No, we're not related to any members of the Datsun/Nissan founders, nor are we related to any individuals who has ever built, sold, or designed Datsuns, but we do have a family history of buying Datsun pickups.
First,
let's start with my Uncle, as he was really the progenitor of all this
madness. He bought a 1969 Datsun 521 from "an old grandpa" who
had used it as his "farm truck". This man had been the original
owner and had apparently treated the truck very well. It was basically
straight and totally rust free.
My Uncle owned this truck for a number of years, and finally my brother got around to needing a vehicle to drive. Having appreciated the fine craftsmanship and rugged engine of these little trucks, my Uncle persuaded my brother to purchase another 521 from a guy's back yard in Portland, Oregon.
Soon
after this all hell broke loose and my brother and uncle started buying
up all the 521's they could find, tearing all the useful guts out of them
and scrapping the rest of the pittance of cash scrap steel gets you on
the market. My brother restored his truck (doing a total engine rebuild),
and drove it around with happy abandon.
And then it came time for me to be thinking about transportation.
