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Tiny Survivor Truck: 1965 Datsun NL320

left front

Here’s another low miles pickup in really nice condition. Like the recently featured GMC, it’s a manual, 2 wheel drive and a long bed, but just tiny. That’s right, it’s 7 inches longer than the N320. Datsun even made a crew cab version of the 320, the U320. There are said to be only 1000 of these little trucks built with only a couple of hundred left, but they certainly are turning up a lot. Jessie wrote one up a few weeks ago and also last October, both nice trucks. Now it’s my turn with this really amazing little gem listed on craigslist in Chico California. With an asking of $10,000 it could certainly seem overpriced, but we’ll see what people are willing to pay for this little truck. It looks like it just rolled out of a time machine but the mileage is probably 117,000, the paint and interior are not original but it sure looks nice. It’s had the usual work done after it was pulled out of storage including a new radiator, generator, brakes, battery and belts.

inside

The interior certainly looks like it hasn’t been used much and it’s been well taken care of. The seat was reupholstered at some time.

rear

It has been used some as a truck, but the bed still looks in pretty good shape and ready to haul, well, not much.

engine

It’s all tidy and original under here. It could use some cleaning but there are no signs of neglect. Isn’t the baby blue air cleaner cute?

right above

This looks like it could be a fun little driver. Up close, you’re sure to find imperfections. You sure wouldn’t buy this for a work truck and you can, of course, find a lot more practical trucks for the price. It could be a cute, fun and dependable little driver though. Somewhere out there is someone who would love to have this little truck. I wonder how much they will be willing to pay to be the smallest pickup in town.

Comments

  1. Avatar Scotty G

    Nice! It’s probably overpriced if it’s still for sale. I would rather have this truck before it was painted and reupholstered, but that’s just me.
    Nice find!

    Like 0
  2. Avatar grant

    My daughter saw this and made the same noise she makes when she sees baby animals. It’s hard to disagree.

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    • Avatar Dougm

      I made the same noises when I saw this!

      Like 0
  3. Avatar Charles H.

    Super nice, and interesting ‘lil truck, love it…..I wonder why the other 1965 model, that Jessie wrote up back in April, had slightly different cosmetics, such as square parking lights, instead of the round ones this one has?

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  4. HoA Howard A Member

    Well, I highly doubt this has 117K on it. There’s no way.To put that kind of miles on, a vehicle should at least be able to do the speed limit, which I’d have to think, this truck would have a hard time doing.( and show a lot more wear) Still, it always amazes me the humble beginnings of Asian car makers, I mean, look at Nissan now compared to this. Great little unit for around town, which it was intended for. Trouble is, with so few of these around in this condition ( and price) is this something you really want to use as a truck? I can just see someone blowing a stop light ( while texting) and cream your 1 of a hundred 1965 Datsun pickups. ( not to mention the possible outcome in a small vehicle like this)

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  5. Avatar Fred

    Seems high priced, but if you factor in what it would take to redo a rough one into something like this, might not be that high.

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  6. Avatar DRV

    Been wanting one for 40 years…but too high priced here…

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  7. Avatar AndrewM

    Drop a Hemi in it… :D

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  8. Avatar JoeT

    If this has the same 1200 motor as my 1970 Datsun 1200 sedan had it should have no problem keeping up with traffic (depending on the gearing). I used to drive my 1200 daily from Springtown, TX to Fort Worth to work. Never a problem with speed. That engine was pretty durable from my experience.

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  9. Avatar Mark Mitchell Member

    I got one of these NL320 Sport Trucks when I was 15 (mid 1970’s). It was $500, and looked identical to this one. I drove it from Fresno, CA to the coast by myself before I was old enough for a license! Kept it for a couple of years and ended up trading the Datsun plus $1500 for a ’59 Porsche 356A Convertible D which I still have (pic attached). Not a bad trade, huh?

    Like 1
  10. Avatar dogwater

    Come on people 10k for that little truck, take that to a car show they would be all over it. the new generation would love that car……………….

    Like 0
  11. Avatar PRaycer

    This post expired a couple of weeks ago and has been re-listed. $10k is too high for this truck IMO.

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  12. Avatar Steve Pettersen

    I know this truck personally. It belonged to an old volunteer fireman in Lake Co. and amazingly enough, has survived intact: Now cared for by a life-long Datsun guy. The truck is a wonderful living example of something lost with time, which should be cherished by someone worthy. I hope someone decent enough to deserve it ends up with it. 2 thumbs up! What can $10K buy anymore? This a fun, enjoyable toy for someone with the taste to appreciate it.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Joe Howell

    50 years ago our Scoutmaster had one. It was a tough little monkey hauling a lot of equipment. It was source of amusement as everything from the dinky little foot pedals to the engine seemed shrunken to American eyes.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Andrew

      Also the other way around Joe. I remember at age 15 in 1978 when we went to the U.S. for a holiday, how large everything was, compared to Europe. I couldn’t believe my eyes how large the cars and trucks were, and you could drive these monsters at age 16. It was totally flabbergasting for us Europeans. We always thought a Mercedes was the largest car on the market, well, it was just tiny in the U.S. It all depends what you’re used to, same with power. We thought that 80 hp. was sufficient to motor a family of five around the city and country.

      Like 1
  14. Avatar Andrew

    They should just make these again, although they actually do already in countries like Brazil, but I wish we would get them also. I always like the Volkswagen Saveiro, which we don’t get. They would be the “bee’s knees” for a busy city with no parking spaces left, and yet big enough for yard waste and little runs to town.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar MGSteve

    If I’m not mistaken, and I know I’ll hear about it if I am!!!, is this not the truck that started the whole small Japanese truck craze . . . even before Toyota came over with theirs, and well before Mazda, Mitsubishi, etc? After driviing around a full size Dodge for awhile, I’ve had nothing but small Japanese trucks . . . they fill my needs perfectly, and in fact, am quite upset they have all morphed into full size trucks. We were in Costa Rica about a year ago, and saw many folks driving around in smaller Hyundai trucks, more the size of this and the smaller Datsuns, Toyotas, Mazdas, etc. I’d like to see these smaller trucks return to the market.

    Like 1
  16. Avatar harit

    The front pics show a very strong resemblance to the body styling of FIAT 1100R’s of around 1966, leaving aside the trim. They were no pick-ups though.

    Like 0
    • Avatar man ' war

      And the rear taillights look like “Guitars and Cadillac”.

      Like 0

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