The Real MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

[1001001SOS]

Hello, new member and I wanted to start a thread to track my build, so here I go! 

 

My name is Jay, and here is my new truck:

 

 

I love it to death, although it is very much a bucket. In the late 90's I bought a "former show truck" (lol) 1982 king cab as my first car in HS. It was primer black and dropped and a total bucket also, so here I am living the dream once again.

 

After the first wash:

 

 

I paid a grand for it, which you'd think is a crazy deal, until...

 

 

Oh she's got it bad. This is my first project of any type to have rust issues so I am sure I'm in for a treat. This is also my first 720 since the Piece Ride (as my old friends called it), but I have worked on a lot of 90's Nissans so I feel really comfortable on a lot, so there's that. I checked what are apparently the "usual spots" and found more rust. Passenger floorboard is the worst, but the driver side is probably going to need something, and the battery area is toast. You can see the tail light bezels (frames?) are gone also:

 

 

 

Here is a great shot of all the garbage I got for free, and the awesome tan bucket seats (more on that in part 2):

 

[1001001SOS]

So the first order of business is obviously to take it for a spin, right? Well, it wanted to run on starter fluid when I checked it out, but under the hood was in rough shape. Thankfully it doesnt look like the P.O. did much to it aside from the buckets and drop. He said he drove it for a year as it stood, then had carb issues and parked it for a year. He tried to get it running with this ebay carb and had no luck. I got it as it looks here:

 

 

I got a box of stuff with the truck, with most of the air filter and some vacuum hoses. Score! It was enough to make it seem like things were connected right, but did I mention this is the first carbureted engine I have ever worked on? My old HS truck ran great from the go, and I didn't know anything about anything at the time, but thinking back it had some work done. Like one shaved door handle, one shaved mirror, and what I remember the guy saying was a Z24 in an '82. Weird, but it also had a slick-side bed and was primered, so who knows.

 

Anyway, enough talk about old times, here it is after going through it and a quick clean:

 

 

Surprise! It doesn't run. Yet. I set the fake Weber according to the Redline guide for a 38D and it wanted to take off to the moon as soon as it caught 😄 So I adjusted the mix and idle to almost nothing, and it still races up and dies. It moved under it's own power though, so I call it a win for this weekend.

 

I also got this bad boy in the deal, which I'm planning to try out next weekend:

 

 

Z20 and Z24? Weird, but okay. Decided to wait to swap this monster on until I have an afternoon free, so on to the inside.

 

I need to go through the brakes next, and get the interior out to see how bad the floor is, but remember those sweet tan bucket seats? Well, the P.O. left me a nice present with that. The guy drove it like this for a year apparently (also a sneak peek of the chromies for the homies):

 

 

I always wanted a bench seat in my old truck, so I guess let's get a bench seat! Might as well figure that out anyway, in case I need to, like, rebuild the whole floor. So, I went seat shopping. I wanted a black 720 5-speed bench, but I was open for anything really. Picked up a Hardbody bench for cheap to see how it fit, and it was not too bad. 

 

 

Then the very next day (of course) I saw someone parting out a 720 on FB and it had a tan bench. It was hard to tell how it looked in the pics, but the windows of the truck were up, or so it looked. When I got there the driver's window was cracked about 2" and it showed on the seat. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Slow Loris]

Dig the paint job.

[1001001SOS]

Cleaning 40 years of boogers was a lot of fun:

 

 

 

And in for a test fit:

 

 

Still need to shampoo the seat material, but already I feel like a real MVP 🙂 Was glad that the mounting holes matched up on the king cab, I tried to find measurements before I bought the seat but I didn't want someone else to grab it. The medium-term plan is to get it reupholstered by a lady near me to match the door panels, but with a little flare and a lot of bolstering.

 

This truck had AC, but the P.O. made a kind of non-MVP move and ripped most of it out. But, I found some hidden treasure in the bed full of garbage he included free of charge:

 

 

Not sure how much of this is salvageable (or even 720 honestly) but that's what the Internet is for. Anyone know what I can just toss out right away? I have a lot of garbage to get rid of. Until next time!

[1001001SOS]

8 minutes ago, Slow Loris said:

Dig the paint job.

 

 Thanks buddy, I like it a lot. It's basically one of two reasons I bought this POS haha. 

[datzenmike]

Never throw shit away.

 

 

If this is a Z24 it has a Z22 head on it.... unlikely. Look between the two pair of exhausts below the #2 and #3 exhaust side spark plugs. The very top of the block has a flat boss with the block ID stamped there. You probably have a Z22.

 

[1001001SOS]

58 minutes ago, datzenmike said:

If this is a Z24 it has a Z22 head on it.... unlikely. Look between the two pair of exhausts below the #2 and #3 exhaust side spark plugs. The very top of the block has a flat boss with the block ID stamped there. You probably have a Z22.

 

 

 

It has Z22 stamping but I thought the Z22 had the aluminum valve cover? Must be mistaken, still pretty new to these engines. I checked out under the cover with my bore scope and saw "24" on one part of the cam, so I thought maybe it was Z24 head. 

[1001001SOS]

58 minutes ago, datzenmike said:

Never throw shit away.

 

 

 

 

Also, very good point. I should definitely hold on to everything I can with how little I know about this platform.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

If I were installing an A/C system in a Datsun/Nissan, I'd ditch the old school compressor and replace it with a newer compact compressor. They are more efficient than the older units, even though they are smaller. Make a bracket for it and plumb it into the system with a trinary switch. Done.

 

So yeah, it's all garbage in my opinion.

[datzenmike]

3 hours ago, 1001001SOS said:

 

It has Z22 stamping but I thought the Z22 had the aluminum valve cover? Must be mistaken, still pretty new to these engines. I checked out under the cover with my bore scope and saw "24" on one part of the cam, so I thought maybe it was Z24 head. 

 That is the cast aluminum valve cover just painted black, the Z24 is stamped steel. Another clue is the mechanical fuel pump. Z24 heads do not have a hole for the pump arm. Z20 and Z22 intake ports are round while Z24 are squarish with rounded corners. Otherwise Z20/22/24 heads are the same valve train and combustion chamber size.

[1001001SOS]

3 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

If I were installing an A/C system in a Datsun/Nissan, I'd ditch the old school compressor and replace it with a newer compact compressor. They are more efficient than the older units, even though they are smaller. Make a bracket for it and plumb it into the system with a trinary switch. Done.

 

So yeah, it's all garbage in my opinion.

 

I like saving things (money included) so I am curious if any of the lines/fittings can be salvaged, I think the condenser is done for and the pumps are not worth it like you said but the lines seemed like a possibility.

 

1 hour ago, datzenmike said:

 That is the cast aluminum valve cover just painted black, the Z24 is stamped steel. Another clue is the mechanical fuel pump. Z24 heads do not have a hole for the pump arm. Z20 and Z22 intake ports are round while Z24 are squarish with rounded corners. Otherwise Z20/22/24 heads are the same valve train and combustion chamber size.

 

Great info, thank you. 

 

 

Posting some inspo, got another contact for upholstery work and stopped by today but they looked really busy so it might be a while before get a new seat cover going. Plenty to do in the meantime. 

 

 

 

https://rpmotorcars.com/1982-datsun-720-king-cab-pickup-4x4-dlx-mvp-phoenix-arizona-85027/7234951

 

Couple questions:

 

- Is there a database of custom models out there? I see a few of the same ones ("Lil' Hustler, this one) but didnt find much info.

- What are the freakin tail light frames called? I can't find anything on those either

 

Edit: one more

 

- I see 80-82 front bumpers and supports and 83+, is there a fitment difference or just looks?

[datzenmike]

Lil' Hustler is just a decal dress up. I think all 720s were Lil' Hustlers. There were regular cab short wheelbase and regular cab long wheelbase trucks and the king cab which also used the long wheelbase frame. All available in 2wd and 4x4. Diesel engines were available but only in standard transmission and 2wd. The Cab/Chassis option was a 2wd truck without the box and sold for commercial utility boxes and camper installations. Had dual tire options. From '83 on there was a Mileage Option Z20 engine with 5 speed Z24 clutch, low low 3.364 differential intended for economy fleet usage. Models over the years were Standard, GL, Deluxe and ST (for Sport Truck) All had different options and option packages with the ST having the most. I can't begin to list what has what as I don't know for sure.

 

Lamp frame?.... housing or possibly bezel.

 

There is something different in the '83 and up front bumpers. It may not stop them from being swapped onto the earlier models. Otherwise 4x4 are all black and 2wd are chrome.

 

[1001001SOS]

I checked under the dash as best I could with the vinyl still on the floor, saw some rust on both upper corners, so I figured it was time to pull the cowl off and take a look. It was pretty grimy but honestly I expected much worse:

 

 

I'm going to let it dry out and then clean it up really good, see what I have to work with here. Noticed the top passenger side has some jank going on so Im betting this is where water is coming in, but theres time for that once I get to it:

 

 

Feeling pretty stoked on the whole thing, I went and got a welder from Harbor Freight, just a $179 120v deal. Always wanted to try welding, figure now is the time haha. 

 

First shot:

 

Second:

 

Third:

 

Basically pro:

 

 

Figure I just need to make my floor pan out of 1/8" steel and I will be set 🙂  Learned a lot in just a few minutes, but I had to wrap it up for the night. 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

An 1/8" steel floor would be massive overkill and tying it into the existing sheetmetal would require some welding know-how. If you are set on 1/8", don't try to seam weld it to the sheetmetal. Drill a 3/16" hole every 2-3 inches and plug weld it. This means you have an overlap of the two metals. Be sure to paint in between the metals and apply seam sealer once finished.

 

Tail light bezel or trim. You'll probably find it with either of those two keywords.

[1001001SOS]

Oh I was just joking around, it took me about 5 minutes of welding experience to figure out thicker metal was way easier to work with. Still a ton to learn before I even start on the big repairs but I appreciate all the help I can get! Been watching a lot of videos on different things, will check out some on plug welding tonight for sure.

 

34 minutes ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Tail light bezel or trim. You'll probably find it with either of those two keywords.

 

You'd think so! Maybe there are just none out there at all. I thought about a few things I could do and I think those will be my first "proof of concept" in a way.

 

I have a lot of info to process and try to apply on JUST rust remediation. Im planning to paint the floors and undercarriage with POR-15, likely multiple times along the way and probably forever honestly. Also using POR in the cowl, firewall, battery tray area, and under the brake booster.

 

Anything outside Im wanting to Ospho and leave bare if I can, but that's....I dunno, probably not going to stop the truck from falling apart right? I was going to try a few things inside the bed where I wont care too much if I end up using POR-15 anyway, then see how I like different methods for what I want in the end. 

 

But the taillight bezels are nice also because they are trashed, literally crumbling apart, and they are also small. I can take them off, do whatever (try different grinding/flapping/sanding/etc, weld my first ever new bracket, treat rust, POR the back) and in the end if Im lucky, maybe have workable bezels. If nothing else, I will have learned a lot.

 

So that's the plan right now, and not finding literally a single taillight bezel for sale has helped solidify that a lot haha.

[1001001SOS]

Just took some pictures to give some reference. Somehow it looks worse in the photos than in real life 🙂 

 

Starting at passenger floorboard and going clockwise around the truck:

 

 

 

 

Side note, I have a few OEM Tacoma skid plates leftover from another project, and people basically give these away in my area. Theyre pretty strong, coated, and have some nice bends/rigidity already, so I think Im going to practice a bunch on these and see how they work. They are already almost the right shape too which is awesome, lot of nice bends:

 

[Lockleaf]

That decal setup is pretty sweet.  I'm a huge fan of 720s.

If you are new to sheet metal work, and looking to learn, I suggest you go look up Fitzees Fabrications on Youtube.  Dude is a master, but super down to earth, and basically does all his incredible work with mig welders, grinders, and hammers.  No fancy tools here.  He does have one great comparison video between using .023 gas wire, .030 gas wire, and .030 flux core wire for auto body work.  He goes over the challenges of the different options and has good advice for those who are going to try and do it with flux core (which I get the impression is what you are using).  Its the hardest way to do it for sure, but it can be done if you are persistent.  Sheet metal welding is done by stacking tacks, so with flux core after each run of tacks you will need to go back and clean everything down completely again, then run the next row of tacks.

I like the cheap/free toyota bits idea.  I love reusing stuff like that.

[1001001SOS]

@Lockleaf this is awesome info thank you! I will check out that channel for sure.

 

I am indeed using .030 flux core but it’s a HB deal so I have 90 days to return it either way. Considered a gas option unit for a bit more and think maybe I will now, thanks. It seemed kind of premature at the time to like deal with a gas cylinder and refills and whatever but others do it, I can too.

 

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

The chassis and frame look to be in pretty good shape. If you ever want to take anything apart, start spraying it down with WD40 now. Do it about once a week for a few months and none of those rusty bolts/nuts should be a problem.

[1001001SOS]

5 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

The chassis and frame look to be in pretty good shape. If you ever want to take anything apart, start spraying it down with WD40 now. Do it about once a week for a few months and none of those rusty bolts/nuts should be a problem.

Hey thats great advice, I will probably pull the bed and rear axle at least so I’ll start this for sure. Already been blasting the EGR pipe on the regular.

 

I am hoping I wont need to remake any of the body mounts but the front right one is iffy maybe.

[]2eDeYe]

Man this takes me back, I had almost the same truck during college in the 90's but mine was a 1980 with the L20. Same black plaid tho. 

Looks like a great start. 

You should just be able to add a gas bottle and change to regular wire with your mig. You might have to buy a regulator too, but it is definitely worth the expense especially for sheet metal.

[Rustbin]

On 9/27/2023 at 12:28 PM, Lockleaf said:

That decal setup is pretty sweet.  I'm a huge fan of 720s.

If you are new to sheet metal work, and looking to learn, I suggest you go look up Fitzees Fabrications on Youtube.  Dude is a master, but super down to earth, and basically does all his incredible work with mig welders, grinders, and hammers.  No fancy tools here.  He does have one great comparison video between using .023 gas wire, .030 gas wire, and .030 flux core wire for auto body work.  He goes over the challenges of the different options and has good advice for those who are going to try and do it with flux core (which I get the impression is what you are using).  Its the hardest way to do it for sure, but it can be done if you are persistent.  Sheet metal welding is done by stacking tacks, so with flux core after each run of tacks you will need to go back and clean everything down completely again, then run the next row of tacks.

I like the cheap/free toyota bits idea.  I love reusing stuff like that.

 

Welcome to Ratsun. Same as you I joined to have a build journal and get valuable feedback. I am a novice welder and strongly agree with checking out Fitzee's Fabrications, I also have learned a lot from Carl Fisher of Make it Kustom as well as many others. I started with using a cheap welder with flux core wire, it was a handicap! Then sprung for a Lincoln using .023 wire and mix gas and my welding started getting much better. I recommend doing the practice piece first, it  saves fixing and grinding on your ride. If you haven't already check out other build threads on this site including Noll on this site, Project THESUES, he's done some amazing stuff. Oh and the free stuff is great, it might be useful, because welding is just hot melt glue for metal. Have fun with your build.

[1001001SOS]

Thanks yall, really appreciate the help! I’m definitely going to get a decent MIG setup. Should have just bought once but thats okay it’s harbor freight 🙂 

 

I had a bit of time in the garage and got the tail lights off, the driver side is actually pretty okay surprisingly but the passenger is pretty rough. Going to stop by a paint/body store tomorrow for some things and should be getting started! Have a few fun parts coming in also so this weekend is looking great.

[1001001SOS]

 

 

 

Got one good tail light and one good frame, opposite corners of course 😄

 

 

 

Way too much to do to get it running/safe still but it needed a couple critical upgrades ASAP:

 

 

Need to sort out the rearview/visor situation I guess.

 

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by 1001001SOS

[Lockleaf]

If you have access to 3d printing anywhere (some hobby shops and local libraries are offering this if nowhere else), you can print new visor locking clips.

https://www.mito3d.com/en/3d-models/print-details/1535382/güneşlik-klip-nissan-datsun-720-kamyon