Old Nissan 240SXs are considered prime candidates for turning into drift cars because they're rear-wheel drive, everywhere, and easy to work on. But the downside to being popular for drift duty is that, well, a lot are getting wrecked and prices are going up. Lucky for you, there's a workaround.

Meet the Nissan D21, also known as the "Hardbody," also known as a common and basic modestly-sized utility vehicle from the '90s. These trucks are cheap, mechanically simple, usually manual, rear-wheel drive, and powered by pretty much the same "KA" four-cylinder engine that moved 240SXs of the same era.

As YouTuber ThatDudeInBlue points out, this was more a case of the 240SX getting stuck with a truck motor, rather than a truck being blessed with a sports car motor. But these trucks are hard to kill, inexpensive, and just might be the very affordable slightly-wacky base you've been looking for to start your next tuner build with.

This video includes a lot of two dudes just shooting the shit, but they get some good observations in about the truck's relationship to the 240SX and its potential place in the tuner scene. There's especially good commentary about the awesomeness of the seat covers. (I had the same on my Toyota project.)

The Hardbody is pretty much a 240SX with a cargo bed, and the lack of weight over the back wheels only makes it easier to slide. Learning to control that slide might be a little more interesting, but, you've got this.

Chief Test Pilot, Jalopnik • 1975 International Scout, 1991 Suzuki GSXR, 2005 Acura TL, 2008 Yamaha WRR