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1983.5 Nissan 720 4x4 on BFG 30x9.50r15 Tires


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My father-in-law bought this truck new and only used it on the weekends.  It's the mid-year model badged in both Nissan and Datsun and it was the first year for the color Tropic Tan.  It only has 69,000 miles on it but has been badly beaten by the sun as it sat outside for decades.  My main reason for posting is because I wanted to replace the stock 235/75r15 tires with larger ones but on the original 15x7 steel wheels to keep it looking relatively stock.  After browsing this and other forums I learned that 30x9.50r15 would fit nicely but I really struggled finding a good pic of what that would look like.  So here it is for anyone else looking for those pics.  I also had the rims powder coated while the tires were off.  Future plans include a 2-3" suspension lift and a light cosmetic restoration.  I'll post future pics in this thread.

 

Stock height Nissan 720 King Cab 4x4 on BF Goodrich Mud Terrain 30x9.50r15 tires:

 

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Interesting. It's had an '85 grill put on. (much better looking) It may have had 235/75R15s on it, but the largest stock tire for the 4x4 was 215/75R15 on 6"JJ rims. This should all be in the owners manual in the glove box. 29" is considered the largest with no rub so 30 will be fine, and they also look great. Try to find two more of the ornamental hub covers and put on the rears. The plastic fender arch 'flairs' are also missing. They fill the gap above the tires and deflect mud but just another thing to fall off. That's one clean Nissan.

 

The Z24 engine is known for blowing the head gasket at 100K. The preventative is to re-torque the head bolts once a year or every tune up, when the engine is cold. Loosen only one bolt and then immediately tighten to 60 ft lbs. Done this way you can do in any order you like, but only one bolt loose at a time.

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The truck is completely stock aside from the new tires and the dealer installed side mirrors.  Thank you for the correction, the stock tires were 215/75r15 and the rims are 15x6.  It's the mid year model so it had the 1984 grill instead of the 1983 grill, it's never been changed.  And it never had fender flares.  Here's a picture of this truck circa 84-85 loading my father-in-laws Boston Whaler in the water (the boat is my next project).  I'm searching for the hub, only one is missing but if I find nice ones I'd replace both.  IF ANYONE WANTS TO PART WITH A NICE PAIR OF HUBS I'LL MAKE IT WORTH YOUR WHILE!  Thanks for the heads up on the head gasket, I'll take care of that.

 

ZgJD61b.jpg

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Look on the driver's door jam for the build date. The model year starts around June of the previous year. An '83 would have a build date from 07 '82 to 06 '83. The New Year means nothing to the model year. The only half year 720 was the '86 when it was discontinued and the new D21 Hardbody began. The last 720 was built in October '85 about 4 months into the '86 model year.

 

That grill was introduced in March '85 and you can see it doesn't properly fit the earlier truck hood. I'm pretty sure on this.

 

I think the rear hubs are solid with the fronts open to get at the locking hubs. Fronts and rears have different part numbers. The arch flairs were only on the 4x4s but might have been optional or removed.

 

That paint looks thick enough to buff the oxidized layer right off. Is it paint code #130 Beige? That was introduced November '82. A lot of things changed on the 720 that month. The Z24 engine and the round dash gauges introduced. Much better vented rotor and larger calipers 5 speeds standard and not an option.

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Build date is 2/83 and it was purchased at the dealership 4/28/83.  I googled some 1983 Nissan advertisements and it shows this grill on the truck, one ad mentioned that there were two optional grills so maybe that's where the confusion is.  The reason it looks like it doesn't fit is because it's falling off, the clips on the top are broken.  When I push it back in it fits perfect.  You're right it's paint code #130 which Nissan lists as Tropic Tan introduced in the 1983 model year (so November '82 would make sense).  From what I've been told this is a mid-year model due to the switch from Datsun to Nissan.  On some of the parts I've ordered it's specified as 1983.5, but I don't really know that's just what my father-in-law calls it.

 

 

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