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82 720 Diesel Project Thread (Modification? Suggestions?)


WI 720

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Howdy Ratsun Forum,

I recently purchased a 1982 2.2 L Diesel 720 with about 123,000 miles on it.  It is a 5 speed manual.  I've only spent a few hours with my 720 :crying:  because it needs clutch and brake work, and I had it towed to my mechanic from the seller's house.  I am super-excited to have it up and running.  

Here is my question, what modifications have people done that they'd recommend?  I am moderately handy, have a bit of time and have a bit of cash to put into it.
There is some rust that I'll be working on .

Here is a pic:

720_zps310f6750.jpg

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Wayno,

I'm not looking to turbo mod it.  I am thinking about either body mods, efficiency mods or just looking for other cool things that people have done.

The seats aren't in great so being from Wisconsin, I'm thinking of recovering them with a flannel pattern.  I'm going to try to fight the huge amounts of rust and I am debating repainting it once I go after the rust.  Do you have any recommendations for rust?  I still have some POR-15. 

 

Datzen Mike,

I'll be putting amsoil in it, getting new trans fluid, radiator fluid and brake fluid, and I'm looking to put a K&N air filter in it if there is a K&N that will fit.  Do you have any other recommendations?

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The only thing you can do to the injection pump that will make it more efficient(lean it out) will rob it of power, and these engines don't have a lot of power now.

It will likely be cheaper to put some other seats in it, you can likely find some rodeo seats in decent shape at a wrecking yard for less than you can recover yours, also Dodge Neon seats will basically bolt right in, but you sit a little higher.

The only thing I could recommend about removing rust is new panels/fenders/doors/ect, but that is likely not an option where you are located, so others on here have a bit more experience about this than I.

 

There is a guy local to me that has successfully turbocharged his SD25, and he is very happy with his now, if that is something you want to do in the future, let me know, and I will send links to his accomplishment.

There are a few mods that can be done to the body, but none of them will make the truck more efficient, they are just mods to make them different, like round headlights, or making it a dually.

If you start looking for a box for your truck, you have to get a 1980-82 box, 1983+ regular cab boxes are shorter by a couple inches, as the 1983+ cabs are a couple inches longer than the 1980-82 regular cabs, this can be an expensive mistake, there is a thread on this here on Ratsun, but I don't think I could ever find it, it's been to long ago.

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  • 5 months later...
Here is the way overdue update. 
I had the 720 at my cousin's shop for about 7 months and finally got to go look it over.  My first son was born so that's keep me busy.

The first project was getting the master cylinder replaced.  I have the 82 Datusn shop manual and it said do not use an open ended wrench on the line connection going from the master cylinder to the clutch damper and instead use the flare nut wrench.  I wasn't sure what a flare nut wrench was so I figured an open ended wrench should work just fine.  I rounded off the first connection and then went to my mechanic cousin to get the correct tool.  It worked way better.   Since the connection to the master was rounded off, I needed to take the master, clutch damper and line from the clutch damper to the slave cylinder off.  I took that mess to a vise to get the rounded off connection off.  I then ran to the auto parts store and $15 later, I had two new lines.  I bent those into shape (they were the standard lines with the metric fitting) and installed the new master cylinder for the clutch and reattached the damper.  I connected the lines.   I need to do the slave cylinder next and then bleed the lines.

Question:  
What is the best was to bleed the lines for the master/damper/slave?
 
 
I've included a bunch of pictures below for whatever reason a lot of them got cut off:

 

The truck is a rust bucket, but I really like it and want to get it road worthy. 
There are pictures off seats I curb shopped (free) from a Nissan 200SX?

I am debating the stock wheels vs. the slot rims (I have just two) or a set of 6 bolt 16 inch rims off of a chevy K1500.   
Question 2:   Would people vote on a 14, 15 or 16 inch rim?  Would the 720 with its short gearing be smoother (lower RPM) with a bigger rim and tire?

 

Question 3: The speed monitors the front tires, correct?  So if I am going to have uneven tires/rims, putting the larger ones on the back might make sense.  Thoughts?

 

Next steps:  Finish getting the Master/Slave clutch working.  If I do that and then the transmission is in good shape, I'll  get brake work done.  
At that point, I'll be able to take it home and start working on the body and combating the rust.  I'll also change the fluids and filters and potentially put new rims and tires on.  

I'll keep posting as stuff gets worked on.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update:
*I finished installing the slave cylinder and bled the lines.  The 720 is sitting out in my cousin's shop's parking lot so I ended up crawling under the truck all the way while a thunderstorm came through.

 

*After charging the battery, I tried starting it up and sure enough she turns over and runs great.  I drove just a tiny bit and tried the brakes.  The brakes are definitely bad.  I also looked under the hood afterwards and saw that there was a rubber hose leaking fuel.  I tightened the clamp of the fuel hose so that is good to go.

 

I took the front wheels off and took a look at the brakes.

Question #1:  
Looking at these pictures, do you think I should install new rotors and loaded calipers with the new pads and new brakes line hoses or do you think just trying to do the pads would be sufficient.  

Here are the photos:     
 

IMG_20140628_173532586_zps3ff933f4.jpg

 

IMG_20140628_173540525_zpsbbecdf71.jpg

 

IMG_20140628_180326839_zps2aa29f10.jpg

 

IMG_20140628_180335928_zpsc6b76956.jpg

 

IMG_20140628_180355703_zpsdff87a70.jpg
 
Question 2:  
I'm thinking that the rear brakes are probably not great but not as gone as the front pads.  If the front brakes get replaced and are good, how important are the rear brakes?

Next Steps: Get brake work done.

Also, I took off the grille and am deciding whether to paint it black or silver.  It is a faded black now. 
After the brakes work, I'll be able to take it home and start working on the body and combating the rust.  I'll also change the fluids and filters and potentially put new rims and tires on.  

I'll keep posting as stuff gets worked on.

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OK, here is the thing that you can do, instead of replacing your existing brakes with new parts, see if you can find a 1986 Nissan 720 with vented rotors, you can take all the bolts out holding the balljoints on the upper and lower arms, and then just bolt them onto your truck, it's a great bolt on upgrade, basically you are just transferring everything between the upper and lower arms onto your truck, I believe that the early hardbody is the same thing and is a donor candidate also, but only certain years will work, that is not something I have had to look into, as we have lots of 1986 720s in the wrecking yards around here.

I believe the early and late spindles are different, so you cannot use your early spindle to mount the later vented rotor brakes.

The early 720 brakes work good also, I would just clean everything up with steel wool and wire wheels, bleed the brake system and see if you can get it working before spending a lot of money on front brakes, I have that stuff around here, if something goes bad, I just find a replacement in my scrap pile.

You can also use any year 720 hood, so if you fine a later model 720 with a good hood, it will bolt right on to your truck, same with the fenders and doors, they are all the same on 720s, the badges, marker lights and such may be a little different, but the actual fenders. doors and hood are the same, but the front grill and sheet metal between the fenders is different from 1983 on, your headlights are about an inch higher than the 83+ models, and it is easy to put 1980-82 front sheet metal on a 1986 720, as all the early mount holes are there, but the later mount holes are not on some of the early models.

If you have any questions, just ask, I have done a few Nissan diesel conversions over the years, and I have mixed and matched a lot of 720 body parts.

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Thank you Datsun Mechanic, I'll do some junk yarding to see what is available.  In WI, Datsun trucks are super rare, but you never know what the junk yards have.

I picked the 86 720 because that also is used on the hardbody, 83-85 720 also have vented rotors, but it is a 2 1/2 year part window, while the 86 version is used on several years on the early hardbodys, and likely good donor vehicles also, you just need to find a hardbody with the bolted in lower balljoint rather than the pressed in type, I suspect that at least the first couple years of the hardbody can be used.

Keep in mind that I have never went out there and searched for the hardbody rotors/calipers, as we have plenty of 86 720s in the wrecking yards, I saw one today, so take everything that I say as a guide line, not fact, I am just passing on info that I have heard from others.

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I ordered a pair of loaded calipers, brake lines and Brembo rotors.  After the core deposit, it'll come to a little less than $200 so I'm o.k. with it.
I also ordered oil, transfuild and differential fluid.

I looked at my local junk yard and could only find one Datsun (280Z) so there wasn't much to grab.   I pickup up some misc. hardware off of other vehicles that I'll use for the bed of the truck to help attach things.  I also nabbed the cigarette lighter out of the 280Z for the heck of it.  
With any luck, I'll install the brakes tomorrow and be able to get the truck home on Sunday.   

 

I did spray paint the grille so I have pictures of that.  

IMG_20140701_194430349_zpsd00c6c62.jpg

Before

 

 

 

IMG_20140704_144331788_zps2a553a68.jpg

After (The custom badge was picked up at the Junk Yard - I'm making a badge that will have my last name on it and will but the Custom Badge under that)

 

Looking for Input:  If I spray a clear lacquer on the Datsun Badge, do you think that detracts from it or protects it and makes it better?  I'm hesitant to try to repaint the badge since I'll probably do just an o.k. job.  I can see where leaving it original would be cool, but eventually the Datsun Badge will start to fade and wear out.  That said it has survived well for 32 years.

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If you want a sturdier front bumper ypu could do what im doing... 4" C channel iron bolted on and painted as a good sturdy bumper to protect it from wildlife... other thing i can recommend is look at farm auctions thats where i got my grill guard the correct size

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If you want a sturdier front bumper ypu could do what im doing... 4" C channel iron bolted on and painted as a good sturdy bumper to protect it from wildlife... other thing i can recommend is look at farm auctions thats where i got my grill guard the correct size

Greetings Yedi,

 

Thanks for the tip.  I haven't been to a farm auction, but I'll be on the look-out.  I know a guy who runs auctions/estate sales for a lot of rural/farm families.

Do you have a picture of your bumper/truck to post?  Also, I see you have an 82' diesel.   How many miles do you have on it?

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Updates:

The calipers and rotors were the version just after mine 83+ not 82 so I reordered.

The calipers were semiloaded so I installed the pads. The brake cable connections were too rusted to replace so I kept the old hoses and will replace them once I get them home. The rotors didn't arrive yet so I kept the old rotors. Long story short, I was able to drive to my parents and I'll drive it home next weekend. I'll count it as another Datsun saved. There is still a ton of work to do. The rear passenger turn signal and brake light don't work. First thing I'll check is the grounding.

 

A Big Thanks to Wayno, Datzenmike, Millican, and Yedi for the advice.

 

I'll post more pictures later.

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Howdy Ratsun Forum,

 

I recently purchased a 1982 2.2 L Diesel 720 with about 123,000 miles on it.  It is a 5 speed manual.  I've only spent a few hours with my 720 :crying:  because it needs clutch and brake work, and I had it towed to my mechanic from the seller's house.  I am super-excited to have it up and running.  

 

Here is my question, what modifications have people done that they'd recommend?  I am moderately handy, have a bit of time and have a bit of cash to put into it.

There is some rust that I'll be working on .

 

Here is a pic:

720_zps310f6750.jpg

 

First I would take that load of shelves to your home and get them setup for use of storing parts as the addiction grows on you you will need more shelves. LOL

 

Wash it drive it and work out any bugs to make it enjoyable to drive.  Make it dependable first.  You can always mod it after it is a dependable driver.

 

I see a lot of these trucks scraped because people jump into modding it and do not have the time, money, tools, knowledge, most of all the heart to finish what they start.

 

Research, research, research before you decide on what you want to do.  Devise an orderly plan of what you want to do, write it down.  research your options of what you want to do and pick what is possible for you to complete.

 

Or you can be like me and dive in and 6 years later still be changing things and have your truck in pieces the whole time.  I have never driven my 520 butt I am determined to finish it.  

 

These can be a great learning tool and a lot of fun.  Nothing better than having some friends come over and everybody works on gettin a project done on one of our trucks.

 

Enjoy it most of all!!!

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Greetings Charlie69, 

Thanks for the advice.  I agree that making it dependable first is a good call.

I'll be going to my parents' house in Milwaukee tomorrow to work on it and then bring it home to Madison.  The brakes now work, but I'll pull the calipers off and change the brake lines and the rotors once it is home.  Once its  home, it will be ready for fluid changes and a paint job and two new tires.  At that point, it should be ready for daily driving.

I think that trying to get a turbo to work on it is out of my wheelhouse at this point.  It looks like doing something exotic like having it run partially on Hydrogen or propane isn't worth it - at least at this point.  I'll just be happy with it running well.

 

Here are a few pictures from this weekend:
IMG_20140713_202701999_zps41c777e3.jpg IMG_20140712_081213114_zpsb78cc7c4.jpg

IMG_20140713_174108469_zpsef5beb16.jpg
IMG_20140712_081206706_zps2cb33fa0.jpg

IMG_20140713_155435321_zps9ac8f03b.jpg

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I agree with Charlie, get it home and make storage room for the extra parts you will collect to keep it on the road in the future. :lol:

Get it dependable, and try to keep it stock, mostly I refer to the wiring, try to keep it so that when you turn off the key, the engine shuts down, that way others like the significant other will be able to drive it without dealing with quirks.

As for modifying it for more power, that's a slippery slope, not many have been successful turbocharging one of these little diesel engines, I am in the process of doing just that to my 720 diesel, here is a link to that thread on another forum.

  http://www.nwdatsuns.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1013&sid=d38f3eea99ece33693a9fc907320df13

This is my engine compartment at the moment, it has all the extras except air, I pulled that out, there just wasn't room for it.

DSCN3274.JPG

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wayno, thanks for linking to the turbo post.  I hope that you get that you get the kinks worked out.

Updates:  I'll try to post pictures this weekend.  I have been grinding off some paint and rust and then have been priming it in preparation for painting.  It is coming along.  
I changed the oil (it was really, really a dark black color) and I changed the rear differential fluid.  I also removed the bench seat.

To dos: Paint the Floor with rubberized coating, finish grinding and priming and paint it.  Install new seats and change the transmission fluid.  Ground the rear lights so that they work right.

 

I'll try to post pictures soon.

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It's the end of the weekend so I wanted to make an attempt to post a few pictures and summarize the events of the weekend.

Done:  Painting (first coat) 

 

It was about $8.50 for the can of Regal Red Rustoleum.  It matched the previous color pretty closely and I am pleased with it.  I had originally thought that I'd go for a red-orange look, but am glad that I didn't try mixing in a partial can of yellow.  It would have just led to problems later on.  

 

I reinstalled the air filter and assembly and upgraded to a K&N filter.  I repainted the assembly pieces and patched the rubber hose between the air filter and the intake.

 

I also put down a rubberized spray coating for the passenger side and what was left of the driver's side floor boards.  I used some foam spray to patch holes in the cab between the back and the floor board.  I was satisfied with how that turned out.  I am hoping that the paint, primer and rust sanding will help keep the 720 going longer.  
Wisconsin winters and road salt are murder on vehicles.  I also painted some plastic pieces black and liked how that turned out.  

Unfortunately, my bucket seats were not the right size so I put the bench seat back in. Overall, it was a big win of a weekend.

 

Here are a few pictures:
IMG_20140803_1913158151_zps0bd10e6c.jpg

This is basically how it looks now under the hood.

 

 

IMG_20140803_131534253_zpsbf2622d7.jpg

This gives the idea of the rubberized coating over the primer.

 

 

Here is an early picture with the front parts taken off.  Notice that the hood is along the back wall.

IMG_20140726_130223575_HDR1_zps0a664d66.

 

 

Here is an intermediate picture:
IMG_20140802_2330084801_zpsbabee9c9.jpg

 

 

 

Here is more or less how it looks now: (Up close, there are many imperfections in the hood.)  That said, I am overall very pleased with how it looks.

IMG_20140803_203335018_zpse077e122.jpg

 

I did get to go driving around the neighborhood.  It was wonderful.

 

To Do:   Fix grounding on the tail lights. Change Transmission fluid.    Put a new set of tires and rims on the front.  Fix inside hood insulation and touch up the outside of the hood better.  Replace the fuel filter.  Install correct fender bolts (being ordered).  Fix rotted out driver's side floor board.  Eventually rust scrape the frame and paint it black.  Attach Ratsun sticker once it arrives.  Eventually get bolt in bucket seats.

Question: if I change just the front wheel size and keep the rear wheels the same, will it mess up the odometer and speedometer?

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They did not put bucket seats in regular cab trucks as far as I know, they were all bench seats, so anything you put in it will be custom.

The speedo is controlled by the transmission and rearend/wheels, it doesn't matter what you put on the front.

It looks fairly good for how much rot it has.  :thumbup:

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