GreaseFactory's 720 Cali Truck

[GreaseFactory]

Hello everyone!

 

I am new to Ratsun. I hear it is the best forum community going when it comes to Nissan/Datsun.

 

 

I just purchased my first Nissan the other day, and decided to share some of the story behind it and how I found myself behind the wheel of a minty 1985 Nissan 720.

 

 

 

It all started a few days ago, when on my way to work in sub zero temperatures I hit a patch of black ice in my 2010 Silverado. I slid off the road into a telephone pole at 70KM/H. Needless to say, the truck is totaled, and I need a replacement. I'm still waiting for insurance to pay me for the crumpled beer can sitting outside in the cold.

 

I had a few bucks in my pocket and decided that I would rather be driving something that I own instead of the rental Chrysler 300 that inurance gave me for the time being. I hopped on Kijiji, and 10 min later was on my way to a lady's house to look at her truck.

 

The truck has 62010miles on the clock, a spotless interior and I can eat off the underside of the truck. the only rust is surface scale where the paint has been chipped in the box and a small spot on the hood. Not a hole or bubble anywhere. She just had the truck inspected and spent thousands of dollars on a Tune-Up, Oil Change, Brakes, Clutch, Exhaust and Brand New Tires! I bought the truck for $2300CDN and drove it home.

 

Last night while driving it around it developed a funny clattery knock under acceleration and it idled like it was missing a cylinder. I attempted to limp it home before the situation got worse but the truck had different plans, A few minutes of driving later the truck stalled at an intersection. I fired it back up after a few tries, and everyone started honking and flashing their lights. I looked behind me to see a steam cloud filling the air coming from my exhaust. OH-NO!!! THE HEADGASKET!!!

 

Boiling coolant was spraying out from the hood all over my windscreen like a WW2 pilot who just took a few rounds to his engine gets oil on his. I threw the truck into first gear and hopped the snow covered curb into the nearest parking lot and shut the truck off. Steam was poring out of the coolant catch tank. I quickly assesed the situation. I was a few blocks from home, and the crank case wasn't filling with coolant. I made the decision to drive the truck to my house... Let me tell you, Blasting down the road with a smokescreen billowing from my exhaust was a sight to see. the truck must have been making about 10hp because it wouldnt pull 2nd gear. i screammed the little motor to almost 25mph all the way home, pulling into my driveway just as the temp needle spiked. I threw a bucket under the rad and dumped the remainder of the coolant (hoping to not fill the engine with water as it cooled and sucked coolant back in from the overflow).

 

Currently the truck sits in my back yard waiting for me to do the required repairs.

 

Plans are to change the head gasket, install ARP studs, and swap out the Cali Emissions carb and all the vac lines for a Weber 32/36DGEV carb.

 

Here are a few pics I took after picking it up. (sorry for the phone pics, it was -20 degrees celcius and I dint want to risk damaging my DSLR)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Eagle_Adam]

looks clean!

 

 

pics, an intro, and some details all in your first post!!!!!!

 

welcome to Ratsun! 

[_chiefjt]

Nice to see there's still clean original ones out there.

Now get some daytime pics! haha

[wayno]

Welcome  B)

You need to re-torque the head bolts every tune up, I suspect this step was skipped.  :(

The ARP stud kit is likely a plus here, not sure if it needs re-torqued with them though.

[xsdg]

Awesome!  I wish mine looked like that.  Best of luck with the head gasket replacement, and if you need any tips on the Cali carb before you swap it, I've been banging my head against it for long enough to have picked up a thing or two :o)

 

Also, if you're looking to get rid of some of your Cali emissions equipment, let me know.  I could do with a few spares, and I actually live in California, where they care about all this stuff.

[GreaseFactory]

XSDG: I am ordering the weber this weekend... you can have all of the emissions control stuff for cost of shipping if you help me to understand what I can delete without causing problems.

 

WAYNO: I asked the parts counter about ARP studs but they didnt list an application. Is there a ARP kit for the Z24?

[GreaseFactory]

Well... The FelPro Gasket kit is on order...

 

It sucks about the weather, but I refuse to pay a shop to do what I can in my driveway. Hopefully it wont be too cold this week while I yank the cylinder head off and replace the gasket. I hope I didn't torch the head between the cylinders when the gasket blew... I didnt have much choice in driving it home. There is a towing ban on in the city right now after our latest snow fall. The tow trucks are required to be on call for accidents and clearing vehicles parked in snow clearance areas. I would have been waiting for weeks for a tow, and I dont want this little gem sitting on the side of the road getting road spray from passing motorists and all kinds scummy people walking by a truck that has no anti theft.

 

After some quick searching, it looks like I can reuse my Head Bolts. The re-torquing required doesn't bother me at all... I actually enjoy wrenching, and having a vehicle that requires simple, but regular maintanence, makes ownership more intimate.

 

Fingers crossed that my head is saveable, and not warped/torched!!!

 

Stay tuned for pics of the engine bay and progress!

[wayno]

I searched, and could not find an ARP stud kit for the naps Z24 engine.  :(

[xsdg]

GreaseFactory: there are plenty of threads on Weber swaps, as well as on deleting emissions with the stock carb.

 

A quick Google shows this picture tutorial, which seems to be pretty thorough: http://imgur.com/a/7lXz4#0

That guy keeps his evap canister.  I know people have gotten rid of theirs, and ISTR one person who just put a check valve on the fuel tank vapor line — it vents to atmosphere under positive pressure, but still holds a vacuum like it should.  Up to you which way you'd want to go.

 

Generally, what I've read/heard is that the only vac line you really need is manifold vac to drive the dizzy advance.  That's one of the two small ones that hits the hard lines fore of the block.

 

I don't know what (if any) vac lines come off of the Weber.  Like the guy did in the tutorial, I imagine most people leave the EGR and BPT (back pressure trigger?) valves in place at the aft of the intake manifold.  TVV stays in place at the fore of the intake manifold.  I think everything else can go.  Note that the hose between the EGR and BPT transmits exhaust _pressure_, possibly at some fraction of exhaust temperature, so a vacuum cap probably won't be secure without a hose clamp if you wanted to remove the BPT.

 

 

Here's another thread where the person removes emissions equipment with the stock carb:

http://forums.nicoclub.com/vacuum-line-removal-t556957.html

 

Also, he mentions it being difficult to install vac lines.  The secret is to use some sort of fluid as a lubricant.  I use carb cleaner, since it'll evaporate pretty quickly.  Just spray a little inside the hose, pop it on, zero effort.

[GreaseFactory]

Thanks for the info! I find find dielectric grease works wonders when installing spark plug lead boots on the wires. I would imagine it works just as well on vac lines.

[Nissan_Boy85]

If I remember right, a bunch of the Z24 guys run ARP studs ment for a Saturn. Can't quite remember which one right now, but it was for some vehicle that would never really need them. As far as retorquing the ARP's, it can't hurt. All I know is I've gone through 2 Fail-Pro headgaskets and can't wait to get mine back on the road. Looks clean!

[GreaseFactory]

Nissan_Boy85: This interests me! I will have to do some more research about the head studs then... I was hoping that someone made a Performance Style headgasket, like the ones that have the thin silicone bead on the copper sheet. I have used them in the past on my old Toyota engines with great success. This Fel-Pro gasket is thick and mushy, but with proper maintanence i hope to make it last long enough to get me to spring so I can swap in a SR20... I have plans on making the truck quick.

 

 

I found a few sets of neat wheels for sale localy, so I think a slight drop in the suspension with some wide wheels and tires is in order.

 

 

Good news for me today... The insurance payout for my wrecked Silverado came in. $19641.50 for a base model truck that I paid $24000.00 back in 2010 is a awesome turnover... I couldnt have sold my truck for more than $15000.00 if my life depended on it. I am very happy that i get to use some of the money to put into my 720. I am in the process of buying air suspension for my '65 Chev too.

 

If I lower the 720, and bag my Biscayne, every vehicle I own will be slammed... My Scirocco sits with just over an inch of clearance under the oilpan! Kind of scary when you se the roads I have to drive on.

[GreaseFactory]

With a few min of research I found a thread on the internet where some 720 owners were confirming that these headstuds fit a Z24: ARP Head Studs Saturn 1.9L DOHC 91-99 165-4202

 

Sadly they are almost 3 weeks away for me to order, so I will end up reusing the Nissan bolts for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[xsdg]

GreaseFactory: Nice payout.  I had a buddy who bought a too-good-to-be-true C5.  Turns out that thing was an oil leak machine.  Also, Corvette clutch jobs are an absolute nightmare; have to drop the torque tube, tranny, and diff as a unit (since it's front-engine, rear-tranny).

 

Anyway, long story short, someone nailed it while it was parked and knocked the LR wheel off.  Totalled it, and he got more for it than he had bought it for (which means he had come out about even, given all the money he had put into trying to fix it).

 

Good stuff :o)

[GreaseFactory]

In the process of pulling the head... The damn EGR pipe is stuck on the exhaust manifold and the brass nut is rounded from previous owner. Cutting it off tomorrow... its too cold and too late to be messing around with an angle grinder.

 

Pics tomorrow!

[wayno]

:crying:  maybe you can get a better grip on it tomorrow, pipe wrench or something.  :)

[GreaseFactory]

I am deleting the EGR system and eventually all of the Smog stuff on tje engine when my Weber carb comes in... I want to remove the computer and all of the sensors and other stuff... when I am done it will be simple under the hood like my '65 Biscayne.

[diponyou]

super clean truck dude