Another 720 build

[BDA6017]

Picked up my 86 720 in vegas a few months ago. Starting by cleaning everything up in the engine bay. A little paint and powder coating. Let the fun begin. 

-Engine so far is rebuilt with 272 comp cam and weber carb. MSD iginition and coils

-wires are mostly tucked and bay painted. 

15x10 bart racing wheels with 225/50/15 toyo r888r. Waiting on my fender flares to come in.

 

 Need help with the following info:

-i know the 620/720 fenders/ hood are different but how well would they fit or is it even worth trying?

-going to be swapping my square headlight for round. Already have 79' 620 headlight buckets. I know ill be doing some fab work, but i love the round look. What lights do people recommend?

 

 

Edited January 2, 2019 by BDA6017
Trying to add pics

[BDA6017]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Sj6AoeR975FtNdIv9uqZ0wgWbW750zLX/view?usp=drivesdk

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qXxA7bNZlQImvBb3WfBjo3nRMnLiX2_C/view?usp=drivesdk

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/PHQ4pF9LKRirziZf9

[datzenmike]

Don't bother. There were 4 different 720 hoods and they all interchange.

 

I'm running 5 3/4" projector headlamps with Xenon HID bulbs. They are cheap, very sharp cut off so you don't blind oncoming traffic, and arc welding bright. I don't trust LEDs to be this bright or have the correct beam pattern and they are anything but cheap. 

 

In other parts of the world the 720 came with round headlamps and grill. Have a look round. Myself I don't think it matches the 720 body shape at all same as rectangle lamps on a 620 look like ass.

[wayno]

The 620 headlight buckets will not work with a round headlight 720 grill, they are a weird distance apart(around 175mm), I believe the 620 lights are wider than that, but I suppose you could cut them and weld them back together the correct distance apart.

I have a 720 with round headlights, mine came fron Saudia Arabia, I boughta set of buckets with the grills I bought.

Another thing you need to keep in mind is that the round headlight grills I have seen on ebay are early grills, 1983 on had the headlights lower in the core support, you should have seen the 2 sets of holes when you removed your 720 buckets, to use an early grill on your 86 Nissan 720 you will need to use the early sheet metal(1980-82) to fit a round headlight grill, but you could make your own grill from scratch, it's not that hard if you have a plan.

Another thing you will have to deal with is that the 1986 Nissan 720 has square headlights from the factory in the US, round headlights are wired differently, 2 of the wires need to be reversed although off the top of my head I do not remember which 2 need to be switched, but if your going with a differant type of lights you will need to rewire them anyway.

I do not remember what country in South America had round headlights during the 720 run(all years were round headlights??), it might be Bolivia, but I have never seen one of them later round headlight grills for sale on ebay or anywhere else for that matter.

Here is a photo of my early OEM Datsun/Nissan 720 grill, notice the small upper grill bar, if you look at your top grill bar it will be an inch tall or more, so the square headlights were mounted lower in the core support, mine is a turbodiesel.

Edited January 2, 2019 by wayno

[BDA6017]

I really appreciate the info. I wouldnt be using the 720 round headlight grill. Im more or less looking into a full 620 front end swap. Thats probably the better way to word my question

[datzenmike]

If you want round get a 620. The 720 is boxy with straight and angular lines suited for rectangular lamps. The 620 is 'swoopy' lined with curves that look right with round lamps. A 620 front end on a 720 body demeans them both.

 

[BDA6017]

I'll take that into consideration.  Just looking at different options

[datzenmike]

I like the later 720 grill...

 

[BDA6017]

Dont get me wrong. I love the 86 grill and lights. Im not really into keeping things the same from the factory. Thats why im doing research and asking questions. Seeing what people think and if they have tried this swap before. 

[DrvnDrvr]

 

Although a piss poor pic my grill is custom simply because the chrome was never offered as an option on the us models. All the lights, grill and emblems are aftermarket bling that was pretty much remove and replace, no fabrication whatsoever.

[bottomwatcher]

What are those headlights you are running and are they better than stock?

[DrvnDrvr]

Aftermarket LEDs from

https://www.ebay.com/itm/263584183555

they took a little effort to fit into the trim rings and the contacts in the 720 light plugs had to be rearranged but they are LEDs with the white light instead of the incandescent yellow. I didn't use the warning light/angel eye feature as red lights are not DOT approved on the front of vehicles here in Oregon.

 

[Lockleaf]

No one I'm aware of has fitted a 620 front clip to a 720.  Most guys simply prefer the 620.  720 engine bay seems larger to me, but i never measured when i owned a 620, so i expect the parts will be too small to just bolt on.

 

I love the 720.  I've owned something like 6.  Building a seriously custom one.  I do not think the rounded lines of 620 parts will blend well with sharp squareness of the 720.  Aesthetically, there will be no flow.

 

You can check out the mini trucks of the late 80s.  Those guys did stuff like swap in Buick rectangle headlight assemblies to customize these trucks.  Might be something there you like.

 

Remember, there is different and there is DAMN that's cool.  Both are different from stock, but only one of them will anyone appreciate the work you do.