zero Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 90 miles from me. I might go look at it tomorrow if the temps get over 10 degrees F. I got the wife on the phone and she didn't have much tech info. That is except the 3-way refrigerator was removed and an AC refrigerator was stuck in, powered by an inverter. 5 speed manual trans and I assume a tiny 2 liter engine. Has duallys in back and don't know if it's a full-floater or not. Datsun was late getting into the cab & chassis market and I don't have a lot of info on them. I didn't know that MInicruiser even sold them on Datsuns. I'm interested in getting a closer look. Seeing the tarp on it tells me it's been sitting outside in the snow for maybe years - so I suspect rot. Minicruisers are known to rot out in the over-cab bed area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 Temps got all the way to plus 29 F today so we took a ride to go look at the Datsun Minicruiser. Ends up it's an 18 footer and not a 21 footer. I didn't notice when I looked at the photos on Craigslist. Has no rust as the owner said. Also has a full-floating rear. Got passenger-car tires on it and they are dry-rotted also. I got into a slight argument with the seller when I told him it had the wrong tires on it. He insisted the owner's manual says the 195P passenger tires are the correct ones. So he got it out and showed me, and he was wrong. He was reading the specs for a plain pickup truck, not a dually cab &chassis rig. Originally called for E78-14" 8 ply rating tires going by the book. I drove it and it runs nice. I believe the 84,000 miles on the odometer. I wish I'd looked more closely to see what size engine it has. I was convinced at the time that only the 2 liter was available in 1984. But I now see the 2.4 liter was also available, according to the owner's manual. Whatever size it is, it runs perfect. Also has 5 speed manual with OD. So, no rust. Runs perfect. Obvious that it's had some rot repair in the upper front bunk. Looks solid now but I have no idea of the quality of the repair. Needs 6 tires. Waste-water tank is broken but could be repaired (ABS plastic). Rear springs sagging. Has no air-bags. Just Helwig helper springs and spring-assist shocks. Three-way refrigerator was removed and replaced with a cheap AC refrigerator. Has a microwave oven and the refrigerator that are hooked to a single Vector 1000 watt inverter. I find it hard to believe it works well but can't say I tried it. No aux battery system. It's been removed. He says he tried out the AC refrigerator with the Vector 1000 watt inverter for half a day and it worked OK. Who knows? I like it. Nice overall shape but certainly needs some mods and repairs. I'd love to buy it for $2500 but the seller won't budge on price. He wants $3500 and does not seem to need the money, nor is he what I'd call a "motivated seller." He bought it two years ago on a whim and has never used it. Hasn't put 50 miles on it since he got it. He's 85 years old and his wife wants noting to do with it. So it just sits and he talks about making a deer-hunting rig out of it. I might kick myself later but won't pay more then $2500. So seems I won't be getting it. By the way, coming back we came across the bunch of dead coyotes hanging from a pole with no explanation. Kind of a shame. I like seeing them alive more then dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted March 15, 2015 Author Share Posted March 15, 2015 Almost bought it today but baled out at the last moment. I gave the guy a tentative offer of $2800 last week. He said "no" at the time and would not budge from his $3500 asking-price. Then called me yesterday and told me OK. So I went there today and found he tried to drive it and it started quitting on him. I got to drive it 1/2 a mile before it died altogether. Obvious fuel starvation problem. Electric fuel pump or filter. I towed it back to his house with my minivan. Then he tried to back it into his driveway working off the starter motor and that died. At that point I lowered my offer to $2500 and told him I'd pay that only if the rest of rig looked okay. He agreed so I started checking around for rot. He had told me the upper normally-rotten areas had all be redone before he got it. NOPE. In fact, I suspect that if an adult tried to walk on the roof , it would cave in. I think before this guy bought this rig two years ago, the previous seller redid all the interior paneling without fixing any of the hidden structural rot. I.e. this old guy got kind of "took." So not running and lots of rot to fix. with a broken waste-tank, no proper aux battery system, bad tires, and no propane refrigerator - made it worth less and less. I offered to come back tomorrow (another 100 miles of driving), fix the fuel system in his driveway and pay him $2000. He said he couldn't since he has a bank loan on it and still owes $2200. So he made $2200 his bottom dollar. I was very tempted but tried to let my logic win over emotion (for once). I really like this rig. Drove great while it ran and has a really smooth 5 speed manual trans. Has the 2.4 liter Z24 engine with a carb - not EFI like I thought previously. So I guess no deal. I offered a max of $2000 and he dropped his price to $2200. Kind of a shame. I believe it really has 84K original miles on it and the truck itself is spotless. NO rust anywhere. On a side-note, I checked parts availability for the Nissan cab & chassis with the full-floating rear, as compared to a Toyota. Found out a few things. Getting parts is easy, just like the Toyota. But - to my surprise - the Nissan is not built as rugged as the Toyota. Brakes are smaller, front and back. Wheel bearings also smaller, front and back. I don't doubt the Nissan is adequate, but it IS a less truck then the cab & chassis Toyota with the dually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shibs Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 JDE, unfortunately most sellers are deceptive, they will not mention obvious problem with their motorhomes which they are fully aware of :-(. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnie Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I don't have anything to add to the Datsun motorhome, but agree with Maris on the coyotes....donnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shibs Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I don't have anything to add to the Datsun motorhome, but agree with Maris on the coyotes....donnie em yotes are big problem here, I like them hanging ....now that is was warmed up, I have to head out and bag a few more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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