A Rare Datsun Long Body GB122 Truck
Meeting Alan and his GB122 was a pleasurable experience. Alan asked to call down to check out the shed and show us his Long body GB122 Sunny truck. I’ve always had a soft spot for these, but I can’t say much; my dream car list is quite basic, EK9s, AE86s, S13s, all the usual stuff. I admire people like Alan who step outside the norm and import stuff like this, Sunny.
I love the fact Nissan made this mini truck for years, 71 to 94 in Japan, it’s an incredibly long run, but I’d imagine these were a great little reliable seller for the farmlands of Japan. I think there are less than five of these in Ireland, but I could be wrong. There’s always one or two more buried away in someone’s shed. Being so rare, encountering one in real life is a real treat. When Alan made the call, I was more than eager to check this one out.
Alan has done a great job preserving the original look. It came with the front lip from Japan which kicked off a theme for the build. He got the fenders from 091 Racing, a shop that gained fame for fitting a Hakosuka, or GC10 front end onto a sunny truck. Michi-San is a bit of a character. He builds some epic parts for these trucks. Alan also sourced the seats from Michi san, which perfectly suits this build.
The grass in the rear end is an excellent touch, a choice Alan’s Wife made on the build but it adds so much character to the truck bed. The truck is sitting on Keystone Target Racing wheels rebuilt by Pine in New Zealand, purchased in Japan, rebuilt in NZ and shipped to Ireland.
The truck gets its ride height from an air setup. I love everything about this truck, it’s rare to see such a decent execution of the chassis outside Japan, but Alan was planning this build for some time. He lived in the US for over ten years and bought the truck a year before moving home, building it in his head before laying his hands on it. Alan is a painter by trade so searching for a good base was essential. Once he was home, he debated hacking this truck up, considering how clean it looked, but it didn’t take long to start hacking and make his vision a reality.
Alan flushed the engine bay, but the original A12 engine remained. The early front end from the b110/b120 series is very charming on the eyes, Nissan opted for a square headlight front end in the later years, but it just doesn’t have the same appeal.
It is great to see this humble truck get the credit it deserves. I have nothing but respect for Alan for going against the grain and building something unique. I’ll leave you with the rest of the photoset from this shoot. Follow @d1suni on Instagram to see more of Alan’s Sunny truck.
Cheers