My new 720 daily driver

[DREWSDIME]

I recently got this 1985 720 xtra cab for my daily driver for now. It has 160,000 miles on it and has OG interior that is fairly clean and has been repainted at some point. Truck would not pass smog at first, I wa told timing was off and gas cap was bad so I adjusted timing and replaced gas cap and still would not pass. So next I took to carb shop to have carb rebuilt and previous owner had welded the solenoid open or something ( I think to try and pass smog???) so that had to be replaced after that figured out EGR was bad so Mr. Carb bypassed the EGR and finally it passed smog! The next day I went to DMV to get tags and afterwards I wanted to stop by junk yard as Im pulling into my spot I see smoke I didn't think it was from my truck at first but after a few seconds I realized it was my truck! WTF I pop the hood and jump out open the hood and realize its coming from passenger side front tire the brake is fucking smoking like crazy! Luckily I had a big jug of water in truck and dumped on the entire rim as best I could then ran into junk yard and filled my cup and ran back out ( I did this 4 times before it seemed like it was cooling down) Go to look in truck for jack... of course no jack. Luckily my dad lives pretty close by so i call him up and he brings me jack, I jack up truck and get wheel off the pads were so bad for a long time it looked like because the rotor was grooved worse than anything I have ever seen and the caliper was locked up. I was lucky enough to find a donor truck inside and bought a hub/rotor and caliper and was able to get truck home. Good times! So I bought all new rotors, calipers, pads, lines and installed and have been daily driving for almost a month now. Automatic tranny is killing me and not getting as good of MPG as i would like, 5 speed swap soon, then 3-4 inch drop and some rims and fix crooked front bumper

 

 

[SHORTDOG]

Looks nice....good score!

 

Hey are there any good places to get 720 parts in the I.E.? Wrecking yards, etc..

[c10jim]

That is a clean 720. I have a 86 kingcab that is also automatic.

[DREWSDIME]

Thanks is pretty clean but was hit in the front at some point and has a decent paint job but front bumper brack is tweaked or something. Yes IE is where its at for some good junk yards. Off 10 fwy in Rialto right off fwy Ecology all import yard has a few right now, also off Milliken inbetween 60 and 10fwy Pick part has a few too. Also Hillside off 60 fwy i think only 1 720 last time I was there, and another ecolgy off 10 fwy and Riverside Ave. Hopefully these will be going on soon after I can scrape up the money to polish lip and get new tires

 

[DREWSDIME]

That is a clean 720. I have a 86 kingcab that is also automatic.

Whats your MPG like? Are you using 87 octane? How many gallons is our tank? My gas gauge is kinda messed up and just trying to figur it out. I've tried to fill it up 2 times and only lets me put about 10 gal but not going to full mark?

[wayno]

Nice looking 720KC, just retorque the head every tune up, and it will last a long time.

[dayid]

My '86 720 5-speed regular cab/long bed gets around 24/25... I wouldn't expect the auto to get much worse, I'd imagine around 20/22. The EPA says around 18/21 for an '85 auto

 

 

 

IIRC the tank is like 16 gallons (not sure, would have to check manual), but I normally fill up when the gauge hits the 1/4 mark and put in around 10-11 gallons.

 

 

Edited June 15, 2012 by dayid

[DREWSDIME]

Nice looking 720KC, just retorque the head every tune up, and it will last a long time.

Just have question about tune up? If i change plugs, and cap and rotor will I have to adjust timing?

[DREWSDIME]

Yeah mine is getting about 20 MPG right now. So Im guessing my sending unit needs to be cleaned or replaced since my gauge is not working properly. Do I have to drop the tank to get to sending unit?

[ryknot]

I like your rims. Those will look great on there.

[DREWSDIME]

I actually bought the rims before I even had a truck I liked them so much! I was at junk yard one day and they must have just put out this 620 and it had these rims on it. I had been planning on getting some type of Nissan/Datsun truck for a daily driver so I could not pass the rims up. I hope they fit on the 720 with no problems I have yet to try them on truck. If they dont fit I will keep them for my future 620 or 521 project.

[wayno]

Just have question about tune up? If i change plugs, and cap and rotor will I have to adjust timing?

 

 

I don't know a lot about the napZ engines other that they go threw headgaskets, lots of cheap 720s out there with blown headgaskets.

I would suspect that you wouldn't have to mess with the timing just changing the plugs, cap and rotor, but what do I know, the closest thing I have to a napZ engine is the Z22 block I used to make my LZ23.

I like the hookless beds better, the beds look like they actually belong with the cab, rather than looking like an afterthought.

[DREWSDIME]

Yes I agree about the hooks on the bed. The one thing that I would like to adapt to mine is that I noticed one day in the junk yard on a 720 ST model in the beds along the inside panels they have another steel panel it looks like to protect the bed from getting damaged. I haul alot of parts and would like to somehow make it work on my truck. If I find a ST xtra cab Im gonna investigate if it works I will do a write up on it.

[DREWSDIME]

I also replaced my power steering hard lines because they were leaking for some time it looked like on passenger side. Now I have to clean up the years of leaking fluid under there. Let me tell you taking off the power steering lines at the junk yard with most of the engine stripped and radiator removed was alot easier than trying to install them on my truck it was a tighttttttttt fit! My hands looked like I got in a fight with a cat and lost for a week or so but it was worth it to fix that leaky line. Unfortunately I think the steering box still has a tiny tiny leak, I put some Lucas oil stop leak and it helped alot so Im just gonna wait it out and get one from yard and rebuild it when I can. First I need to replace A/C hose that has a hole in it and charge A/C system, can I use modern A/C refrigerant from parts store?

[wayno]

Yes I agree about the hooks on the bed. The one thing that I would like to adapt to mine is that I noticed one day in the junk yard on a 720 ST model in the beds along the inside panels they have another steel panel it looks like to protect the bed from getting damaged. I haul alot of parts and would like to somehow make it work on my truck. If I find a ST xtra cab Im gonna investigate if it works I will do a write up on it.

 

 

I beleave that all them hookless beds are double walled, but I could be wrong.

[DREWSDIME]

I will have to check it out next time Im at the yard could be true about the hook beds all being double wall

[dayid]

 

Just have question about tune up? If i change plugs, and cap and rotor will I have to adjust timing?

Not so long as you make sure to put the cap/rotor back on in the same orientation that it came off.

 

Also, hookless beds should be double-walled (like my 09/85 '86 ST model) - that's the oddball for the pre "hardbody" (hardbody being for the thicker bedsides, but now is mostly known to refer to the D21 series).

[wayno]

I will have to check it out next time Im at the yard could be true about the hook beds all being double wall

 

 

No, the hooked beds are single walled, as far as I know the hookless beds are double walled.

[SHORTDOG]

The only "Hookless" beds that are double walled are the 85-86's, the 84's were still single walled.

[Littlecars]

I have an 83, and it is double-walled and has hooks and unusual (haven't seen many) factory chromed drivers and passenger side view mirrors.

[Sealik]

The only "Hookless" beds that are double walled are the 85-86's, the 84's were still single walled.

 

Here are the 'walls' unbolted from my 84....chrome bed hooks

 

[DREWSDIME]

Been  a while since I posted an update. Have not done much, still needs to be lowered badly! I installed Grant quick release, MR2 seats, painted high beams yellow. I have some mesh wheels I will use once I lower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DREWSDIME]

Scored this ST wheel today at Pomona swap meet for $15 probably the nicest one I have found. Just needs to be cleanes up. NOT FOR SALE! DONT ASK PLEASE

 

 

[iron_lungz]

Dude sell me your last set of rims!

[Samuel]

That ST wheel is alot cleaner than mine. Though your grant is CLEAN AF. I've been thinking about a Yakima bike rack on a 720 for a little bit too, except I was actually thinking about getting the bars to be alittle bit wider than the cab. I've seen it before on a single cab slammed out and its clean. I'm spying that your using the 1a brackets, but cant really tell if its got the high rise blocks or not.

 

Edit: Did I just notice an attempt of a dark bronze color on one of the chrome wheels spokes? If you were thinking about it, I'm not going to lie, it will be sick to go with that color on all 4 rims.