1983 720 frame-up project suggestions/advise ?

[Pagmoven]

Hello all,  I am looking for suggestions & advice on what to do with my 720 frame-up project.

 

My vehicle info:

 

1983 Datsun by Nissan emblem 720 King Cab with a Z22, 86,500 original miles, 2wd manual trans. & completely stock (with the exception of typical tune-up/maintenance parts). I Inherited the truck from my grandfather who rarely ever drove it. Excellent running condition, but the carb is performing poorly, I've been running ethanol free gas in it for about 10,000 miles and it helps a bit, but definitely needs to be replaced.  The clutch was failing when I parked it.  I have stripped all of the body and interior parts off the truck and it is completely down to the frame with all mechanical parts intact.  I did this because there was bad rust forming in difficult  to reach areas, and all the seals, bearings, and bushings need to be replaced (it sat for a very long time and most of the rubber needs replacement).   I am currently having all the body parts repainted to stock colors (2-tone Tan & Brown with gold flake). 

 

What should I do?

 

I was considering making this a high performance street rod (on a low-budget), that can still tow & haul. Can this be done with the stock engine/trans ?  I would like to get the MAX performance out of the stock engine. I have about $3-5000 more to invest with me doing all the labor with the exception of engine machining (if required).

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  I am needing help on where to start and prioritize upgrades.

[DIY 1985]

I bought my '85 in Jan of 2017.  I paid $1,000.  Water pump, flush, center link, fluids, driveshaft bearings, lights, carb conversion, cat back exhaust, belt pulley, cap rotor wires, tires, bumper, used tailgate, shifter boot, door pull, clutch hydraulics, master cylinder, windshield washer, coolant overflow, a few others that I can't or wish not to remember.  That is about $5,000, very short of a frame-off.

Edited January 4, 2019 by DIY 1985

[bottomwatcher]

The z22-24 is dead nuts reliable if you retorque the headgasket and add a weber. Forget performance you can't make any more power from this motor. The weak link is the B series trans, they all blow the countershaft bearing at some point. I would install a C series trans and enjoy a reliable daily for a while. This will also make it ready for a Ka swap down the road. Once you have it on the road and running then recalculate/save for a swap. Just a simple resto always costs more than you figure and you may want different seats, stereo whatever, these things tend to get out of hand. Get her on the road and think of your Gramps when driving it. Good luck and post pics of progress.

[Pagmoven]

Thank you for the insight.

 

The counter shaft bearing may be the issue I had before I parked the truck,  would that cause limited acceleration in gear.  I could only get the truck to 15mph max, no matter how much gas I gave it.

 

Based on your recommendation I'll probably just keep it stock and upgrade the suspension, trans., the interior is perfect so no cost there.   I will post pics along the way.  Any recommendation on where to purchase a C series trans?

[bottomwatcher]

There is another issue if you can only make it to 15 mph. This may be as simple as a plugged fuel filter but you will have to get it back on the road for troubleshooting.The C series trans was offered on 4cly nissans from 1988-at least the frontier years 2005? Cheap plentiful and much stronger than the B series. Behind the z22 should run trouble free for a long time.

[Lockleaf]

71C trans came in all 4 cylinder d21 trucks and also in the 240sx.

 

If DIY spent 5K doing just the work he listed, i would say he over paid on every part.  I daily drove my 720 for 3 years and never approached $2500 spent.  That included re-ringing the engine, sourcing a transmission, and installing a weber in addition to maintenance.  

 

I agree with BW.  Get it running good, focus on the other mods you want, then if power remains desirable, look at a KA as the "simplest" engine swap, which offers a decent bump in power.

[bottomwatcher]

I should have said 4cyl trucks, hardbody, frontier with KA. Exterra. I cant actually figure out when they stopped using them. Anyways they are plentiful.

[Pagmoven]

Excellent information, thank you.  I will go with the C-series since I found a ton of d21's and pathfinders at a local junkyard for $1-200, probably $500 to rebuild?  These C-series Trans will bolt on directly to the Z22? That way i can keep the Original engine since it only has 86k miles on it.

[datzenmike]

If performance is the goal get a KA24DE WITH the 71C 5 speed together now and swap it in. There's nothing wrong with the 71B really  except previous owners abuse and neglect to check and change the gear oil. This transmission was built to handle the 6 cylinder 280zx (non turbo) so over 150 hp. I have an older '79 I found in a scrapped car with unknown mileage, I put it in my 620 for 12 years and it's now in my 710 for the last 7 years. The usual failure point is the counter bearing and yes the 71C is about twice as strong.

 

I can't confirm the length, I haven't measured one myself. This is approximate. Yours is 31.5" unless you have a 'shorty' which is 26".