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Oops, I did it again!


720inOlyWa

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I could‘t resist. The price was fair and the condition.... quite good! Let‘s see if I can get this crappy photo bucket account to work again...

 

 

...nope, it doesn't seem to be working right now. Maybe I can download a little later, along with ‘the rest of the story“...

 

 

 

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Well, here she is, in all her glorious ‘before’ condition.  An 84 king cab, in the same cinnamon brown color, waiting for me to figure out how the hell I am going to tow her from Shelton to Olympia...

 

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Notice that she is straight, with no rust. Even the battery tray is decent. There is a rubber pad in the bed that seems to have kept the bed from even surface rusting. But, as you can see, the back is full of shit and so deeper examination / confirmation lies in the future. But the rails and fenders are all straight and rust free. And the interior is all there and in pretty good shape. I could make the drivers seat “ as new“ in one afternoon of pleasant work. The dash is good too. No clock, no tach, but no matter- I have extras...

 

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I almost peed myself, the bed is so good. It must have spent a lot of time garaged before it was cast out. Today, I went back and reconned the truck in earnest and it really seems like it has a lot of potential. All of the junk was out of the bed, except for a 1/4 inch thick dense foam rubber bed liner. I wonder if it might have been an insulation pad for a camper perhaps. I am just not familiar with rubber bed liners. Anyway, I flipped the entire front half of it back and all that I saw was fresh paint. It blew my mind.

 

Likewise, everywhere else is rust free. The interior of the cab was musty, but dry as a bone after one of the wettest winters on record.  It is very weather dirty on the outside and the spring bloom of green mold is starting to take hold pretty good, so it looks incredibly sad right now. But a bucket of soapy water and the truck brush will work miracles on this neglected old sweetheart from a bum to a princess in about a half an hour.

 

A cursory look at the engine was likewise encouraging. No gummy accumulations to speak of. A small valve cover gasket leak is the extent of it. It has everything as delivered in 1984 under the hood, so I don‘t think it has been fucked with at all, which is good. I have no idea if it runs. The oil looks okay and none of it seems to be in the coolant reservoir, so that‘s a good start. I was told that it has ‘carb problems‘, which is 720ese for any number of possibilities, including a tired carb. So I will start there, once it gets home and the clean up is underway.

 

Now all I need is a car hauler for about two hours... any ideas?...

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I would, max. Back in the day, I hauled many a 49 Plymouth wagon home behind my old 620. But these days, nobody rents a tow bar. I think it may be illegal to use them now or something.

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I would, max. Back in the day, I hauled many a 49 Plymouth wagon home behind my old 620. But these days, nobody rents a tow bar. I think it may be illegal to use them now or something.

 

They are still legal as far as I know, I have been using them a lot over the last 5 years, but you have to know how to drive towing with one, and I would suggest that one only tows with a dually truck anymore, it can get scary with a normal truck.

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Would the dolly work okay? I haven‘t found a place that rented  a tow bar for years now. I have a buddy in Ellensburg who had one of those great old UHaul tow bars, which he got surplus from them. That thing worked great and, as I say, we used it to tow giant 1949 Plymouth station wagon hulks home from all parts of the state, with a base model 620 Datsun pickup. Did‘t think much about it, never really had a problem. But it got stolen out of his back yard a long time ago. If I could put my hands on one of those, Id probably tow it home in a heartbeat. It isn't nearly so stressful to tow as it is to haul.

 

But that would mean sorting out my trailer wiring (not done yet) and locating a light bar too. So instead, I inquired on CraigsList for a local car fetch service. We will see what they have to say. It‘s only 40 minutes away...

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Well, today we dragged it home.

 

 

 

 

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It sure was a mess, too...

 

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But I knew a gem was hiding under all of those corrosive pine needles...

 

 

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All that was needed to get a good start was some warm water, a brush and some good soap. Oh yeah, and elbow grease! 

 

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See, things are really looking up already! That is the cleanest 84 bed that I have found so far- by far! Things are looking up for this old girl!

 

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Cleaner than the Fudgecicle was when it showed up... This just had to be rescued!

 

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I haven‘t gotten past  the door sills yet, but that is coming. Actually, the next job is to pull the cowling and flush the pine needles out of there as well... It is a bit dirty inside from having sat for some time, but at least it isn't covered in cigarette butts and Red Bull empties. Pretty tidy, actually. Nothing that more soap and water can‘t cure. The seats are clearly savable, with the drivers side showing only slight compression. I have rebuilt seats in these trucks before and this one will be a snap. Typical of ‘west of the mountains’ trucks, the dash is not cracked at all.    I’ll post interiors tomorrow.

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The same thing happened thirty years ago, when I was looking for parts for my 1949 Plymouth wagon. You acquire one, and others start to show up. At one point, I had a spare lot with several 1949 Plymouth wagons staked up next to each other. And, at some point (when we moved) I purged the lot of them, save for one which finally went away a couple of years ago. Now it is brown 720 trucks.

 

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I never paid less for a vehicle than the new one on my lot. My previous record was 60 bucks. Sometimes, situational fate intervenes and you get a stupid good deal. I know that more than a couple 49 Plymouth wagon collectors feel that way, at my expense. The karmic wheel spins...

 

One of the coolest thing about this truck is the heavy factory bed protector mat that I found in the back, under the guck and leaves. I had no experience with such a thing, but clearly it has preserved the bed of this 84 in immaculate condition for all these years. I am a total believer now and I will be looking out for another one of these babies. With a little hot water, soap, yada, yada, yada, this one is going right back to work.

 

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The interior is dirty, but not really so bad. I haven‘t started on this yet, but I did empty the glove box, to see what the vehicle archeology has to offer. And I struck gold! There are work orders and receipts in there! As seats go, these are promising. The passengers side just needs a good cleanup and, as you can see, the idea bolster of the drivers seat is just starting to collapse. In a half an hour, I can have the sea apart and new bolster foam in place. If it need spring repair, no problem. One thing I noticed from my first truck is that these seats, if not ripped, come back to feel really good when reconditioned. It is a fun, clean, satisfying job.

 

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Before I get into that, I should note that I did a cursory inspection of the engine and found clean oil, with no coolant in it, no oil in the coolant reservoir. It looks like it received a water pump, because that is shiny new. All good news there. It has the typical seepage down the back of the block from the valve cover gasket, but it is minimal. The engine bay is dirty, but not gunky. The paperwork shows that it got a rear engine seal, clutch, flywheel and throwout bearing 4k miles ago. Various receipts for changing wiper blades, replacing the starter motor, changing out a flasher unit, etc..  In other words, this truck received a lot of professional service as recently as 2000 / 4k miles ago. 

 

I have a timing chain set and a head that was re-conditioned just recently just waiting to go. With 180k on the odo, I bet this could be a great addition right about now. It was reported to have ‘carb problems’ and the guy I bought it from was intending to put a Weber on it and reap the harvest of the previous owners repair investment. But kids got in his way and so I got that benefit harvest instead. chances are, I can get this road ready with just what is sitting around here. How cool is that?

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You know the feeling of looking at something and knowing something is missing, but you can’t figure out what? And then, when you see what is missing, you can hardly believe you missed it?...

 

I didn’t realize that in 1984, power steering was an option. I can‘t remember messing with a 720 without it; every single one that I come across seems to have it. But not this one. THAT was the obvious big thing tat I couldn’t put my finger on. I spotted the no A/C right away, but somehow did‘t look any further down into things. I noticed the absence of the stainless steel beauty rims, the absence of the pin stripping right away, but missed the power steering pump and hoses.

 

Well, no power steering. Hmmm. Armstrong steering. Hmmm. We shall see what that is like in the fullness of time. In the mean time, I wonder if anyone knows what the option options were for these 720 King cab trucks. Is were a link here? Let’s go a searchin’...

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Starting in 84, ST was a trim option. No one can confirm exactly what that means beyond except for the bed decals and the st steering wheel and 2wd rims. There were the clock and tach options, 2wd center console with arm rest, power steering, a/c, adjustable speed intermittent wipers, sunroof

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I have two 1985 Kingcab 2wd 720's. 

 

Both white with blue interior. 

 

One has an auto trans, jump seats, variable wipers, and power steering.  The other has 5 speed, no jump seats, and no power steering.  Neither has a console with armrest, a sunroof, any interior power options, tach, or A/C.

 

I gave up trying to determine what options were available awhile ago due to these 2 trucks lol.

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