here – beautiful.
When I was looking for one of these,I talked
to an owner of a 4 cylinder,4WD,manual transmission
model.Told me he was getting 12 mpg.
Wow 12mpg on a 4 banger? Crazy!
Yeah, some crappy fuel economy numbers for sure and the next generation wasn’t any better. My old 2002 4wd, 5sp could only pull down 17.5 mpg on the highway at 65 mph. I regret selling it because it was a true workhorse and the idiot who bought it ran it out of oil and blew the motor. What a waste.
Be very, very glad this has the 5-speed, because if these had the same auto trans as the Pathfinder, and I’m pretty sure they did, they would break at around 60k miles, like clockwork. One thing I can recall about Nissans of this time period is how well they were put together. The interiors were just really solid and didn’t really rattle or fall apart. I suspect that cost cutting had a pretty negative effect on later models.
Dogs love trucks.
Let’s call a spade a spade, I figured, they were called “hardbodies” because the earlier ones rusted profusely, and many were leery of buying another. The brilliant minds in the boardroom must have thought, call it a “hardbody”, silly Americans will never know,,and it worked. Also, I think there was a stupid movie called “Hardbodies” around that time, perhaps had some influence too. They were okay trucks, that engine compartment gives me the heebie-jeebies just looking at it. I’m sure the idle races, vacuum leaks were common, just try and find it. I don’t care for Asian vehicles, I feel Nissan is on the low end, like the “Ford Maverick” of Asian cars. I’d stay clear of this one.
I have a 1986.5 version of the truck featured on this page. Mine has almost 200,000 miles. Had A/C conversion. Still runs great. Been in my family for over 25 years. Gets horrible gas mileage for a V-6. Has terrible turning radius. Otherwise, I love this truck. Can’t pull into a gas station without starting a conversation that ends in, “do want to sell your truck?”
A lot of negative experiences. Sorry guys. I had an 86 and loved it. No rust issues, mid-teens gas mileage (same as my current 86 Toyota 4×4 truck) ran strong and was super comfortable. Lost it in a divorce. Obviously the X liked it too.
And I stand by what I said above about mine. Never experienced Howard’s “idle racing or vacuum leaks” either. I did experience reasonable gas mileage and high dependable performance.
And unlike Howard’s assessment, the “Ford Maverick” line of Asian cars was not made in Japan or by a Japanese manufacturer.
I don’t think there is a collective disdain for Asian automobiles on Barn Finds. Some do not care for them the same way I’ve been burned by General Motors and no longer care for their products.
I get the impression Howard has been around the block more than once and owned a broad range/fair share of automobiles. I for one enjoy his witty Insight and shared auto knowledge. I wouldn’t think a person should take his dislike for Asian cars personally, it’s just one man’s opinion and not the collective thoughts of barnfinds. Just watch the passion here when someone writes up a Miata or 1987 Toyota Camry.
Bakyrd,
Please do not mis-interpret my comments here. I do not take what anyone says here personally or even in a necessarily negative way. I enjoy most of the witty Insight and shared auto knowledge as offered by almost everyone. I also don’t think there is a collective disdain for anything here except scammers and grossly overpriced vehicles.
We all have our own unique perspectives. As we should. That is what makes this interesting.
Look, I don’t mean to pixx anyone off, although I know I do, I HAVE been “around the block”, so many times, I lost count, and a WIDE variety of vehicles indeed, when they were new, so yes, I feel it gives me bit of credibility. It seems I have to explain everything I say, I said Maverick, which was a good car, btw, because Datsun/Nissans I’ve had experience with, were, like the Maverick, cheap cars. Of course they made some nice cars, but I’m talking about cars the masses bought, like these trucks. I’m sorry, if you haven’t had a racing idle on these, something was wrong. In order to meet emissions, these carb models were choked off and leaned out so much, I rarely saw one that ran right. Mechanically, they were great vehicles, but I thought Asian-wise, the Mazda or Isuzu were much better. I’ve owned , driven, or had some contact with practically every type of vehicle made, I know, a hefty claim, but it’s true, and I can say without reservation, they are ALL the devils creation.
Oh, another quick story on these. I have/had a friend( he may be gone now,) bought a new “Hardbody”, only 2wd, I think, from a big Nissan dealer, Rosen in Milwaukee. Anyway, right off the lot, it had a bad vibration from like 55 up. He took it back, they tried everything, even a new driveshaft. He got it back, now it shook at 50 and up. Took it back, mechanics went through it again, found nothing, told him, get this, “driver is going to have to put up with it”,,,he told them, to stick the truck where the sun doesn’t shine. So the boss comes in, Rosen himself, “what will it take for you to be happy”, he asked. FIX THE GD VIBRATION, or I want a different truck. Boss looks at the service manager, who shrugged his shoulders, boss says, “put another driveshaft in it”,,,but boss, just do it,,,problem solved. Don’t get me wrong, they were good trucks, people had great luck with some, but that wasn’t the only “Nissan” story I heard.
Kinda surprised that the price isn’t higher I sold my 01 pathfinder at 165k miles and the whole underside was rusted because of living at the ocean this one has a lot of life left
I collect Toyota 4X4s, but would love to have a Nissan truck like this one.
The Hardbody trucks looked so right.
The irrational hatred for Japanese vehicles every time they’re posted on BF is pathetic.
Not bad, but I prefer a 4-cyl stick in these small Toyotas and Nissans. Less moving parts, less to go wrong, and they last 10 times longer. The gas mileage is terrible, even with a 4-cylinder. I bought one thinking it would be incredible and fill all of my needs with one vehicle…nope. Crappy to drive on the highway, most all of them are geared low (even the 2WD trucks) and my Crown Victoria blows them away in the gas-mileage category by close to 10 mpg.
I actually like this more than Marty McFly’s SR5. I have a feeling upon close inspection the miles will show themselves, especially on the inside. Very sharp though.
YES finally thank you barn finds. I’ve been waiting for barn finds to post one of these for a long time. I own one, but I’m not old enough to drive yet, so I don’t really know how it drives, and supposedly they’re quite gutless, but
I wouldn’t know, because it’ll be the only vehicle I’ve driven! It’s a 93 king cab, with the v6 and auto trans. It’s got 247k on it, so I’m not sure about the bad comments about the auto trans. Fun factor maybe?
Already up to almost 5k. I figured that would happen. This is classic barnfinds. Reasonable price, great truck, especially with the manual. These run forever. I dated a girl who had one. Ran 300k in Florida, everything was rusted but ran great and all the windows, ac, etc all worked. Wish this was east coast.
Love the Raiders floormat, the perfect place to wipe my filthy shoes.
I still see these down in AZ, They made this model in Mexico until 2008. single cab, xtra cab and even 4 door. 4 cyl gas or diesel and 6 cyl gas. good little town trucks.
I had a 90 base one of these little trucks. Mine was a regular cab, 4 cylinder with 5 speed. No A/C, crank windows, no frills, but I loved that little truck. It had a great ride, was decent on gas (mine was 2WD) and ran forever! I had to replace the head at 166,000 miles, but that thing never burned a drop of oil! Gave it to a friend of mine, with 179,000 on it in 2005. Still had the original clutch in it! When he was gifted a vehicle, he gave it to the kid up the street. The bed was rusty so he took it off and built a flat bed for it. The original clutch finally gave out at 197,000 miles. Still ran perfectly, until a drunk woman crashed into it and totaled it! It was parked in front of his apartment, at 2 am! Had 237,000 on it, and he said it still didn’t use any oil between oil changes (done every 3000 miles). He was really ticked off about losing that little truck!
I cant see why this isnt up to 10k. Good condition, undercarriage is clean, etc. These are hard to find anywhere road salt was used. I really liked the design language on these, though I preferred the Toyota or Ranger a bit more. Good times for Nissan
I have all positive things to say about my ’91 4×4 kingcab with 4 cyl and 5 spd. Bought new and sold 12 or 13 yrs later with a little less than 200k. The little truck was getting a little tired, noticeably weaker. My gas mileage was around 20 plus or minus. The truck was very low cost of ownership with no major repairs ever required.
Auction update: this one “sold” for $8,720 and the buyer must have flaked out because it was relisted and the seller took a best offer, so we don’t know what the selling price was.
I drove an ’88 4×4, 4-cyl, 5-speed for 13 years, cross-country several times towing everything I owned. The trans bearings failed at 200k ( these had fill issues I now know ) and still had the OG clutch at 225k when I sold it. I just picked up a ’95 100k 5-speed Pathfinder in Los Angeles for $3500 and looking forward to doing more 4x4ing. It’s not as thoughtfully designed for service as the comparable 4Runner and it’s PIA to work on with the V6 and lots of hardware crammed in the front of the truck.