Little Datsun 720

[Dan]

Looking kind of lonely in the Nissan forum so I'll try to add some content on what I hope will be my daily driver for a little while. Long term plan may include large tires and a lot of custom fab.

I've always liked mini trucks but when you're 6'4" you learn to like them from afar. About a month ago I stumbled on an add for a 1982 Datsun king cab short bed 4x4. The king cab is just an extended cab but I figured I could mount the seat a few inches back in the cab for more leg room. I liked the squared body, 4 headlights, and the guy accepted my offer so I came home with another project.

Drug it home, everyone liked it which was cool.

This is going to be mostly bolt on type stuff and beginner level fabrication for now.

 

[Dan]

The truck was acting weird under even the slightest acceleration, like the axle was wrapping to the point where something was going to break. Also clunking around louder than it should be. I crawled under and spotted a worn u-joint.

Found some replacement u-joints. These things are tiny, about the size of a 1210 but a little different. Same joint is also used on some Subarus. Kind of glad I got to see just how small this stuff is so I can drive accordingly and hopefully not destroy it.

 

[Dan]

These use a divorced transfer case with centered front and rear outputs. It's a model T100 case that is gear driven with an alluminum case and a 1:1 high range/2:1 low range.

The worn out u-joint was in the intermediate shaft so I replaced both joints before reinstalling.

 

[Dan]

Engine wasn't running too good so I started looking for vacuum leaks. Spotted one on the EGR and noticed that someone had cut the (EGR) tube coming off the header that goes around to the intake manifold and just left it open. So I decided it was a good time to remove the whole system. Started by using the fitting coming off the header and turning it into a plug for the exhaust side.

I didn't have the right size threads but luckily there was a grinder and welder close by.

Installed the new plug.

Then removed the stuff from intake side and made a cap to replace it with.

Gasket back on and tighten the two bolts to finalize the EGR delete.

 

[lagunaMS]

Really cool, I love the old Nissans. There was a SAS'd one for sale local to me a while back but couldn't justify 3k for yet another truck I don't need

 

[Dan]

It needed some new tires so I picked up some pro comp wheels and ebay mud terrains.

Before:

After:

Went with 235/75R15 tires and I think the new combo weighs less than the old steelies.

 

[Dan]

More bolt ons. Replaced the hi beams with some led headlights.

 

[SLOWPOKE693]

New wheels and tires completely change the look of that truck.

 

[woods]

Very jealous of the lack of rust under that thing.

 

[Burns]

gOOD WORK!

 

[Dan]

Very jealous of the lack of rust under that thing.

There is a little bit of rust on the body but the chassis is solid. The parts truck that came with it is spotless.

 

[Dan]

New wheels and tires completely change the look of that truck.

I know, it's like a whole different truck now.

 

[Dan]

It's a boring thread but it's just a daily beater so whatever. Maybe this will help out someone with a similar truck in the future.

Here's some of the stuff I have lined up so far.

-New 2-1/4 exhaust with flowmaster muffler
-New Weber 32/36 carburetor
-Change fuel filters and everything with oil in it
-Delete all but 2 vacuum lines and all the smog stuff
-Spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, check points
-Install interior and exterior parts from donor truck
-Make brackets for new seats and install 2 corbeau Baja rs seats
-Make mount or fabricate a front bumper for new winch
-Install winch
-Install battery box and buy new battery
-Clean up under hood wiring and check grounds
-Install auxillary lights

 

[bgaidan]

My first truck was an '86 2wd, shit-brown version of yours. I beat the ever loving shit out of that thing and never broke anything. That engine doesn't make enough power to break those little u-joints either.

 

[Dan]

My first truck was an '86 2wd, shit-brown version of yours. I beat the ever loving shit out of that thing and never broke anything. That engine doesn't make enough power to break those little u-joints either.

Nice. That '86 had a bigger engine too, this only has the 2.2. those little joints have me going back and forth with welding the front diff.

 

[Bacho]

Nice looking truck.

I SAS’ed a diesel years ago and turbo charged it. Sold it to a cousin. It quite running on him, called a wrecker to haul it to scrap. Right before it was picked up he beat the hell out of it with a sledge hammer.

Been looking for another one in more recent years. Haven't seen a clean 720 in a long time, forget about finding another diesel.

 

[lagunaMS]

Did you find a yota front axle for this thing yet?

Nice looking truck.

I SAS’ed a diesel years ago and turbo charged it. Sold it to a cousin. It quite running on him, called a wrecker to haul it to scrap. Right before it was picked up he beat the hell out of it with a sledge hammer.

Been looking for another one in more recent years. Haven't seen a clean 720 in a long time, forget about finding another diesel.

why the fuck did your mongoloid cousin do that. I didn't know 720s came with diesels, sounds like it was a fun truck

 

[YotaAtieToo]

That reminds me of the diesel one my buddy had. Of course, like any non modern diesel, it was slow as fuck. He said you just floored it everywhere all the time. But he also said it would pull 40 mpg no matter how you drove it. He had talked about adding a turbo, but it sounded like it had a strange injection system and it would be a pain to get more fuel. I can't imagine how slow one would be going from 28" tires to ~35"s

Judging by the brand new 30" tires, I'm guess this one won't be getting an SAS anytime soon.

Side note, looking at that t case, I'm guessing a samurai tcase swap is pretty common when wanting lower gears?

 

[Bacho]

Did you find a yota front axle for this thing yet?


why the fuck did your mongoloid cousin do that. I didn't know 720s came with diesels, sounds like it was a fun truck

He was and still is a white trash idiot. Of course I learned about all of this after it was gone. It had a flipped yota front end with a new high steer kit.

As I recall swapping to the gasser 4x4 transmission and axles got you some lower gearing. I have no idea how much power it had compared to the stock 61hp. The turbo added tremendously better mid-range. It fell on its face quickly at ~60mph whatever those revs were. Turbo was on the small side.

 

[Thatg9659]

Mom traded her chevette for a Datsun king cab. I was 5 it had a topper rode in the back all the way to Disney world from pa. Good times. I wasn't to uncomfortable in the jump seats but my older brother

 

[Dan]

Nice looking truck.

I SAS’ed a diesel years ago and turbo charged it. Sold it to a cousin. It quite running on him, called a wrecker to haul it to scrap. Right before it was picked up he beat the hell out of it with a sledge hammer.

Been looking for another one in more recent years. Haven't seen a clean 720 in a long time, forget about finding another diesel.

Did you find a yota front axle for this thing yet?


why the fuck did your mongoloid cousin do that. I didn't know 720s came with diesels, sounds like it was a fun truck

That reminds me of the diesel one my buddy had. Of course, like any non modern diesel, it was slow as fuck. He said you just floored it everywhere all the time. But he also said it would pull 40 mpg no matter how you drove it. He had talked about adding a turbo, but it sounded like it had a strange injection system and it would be a pain to get more fuel. I can't imagine how slow one would be going from 28" tires to ~35"s

Judging by the brand new 30" tires, I'm guess this one won't be getting an SAS anytime soon.

Side note, looking at that t case, I'm guessing a samurai tcase swap is pretty common when wanting lower gears?

Funny all the talk about diesels, this truck originally came with a diesel engine. Looks like someone swapped the body into a 4x4 gas frame because I don't see any hack work and I know the diesel had a different engine placement. It's still a diesel on paper and that's the main reason I bought it.

No plans for a sas at this time as I have too many other projects going on right now. Also no parts on hand unless I want to throw tons under it, which I don't. Long term plans include a completely new tube chassis with spider 9s and a Magnum 360. I might do an intermediate phase with junkyard 9 inch axles front/rear.

For the samurai t case swap: I don't know. There isn't a lot of people building these and very little info on them. Most of the stuff I find involves low riding trucks and 4x4s where people don't seem too concerned about ground clearance. My plan is to eventually find one and swap it in. The 1.4 high range ratio would be beneficial as there isn't much in the way of R&P gears so it would solve that problem while also allowing deeper gears than 2:1 in low range.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

One cool thing about Sami tcases that I don't think any other tcase has, is the variety of low range options. You have the stock 2.27, 4.16, 4.9, 6.4 and 6.5. I think there was a ~5.2 also, but I don't remember.

The lower than 1:1 high is also a huge benefit.

 

[Dan]

Pulled the exhaust that it came with. As in I cut one hanger and the entire exhaust came off without loosening any bolts. The exhaust definitely needed some attention.

Rusted out muffler, cat, and tiny exhaust pipe.

Sketchy stuff going on. Maybe someones way of reducing to smaller pipe? Looks like the same size though so who knows.

One good thing about the exhaust is that someone swapped the manifold out for a header.

 

[Dan]

Here's the new stuff. 2.25" tube and a flowmaster muffler. I also picked up a couple cans of Rust-Oleum high heat spray paint since it's mild steel and will need to be painted.

 

[arse_sidewards]

New wheels and tires completely change the look of that truck.

Yeah, went from "old man with one foot in the grave" to "6ft under and yuppie grandson inherited the truck" over the course of an afternoon.

Just needs a light bar and those plastic boards.

 

[DMG]

When I was a kid we used to wheel a very similar truck all over Connecticut.

 

[Kunker]

My first truck was an '86 2wd, shit-brown version of yours. I beat the ever loving shit out of that thing and never broke anything. That engine doesn't make enough power to break those little u-joints either.

Next-gen 89 was what I learned to drive in, and yeah, not exactly a power house. I loved that truck, and am more than a bit jealous on the lack of rust I see. Stupid winters.

 

[rattle_snake]

Cool truck. I always liked the tail lights being down low on the bed.

Pics of parts truck?

Any plans to bob the bed?

 

[Dan]

The air was getting thick with smoke and raining ash where I live during the summer so I loaded up all my stuff and fled to the nearest trailer park. The little truck and most of my tools went to my parents house where I might be able to work on it occasionally. There is a stack of parts waiting in the cab, I'll post some updates soon.

 

[Dan]

Cool truck. I always liked the tail lights being down low on the bed.

Pics of parts truck?

Any plans to bob the bed?

I like the trail lights down there too, I don't plan to bob the bed anytime soon. I was thinking about swapping to a regular cab bed because the wheel opening is centered better on those. Don't know if it will happen though unless I happen to find a regular cab Datsun at the junkyard.