Dead Reckon Posted July 31, 2022 Report Share Posted July 31, 2022 Long story short, I picked up a 1985 Nissan 720 King Cab 5 speed 2wd for $1,500, needs a little work, not much, but my biggest complaint is that the rear springs are sacked out, not surprising considering how few springs Nissan installed from the factory (My '93 F150 has the opposite problem, every time I look at that spring pack I think "But, why?"). I don't want to pay $200+ for new springs, so I was researching to see if a more common vehicle like a D21 Hardbody would fit, and so far as I can tell from measurements, they should fit. So my question is simple, without speculating and only known facts, which vehicles could I harvest springs from to upgrade my little 720? I need it to handle a decent amount of weight, say a riding lawn mower. The rich people love to throw away nice lawn and garden equipment around where I live, makes for a fun hobby fixing it and selling it. Had a guy give me a dozen weedeaters, a push mower, and a riding mower in 2017 when he saw me picking up a couple weedeaters he threw out, thought he was coming out to chastise me for picking up junk off a public street. Anyway, let me know what y'all know, please and thanks. I can't find information on this, tried searching the forum, much like Google, it seems to get confused when I search for a Nissan 720. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted July 31, 2022 Report Share Posted July 31, 2022 23 minutes ago, Dead Reckon said: Long story short, I picked up a 1985 Nissan 720 King Cab 5 speed 2wd for $1,500, needs a little work, not much, but my biggest complaint is that the rear springs are sacked out What exactly does this mean? The '85 2wd can handle 1,100 pounds of cargo. Quote Link to comment
Dead Reckon Posted July 31, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2022 The springs are worn out, almost flat, they bow upwards with just a few hundred pounds. I think someone overloaded the truck at some point, haven't seen springs do this in a while. So do you know of a any vehicles in a junkyard to get springs from besides a D21? There is only one 720 around but it's been stuck in "processing" at a pick n pull yard for quite a while. Quote Link to comment
NC85ST Posted July 31, 2022 Report Share Posted July 31, 2022 Just add a leaf to what you have. I did that many years ago. I had a set of 620 springs and took a leaf out of each and added them to my 720. They worked great. I regularly carried over 2000 lbs on that truck. 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 1, 2022 Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 Previous idiot probably took a leaf or two out in a misguided attempt to lower the ride height. How many leaves under the long main one? Quote Link to comment
Dead Reckon Posted August 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 Quote Previous idiot probably took a leaf or two out in a misguided attempt to lower the ride height. How many leaves under the long main one? Hadn't thought of that, they only have three leafs each, truck doesn't look lowered though. Here's a couple pics of the springs: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vga5gR4fW9zfgoJa7 https://photos.app.goo.gl/mwZiyBJxyoPuivXK7 And the album with a few more pics of the truck: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y6y9g7XyZSbBwteWA Quote Link to comment
bottomwatcher Posted August 2, 2022 Report Share Posted August 2, 2022 Add a leaf kit. 1.5 inches of lift and forget about it. Bolt on overload spring kits available but noisy. Large budget for ultimate comfort. Airbags! Quote Link to comment
Dead Reckon Posted August 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2022 32 minutes ago, bottomwatcher said: Add a leaf kit. 1.5 inches of lift and forget about it. Bolt on overload spring kits available but noisy. Large budget for ultimate comfort. Airbags! Yeah I would go that route but I'm trying to keep this super budget, so I can spend money on other things that probably won't make a difference but will make me happy, like a Weber carb swap and a header / custom exhaust. So the answer is probably going to be D21 Hardbody springs, if they fit, since I frequently see them in junkyards around here (Sadly). Seen a lot of cool vehicles go the way of the scrapyard, there's a clean 720 in the Lynchburg VA Pick-N-Save yard, I linked it below in case anyone in the area is interested in parts (They will not sell the truck). https://www.pick-n-save.net/used-parts/NISSAN.DATSUN/NISSAN_PICKUP/SCUR421/1986/details/ Quote Link to comment
olskool720 Posted August 11, 2022 Report Share Posted August 11, 2022 Get the springs from the 720 in Lynchburg. 720 to 720 Quote Link to comment
powderfinger Posted August 12, 2022 Report Share Posted August 12, 2022 (edited) Those photos make me want to make the drive up to Lynchburg, I worked there in the late 90s. That tailgate is perfect and it's hard to tell from the pics but it seems there is a chance the rubber around the king cab windows is nice. If so, that's a rare find. It's a shame that truck is being parted out. You won't find many in that shape anymore. Looks unmolested with a really straight body. Edited August 12, 2022 by powderfinger Quote Link to comment
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