JoeCool Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 (edited) First I have to say I have been into the "minitruckin" scene since the 80's before I could drive, and I am 40 now. I used to have a slammed and chromed out 94 Hardbody I bought new and had until I sold it in 01 when I had grown tired of it. I bought a 01 Frontier crew cab. Traded on a 97 Formula Firebird, traded that for a 2007 Ford Sport Trac, lifted on 20" rims, etc... Lost my job, sold it, yada yada...I just bought a 1980 Datsun 720 in July with 140,ish miles from a guy at work for $750. Runs great, unless it's cold. Needs a new carburetor. I use it as a daily driver unless it's too hot. Truck has no AC.My original thought with this truck was to just use it to haul stuff, and basically a beater... THAT DIDN'T LAST LONG! I can't drive a messed up looking ride! The previous three owners of this truck beat up and neglected it badly. Looked like it literally hadn't been cleaned in years, just kept it running, mostly by rigging something up. I am calling the project "THE SHADOW" after the old radio show, comic books, and movies.So I started off getting it lowered with 3" Torsion bar adjustment in front, 3" blocks, removal of overload leaf spring for the rear.Then removal of rust. Then I decided to shave passenger mirror, ugly redneck handmade rear bumper, side moldings, side Datsun emblems, bed hooks, bed body lines. Then Bondo body filler... 2 quarts worth filling small rust holes, small mounting holes from strip molding down sides, mounting holes from pass. mirror, holes from Datsun fender emblems. The bondo is a temporary fix... don't worry. Painted grille, driver mirror, stock wheels, and cab vents gloss black. Sanded down smooth, and primed/painted Matte black (temporary) For now it is a rat-rod theme. That seems to blend in here!Later I cleaned the engine compartment, replaced the bungee cord with a proper battery hold down, New battery and seat console the wife bought me, cleaned the interior and sanded and painted some interior parts flat black. I also painted the ugly part of the door panel black. Scored a FREE Grant Steering wheel with a (bought) billet adapter. An 8 ball shift knob because I hated the little thing it had. Got an Indian style patterned seat cover at Walmart. Covers the rips in the seat better than the towel, and doesn't slide. Also is way more comfortable and cooler than the plastic seat. Sticks out like a sore thumb, but I like it! Kinda reminds me of "Joseph's Technicolor Dreamcoat". (red, and yellow, and black, and blue, and green and purple, and...)I also made a roll pan from scrap sheet metal to fill the big gaping hole in between the tail lights. New tail lenses, old ones were busted. New clear front corner lenses, old ones were cracked. Got a personalized tag as well, "THSHADOW". Edited October 29, 2014 by JoeCool Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted September 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 Some before pics: Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted September 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 After: Also I repainted this emblem in the grille by hand. Chrome and paint was badly faded. Also I got this vintage license plate from Ebay. Thought it would be cool since the expiration date is the same as my truck's year model (1980). Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted September 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 I made a thread under 720 before I found this one... http://community.ratsun.net/topic/47003-my-80-datsun-720-nicknamed-the-shadow/ Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 No problem. I've moved it to ....... here. Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted September 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 THANKS! Quote Link to comment
Sealik Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 Cool........ Joe Looks like a 4x4 cluster Can't tell if there is a tach in there.....................??? Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted September 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 Yep, it is a 4wd cluster out of an 81. Stock one stopped functioning. And it does have a tach in the right lower section. I blacked out the 4wd light since that pic was taken. Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted April 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 This weekend's project: Got rid of the old non functioning Sears and Roebuck, (talk about OLD!) cassette player today and made a delete panel out of some galvanized steel left over from a roof repair on my house. (it was rusted metal with peeling chrome, I got bored and painted it one day) Why in the hell the previous owner hacked up the dash like this I will never know! The damn radio didn't sit well there either. No mounting brackets or anything, it was always falling out! Besides the fact there are TWO PLACES in the console where a radio is SUPPOSED to go! I tried to sand and trim the hole, but didn't make much difference... Plate in. Today I decided I didn't care much for the raw metal. Took plate out and painted flat black. Looks much better IMO. Also cleaned up the dash, had a thick dusting of pollen. And applied some armor all. Eventually I am going to install a more modern audio system with CD and an aux input for my iPod, I can modify this to use as a mounting plate for it. Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 I like the 720 dash. If I can find one in good shape, I may swap it into my 620. My 4x4 chassis came from your area. Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted April 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2013 Well, it was running like crap the other day , so checked it out and found out one of the garbage Xact plug wires the previous owner had used had come apart from the boot. Another was loose. Damn cheap auto parts! Checked the plugs, they are OK, but look old and burnt. May as well replace them too... Here was my problem: Wire ripped apart from the boot. Figured I may as well replace this while I was at it. Preheater hose is trashed! NEW Parts: (Well, actually the manual came with the truck.) Plugs and wires on. NGK wires are FANCY! NGK G-power plugs... YEAH G! G-power, put a cap in yo ass! Also tuned and adjusted my carb. It was stalling and running rough at idle for a long time. Still runs like shit, but slightly better. I think it's time for an upgrade to Weber soon. Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted May 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 Well, last weekend I replaced this busted speedometer that got dropped on concrete by the wife. I had tried to superglue it and duct tape in back, but nope. Soon as I tightened the screws it broke again! I hadn't noticed before the metal framing was bent. This is the "new" one from Wayno my wife bought, looks nice! Of course it should have, he packed it well enough to survive an atomic bomb! Also I painted the dial red to match the rest of the gauges I painted a while back. I didn't like the faded beige. And I touched up the trip reset with black and silver. I also cleaned the gauges and housing up and cleaned/waxed the lenses. Then I painted the old faded and peeling silver faceplate black and gold. I tried to mask it off and paint it silver again, but it didn't work out. Before: AFTER: I also put in the new speedo cable, drove it, everything works fine! And I think this is the first time since I have owned the truck since 2011 that the speedo reads CORRECTLY! And the needle doesn't bounce. HELL YEAH! Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted May 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2013 Well, my old shift stock vinyl shift boot had seen better days. Full of rips, holes, and stained. Got the idea from another forum to do a shift boot made from a half gallon Crown Royal Black Label bag. The bag: Cut off the bottom just below the label. Clipped it in place. Used the bigass paper clips because I only had two factory clips. The finished result: I like it! :thumbup: Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted June 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2013 New Dickies brand black waterproof/stain resistant canvas seat cover from AutoZone. Got tired of the old one. Was faded, stretched out and sliding around and just got tired of the style/pattern. OLD: NEW! 1 Quote Link to comment
Williamdllr Posted August 3, 2014 Report Share Posted August 3, 2014 this is coming out really nice my man. I like the idea of the crown royal bag as the shift boot. i have a few lying around here so i might just do the same Quote Link to comment
Fat510 Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Well, it was running like crap the other day , so checked it out and found out one of the garbage Xact plug wires the previous owner had used had come apart from the boot. Another was loose. Damn cheap auto parts! Checked the plugs, they are OK, but look old and burnt. May as well replace them too... Here was my problem: Wire ripped apart from the boot.The boot is on the road somewhere. Figured I may as well replace this while I was at it. Preheater hose is trashed! NEW Parts: (Well, actually the manual came with the truck.) New preheater hose on. Plugs and wires on. NGK wires are FANCY! NGK G-power plugs... YEAH G! G-power, put a cap in yo ass! Also tuned and adjusted my carb. It was stalling and running rough at idle for a long time. More like OG-power :rofl: Your interior is way nicer than mine. I repainted the door jams and door cards on mine but it's now packed with my dad's coats and smashed potato chips 1 Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted October 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 Damn, I have been slipping on this build thread! I honestly forgot I made one. Heck, some of these improvements are gone now, like the poor fitting Dickie's seat cover. Damned cheap made thing slid all over the seat and wound up ripping. So now I am sitting on a black bath towel. Well, here goes the biggest upgrade I have ever done to my truck. Weber 32/36 carburetor, TransDapt 2" spacer/adapter, Redline air cleaner adapter, and a 10" Edelbrock air cleaner. Spectre carb stud kit and air cleaner bolt kit. Emissions delete except for charcoal canister. All new vacuum hoses, PCV hoses, and new fuel lines from the firewall up to the carb. Also a new fuel filter, 160o thermostat, antifreeze, and NGK V-power copper plugs. Runs much better, has more power, and better gas mileage than the shot POS Hitachi. Started it all finding a Weber 32/36 from a Chevy Luv I found in the junkyard in February and had it rebuilt completely by my wife's uncle who is a carb guru. Part of the rebuild was a new choke and idle solenoid. I also got the filter and adapters from it too, but I don't care for the little rectangular filter or the stacked adapters, so I started looking for options... Found out Trans Dapt made an adapter/spacer with a smooth transition for the size difference and bought it on Amazon. I also found out on install a stupid thing with this part, the stud kit that comes with it is too damn long, it was almost impossible to get the nuts threaded, so I went to Autozone and picked up two of Spectre's carb stud kits. They work out better as the heads are machined with a bolt head which a 7/64 socket fits onto. Then I learned of the air cleaner adapter Redline Weber makes so I ordered that at the same time as the rebuild kit. And bought an Edelbrock 10" air cleaner and Spectre stud kit from the Autozone I work at part time. 1 Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted October 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 And here is the end result. Oh, and by the way I also did some painting of the intake manifold in metallic charcoal gray and polished and painted my valve cover one weekend while I was bored waiting on my parts to come in... Not a lot of clearance! Looks bad ass through the hood vent! Well, except for the fact it got rained on one day and got soaked! See that problem here: http://community.ratsun.net/topic/64308-a-different-kind-of-problem-with-weber-carb-air-cleaner-getting-rained-on-due-to-hood-vents-what-to-do-update-problem-solved-see-latest-post/ So after a few suggestions I decided register vent covers would do the trick! White won't do! Painted them black... much better! Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted November 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2014 Not quite finished with the carb install yet! Today I put some Seafoam in the tank and installed a small filter before the carb to help clean the gas up and a little round nut on the air cleaner because I thought it would look cool, and it does! 2 Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted March 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Haven't had an update in a while, as I haven't had any damned money to do anything! But this week I did do this... I have been wanting cool looking new wheels for a LOOOOOOOOONG time, but have been too broke to get some. And it seems like tax refund time something ALWAYS breaks or needs fixing... how convenient! This year had to buy a new grill as the $250 and only 2 year old Char Broil POS decided to fall apart from rust. FREE ADVICE: AVOID CHAR BROIL BRAND LIKE THE PLAGUE! Then the wife's car needed a lot of work. Her 2006 Taurus has around 140K and is used our main family car. Tires, brakes, alignment, a hub bearing, and two struts. DAMMIT! But there was a little bit left over to give the old 14" steel wheels a makeover with D21 Hardbody centercaps, chrome Nissan decals, chrome lug nuts, chrome valve caps, and some chrome trim rings. Wow! What a difference! Total of about $60 worth of parts... eBay and junkyards for the win when you're broke! And I also bought a seat from the junkyard last week, It came from a D21 Hardbody. I haven't installed it yet as I am waiting for it to dry out after a thorough cleaning. Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted March 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 The last two days I have been busy with my truck. Yesterday: another Duracrap reman starter from Autozone since the first one failed after a little over a year. Thought about just going someplace else for one and saying screw the lifetime warranty but seeing as I am too broke to afford to buy another one right now I couldn't. At least this one matches the size of the old one. Hopefully it lasts longer than a year! And I moved the secondary fuel filter away from the distributor and exhaust. And I pressure washed the engine compartment the other day when I was cleaning the seat. Then I started to install the "new" seat. Took out the old one and pulled all the vinyl floor liner, even in the front, surprisingly not a lot of rust, NO ROTTED HOLES! Just a little surface rust. So I scraped, sanded, and painted with Rust-Oleum. The only hole I had was around the wiring coming up through the hole on the passenger side. RTV'd that up and then duct taped over that. 1 Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted March 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Today I installed the D21 Hardbody seat I got from the junkyard last week. It took a LOOOOOOOOONG time to dry out after I pressure washed and steam cleaned it. Of course it isn't a 720 seat, so not an exact fit! Adjustments and modifications were necessary. Front holes lined up, but not the rear. So, had to drill some holes! Circle over old seat mounting hole, arrow points to new one. I wound up using new bolts with lock washers and nuts in the new holes. Stuck the old mounting bolts back in the original holes to prevent air leaks. I also had to move the jack into the corner because the seat wouldn't go back all the way. And here is the end result... Sits and rides better. Seems like I have more legroom too. The head rests are nice too, no more whacking my head on the glass! I do need to get a seat cover to hide the rips and cigarette burns on the driver side though. Plus burgundy doesn't match my interior worth a darn. 2 Quote Link to comment
xHighOctanex Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Dude omg omg can you please tell me the color code for that tan? My replacement door is that color and I want to get my whole truck done that color. 1 Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted June 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 Haven't updated on this thing for a while now. This is a sort of sad one. In April I sold the truck, just got tired of it. I now own an 02 Frontier. The new owner is a member here, but has zero posts. I'm calling him out... bradreed62 get busy posting! 2 Quote Link to comment
izzo Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 You're still on Facebook yeah? Or is that a different Joe with a 720 from the east coast 1 Quote Link to comment
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