I can’t think of the last time I saw a 1200 ute that wasn’t painted in electric yellow, lime green or bright red, sporting shiny new wheels. In fact, I can’t think of a Datsun that has a more devoted following among Australian enthusiasts. The 1600 sedan (510 to Americans) is a rare sighting, as are Z-Cars. Any other Datsuns I spot typically are still on their first owners and bereft of any modifications or enhancements. The 1200 ute, however, is a common sighting and they all look a lot like this one I spotted in St. Lucia.
These featherweight utes (weighing around 1600 pounds) were first introduced in Australia in 1971 and continued to be sold up until 1985; they were sold even later in South Africa, and were also popular in New Zealand. Small utes like this tended to amass a loyal group of followers, another example being the Subaru Brumby (BRAT) which was sold well into the 1990s in Australia. North America missed out on the 1200 Ute entirely due to the Chicken Tax but it’s hard to imagine these selling successfully in the US. They were called “1200” because of their tiny 1.2 four-cylinder engine, producing just 70 hp and 70 ft-lbs. Many 1200 utes today have had that engine extensively modified or yanked out in favor of a more powerful mill. The extra dose of power, paired with a low curb weight and rear-wheel-drive, means these can be a riot to drive. That kind of enthusiast appeal results in so many of them being well-maintained, painted lime green and given shiny new wheels. Oh, did you think people actually used these to haul stuff?
Related Reading:
Curbside Capsule: Subaru Brumby – Wild Horses Could Drag You
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With the mention of the version sold in South Africa, I spotted some photos at http://datsun1200.com/modules/mediawiki/index.php?title=B140 The “bakkie” (a South African counterpart term for ute) was sold later with optionnal diesel engine and some cosmetic upgrades like squared headlights.
Yup, sold here in SA until the early 2000s, although with more facelifts than a Hollywood actress over its lifespan. This was the ultimate affordable and tough vehicle , especially for contractors , small businesses etc.
Damn chicken tax….
William,I see a few of these utes in Tasmania and none of them,externally at least,appear to have been modified.Nor have I ever seen one with a load in the back,not even a single bale of hay or lucerne.Have always liked the look of them.
Nissan built short and long wheelbase versions – the latter was a missed opportunity as all the extra length went to the bed which was still only the size of the 620/720 shortbed, and they could’ve done a “King Cab” 1200 without the extra side windows just by using the 2-door sedan’s longer doors rather than the 4-door ones seen here.
For some strange reason survivors in NZ seem to be the LWB versions always a popular car in motorsport circles, the Datsun 1200 got quite a rep in NZ especially the NZ only SSS version which unlike the Japanese stripe kit SSS cars of later models did have a warm engine using a locally cast inlet manifold mounting two twin choke dellortos and headers Datsuns won their class in standard production racing and were a popular rally car.
Kiwi you were lucky in New Zealand,you had many more choices of cars than we had in Australia.
I like what I see.
Pity these were never imported back in the day to Canada. Perhaps the nicest looking Japanese truck of that era.
Not a color I would choose but it is definitely a cool little truck, and great to see that someone gave so much love to such a basic utilitarian vehicle.
So, that’s a ute version of the B110 Sunny? I had no idea such a thing existed.
OK for anyone 5’5″ tall?
I like the Subaru BRAT / Brumby, but this Datsun 1200 ute is actually conventionally attractive. A pair of plastic jumpseats in the back couldn’t have added that much to its weight! It’s probably just as well, though, as the Datsun pickups we got stateside were probably as small as we were willing to go.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-asian/curbside-classic-1977-datsun-king-cab-pickup-620-yes-we-have-long-legs-in-america/