The Nissan Hardbody; The Unsung Hero of Pickups

What’s more American than the pickup truck? Apple pie? Baseball?, Well all of things require trucks to get stuff where it needs to go. Pickup trucks are now one of the most competitive segments of the automotive market in the United States. While names like Ford F150, Chevy Silverado, and Ram have cemented themselves in the mind of most Americans (myself included), Asian automakers have also carved out their own share of this incredibly competitive market.

In the full-size truck market Ford, Chevy, and Ram, in that order, are king. America loves her trucks, we like them big, long, and with gas-guzzling V8s. While American automakers were going big, Asian automakers such as Nissan were thinking small.

The first Datsun, a brand owned by Nissan and used to sell it’s products outside of Japan, to hit the American market was the 1959 Datsun 220 tuck. This truck produced 44-hp and was paired to a 4 speed manual Transmission. A far cry from Ford’s F series which offered things like 4 wheel drive, V8 engines, and automatic transmissions. But Ford trucks were big and mainly workhorses found on farms and construction sites. While the Nissan was designed to move people more than cargo. The Datsun truck underwent a great many name and design changes over the years. And every truck carried the Datsun name until 1985 when the Datsun brand was officially killed in 1986. The 1970s and 1980s are when the Nissan truck began to shine. Compared to their larger gas guzzling American counterparts, the Nissan trucks were small, light, and gas friendly, while also being capable of hauling some cargo. And the trucks lasted forever. Its not uncommon to find them with upwards of 100,000 miles and still going strong. The mechanical simplicity meant that the average owner could do most repairs themselves with just basic tools. Even replacing the exhaust manifold is simple and can be done in just a few hours. Compared to Fords of the same area, where large V8s took up most of the space in the engine bay, and hidden bolts and special tools kept most owners at dealerships instead of on the road. When was the last time you saw a Ford with 100,000 plus miles that didn’t burn oil or sound like it was going to explode. The small size of the truck meant that owners could haul what they needed without having to spend twice as much. Most pickup owners, outside of work trucks, rarely haul heavy or large cargo, they mostly help friends and family move or pick up a fridge. They don’t need a full-sized truck that can tow a space shuttle.

The Nissan D21 or Hardbody (1985-1997) as it was known in the United States started at just $10,999 in 1997 for a regular cab and just $14,696 for a “King Cab”. With options, the “King Cab”, which came with 2 fold down seats in the back that faced each other, came to just $15,792 without the automatic transmission. Compare that to a 1997 Ford F150, a regular cab started at $14,505 and $16,666 for a “Super Cab”, by the time you optioned up the “Super Cab” it cost $18,831, without the big V8 engine and automatic transmission. One of the options on the Ford’s Super Cab that was standard on the Nissan’s King Cab was a sliding back window. Both trucks came with a 6.5ft bed and a full-size spare tire, while the Ford has a higher payload and towing capacity when was the last time you needed to tow 7000 pounds? That’s what I thought. Now I know why people bought the F150, it was bigger, more comfortable, faster, had more power, and its American. But The Nissan was cheaper, more reliable, more fuel efficient, easier to work on, and well boring, but in a good way.

1997 was the last year of the Hardbody style for the Nissan pickup, also the last year it didn’t have an official name in the US. The truck underwent a major redesign in 1998 and was officially named the Frontier. The truck underwent growing pains and reliability issues with the new engine, and the truck has failed to keep up with its American and Japanese competitors and has fallen out of style, both in its design and with consumers. A tragic fall from grace from its glory days in the 80s and 90s.
Where can you find these unsung heroes today? Well look for the nearest small landscaping company, high school kid on a budget, audio buff, off-roader, or hunter and chances are you will find one. The average asking price on Autotrader for a 1985-1997 Nissan Hardbody is around 4,000$. Their ease of maintenance and simple engineering makes them a favorite of modders, small business owners, and people on a budget alike. These trucks have gained a large following, much like Miatas, and have entire websites and forums devoted to upkeep, modding and general discussion.

My love and respect for these trucks comes from personal experience. My first car was a 1997 Hardbody. It was red, had a 5-speed manual, roller window, manual locks, faded paint, the top of the steering wheel was worn down to the bare metal, and it had over 240,000 miles. In fact, its the picture you saw at the top of this post. I drove “Old Nasty” (My boss at the auto shop named it) for 4 years and 20,000 miles before I replaced it with my 1999 Miata. I learned how to work on cars and do major repairs on that truck, and it holds a special place in my heart today. So next time you see one on the road, give it a wave, it will help cool the owner off because the AC probably doesn’t work.

Sources include.
Nissan
Autotrader
Motor Trend