Aussie 720

[irsa76]

Bought it for AUD$100 from the guy next door. The flatbed is heavyduty steel and heavy as hell. No wonder it's got rear airshocks.

I fitted the lights to see how they fit. Will need something abit better. Note also the rear hoop on the tray:

The mighty, and probably original, L18. Not quiet visible is the paint damage below the brake and clutch master cylinders:

My 2 year old playing on daddy's ute, his words. Rear hoop stowed behind front hoop. Yes it has all 4 chrome spoke rims, the PO threw the spare on as the missing tyre was going flat.

Barely run in with 356,000km on the clock. Just noticed I have a tacho:

I think I need some cleaning in here:

NOT the orginal seat. Buckets will go in ASAP:

Father and son testing the truck. As much as you can with no battery:

[tnip]

hehehe babies..

 

awesome truck you got there... since yours is rhd... i'm thinking something with a big ass turbo :D. sr20 maybe? my dad would really love this truck as he has a thing for flatbeds for some reason...

 

btw, those front lights look good...

[irsa76]

Trying hard NOT to go turbo. Will probably go that route in the future. Thinking Z24 with supercharger for the lowdown torque since I intend to run probably 30" offroad rubber.

[kiznook]

mmm. Gonna convertto 4x4? or go for pre-runner style?

 

That flatbed is seriously sexy!

[irsa76]

Prerunner style. No point converting since I could find any number of D21, or even D22, 4x4s for less then the cost of converting this thing. Besides, if I was to get serious with a 4x4 I would simply stepup to a Patrol.

[kiznook]

30s are easy. Even 31s aren't too bad.

 

Ive got 31x10.50x15s on my 2wd HB right now. Mild torsion lift and stretched front fenders, only rubs at full lock. The 30x9.50x15s I had before fit better, and drove better on the road (wide tires+rutted highway=bad)

 

Check out 4x4parts.com I'm sure they'll ship your way

[ppeters914]

Boy, RHD drives sure leave a lot of empty space on the left side of the engine bay, or is that where the battery should be?

[datzenmike]

 

I'm guessing you have an '80-'82? Here's my '84 dash with clock and tach. It also has the 4X4 gauges in the center console. This would be an easy up grade for the early 720. You might even be able to just swap the gauge cluster.

 

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/datzenmike/dash2.jpg[/img]"]

[irsa76]

Battery lives on the RHS, I'm thinking of moving stuff around to fit better.

As for the dash, yes it's an '81. Already looking into a dash swap. The problem is 720s are pretty rare here. Kingcabs are even more so. I wonder if a D21 dash will fit?

[datzenmike]

Battery lives on the RHS, I'm thinking of moving stuff around to fit better.

As for the dash, yes it's an '81. Already looking into a dash swap. The problem is 720s are pretty rare here. Kingcabs are even more so. I wonder if a D21 dash will fit?

 

Anything is possible, if you look, my 720 dash is actually in my '78 620.

 

By the way, nice wing windows!! Another thing that we didn't get here. I'm talking to a 720 owner in California that has gotten a set and is customizing his truck to look European. I got him a KPH speedo and a metric oil pressure gauge for his 4X4 plus the rear defog switch, which is virtually unknown there.

 

Keep your eye peeled for the Variable wiper delay arm and the little control box that goes with it. Optional on the long box but not on the 4X4 here for some reason.

[irsa76]

Pulled the bench the other day, what a Pita! Who ever did it must have REALLY wanted a 3 seater as it's almost impossible to get at the rear bolts because the seat only slides 1" before it hits the console. At least it's confirmed it's a 5 speed. Picked up a spare tranny for free today. Will probably give it a freshen up for future use.

[datzenmike]

Before you store it grease the front input spline and if you can find a spare output splined yoke to fit in the end, it will keep the oil from draining out. Speaking of oil drain and inspect it for chips and debris. Remove the very bottom bung and check the magnet on it for metal particles. Normally there is a metallic black 'paste' on it from normal wear. Seal in plastic and store in a dry place.

[irsa76]

Update time:

Original plan was quick tidy up, get rego and DD it. Not an option now:(.

It's just gone from needs some work to needs ALOT of work, I like to do things once only. The list is long is mainly fiddly stuff.

Body:

No rust I can find. Since I can still get new panels I'll replace the whole front clip, I'll keep the current hood and give it the ratsun paintjob for racing. The engine bay will need a repaint due to the leaking brake and clutch master cylinders. Will also update the grill to later model.

Chassis:

Appears to be straight and rust free.

Suspension:

In a word, shot. Hopefully I can fit uprated torsion bars, it appears the 4x2 and 4x4 used the same bars just mounted differently. New rear leafs are no problem like wise I can get a full Nolathane bush kit for it. Shocks and swaybar "may" be interesting. Steering will need work.

Brakes:

Apparently the brakes were sorted last year, I'll be giving everything a once over to make sure. I know the booster and mastercylinder are toast.

Engine:

At the moment I'm thinking mild L20b. Found one built for a 510 rally car for sale locally, for a pretty penny I might add:eek:. At the very least I'll freshen the L18.

Transmission:

The current 5 speed is unknown condition, the spare 'box is in the same boat. Will tear the spare down to have alook.

Rear end:

Will probably pull it out and have a look. Plans call for an LSD or maybe a locker.

Interior:

Needs a complete redo. Can't decide between luxury sport, comfy buckets, carpet and the like, or stripped road racer style with plain vinyl door trims, vinyl floor mate, race seats and harness belts.

 

At the moment the interior is how I bought it, put the bench back in, and I've dropped the front end abit. Currently the front sits on the bumpstops:o

[kiznook]

you're like me, "this is going to be my offroad rig, but I've got it lowered for now"

[]2eDeYe]

Currently the front sits on the bumpstops:o

 

Pics :D

[irsa76]

Pics will come. Currently it's storing some firewood on the back for nextdoor, and I've just replaced the fence behind it so the backyard looks like a construction site with concrete fence posts and garbage all over the place.

And yes it will be going back up soon.

[irsa76]

Another update. I want this thing on the road ASAP. Actually, my wife wants it on the road ASAP, she hate dropping me at work for the 6:30am starts with 2 young kids. Got it on stands at the moment ready for me to have a good look at it.

[pope_face]

Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you... it looks pretty good though. Maybe this is a little... finicky for your situation ATM, but have you considered converting it to JDM at some point down the road, or are you sticking with the non-North American Market look? It looks pretty good right now, but seeing as you already have the RHS you might not need all that much work to get it to JDM spec, and you might be one of the only folks Down Under with one. Then again, it sounds like your truck in itself is pretty rare...

 

I like the rallye idea... I keep toying with the idea myself. I'm not sure how much of the flatdeck space you actually need, and I'm not sure how it would look with a "normal" interior, but if you're going for a rallye look you could consider getting a replacement rear made up to imitate some of the baja trucks... get the roll bar right behind the cab, shaped to follow the lines... get a custom flatdeck welded up so it's the width of the cab in front, and then narrows to the width of the frame in the back... get two more bars welded from the top corners of the roll bar to the rear corners of the flatdeck, either crossing them in the middle or just keeping them straight... then make little fenders/covers to cover as much of the rear wheels as is required by law, and you'd be set. Get an old jerry can and mount it to your bed along with your spare tire and you'd have a pretty neat little getup. I'm not sure how heavy your existing flatdeck is, but if you put jacks from a bed-mounted camper on both the decks, you might be able to swap from one to the other within half an hour if you really needed to.

 

But, just a thought. :D

[irsa76]

Having seen what some of the rally support trucks here look like, mine is 90% there already:D:eek:.

Thinking mild suspension lift, but also set up to handle on the blacktop.

Probably 30" AT rubber, may be slightly smaller. Would prefer alloy rims but will probably run white spoke 15'

Biggest brakes I can fit.

L20b "grunter", know a few hiding in people's garages. Will probably leave the tranny untouched. Rear locker or LSD is a given.

Body will be left pretty much standard, apart from later model grill. Thinking what to do about the bumper, if I can find a decent bullbar for it I'll run one. Other wise might need to borrow my mate and his plasma cutter and MIG or TIG welder and adapt some thing. I can't decide between fibreglass flares or rubber ones, problem is both only are 1" wide and look awful. I'm going to run the 4 aux lights across the bumper, instead of the mount I tested. Colour will be white, maybe with dark blue and red stripes below the bump strip.

Undecided on the bed. I've found a guy who does stepside beds which I like the idea of, althogh IF I went that route the whole theme of the truck will probably change.

Otherwise I'm thinking along the lines of removable toolboxes and racks bolted to the current bed. Thus I can remove it when I need to use it as a yard truck.

[pope_face]

What is the definition of a rallye support truck? I'm assuming a truck used by a crew to haul tools/parts/whatnot to the car while it's on the course, or from checkpoint to checkpoint?

 

I'm not well versed in Australia's terrain, but from what I know it's generally pretty flat with a lot of bumps... how much lift were you thinking, and how soft are you making the suspension? Are you putting quick releases on your torsion bar (I'm assuming there is one)?

 

Alloys are nice, but if you're planning on doing anything rallye-related I'd suggest steel wheels... a little heavier, but if you hit a bad bump you'll bend the wheels rather than crack them. Bends can be massaged out, cracks can't. Plus, I think alloys are pricier...

 

Are you going to be driving through a lot of soft sand and mud and whatnot? If you're sticking with mostly packed sand and bitumen the LSD should be more than good enough... You probably won't need the locker. Then again, I don't know how much LSDs are where you're at, but dropping in a used LSD as opposed to buying and installing a locker would probably be cheaper and easier... But, it all depends on parts availability...

 

I don't know how many roo's or plants there are to hit out there, but I vote tube bumper with some sort of small pre-runner bar to mount your lights to... :D

 

But... I'm half talking out of my ass. I wish I was more knowledgable on the subject, but the truth is I only know what I picked up in referance to my Explorer (which was supposed to be built into a trail rig), so I don't know how much it applies to you... I suppose it's more about the terrain and your driving style than anything else...

[irsa76]

Mine will be more of supporting the actuall events, since that's my background. The suspension would need to have enough clearence and travel to actually pull off the tracks and still have enough control for high speed work. Not 100% sure how the bed is going to be, will have storage boxes and shade though, maybe even power. The theory on going alloys is better handleing and less heat. The wheels I'm thinking are plenty strong for my use, rated more then the truck is and have a long off road racing history in Australia.

[pope_face]

Well, you sound like you know more than I do, so keep up the good work... =P

 

Which wheels are you using? Is it an Australian company, or do they just happen to be used by the Aussie teams?

[irsa76]

http://www.performancewheels.com.au/images/wheel_modu.gif

Either 15x7 or 16x7, they also come in 14x6 but I think it'll be easier to find tyres in the larger size.

[pope_face]

Nice... pretty slick looking wheels...

 

And I vote... 15x8"! Or 16x8"... I'm not sure about down there, but up here there are many different tires available for the 15x8" rim... As far as I know, a 15x8" will accept most "standard" light truck tires, as well as 30x9.5's to 32x11.50's... If you want to go larger you could always get 15x10's, but I don't think you'd be able to move the tires, let alone the truck too...

 

Are you regearing your rear end? Have you considered the 4.88 gears out of the old J13 L521's? I'm not sure about how well the differential would bolt up to the stock driveshaft, and I don't even know if you can find them there, but the width should be pretty close, and even if it was off a bit you could use spacers to set the wheels out further... then again, you don't really have a bed to interfere with your clearance...

 

Actually, does anyone know the maximum tire/wheel combo that will fit on the trucks? I'd like to know specifically for the 521, but I'm pretty sure most people would be interested for one model or another.

[irsa76]

Some quick, and nasty, photo shopping of possible colour schemes: