New to Forum

[goodoldd21]

Hello everyone,
I just joined and it is nice to see how many people love these old D21 Hardbodys. I own a 1986 1/2 SE-V6 King Cab with an auto trans. that has at this point 599,850 kilometers on it (I live in Ontario, Canada). I bought the truck new off the showroom floor in June 1986 from St.Clair Motors in Toronto. I traded my 1982 720 kingcab for it and drove it daily for 20 years. It required nothing but oil and filters for the first 7 years, at which point it needed a battery, new tires, brake pads and some exhaust work. In 2000, my wife was T-boned by a BMW while driving the truck, and the right side front of the box was damaged. I located a good southern box and had the truck stripped and painted in its original silver with blue two-tone and installed all new decals. It still looks good although some scratches in the paint occurred last year when a temporary tent garage collapsed on it in a wind storm. Mechanically, it required a rebuild of the 4 speed automatic transmission in 2002 but otherwise has never been messed with. Currently, I am having a surging problem when idling in neutral--I assume that it needs a new TPS but meantime I don't let it idle, just shut it off fast. It is a great truck and I can't see ever selling it. After all these years and miles, it is definitely part of the family. Cheers, Gary

[Rev_D21]

Ontario Canada means you are close enough to join us at the Z Car of Rochester car show in 2014! We have multiple Nissan trucks represent there. Welcome to NICO! I also own a 1986.5 V6 power D21 Hardbody with high mileage on it. It's great to see the old ones still running about...and with the original owner that's really something special!

[smurfmobile]

Hi we are new on this site too and we are from Iceland. It was fun to see how many people like these trucks.

Would be fun to see how it looks. If you can post up some pics

[goodoldd21]

Thanks guys! Smurfmobile, I will attempt to post some pics soon---once I remember how to do it. Rev D21, yes, I probably could make it to Rochester next summer depending on when Z-fest is. You say you have a number of D21's? That would be excellent--I have attended the Southern Ontario Z-fest a couple of times and was the only D21 there! They didn't even want to let me in at first but a lot of people looked at my truck and had good things to say. I took it to a cruise night last year for the first time--it sure seems like a lot of folks owned these trucks when they were new and enjoyed them. Just damned good trucks!
I like what you guys are doing with your trucks, giving them new life. I like the large tires on your 4x4, Smurfmobile---they look tough. And Rev D21, your dash looks good painted grey and the frame is looking real clean with the new paint. Right now, I'm working on repairing my frame just in front of the right front spring hanger, right beside the gas tank. I have oiled my truck over the years and it is in pretty good shape rust-wise except for this spot. It seems that this area trapped a load of crap and rusted out over time. The rest of the frame still has factory paint on it under the oil. So I'm taking a little time to form some repair pieces which I will butt weld in and fish plate. It sure would be nice to have a hoist for this repair but I don't so I'll set myself on fire a couple of times (ha,ha!) and get it done. My truck has earned it. Aside from this, years ago I repaired the lower rad support where it rusted and last summer I did the windshield area and the corners of the sunroof drain pan. While it is no longer my daily driver, I do drive it as much as I can. Thanks again for the welcome.

[smurfmobile]

Thanks for that, glad you like our little Smurf. Friends started calling it that because of the color combo we chose
We use this when we put pic's on the web:
http://tinypic.com/

[Saudade]

Welcome!! I too have a 86.5 but not quite as deluxe as yours. We've had it in the family since new. It's a great little truck!

[DMTwithaD21]

Hi, i to am new to the site, my girlfriend bought a 1994 2 wheel drive single cab hardbody, which i drove for almost a year, and really started liking the truck. so i bought a 1989 king cab with 4x4 v6. it runs great but is burning coolant, need to have the head gasket replaced. and considering what that will cost me a little bit more saving and i can just a buy a rebuilt motor from napa, which i think im going to do.
i read somewhere that the 300zx motor will fit the truck, would that be a good swap? the idea of having 70 or so more HP does sound good. looking forward to

[Rev_D21]

At the Rochester show we have (3) Datsun 620 trucks, a 56 Ford and my D21. I am hoping to have my black D21 done in time but that's looking iffy. My green truck will definitely be showing though.

[goodoldd21]

Hi fellow Nissan truck owners!
I am intending to post some photos of my '87 Kingcab SE-V6. Here goes nothing!
This is a pic of my truck at its first cruise night last summer.
This was at the first Z Fest we attended. The white letter tires have since been replaced.
Aside from some self inflicted MIG welding burns on the carpet and a small crack in the dash, the interior is holding up well. I hope you like the pictures--I will get some more up-to-date ones when I finish the work I'm currently doing on the truck (frame repair and timing belt replacement/tuneup). Best regards, Gary

[Rev_D21]

Wow!!!!!! That is one GREAT looking truck!!! More pics!!!!

[goodoldd21]

Thanks, Rev_D21! More pics coming soon. So there are a good number of our trucks at the Rochester,NY Z-Fest? Any idea of when the Z-Fest happens in 2014? If it is at all possible, I would like to make it there!
Now I'm going out to the shop to do some more work on my truck. I have the frame pieces cut--just have to shave them a bit so I can butt weld them in nicely. Adios for now Gary

[smurfmobile]

This truck looks amazing. I love how original he is and clean and that topper fits him perfectly. Congrats on awesome looking truck. Looking forward to see more pictures of it

[goodoldd21]

Thanks, Smurfmobile. It is a good old truck that still works good. Hey, Saudade, another original owner!--where do you hail from? Every year there are fewer and fewer of these trucks around my area due mostly to rust, thanks to the crazy amount of salt they spread on the roads in Ontario. It's always nice to see one--I usually wave when I see one, even though I'm not sure if the other drivers understand what I'm waving about! My friend saw one the other day that looked very much like mine --he was about to pull over and then he realized that it wasn't me, it had a silver topper/cap. So there are probably more out there than we realize. Well, I finished my frame repair last evening so my truck is solid again. Next on the agenda---timing belt!

[Rev_D21]

I am not sure when the next show is going to be. It is usually in July so you got time to plan ahead. Here's a video of the trucks we brought down this year.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH1lpylhA1g[/youtube]

[smurfmobile]

That's awesome looking truck 2, sad to say it reminded me about this one

http://datsunminitruckin.com/1996-nissa ... page1.html

read the whole thread through. The last post is the saddest one I've seen about these trucks :/

[Rev_D21]

That is the same truck!

I wouldn't be too sad though, she's going to be fixed!

[smurfmobile]

haha when you say it I should have noticed the same decals on it. Shame on me, but glad to know it's going to befixed up. But how is the driver doing? Is he okay?

[Rev_D21]

Barry Brown, he is doing well. He had two skin grafts but barely missed a day at work. No nerve or muscle damage. I hung out with him yesterday. He's building his next truck, a gasser Datsun 620 with a Chevy 350 under the hood. I will be putting together a build thread for that truck really soon.