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1981
DATSUN / NISSAN EXTENDED CAB PICK-UP
TRUCK
I’ll bet it has been a while since you’ve
seen one of these? Finding a twenty-eight year old Japanese
truck that’s still on the road and not completely worn out is
tough enough. However, finding a fully loaded, low mileage
extended cab that's spent its entire life in rust-free Arizona
is almost impossible.
I know that offering this vehicle here
might seem to be a little strange to some of you. It’s not my
usual Mercedes, Jaguar or some other interesting and unusual
exotic that I usually am involved with. This has been my
little “run around town” truck for the last thirteen years.
Amazing how fast time is slipping past us these days as we get
older isn’t it? I’ve kept it all of this time because it’s
very clean, low miles, ran great, never left me stranded and
was incredibly useful and practical. Besides, I always seem to
like something different and you just don’t see these on the
streets anymore so that sort of appealed to me
too.
This is an original Arizona truck since
new. It was sold at a Scottsdale Datsun dealership in April of
1981. The original owner had this truck for 14 years. He
absolutely loved this little thing. He took care of it in a
way that was beyond meticulous. More of an obsession really.
Then, he sold it to a friend of his (and mine) in very late
1995. This man had purchased it for his teenage daughter
however, one quick call to his insurance agent to determine
the increase in his rates for her having an exclusive driver
made him think differently. As a result, they decided to let
their daughter share the family sedan and sold the truck to me
a short time later in early ‘96. They had it such a short time
that to me it hardly counts. I really consider myself to
be the second owner.
I can’t fully explain to you the
excellent service this vehicle has given me during the time
I’ve owned it. It has been fantastic!!! My only reason to sell
it now is because I hardly ever use it anymore. I have other 'drivers' now and I just hate to see it just sitting there going
nowhere. So, I’ve made the decision that now is the time to
let her go.
This truck is one loaded son of a gun.
Listed below are the options on this particular
vehicle.
1. Extended king cab with opposing rear
seats option.
2. Automatic
transmission.
3. Cruise control.
4. Air
conditioning.
5. Heavy duty suspension
package.
6. Desert cooling package.
7. Power
steering.
8. Power brakes.
9. Deluxe exterior
group with finned aluminum rocker moldings, twin R.V. mirrors,
chrome cargo tie downs and two tone paint.
(original)
10. Deluxe interior group with fabric seats
and door panel inserts, as well as fully carpeted interior cab
floor.
11. Deluxe dash package with tachometer and
clock.
12. AM/FM radio with built in
CB.
13. Accessory tool box.
14. Dual gas
tanks.
15. Front bumper guards.
16. Full
chrome rear bumper with trailer ball.
That's quite an option list for a
vehicle like this. I don’t have any idea but if I had to
guess, I wouldn’t be surprised if less then one percent of the
production came with an option list this long?
This thing is about as straight as they
come and I would say that about eighty percent of the paint is
original. As far as I know, the interior is original too.
Again, it’s amazing for a truck of this age especially since
it’s been living in Arizona. Here, our vehicles have great
bodies without rust but fabrics and plastics turn to dust.
However, I’d rather replace those any day then to try and weld
new floors into a vehicle, wouldn’t you?
This
truck runs great! It has been one of the most reliable
vehicles I have ever owned. These old Datsun trucks were well
known for this, especially when equipped with the high
out-put, eight spark plug motor this one’s got.
A couple of things are not working that I
want to mention to you. The clock stopped working about three
months ago. The speedometer needle stopped working about three
days ago. The cruse control never worked since I got it. I
unhooked the CB about five years ago and never bothered to
hook it back up. I removed the second, dual gas tank and never
put it back in but I’ve still got it if you want it. The
original AM / FM radio works but it’s too low in volume to
really hear it
Is it a show truck? Absolutely not, are
you kidding? Is it anywhere close to mint condition? NO! This
is just a very clean, solid, dependable, and inexpensive to
operate little truck that is unique to see on the street.
Please note – The condition of the dash pad in the photos.
Usually those are cracked on an eight year old car around here
much less a twenty-eight year old one. Did you see the truck
bed and tail gate? That comes from taking the precaution of
laying down carpets when I was placing something in the bed.
Many people think I’m crazy but I just like to take care of my
stuff.
Also, unbelievable as it may seem, this
truck still has the original owner’s manual, the original
spare tire and has never been smoked in.
The asking price is $3,950.00. If
it wasn’t for the present economy it would be $4,500.00 I know
you might be able to buy a worn out piece of junk and
definitely not with this equipment or options for about
$1,500. If price is the only thing that’s important then you
should buy that. This one is for someone who wants something
quite a bit better.
Please call Larry @
480-483-2555.
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