Front damage 86 Nissan 720

[A guy named Rick]

Going to post some pics, also straying away from my "build thread" to post here in body/interior. I have some front end damage from kissing the ass of a 2012 Toyota Tacoma in a parking lot about 8 years ago (truck sat for 7 years starting a year later)

I haven't yet pulled the fender off, but i do know the bumper is bent, brackets, and the radiator support may have moved a little bit. The inner fender bulges slightly inward, and there's a little crease in the wheel well area. Of course the marker light is gone too. I'm pulling it apart this weekend because I don't like the $1000 dollar body shop quotes to fix it, not even including paint or parts (I have most the parts). I was looking at it last night and it looks like I can fix it myself. It really doesn't look like the radiator support moved much at all, mainly may have just twisted up slightly, and the tab the grille attaches to bent. If anything, removing the charcoal canister and the bracket the coils are mounted to, whacking it with a dead blow hammer, and worse case using a strap tied to a tree and roll it back in reverse should fix it.

Edited August 21, 2021 by A guy named Rick
Added pics

[A guy named Rick]

Looks worse than it is. Very low speed impact too. Most the force was on the corner of the fender and then the bumper i think hit the hitch receiver on his truck. I think the fender honestly just shifted up and bent outwards. Looking at the bolts, you can see the outline where they were. the amount moved is consistent with first pic showing that it shifted upward.

[datzenmike]

New fender with side marker light pretty much does it.

[frankendat]

Side marker lights on rockauto.com (for 1984) I picked up a set of the TYC. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/nissan,1984,720+pickup,2.4l+l4,1210329,body+&+lamp+assembly,side+marker+lamp+assembly,11720

I think the 86 uses the same but double check to confirm

[A guy named Rick]

picked up marker at pick n pull. haven't found a decent bumper yet

Edited August 21, 2021 by A guy named Rick

[A guy named Rick]

[A guy named Rick]

image wouldn't load earlier. inner fender slightly buldged out. still, new fender should do it right?

 

[A guy named Rick]

Pulled it all apart last night. test fit the replacement fender. shit isn't lining up right. not enough gap between door and fender. adjusted door. going to be a slight gap between hood and fender. Charcoal canister area needs to all be removed and sledge hammered. I hate body work. 😕

[A guy named Rick]

well, got everything back together and it looks decent, obviously no where near perfect because i don't do body work. umm, question: are King cab and regular cab wheelbase the same, just a shorter bed? Or, from looking at pics, is the bed longer behind the wheels vs being longer towrds the cab? Because i started thinking, if i found a clean king cab and bed, since i like doing things the hard way, i would buy it, swap it over freshly painted. But like i said, I do things the hard way.

Edited August 25, 2021 by A guy named Rick

[datzenmike]

The regular cab is a short wheel base truck. Small cab and small box. The regular cab with a long box is a long wheelbase truck. The king cab and small box is also a long wheelbase truck. Basically the difference in lengths of a reg and a King Cab is the same as the difference in lengths of a long and a regular box.

 

 

 

[A guy named Rick]

5 minutes ago, datzenmike said:

The regular cab is a short wheel base truck. Small cab and small box. The regular cab with a long box is a long wheelbase truck. The king cab and small box is also a long wheelbase truck. Basically the difference in lengths of a reg and a King Cab is the same as the difference in lengths of a long and a regular box.

 

 

 

That's what i was afraid of. Sorry, never seen the 2 side by side so i wasn't sure. If i found a straight regular cab shell for cheap, i'd probably swap it over. i'd have to pay a body shop anyways to line up the front, may as well make a project for myself instead. Probably do a KA24E or KA24DE swap at the same time.

[A guy named Rick]

[A guy named Rick]

[A guy named Rick]

Did the best I can. I'm sure a body shop can do better. Put on some used bumper brackets, but need new bumper. Need new front valance, grille clips, marker light wiring (have marker light). At least it looks better.