A “cute” truck? Is that an oxymoron, or can there really be such a thing? Trucks are meant to be tough and mean and nothing more than tools for hard-working people. I rarely use the word “cute” other than when referring to our little golden retriever, but this 1964 Datsun 320 Pickup is “cute.” It’s listed here on Facebook Marketplace in beautiful San Diego, California, and the seller is asking $18,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to T.J. for the tip!
I’ve always gotten a 1960-’64 Studebaker Champ pickup vibe from these little Datsun 320s, with the box that doesn’t exactly look like it was made for this truck, really in any way. There isn’t one line on the side of the bed that looks like it was made for the cab. At least the follow-up 520 pickup had a couple of lines that matched the cab. Ok, I need to stop for an hour and create one in Photoshop; back in a bit. I guess it wasn’t as hard as I thought. I wonder why Nissan didn’t stretch the bottom of the bed down a bit?
The seller doesn’t mention this truck as having been restored, I just took a risk in saying it was. If not, it’s one unbelievable survivor that had to have been kept in someone’s living room for 60 years. Nissan offered the 320 (Datsun 320) from August of 1961 for the 1962 model year, until the end of 1965, and they really look ancient compared to the next series, the 520. Nissan/Datsun offered an NL320, which was a “ute” bodystyle. Here’s a Hemmings photo showing one. Beautiful.
Someone spent a lot of time and money on this truck, the interior is beautiful. To say this was the era of simple little pickups is an understatement. A lot of us wish we could get a small pickup again. The Ford Maverick is on my list to check out; it’s really all the pickup I’d need and is about as small as it gets today.
The beautiful engine isn’t what would have been in this truck when it left Japan, the seller says it’s a J13, which is Nissan’s 1.3-liter OHV inline-four with 66 horsepower when new. Backed by what is said to be a rebuilt five-speed manual sending power to the rear wheels, the seller says it runs, drives, stops, and steers GREAT. This truck has a rebuilt five-speed transmission, and the original four-speed comes with the sale. That’s a very nice drivetrain upgrade, an extra gear and an extra 10% hp. Have any of you owned a pickup as small as this Datsun 320?
Fun write-up Scotty. Obviously I have never owned one; in fact, I don’t think I have ever seen one. Sure I’ve seen the next generation, but not this one, with all of its mismatched-bed glory. I think “cute” is an apt word to use to describe it.
Always good to see a throw-away vehicle which has been saved or restored.
This Datsun ( Nissan) looks like it should be in a museum. Like Bob said above I’ve never seen one of these in real life either. I agree too about the “cute” aspect. And the Studebaker pickup vibes as well. It would have looked great with a longer bed going down to match the cabs lines. ( Ummm…… Scotty, I’m kind of surprised you didn’t make this a convertible as well….. Just kidding!!!) The fact its survived and rust free all these years is impressive. Great write up too Scotty, thank you for posting it.
Has anyone here ever seen one of these? Not I.
Not only seen one, but owned one while a building contractor in Durban, South Africa. Mine was in 1965 and I think the very first one to be sold. In Australia they are known as a “Ute” and in SA they are known as a “Bakkie” which is short for “Bucket” (the load area) in the Afrikaans language. Mine also had a 1200cc engine and was classed as a ONE TONNER! Not only did we load it up to one ton we very often overloaded it and it never complained. I can’t remember now, as that was 60 years ago, but I think it was a four speed, column change, as Datsun modeled a lot of their early cars on the British Austin vehicles, in fact the very early Datsun was an Austin Seven re badged.
Nice truck – but also a lot of money.
A student teacher in high school autoshop
had one of these.He called it “the Ugly Duckling”.
It had a 4 on the tree.He also had a ’72 240Z.I
wonder where Jim Wyatt is now.
The plates are wrong.Small trucks didn’t need
commercial plates in California (unless you kept a canopy
on it all the time,otherwise all pickup were required to get
commercial plates in (I think) 1973.I had a ’72-1/2 Toyota RN22
that I had to get those plates for,but they were Blue/Gold.
And I never saw a Datsun pickup with wide whitewalls.
Once again, the author takes us to the humble beginnings of such famous makes today. Another of something we never saw in Beertown, a what now? Good heavens, where’s the rest of it ?( slapping each other on the back) I remember an ad, in retro black and white, a guy at a Datsun dealer, clearly in Cal., says, “never saw one of these”, pointing to the pickup, “oh, you will”, said the sales person. There’s a reason why the box looks out of place, these were shipped without a box, and the box was from a company here(?) and was universal to all Asian pickups. Those hooks on the side are the giveaway. Unlike Studebaker, that merely bought boxes from Dodge. The 5 speed is a welcome addition, to make it at least go the speed limit, but not much more. It just wasn’t meant to go 70mph all day long, not that it couldn’t. What is cool about Datsun, they didn’t try to get their foot in the door with tiny, inept micro cars, it went straight for the juggler, a mini pickup, of course. They were a tough sell, as with gas .27/gal., fuel economy was NOT on the minds of pickup truck buyers. They wanted 460s, for heavens sake, not puddle jumpers. And these weren’t cheap. I read, this truck cost $1595 new, with practically no dealer network yet, when a base F-100 was only $400 more at the local Ford dealer. Funny, we’ve gone full circle in that regard in trucks. Big blocks to puddle jumpers, and back to big trucks again. This is a pretty cool find.
The early pickups came from Japan with the bed. They did not start shipping them without the bed in the early 70s to avoid the 25% Chicken Tax/Tariffs.
These would have rusted even in your living room.
I bought a 1964 320 used in 1968 and kept it till 1973. Then I traded it to my father for a 10speed bike. Mine was the same color as this one. It had a 4 speed transmission that had a column shifter. A very basic but very reliable truck.
I borrowed a co-workers little Datsun Pick up truck in 1973 when I was moving. I believe is was a 1968 or 1969 truck. I had a wife and a daughter at the time. The move was about 60 miles and I got every thing we owned into that truck in just one trip. But I sure liked that little truck
The J13 is an MGB copy. And the truck would have come with a 4-speed.
The original engine was a 1.2 E-1.
The British had helped the Japanese get their automotive production going again after WWII. So, a lot of the early stuff was basically British copies.
Some parts of the J13 were interchangeable with the early B motor.
I bought the twin to this years ago- except mine was stock. Cute indeed. Tough as nails, and it would beat you to death. It rode really rough. I learned not to drive it without a load in the box- then I learned not to drive at all. If I drove it to town, my back hurt so bad that it seemed like walking home might be preferable.
I thought this site is called “Barn Finds.” This clearly doesnt fit that category
Oh no! the world is spinning off it’s axis.
One of the things I love about this site is the posting of the eclectic. For that I’ll let the site name slide.
had one with with box molded to cab,like el camino,4 on the tree
Ron, like the link in the third paragraph? That’s the one I’d want.
I owned a 63 that I purchased from the original owner with only 19000 miles. It had the glass in the front of the carburetor and a lever on the fuel pump so you could prime it. There was a hand crank hooked to the back of the cab incase the battery went dead. It had a 4 speed on the column and 700-14 wide white tires. Fun little truck but very slow. It had original paint and even a small can of bamboo touchup paint. It was missing one of the reflectors on the back of the bed. I found a nos reflector from a business in portland ore. and was in the original box and it said refrector . Fun times, wish I still had it.
This truck looks great with the Schwinn Pea Picker in the bed! What a great combination!
Lovely looking truck. I’ve seen Datsun trucks before, but never this.
Living in the southwest most of my life, I have seen these every once in a while, but I have never seen an NL320. That thing is cool!