Not Your Ordinary Gardening Truck – KA24DE 1969 Datsun 521 Truck

Datsun 521 Japanese Classic Truck

Red. The iconic color of the Ferrari supercars. Next to yellow, it stands out as one of the most targeted vehicle colors by the police, perhaps because the notoriety of the Ferrari’s? But wait, what if the red was on a car that wasn’t really a car, but on an old small displacement truck?

It takes a special breed of an auto enthusiast to maintain a pre-70s automobile in tip-top running condition. Luckily enough here in California where the air is dry and the skies are sunny 355 days out of a year, rust isn’t really a problem.

Miko (pronounced Mee-koh) can only be described as a rockstar of the Little Saigon Community, and a stranger to no one in the area. He knows the best places to eat, to party, to drink, or just relax and have a cup of Cafe Su Da. Miko works hard but plays harder and as an entrepreneur, his prime responsibilities include owning and managing his own hair studio. His 1969 Datsun 521 1300 truck is the purest example of his lively and positive personality. There’s nothing standing in his way of fully restoring this truck, keeping the tradition of Datsun but adapting it to the capabilities of the modern fleet of cars present today.

There used to be thousands of these Datsun trucks in the 80s, but as time and technology takes precedence they are just about in the ‘endangered species’ list. It started with the Datsun 120 introduced in 1955, to the 220, 320, 520/521, 620, and finally ending in 720 in 1985. The signature strap hooks in the bedding, along with the raised DATSUN lettering on the tailgate brings out an old familiarity we have tucked away in a tiny space in our minds where fond memories are stored. Fender mirrors are commonly seen on classics, but how about these pillar mirrors! Its astonishing to think that this truck is 41 years old!

Miko claims that his truck is still under heavy construction, as initially the tired original engine was given its last run, retired and put to rest. Next came the dilemma of what powerplant would be cost effective, efficient, and would fall within the realm of the image of the truck. The KA24De fuel injected Nissan engine was the perfect choice as the plentiful displacement and torque also came equipped in many of Nissan’s successful truck and SUV lineup. Think of it like an old man getting a brand new heart. Widely seen in the classic  American automobile culture, its definitely badass to see a classic roaring down the street with a new school motor sound.

Beneath it all, leaf spring suspension and torsion bars extend the wheel base of the machine, both modified to bring down the roll center. The 15×8 6 lug Panasport-type wheels are Miko’s latest hop-up, still scheduled to be reconditioned to that polished lip and stretched tire look in the near future. Think of it like an old man getting a new pair of shoes! Aluminum blocks drop nail the exact stance intended: Not too low and not too high.

For the youngsters, their eyes will definitely be attracted to the bling chromed out valve cover of the KA24 powerplant, however the older crowd probably cant take their eyes off the original window washer reservoir bag. Its hard to believe that this plastic bag had survived many decades of harmful elements, taking refuge under the fender. I hope that the fluid inside isn’t original though!

Back then, lights and fans were regulated by these pull-type knobs. Radios only came in AM frequency and were changed by pressing each slot assigned to its own station. The Emergency brake was a pull and twist type, present right underneath the analog sweep gauge cluster. Miko had decided to keep the original radio but decided to install a modern CD player in the optional console below, along with aftermarket Autometer gauges.

The dual liftgate levers and the visible rear leaf spring assembly creaks away, but still clings to the original chassis it was installed upon. It makes us wonder if this truck had ever been down this same road when it first came out of the Datsun manufacturing plants. Miko is on a mission of full restoration of the vehicle, and is planning to actively participate in various classic car shows throughout Southern California. Be on the lookout, and if you see him on the street make sure to give him props!

Makin’ You Sick – Clint’s Pepto Pink Frontier

Custom Truck: Nissan Frontier

Sometimes you’ve got to go against the grain.

Take Clint McDowell, for example. If you saw the 20 year old on the streets of Phoenix, you’d wonder how one person could get so many piercings in their face, and how they were able to dig up a set of Max Headroom style glasses out of the 1985 parts bin. To say Clint is unique is an understatement in its highest form. Seriously on his tech sheet under “other interests” he put: “Hockey and Monkeys.”

It’s probably  no surprise then to know that this bright pink Frontier used to be a Desert Runner. Yes, Nissan’s factory pre-runner truck was in Clint’s driveway just a few years ago, really high off the ground with a funky blue color. It was neat for a while, but seriously, Clint doesn’t go for what regular people do. He couldn’t leave the truck stock, that’d be too… normal.

He wanted to reduce the daylight underneath the truck, and knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task. After searching far and wide, he came across Kevin Blysdale from Just Plain Trick in Mesa, Arizona. Kevin’s not a normal guy either, and he’s pretty handy with a plasma cutter and a welder. It was a match made in heaven.

The factory suspension is based off the 4X4 Frontier, so that had to go. Kevin cut off the front clip like it was nothing and in its place installed a front frame section from a ’94 Nissan Hardbody. After that, all of the crossmembers were raised up, and the rear end was swapped for a ’97 Hardbody axle. Now it was time to get this thing on the ground like it needed to be.

Up front, a set of 2-inch dropped spindles were paired with Slam Specialties bags to get the new front crossmember on the concrete. Kevin then built a custom 4-link to attach the new axle to the frame, then bridged and bagged the back half. Now the truck was laying frame and good to go, right? Nope. Clint wanted to go lower.

Out came the sawzall and the next few months were a blur. The truck was bodydropped 3.25 inches, the interior was done in black tweed and zebra print, and then the body was fully shaved and prepped for paint. Now the only question was, what color?

We asked Clint at our shoot that very question. “Dude, this is a sick color, but what made you pick pink?”

Clint turned to us, looked up from under his bowler hat and said, “Pink is my favorite color.”

Yeah, he’s different alright.

The resulting truck not only breaks stereotypes but also looks cool as well. Yes, the pink is a bit out there, but then again, so is Clint. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Cherish Her – Bear’s Nissan Hardbody

You’ve  probably met guys like Jerry before. He’s a good guy, always worked hard at his job, been around the local club scene for a while, and has built a few cool rides in his time. Then one day, he steps it up a notch and builds something really wicked. That’s just what happened to Jerry Taylor, of Glendale, Arizona and this Nissan Hardbody.

Except Jerry doesn’t go by Jerry. Most know him as “Bear,” a nickname used by all of his fellow club members in Kastawayz. He’s built a little stable of rides over the past few years, including a pair of Hondas, a bodydropped Nissan Hardbody, and a Toyota mini. When Bear bought this particular Hardbody a few years back, the goal was to really go above and beyond what he had done in the past. Something that would get some attention, and really take the custom scene by storm.

It started in Bear’s garage, a cozy little spot named “Bear’s Customs.” In that 20X20 space, he tore into his hardbody, starting with the suspension. The factory Nissan 6-lug had to go, so Bear did a spindle and rear axle swap with a ‘90’s Toyota pickup, giving him the coveted 5-lug he needed to get some decent wheels. Next, it was time to get it on the ground. Up front, Slam Specialties bags smooth out the ride, while the back was completely redone from the cab rearward, with a custom cantilever setup built around a pair of Firestone airbags. In the bed live a pair of 3-gallon air tanks, which are flanked by an Air Zenith compressor. The whole truck was hardlined with copper tubing, for that extra step of reliability.

With the frame resting on terra firma, it was on to the body. With a welder in hand, Bear went on a mission to weld up all the extraneous parts on his truck. That meant the third brake light, cowl vents, antenna, tailgate handle and gas door all went the way of the dodo. While the welder was out, he frenched a license plate box into the tailgate, and welded in a roll pan as well. As a finishing touch, Bear cut in an electric sliding ragtop to let the sun shine in.

The sheetmetal work was out of the way, so now he had to get it all straightened out. Around that time, Bear had started a new day job at Autostyle in Peoria, Arizona, and just two doors down was the crew at Auto Renew. Dave took control of the project, first by blocking the truck down to flat perfection. Then he sprayed the truck with a House of Kolor True Blue Pearl basecoat, then laid down a simple graphic in House of Kolor Light Blue. The result is a paintjob that plays tricks on you; It looks like a single color from some angles, and from others it’s got a killer graphic job.

At the time, Bear’s hardbody had a full interior, but it needed some work. Out it came, and with the help of Cameron from Autostyle, it was all replaced with a Katzkin black leather and blue suede kit. Now he needed a system, so he hopped next door to talk to Jason at Autostyle about doing his stereo. The crew installed a pair of 9” Icon monitors in the doors, and an Eclipse in-dash dvd player up front. Then the extra-cab section was gutted and in its place a mammoth fiberglass box was built. It holds the trio of JL Amps: one 450/4, and a pair of 1000/1’s. Those amps power a quartet of JL Audio 12W6’s, subs known for their poundability. Everything that needed paint, including the dash, was sent off to the legendary Krazy Kenny to lay down some more True Blue Pearl.

For a long time, the truck was rolling on some 18’s that were neat, but nothing crazy. A few phone calls later, and a set of 19” Bonspeed Laguna II’s were rolling Bear’s way, wrapped in some super low pro 215/35 Kumho tires.

It’s been a long, strange trip as they say, but Bear’s pretty happy with the results. He’d like to throw some shouts out to Scott at Autostyle, Air Zenith, Kumho, Auto Renew, his car club Kastawayz, his brother Justin for helping put things back together, and a special thanks to his wife Bobby Taylor, and their son for all their support.

SoCal Cube with Cues from VW Bus

It’s green and creme and low. Oh, and it has a sliding rag top, crank-out style windshield (power-operated on my concept) to mimic the old VW busses… rear door has additional swing-out glass panel, all to complement the open-air approach. The sliding rag could even be replaced by a full glass roof (with water drop-look pattern etched in!) for more exposure to the paparazzi. As it sits, the sliding rag would be power-operated, and close when the key is moved over 20 feet away.

The remaining custom touches are pretty minimal, but include a grill filler panel to smooth the lines out, louvers in the front fender (right-side only to play-up the asymmetrical design of the Cube in general), and small “nerf-ettes” (small nerf bar-inspired trim pieces) at the fascia corners to give a slight “retro” touch and visually extend the new chrome grille bar in the lower opening. This also assists in making the car look a bit lower and wider yet!

Slammed stance over classic 5-spoke wheels sets the laid-back cruiser tone. The theme here is California sun and fun, and opens up a world of aftermarket accessory possibilities, like bamboo roof racks, the sliding rag top, window kits, lowering kits, interior seating options (waterproof and beach-ready seat covers, etc), grille inserts, trim add-ons and more. My hope is to inspire hot rod-minded folks to grasp just how big of a blank slate these are for customizing, and that you can think well outside of the “tuner” look on the Cube.

Get this cube and the crazy “Surfite” concept at Problem Child Kustoms

Ed “Big Daddy” Roth Inspired Nissan Cube

This past Saturday, our good friend Pikesan had organized a pre-release cruise featuring 10 (yes, ten) of the new Nissan Cube’s, and it was a blast. We hit a couple of area dealerships, then hit the road to the Pavilions in Scottsdale (great Saturday cruise spot for those of you planning to hit Goodguys Southwest Nationals in November).

The impressive lineup of geometric people movers grabbed a ton of attention on the freeways then, suffice to say, the lineup was a smash at the cruise. Nissan even brought along a GT-R (more on Godzilla later… words fail me yet) and the unreleased Infiniti G37 convertible just to round out the playing field.

My first reaction when seeing a Cube a couple of years back (don’t forget, these have been around overseas since ’98) was “not too sure about that”. Don’t get me wrong, I was impressed as all get-out that anyone could pack that much room into such a small-looking package, but the look was odd to me.

Fast-forward ten years, and my how things have changed. My first moment sitting in the Cube was a wild time… Headroom galore, great sight lines, and enough legroom for even my lanky appendages. The dash is minimalist, but laid out in a tremendously intuitive way, and all controls are easily understandable and useful. Too cool indeed.

The ride was incredibly comfortable, stable, responsive and above all, QUIET. It was that last fact that kept me stunned. The Cube is damn quiet on both highway and city pavement, and just felt “right” somehow. Aside from the constant stares from other drivers (which, as a hot rodder is alright by me any day), I have to say, I’m giving this little machine SERIOUS thought from both the modification potential as well as daily-driver mule standpoint.

Design-wise, I have to say the Cube has me hooked. If you know me, then you know my love for asymmetrical design, and that rear window treatment NAILS it. A wrap-around side glass on the passenger side meets a thick pillar on the left, and it (again) just feels “right”. Couple this with tall slab-like side panels, rounded corners all over, and a very trick windshield shape (oh, you’ll be seeing this on a few designs of mine to come), and we’re getting someplace.

But oh that tail light… It was an instant love-fest for me. I have about thirty cars I want to use that in, and it’s not coincidental that I like it so much when it shares a similarity to a certain Thunderbird production run. It just says “custom car” all over (hell, even the headliner is sculpted already!)… and I dig the Cube for that immensely. It’s light years beyond my first thoughts on the Scion xB, and flat-out makes me WANT it. Where the xB looked initially like some ice cream truck’s genetically-deprived third cousin on its first trek into the big city, the Cube looks tremendously comfortable and confident in its skin, and the seating position keeps it all looking like a personal vehicle, and not the aforementioned treat delivery vessel.

Naturally, I began sketching ideas for these Cube’s as soon as I laid eyes on them, and one idea kept knocking on my brain…

The “Surfite” of one, Ed Roth has always ranked as a top ten custom car in my book, not only because it’s so damn original, but it’s also surf-oriented, and as you know, I love me some surf ANYTHING. And man… the little Cube not only calls out for a “lifestyle vehicle” treatment, but as a surf wagon??! Oh YES!

Taking cues from Mr. Roth’s Lilliputian land rover, I plugged in classic hot rod and So-Cal VW styling cues, and attempted to honor the master “hisself” (as he’d say) with a modern take on the little Surfite. Pop-out side glass? Check. Asymmetrical tail light treatment? Check. Aggressive stance? Checkity-check. Custom trim and mild re-work all over? Double checkity-check. Take a very unusual car and make it even more personal/unique? Check, check, checkity-check check!

It’s useful, like the swing-out rear glass and flip-up side windows, to the small step built into the rear fascia, and, well… it just looks COOL. I dig it, and hope you do, too… And if so, holler at me, and I’ll continue finishing what I’ve started in the sketch book, and show off an entire series, perhaps. (editor note, please feed the animal – leave a comment)

As an Alexander Brothers fan, I’ve always enjoyed a certain “quirky/futuristic” aesthetic when it comes to a kustom, and that taste is finding it’s way into the artwork in a huge way. Think “Deora meets the modern day”, and you’re getting warm. Throw in some healthy Ed Roth influence, and by golly, we’re getting there. Top it with some Winfield and Cushenbury asymmetrical appeal, and man, it just gets wilder by the second!

It’s been literally years since any new car has trapped my attention like this, and I’m stoked about it… Hope you are, too.  Stay tuned as I play with a bunch of combinations and styles on this cool ride from Nissan… You know, maybe that Rubik guy was on to something after all…

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