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ST. GEORGE — Samuel Edwards' Nissan pickup chose him, not the other way around.
And he is doing all he can to make the 1986 Hardbody happy about its choice.
The truck came to the Edwards family in 1990, doing the dirty work of helping with chickens and horses. Edwards' dad, Ronald, taught him to shift a manual transmission and, at the end of 2019, Edwards started driving it. The beater became a father-son project, with upgraded wheels and tires coming first. Things got more serious after that.
In 2020, they lowered it two inches and painted it primer black. Through a family connection at a junkyard, they got a free 1997 Nissan donor truck. They ripped out the engine, transmission, driveline, axle, dashboard, wiring harness, ECU, etc.
"It's plug and play" and everything matched up perfectly, he said. They ditched the 211,000-mile, 2.4-liter, 103-horsepower engine and slid in the 1997's K24E that's rated at 134 horsepower. Then, they replaced everything from the engine back to those new wheels.
The interior swapped out easily, too. The 1986 was near the beginning (1985) of the Nissan Hardbody run, and 1997 was at the end.
Father and son left the cab on, but took off everything else to paint and coat it. They chose "Pacific Blue Metallic," a Nissan color. They lowered the truck, gave it Flowmaster exhaust, and put Tanaka seats in to replace the stock bench seat. They built their own center console where the unlucky person used to sit, in the middle. The stereo has a 10-inch subwoofer behind the seat. Edwards slid behind the Grant steering wheel and drove his beloved Nissan to a lot of car meets, including two car shows.
Then it happened.
On July 2, 2022, he was driving in his hometown of St. George when a 16 year-old with questionable/no insurance and questionable/no driving skills made a left turn in front of him in a full-size modern Nissan truck.
The front of the smaller Nissan was torn open like a tin can. They had it towed back to the Edwards' home and insurance ended up paying for it. They totaled it, paying off Edwards for $8,500. That would've been the end of the road for most trashed 37-year-old trucks, even custom ones. But the Hardbody had chosen its owner well.
Edwards bought it back for $70 and got to work — again.
There was no frame damage, but a discouraging list of broken parts, including the suspension and steering. Paint is on the list, and Edwards is hoping to have it back on the road, looking good, by the end of March. He does not sound discouraged, saying he brought it back from the dead, twice. Edwards and his father both said it is the most reliable vehicle they've ever had. The little Nissan has taken care of them, and they're returning the favor.
