Although everyone loves a car with a fire-breathing engine, huge amounts of horsepower are not a strict necessity for a fun and unique ride, as demonstrated by this 1966 Datsun pickup. By his admission a Datsun pickup nut, the builder of this pickup is also a road racer. As a project, he decided to marry the body and chassis of a 1966 L520 Datsun with the drivetrain and suspension of a 1990 MX5 Miata.
The original frame on the pickup, as well as the Mazda subframe, were modified to allow the Miata subframe to fit, thus ensuring that this pickup would have independent suspension, front and rear, as well as disc brakes at all four corners. Since this road racer runs a Miata racer, he was very familiar with the proper suspension angles and settings that would work, and this knowledge was put to use in fitting the Miata suspension to the pickup. With the project vehicle being lighter than their Mazda race car, at around 2300 pounds, the owner intends the pickup to have a 50/50 weight distribution through the use of ballast where it is needed. Where the previous engine was a carburated 1300cc engine, the pickup now runs the Miata DOHC fuel-injected engine, slightly massaged to deliver 135 rear wheel horsepower. If you think that’s not enough, ask the thousands of Miata owners who drive their cars around with grins on their faces.
Gearheads know that light cars don’t need much power to have good power-to-weight ratios. Horsepower calculations predict that this car would do 0-60 mph in under 7 seconds. Admittedly, today’s modified cars would do that number in 3 seconds less but the fun here is not in straightline speed but the driving dynamics that a nimble car offers.
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