powderfinger

Not trying to hijack the thread but I have had these same experiences and know several other people that have as well. If you have a phone nearby, someone is listening to you.

I had hopes that the block would clean up when I first saw it but I think after going back and looking at the pictures that it is pitted in places. I just got home so I'll go back over to my shop and have another look at it.

Well, life got in the way of working on this truck and unfortunately it appears I have let it sit too long with a blown head gasket. I ended up pulling the engine and transmission out this past weekend and it's a good thing I did because it would have had to come out anyway. Cylinder #2 had water/antifreeze sitting in it too long and now it is pitted and will need to be bored to get this engine back in working condition. It's a shame, there is a possibility that if I had did this work right when I got the truck this could have been avoided. Hopefully the crank is ok but I am worried. Will hopefully remove the pan and inspect this weekend now that the engine is on a stand.

That's funny because all mine does is add noise 🙂 The rubber dry rotted and the whole thing came loose and always slides down the leave spring and bangs around. I need to take it off.

If anyone lives near Bel Air, MD and likes 720s here is a nice one for sale. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/561386705030346/?ref=search&referral_code=marketplace_search&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A17318dfa-40c5-455e-bd8a-1ee5aea11d14

I had a difficult time finding one for my 85 720. I ordered one from Autozone but it ended up being the wrong one. I got lucky and got a used one off of another truck to work. I seem to remember a site that sold rebuilt ones but can't remember where. They wanted like $350 for them if I remember correctly. Rock Auto usually claims they have them in stock but if you look at the photos you will see that it is not the correct one. The ones they carry may be for the D21? Might be easier to get new hoses made that fit the compressor everyone stocks with the single bolt that holds the hoses on. Those seem to be easy to find and they fit perfectly. I may do that if/when my old compressor fails.

I decided to pass on the car, I thought the guy wanted too much for the car with the amount of rust the car had. Cool car though. I'll put a pic of it below. There was plenty of rust on the bottom of the doors, below the doors, and behind the rear wheels. You could also see the passenger side front wheel from the engine compartment. If someone was looking for a project it could certainly be fixed but the guy would have to drop the price a lot.

I have always loved the look of the 79 B310 hatchback cars and have the opportunity to purchase one. My worry is how quick will I get tired of driving something with 65hp? I daily drive an 85 720 truck now so I am used not having much power but 65HP isn't much. Thought I would try to get some quick feedback from this forum.

I have three 720s at the house and I think I only have one unbroken sun visor clip that is on the 4x4 I am working on! All the other originals are broken. If you have or know someone with a 3D printer you can print a decent replacement for them. Someone on here uploaded the design to thingiverse.

Even the outer surface of the head looks too clean. Looks cleaner than the block. I am wondering if maybe someone changed the head gasket and possibly the head as well and never went back and re-torqued the bolts after a few temp cycles and ended up blowing the gasket again. I have a machinist straight edge to check for flatness, will for sure do that before reassembly.

The head is coming off because the truck has a blown head gasket. I am starting to think this is the second time it has had a blown head gasket. The head looks too clean. I'll try to get a pick in the next day or so. Looks like the head was either cleaned by a shop before resurfacing or the PO put a reman head on it possibly.

Finally got around to working on this truck some today, got side tracked with work and a hernia surgery. Started tearing into it to replace the head gasket in order to get it running so I could drive it around a bit to check everything out before doing more work on it. I was hoping since the truck is supposed to have so few miles on it that the motor had never been torn into but that is not the case. The exhaust bolts and nuts came off easily which never happens and the cam pulley bold had been scuffed up some. Looks like it may have been by an impact wrench. On top of that when I took the valve cover off and looked down into front of the engine to see the timing chain I noticed a plastic piece sitting loose in the bottom that looks like it bolted somewhere on the outside of the engine and held a hose in place at one time. I guess someone accidentally dropped it in there and left it. Didn't get the head off yet because I am having a hard time getting my timing chain wedge in place. It seems like there isn't as much room between each side of the chain as the last Z24 I worked on to fit the wedge in there. Seems impossible unless there is a LOT of chain stretch which would certainly mean either this truck has more miles on it than I was told or at least the engine does and it's not original. Either way it looks like I will have to take everything off the front of the motor to get to the timing chain which I was hoping to avoid.

Depending on where you are in NC, this truck is listed on Facebook Marketplace in Lynchburg, VA for $700. The add says it needs ignition and clutch cable. Could probably get it for cheaper than that and have plenty of spare parts.

I have a whole bed assembly I'll sell you for $1600 as well lol

It was a local guy who started his own business doing auto glass. Don't remember the name but have his card somewhere. I'll look at the windshield when I get a change to see who makes it.

Yes, some companies still have these in stock, I had mine replaced recently. The biggest issue is the rubber seals they use, at least from my experience. I ended up having to add some RTV to my seal to get it to stop leaking.

Was this brush guard designed for a 720 or are you using one made for another truck? I am asking because I have a 4x4 720 I am fixing up and would like a brush guard for it but ones made for the 720 are getting hard to find. I'm hoping one off another model truck would fit with little to no modifications required.

Awesome, I'll have to keep my eyes open for those. Especially the black leather powered seats those would be perfect.

What year maxima and did it raise the seat height any? Seems most replacement seats raise the seat height and I do not want the seat raised at all. I have tried civic seats that were way too tall and most people are saying neon and rodeo seats also raise the seat height.

I am really torn on what to color to go with on this truck. If I decide to stick with the factory blue has anyone found any of the spray on "dye" that matches the factory blue interior color? The interior is in good shape but some of it is faded. If I don't go back with the factory blue then I will most likely go with tan exterior and a black interior. I have always liked tan on the 4x4s and I definitely prefer the black interior.

I would not have wanted to go hunting with the original owner of this truck. Not only did he shoot a hole in the roof, he also shot one in the floor!

Here is another pic of the side damage. Truck has almost no rust, floors are perfect. Going to take me a while to get this finished so pictures may not come too fast but I will keep this thread updated.