NL320 "Commercial Car" or sports pickup; how many left?

[wickhumble]

I have two NL320s. one a great 'barn find' runner (red 1965) and a project truckette (black 1965) and have been fascinated by these little 'Cameo' trucks since the 'sixties.  I can't tell you how many I missed buying due to lack of bread, or other concerns; all here in CA.  Supposedly only 1,000 were made (or were imported to USA) and I wonder how many of these are still extant.  Is there a registry of NL's, or does anyone know?

Wick Humble, of "How to Restore Your Datsun Z-Car", CA Bill's Automotive Handbooks, c. 1991 -- and still in print!

[Draker]

Hi, Welcome!

 

There are a few NL owners around here. Even one or two NL ute owners.

[Charlie69]

Welcome we need pictures!  LOL

 

Yes there is a 320 VIN registry here:

 

http://forums.nicoclub.com/datsun-320-vin-registry-enter-yours-t376152.html

[datsunaholic]

Considering how many NL320s I've seen, I have a hard time believing "only 1000" were ever imported.  Maybe in one model year, but I suspect the number is somewhere between 5000-10,000.  They're just too common even now.  And I see fewer and fewer "regular" L320s, which means at some point the number of extant NLs will surpass the number of L320s.  Not an uncommon phenomenon- happened with Muscle cars.  The "rare" muscle car versions became collectible and the "common" base models got scrapped and are now extremely rare, whereas the muscle car versions are now relatively common.

[Conner]

Hey Wick.  It's an honor to have you here.  Your Z-car book is really an important work. 

[wickhumble]

Well, Datsunoholic, I don't know if the much-publicized "1,000 served" is correct or not; it  has been quoted since the seventies, at least.  I'd be willing to bet it is realistic, but how would we determine that?  I wanted one back when they were in the dealerships -- but I personally never spotted one in Nor Cal back then with the sticker in the window.  Norberg's Motor Center was the Datsun dealer in Redding, CA where I was in jaycee (it was a former McCulloch chainsaw dealer) and while they sold plenty of N320s, I didn't start finiding NL's until the were decidedly used cars, and then not too often.  I've personally 'known' only about a dozen NL's in the natural state: some not for sale, some too poor and to expensive, and some priced right when I was short of fun coupons to make the deal.  I got my red 'truck' from a Datsun roadster specialist; it had been a delivery vehicle for a furniture store (small furnishings, to be sure,) in Clear Lake CA, and my black project from a moribund wrecking yard in Orland CA back in the early '00s.  I also have the cab and bed from a '63 N320 that I was going to make into a stretch cab, but...   Anyhow, I do suspect that most of them were snapped up on the west coast, imported through LA, as most of the ones I've heard of are western cars.  

I find I don't much care for driving my NL; the engine is too anemic and spendy to fix, and the four-on-the-column is a trial to operate -- and I used to jam gears for a living (5+3 and splitter, Road Ranger 13 speed, etc.) though I dote on stick shifts.  I may but the red '65 on Ebay because of that and the fact that I just don't have enough indoor storage, which it deserves.  I was thinking of putting a racier undercarriage and engine/trans under the black '65, as it needs a lot of work anyhow.  However, I'm now seventy young years old...  and I do have my modified/restored '71 Z finished and on the road now.

I'll put my 320's VIN's on the registry asap, maybe pictures.

Wick 

[datsunaholic]

I've personally seen around 2 dozen different NL320s in Washington and Oregon alone.  First one I remember was in around '92, I didn't see an L320 until probably 2000, 2001.  I bought mine in 2002.  I've seen maybe 10, 15 L320s since then.  I dunno.  1000 seems way too artificially low.  As I said, it could just be that the rarity was always known so folks hung on to them when normally they'd be scrapped as "too old" even in good shape in the early 70s.  Plus, as a Datsun fanatic I naturally see more Datsuns anyway.  Like 67.5 2000 Roadsters, you see them all over the place because folks will go to great pains to keep them.  A '68 1600 Roadster?  Meh.

 

As for the 4 on the column, that's why I'm glad my '64 got the '65's floor shifter put in by the prior owner.  I have the original column shift trans, but it's staying on the shelf.

[wickhumble]

Gang,

I'm going to put my NL320 on eBay, I think.  The red driver is a real nice 'shop find', off the CA registrations for ten years (and did that cost me at the friendly DMV!) but I don't have indoor storage for it now, and it deserves it, even in Sacramento valley weather. I can't see selling it cheap, tho.  

 I always intended to 'hot rod' my rather rough NL -- the factory black one -- but wasn't getting it done and wanted one to drive.  As I said, it's too anemic and hard to shift to be a real fun 'sports truck' as they are often called, and now my '71 Z-Car is finished I have something quick and sexy to drive!  I had to do interior work on the red bomb, and a few other things (brakes, some electrical, etc.) but otherwise it's pretty original and stoc.  I don't know if one can say of any car "Zero rust" but this comes close; it is remarkable!  The red was repainted quite some time back, and is shiny but awful; it think it might be Mustang Poppy Red?  The tail-lites are great, and the rims are stock, with newish narrow whites. Stops and steers great, and is very quiet, believe it or else.  It's a wonderful car to drive if one wants to make a lot of friends!

I personally think that the number of NL320's extant is under 200, in N. America; take the usual attrition of automobiles (about 90%, leaving 10% surviving) and double the ten because it was so unusual -- seems reasonable.  I also believe that most NL320, and a very large proportion of Japanese mini-trucks from the early days of importation, say 1958 until 1965, were sold on the left coast.  Datsuns were imported through LA and Houston clear up into the '70s, but the prime beach-head was in CA, that old trend setter.

 Aside, back in the early 80's, I tried to engage SPECIAL INTEREST AUTOS, for whom I was writing historical stuff back then, in articles (driveReport features) on both the Japanese mini-trucks and the V-W bus/van/Kombi whatever cars, and I think because they were based (with Hemmings Motor News) in New England, they poo-poo'ed the interest in either.  I had great examples lined up of both the V-W and an almost stock NL (Chevy chrome rims) to photograph, too.

 We did do a feature on the early Z,after my Z book came out, but it caught a flock of hate mail from Pacific War vets and assorted nuts... nobody much minded V-W, M-B, BMW, MG, A-H, R.R,Jag, Alfa, 'Rarr and 'Rati, or even the Sovietsky ZiL, and we were at war with all of them -- at some time.

 Wick

[DMC]

I met a guy a few years back that has been keeping a registry for about 25 years. I believe his registry is at about 66 NL320s.

This one was added 3 years ago

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Does that blue one have a A14 in it? I sold one about 10 years ago that had an A series in it and dual SU's and I am dying to find it so I can buy i t back.

[DMC]

It does not. It has a later E1 with the og trans.