Is the D21 Nissan Hardbody a 240SX in Disguise? 

I had a great time driving this D21! Do any of you guys have one? Thanks for watching!

The rest of the world received 240's with turbocharged SR and CA motors, the US got a truck engine. Well thought out Nissan...

This video just bumped the drift tax on the d21 lol

love the 90s purple window tint, that little truck just makes you smile 🙂

Welp. There goes another car burnt out by youtube 😥 now I'm never going to find one cheap again 😭

Craigslist be like: 1999 Honda Civic (non-Si) $9000 300k miles stock USDM engine NO LOW BALLERS NO TRADE I KNOW WHAT IM SELLING Now here comes the D21 that'll fall in the same category.

Had a 95 4x4. When they say it's bullet proof it's not hyperbole. It ran so hot once that it shut off. I let it cool off, added water and drove it home. I dove that damn truck for 11 years and I miss it to this day.

The statement at 4:25 is wrong. The KA24E was developed for the 240SX, and the 1989 240SX was the first vehicle to have the engine. Later, the KA24E was used in the D21 and the Stanza. So, calling the KA24E a "truck motor," as everyone likes to do, is about as correct as calling a 350 Chevy a "truck motor." Although the small-block Chevrolet was used in just about everything (including trucks), it's first application was the 1967 Camaro.

#MakeMiniTrucksGreatAgain

You would be surprised how far off road you can go in the 2wd especially if you bring some basic supplies. Great all around truck! Have fun with it!

I drove one of these at the Regular Cars meet that had NO suspension travel. If you bounced on the rear bumper, the rear would hop off the ground because the only travel was in the tires. Hilarious to drive.

I loved my '94. 130 hp may not seem like much but with its 5 spd manual it was fun. It also *never* had any issues and outlived my 2004 V6 Mustang.

I bought a 1996 2wd with 121k miles for $150 in Mexico back in December.

Finally a Hardbody review! Yes! (Coming from a hardbody owner)

Drove my 1990 D21 from new till I racked up 245,000 miles. This was the best vehicle I have ever owned in terms of reliability.

Great video as always man. I LOVE these trucks, I have been looking for one for a while. I think the a turbo SR would be rad in this truck... Drift truck you say? LOL

15 years ago I had a maroon 96 2wd standard cab 5 spd hardbody. it was a great truck. i had lots of winter dorifto fun in that thing...also spent a lot of time stuck in the snow.

Why not just fix the brakes? I really dont get why you would leave it bad!?

I bought a 1990 Hardbody in brand new in late 1989. First year it came with the KA24 and yeah, it was the engine that sold me. Best vehicle I ever owned! In stock form it is bulletproof - had over 140K miles when it got wrecked and still ran like it did off the showroom. Still had the original clutch too! I can see why tuners love this engine!

When I had my automotive course, one of the vehicles there was a white Nissan Navara dualcab with a 5 speed, which is essentially an Australian market version of this and I remember thinking to myself "If I needed the load capacity, I would really like one of these as just a work horse" They just have that unique charm about them that you don't quite realise until your standing over it

david I missed you at import this year in Atlanta loved to see the 240 though I was actually going to try to show you my 89 Nissan hardbody that I use off road it's quite ridiculous looking. love the reviews man. keep up the good work.

Not a truck person but if I ever owned definitely be a hardbody or a datsun.

I watched this when it came out and fell in love and now I have one, thanks for educating me

Nissan Hardbody was bulletproof, 'cept for when they rust out.

When they're tight in the front end they're a joy to drive and they drift super easy even with the old Z24i motor. putting new bushings under the truck makes a huge difference from my experience with the thing.

I've been waiting for this forever! I bought one just over a year ago

nearly bought one of these a couple years back for a grand, but when I showed up to check it out, the entire interior had been stripped and what remained inside was a hackjob, rat's nest of wiring in the previous owner's attempt at tracing an electrical issue...needless to say i walked away from that one... Glad to see the Hardbody getting some love on your channel. Keep up the good work, David!

Slam that shit!!! lol I love minitrucks

I love my little D21! Bought it last year and still drive it every day. I was lucky enough to find a superbly clean example, a 97 single cab XE with 57k miles 5 speed with AC. And it is for sale for anyone interested ;)

I have had many. My first was a '86 D21 2.4 NAP-Z which had 8 spark plugs 5spd 2wd. Second was a '95 D21 King Cab SE 3.0 4x4 5spd. Tons of fun in that truck offroading. It was one of the few that came with the Nissan Factory Clutch style locker in the rear and a LSD in the front. Third on was '91 3.0 SE King Cab 2wd. It was set up very stock looking. Did upgrades to the front and rear suspension with Energy Suspension Polyurethane bushings all the way around and swaybar kit front. A very common problem with these trucks with steering wheel vibrations around 40 to 50 mph is the drag link and tie-rods. I am currently on my fourth D21 also a '91 but 4x4 King Cab 3.0 SE that I am looking to project and possibly tos a couple 1 ton axles under hopefully this summer. Hope your buddies truck build goes AWESOME! 🤙

I drove a 97 hardbody 2wd shortbed for 7 years, paid $250 for it. I lowered it and put exhaust on it and threw some chevy 6lugs on it with low pros. Best truck ive ever owned! Its was super basic, no AC, no power steering. Had one belt for the alternator lol Drove it till 280,000 miles before the 5spd finally gave out. As much as i hated to i scrapped it for more then i paid for it. I Still own a 86 1/2 hardbody 4x4.

hardbodys are virtually unkillable

im 16 and just got a job in construction. so i spent my money on a d21 lol. was only $200 how could i not buy it. just needs a windshield and tires but thats not too expensive

godamnit now these will go up in price now before i was able to make a prerunner

I've been looking into hardbodys and was hoping last night that you would review one haha

Damn you now price just tripled!

You finally just reliazed this it's been around for a long ass time a 240dx motor in a Nissan truck

The Ka24E is a great engine :) People whining about the low hp, but it's awesome, i drive the nissan terrano 2 (in europe it's the 2nd Generation of the d21) with right now 920.000+ km and it's my dayli (prove on my channel) btw the engine came from the 240sx us version and the transmission from the 300zx only with the option to put it in 4x4

My phone buzzed and I got excited thinking it was a text. Then I saw it was another video from you and got even more excited! lol

I had a '91 Hardbody for over 20 years, put over 200,000 miles on it, towed a popup camper all over the western USA, and just beat on it. I finally wore it out. Probably the best truck I have ever owned.

Lol were im from hardbodys and toyota hylux are the shit. Puts alot of the newer trucks to shame. Because how reliable they can be.

Thank you david im currently selling a d21 and this will help me with the sale 😂

People can tank shit about this vehicle all they want, but my little blue D21 has seen the roughest terrain Colorado has to offer and has been in places it had no business being in, but kept on trucking and fucking right on through it all. Not to mention, its seen more road head than most lambos. I wouldn't trade mine for the world. It was my first truck, and it will be the my last truck too. There might be many in between, but the D21 will always hold a special place in my heart. Imagine this thing running a turbo, putting out somewhere in the 350HP range. I want to put a tilt flatbed on mine to haul a 4 wheeler. That's my final goal with my truck!

I had a friend buy a new 1986 & 1/2 Nissan Hardbody truck and it turned out to be the best two wheel drive mini-truck I have ever seen.

So can you but an sr20 in it ?

love the video i own two datsun 720 one is 84 single cab 2wd the other is 86 king cab 4wd

This reminds me of a single cab ranger. I have an extended cab ranger with a small block and a race/drift everywhere. Small trucks are a lot more fun than big trucks in my opinion.

awesome build bro That's always one of my dream project

these are good platforms my buddy's got an rhd rb20 d21

COILOVER MINITRUCK REVIEW IS A MUST!!!!!!! AHHHHH DAAAAM!!!!!

Braking issue is either worn suspension LCA, Wheel bearing, or sticking caliper; Shifter issue is a possible teflon cup bushing at the end of the shifter is worn or not installed; Drop the truck with drop spindles and lowering blocks (Your wheels are the incorrect offset and will interfere with your fenders when dropped) the KA24 will out torque an SR all day, There are parts to make a KA24 run with more power...Thorley headers, Cold Air Intake, Turbo Kit, Cams, heavy Duty Rods, higher compression pistons, better exhaust system, etc....Nissan Motorsport was the source back in the day and all the parts had factory p/n's that could be purchased over the counter at any Nissan dealership...My 86.5 Hardbody is slightly lowered, has headers, intake, ported heads, cam, ignition, oil cooler, custom 2.25" exhaust...Engine is a Z24i, the KA24 predecessor! Clocking 427K miles and still running

Thank you for reviewing this! Im working for this as my first vehicle because i cant afford a E30!😁

I can hear the crowd saying "LS SWAP IT!" GOD HELP US ALL!

My dad has the 4x4 and it rips we used to take it out and off-road allot also does donuts 😆 we don't now cause we broke the arms from all the bumps.

Literally just got one! So excited to drift it

i have rear wheel drive and i go off roading all the time and i have the 4x4 too but honestly the rear wheel preforms just as well on the trail. the ultimate truck.

My 1994 F150 is a mustang in disguise with its 5.0L 302 and Flowmaster straight pipes.

I'm pretty sure you can just turn down the torsion's like the older ones

I've definitely towed far over double the weight of my 1995 hardbody many times. when you see those on site trailers at worksites thats what my dad used to tow back and forth from our land to a few counties a way to hunt. he took one of those and turned it into a camper. and he's also towed a trailer with a four wheeler (atv/quad) 4-5 55 gallon drums filled with corn and tons of hunting equipment and then in the bed 100 pound bags of lye completely filling the bed. I don't know the weight of all that but when I was little I was always amazed at how much we used to tow. I now have the truck and its now 22 years old and all that its ever had replaced are thermostats a radiator and starter motor twice. never a single engine problem. at this point I would like to have the engine rebuilt because of its hard life but its still a runner and would run for a lot longer as is. its starting to burn a decent amount of oil and doesn't have the smoothest idle but its also not that bad. these are probably the best pickup trucks ever made

owned a d21 4×4 for a while now. Best small truck to own hands down. Fucking love it

Please stop using d21's for drifting.Getting harder to keep a clean one.

I am directly against people going out and making these things drift missiles because no small trucks like this that don't die are not made or sent to the U.S. anymore and people will destroy them. I want to try and keep this part of automotive history alive.

I would love to see a second gen Dakota review. Bonus points for an R/T, but a 318 would be good too. I like the 5 speed manual, they drive surprisingly well. Mine is currently needing a new engine so I can't offer mine up but you should do one.

Man that thing is like my dream “beater” truck that I would take care of. I’m just in love with it!

7:15 there is something wrong with your truck. I daily a 91 hardbody and 5th gear is not 4k rpm at 60 mph.

If you want a drift platform don't even bother with anything 240sx related anymore people want too much for what they are, what people should really look for is a 350z if they wanna go Nissan

Two of my friends bought one of these recently, both red, they're great trucks ones on lowering springs as of now it looks great.

Had an '86 1/2 when I was 17. Dropped to the ground (5" rear 4 1/2" front drop), put a stupid stereo in it. A friend and I learned how to pain putting scallops on it. Great little truck.

video was nice but there is one thing wrong with it you got the years wrong on the part where you started talking about the frontier it wasn't till 98 they made the frontier the last year of the hardbody was 97 but overall it was right I'm a enthusiast of the hardbody I currently own a 93 4x4 extended cab with the front bumper for a 97 on it

Notification squad?? 👏

My first new vehicle was a 95 king cab 4x2. I loved that truck. It never let me down

I have a1995 d21 2wd. It's great for anything. It's my second d21. The first, it was my haul ass streetracer. Fun af. But it still took me off road. A slight homemade factory lift on this 2nd one, it passes most 4x4s in the mud and snow . Oversized 4x4 tires. Neither one left me stranded. Great trucks. And also, I moved from okc to Lubbock tx. 14 ft trailer and from the cat scales, 10950lbs. Thru the canyon. And 368 miles, run 70 most of the way

Actually it would be the other way around - the American 240SX is a Hardbody in disguise because I believe everywhere else in the world had a different set of NA only engines for the 240SX since everywhere else got at least one turbo version except North America.

What size are those wheels

You gotta do a 2wd Toyota truck review now!! Would be cool to see one on your channel along with this one!

Lookin good Dave. As always

the ka is awesome

Now every fuck boy will want one.. THANKS! rip me finding a mint one without tax lmao

Love my D22, ka24de, 5spd, 4x4, best daily for Canada.

My best friend had one of these in high school , It was lowered on wide tires . Looked pretty cool , and just to clear things up i haven't been in school since 1989 these were new then .

nooooo, don't tell people this. This is MY plan to build a cheap drift truck!

is a mazda b4000 a miata in disguise?

Plenty of times I get my 88 hardbody w/ the 4 cylinder up to 65 or 70 easy. No tachometer and an unreliable speed gauge. With a buddy next to me she went up to about 90 once. Great truck

never would have thought you would review a d21

man i have a 1987 nissan 4x4 with the z24

No it's not

I had one on bags and it was the best little truck I had owned.. had a blast with it everytime I drove it.

i love these, always thought they were so cool

@finnegangarage crossover build

My dad gave me one of these when I started college to motivate me to get out of it. I hated the truck, but it made me want better for myself.I drive a lifted silverado on 35's now but yeah, you just need gas and oil for these things and they run. It's sitting in a field now because it's used to haul wood, and still runs.

Had one done up back in early 2000s high school still this truck

rocking the Matt Farah Style video? I dig it!

*"Should you just focus on the 240SX? No. Focus on a 300ZX instead, you'll thank yourself in the end.*

They actually made D21 hardbodys thru the 97 model year and didn't start the frontier until 98.. Not trying to sound like a dick just wanted to correct what the owner said. I have a 97 4x4 5spd 130k miles AC everything works great little truck, if anyone wants to buy it hit me up 2200 obo.

My 90 model 2wd 4 Cylinder stock will do 85 on the interstate all day long, I must have a rare bread. Love it.

I got one of these trucks specifically a 97 single cab short bed with the 2.4L manual I picked it up for $800 and never realized how much of a gem it really was after seeing tons of videos I’m glad I was able to get my hands on one of these trucks especially with the way the market is right now

Please do a review on a volvo 740 or a 940 turbo.

datsun 720 is better

My first truck I bought new was a 97 Nissan hardbody and it was a bad ass little truck and wish I still had it!! I took that thing every where and I took it off road a lot and never had a problem!

I had the rear wheel version of this truck and it was a blast to drift