This Datsun 1200 UTE Is the Japanese El Camino
Over here, we had had the Chevrolet El Camino. It was great for when you wanted to load up with supplies and do a burnout on the way home. In Japan, where there was considerably less space on the roads, there was the compact Datsun 1200.
The 1200 never appeared in the U.S., and wasn't popular because it was a unibody and not strong enough to perform most trucky tasks. Originally, it had a 1200 cc motor that produced between 70 to 80 hp-so it wasn't terribly fast, either.
This 1974 1200 isn't any old 1200. Owner Dominic Le tells Jay Leno that he swapped out the tiny engine for a turbocharged 2.2-liter four-cylinder from a Nissan Silvia (the straight-six didn't fit), which gives the 1800-pound truck about 350 hp. It's been lowered eight inches, has a five-speed, and wears the face of an early 1970's Skyline GT-R.
It is, undoubtably, the one of the cleanest custom-modded 1200s around.
