Various things I'm looking for to restore a truck I'm taking to college

[Joecar]

Hello! I had this 720 for quite some time and i just got it running but had it sitting cause the tags were expensive, but now I'm getting it ready to take it with me to college. I had bought a new carb for it hopefully getting it installed soon but there are some other parts I need help finding and some tips on how to tackle them. Here are some of them,

-Window seals (cracked and leaking)

-Power steering pump pulley (Loud screeching when pressing throttle)

-New mirrors

-Tailgate is beaten and doesn't open

-Air conditioner box seal is worn, vents not getting air.

-Sun roof support clip broke

-Rear view mirror

-Fender emblems

-Tail light (black)

-both washer and overflow reservoirs

 

[powderfinger]

wow the body of that truck appears to be in great shape

 

Since the truck has been sitting for a while I would, at a minimum, take the fan blower out and the AC box out and clean them. No telling what has gotten in there while it has been sitting. Then you can put new air seals on all the joints during reassembly.

Edited March 15 by powderfinger

[datzenmike]

Front windshield leaking or all windows?

 

Power steering noise may be the bearing in the idler pulley for adjusting the belt tension. Belt may be loose. Pump is full of ATF?

 

There's no where that sells the following. Get mirrors off a wrecking yard truck, same with the little metal clips that hold the heater box covers together, the cover for the door handle screw, broken tail light (only 4x4 are black, 2wd are chrome) and coolant recovery and washer reservoirs.

 

 

[Joecar]

3 hours ago, powderfinger said:

wow the body of that truck appears to be in great shape

 

Since the truck has been sitting for a while I would, at a minimum, take the fan blower out and the AC box out and clean them. No telling what has gotten in there while it has been sitting. Then you can put new air seals on all the joints during reassembly.

Does the dashboard need to be removed to clean it out? I’ve seen other people having to do that so I’ll probably hold off on that until I replace the carpet, where would the air seal locations be? Thanks

[Joecar]

2 hours ago, datzenmike said:

Front windshield leaking or all windows?

 

Power steering noise may be the bearing in the idler pulley for adjusting the belt tension. Belt may be loose. Pump is full of ATF?

 

There's no where that sells the following. Get mirrors off a wrecking yard truck, same with the little metal clips that hold the heater box covers together, the cover for the door handle screw, broken tail light (only 4x4 are black, 2wd are chrome) and coolant recovery and washer reservoirs.

 

 

I believe it’s the rear cab windows and rear window cause they are cracked and rubbing off rubber material. I also replaced the idler not too long ago but when I put my ear next to the power steering when it’s running I hear something. Would I have to buy a whole new power steering pump or is there just a bearing for it? 

[powderfinger]

you can remove everything below the dash like the blower and evaporator box without removing the dash although the clips on the back of the evap box can be a real pain in the ass to get to

Edited March 15 by powderfinger

[powderfinger]

Used coolant recovery and washer reservoirs will be difficult to find in decent shape. The old plastic gets real brittle. I think you may be able to get the coolant tank new on eBay sometimes. Or retrofit universal tanks.

[Joecar]

I’ve been trying to look for a black tail light but it’s impossible. No trucks like this in my area that are 4x4 or in junkyards. Would the chrome taillight work if I paint it black or if I swap the lense from the new one to the old one?

[datzenmike]

Absolutely the chrome one will work. Get two so matching. Chrome or black... it's just a dress up thing between 2 and 4wd

[Joecar]

Cool! Some other things I was looking to add in the future was maybe this lift kit but im

not sure if anyone has gotten one of these before or if there’s other ones. Last thing was probably removing the EGR system temporarily. Currently in California but will be moving it to Ohio and don’t know how strict they are over there with their emissions.

[datzenmike]

Ahh the poor red headed step child EGR. Always unappreciated, misunderstood and blamed for ... everything. If it's working it's easier to just leave it alone, like an appendix.

[Joecar]

Sounds good! I’m not sure if it is in functioning order but I’ll find out once I get it smogged lol

[bottomwatcher]

9 hours ago, Joecar said:

Cool! Some other things I was looking to add in the future was maybe this lift kit but im

not sure if anyone has gotten one of these before or if there’s other ones. Last thing was probably removing the EGR system temporarily. Currently in California but will be moving it to Ohio and don’t know how strict they are over there with their emissions.

Been running that kit 30 years on my 82. Kind of hard to align and eats up tires. Keep your truck as close to stock during school keeps it reliable and keep your emissions up if you plan on moving back to California. It's hard to get things back up to code once you strip it and there isn't any power to be gained by removing it. Clean it up, save your money for beer and be careful driving it in the winter if they salt the roads. Your truck will dissolve like an alcaselzer tablet made of rust. People from California have no idea what happens to vehicles east of the continental divide. Buckeyes will love your truck because all of the datsuns in the rust belt have returned to the earth.

[EDM620]

On 3/15/2024 at 6:25 AM, powderfinger said:

take the fan blower out and the AC box out and clean them

Mice seem to like that area for a nest. Clean it and the ducts up real good so you're not blowing mouse shit (hantavirus) into your face

On 3/15/2024 at 9:36 AM, Joecar said:

dashboard need to be removed to clean it out?

 

On 3/14/2024 at 10:07 PM, Joecar said:

Air conditioner box seal is worn, vents not getting air

Best to pull the dash to do that, will ultimately make life easier, plus you are bound to find a few other things that need fixing or just tightening. Pull the gauge cluster first, disconnect the wiring harness & speedo cable. The dash as an assembly will be mounted with only a few bolts each side & the screws across the top. There is an air intake for the blower that is probably also plugged up, so by giving yourself access you can deal with it all much easier

 

[Joecar]

4 hours ago, bottomwatcher said:

Been running that kit 30 years on my 82. Kind of hard to align and eats up tires. Keep your truck as close to stock during school keeps it reliable and keep your emissions up if you plan on moving back to California. It's hard to get things back up to code once you strip it and there isn't any power to be gained by removing it. Clean it up, save your money for beer and be careful driving it in the winter if they salt the roads. Your truck will dissolve like an alcaselzer tablet made of rust. People from California have no idea what happens to vehicles east of the continental divide. Buckeyes will love your truck because all of the datsuns in the rust belt have returned to the earth.

Got it! I plan on getting it undercoated when I get there to prepare for the snow. Can’t really do it in California cause nobody really offers it.

[Joecar]

2 hours ago, EDM620 said:

Mice seem to like that area for a nest. Clean it and the ducts up real good so you're not blowing mouse shit (hantavirus) into your face

 

Best to pull the dash to do that, will ultimately make life easier, plus you are bound to find a few other things that need fixing or just tightening. Pull the gauge cluster first, disconnect the wiring harness & speedo cable. The dash as an assembly will be mounted with only a few bolts each side & the screws across the top. There is an air intake for the blower that is probably also plugged up, so by giving yourself access you can deal with it all much easier

 

Sounds good! I plan on doing it once I get the truck back from getting the carb replaced

[Joecar]

Has anyone found a matching interior color spray to restore faded trim for the tan interiors?

[iceman510]

Look at SEM interior paints.  If you prepare properly and use their adhesion promoter for plastics they work great.  Lots of color choices too.

[Joecar]

49 minutes ago, iceman510 said:

Look at SEM interior paints.  If you prepare properly and use their adhesion promoter for plastics they work great.  Lots of color choices too.

I was looking at that a bit ago, camel looks to be the same shade of tan but I’m not sure.

[butter fingers]

Bottom watcher , can you expand on the good and the bad you experienced with the aftermarket upper A arms please . Thanks , Butter Fingers 

[bottomwatcher]

First off the bat I had to add a small spacer at the part that contacts the bumpstop.The arms drooped far enough the front axle contacted part of the frame and bent the halfshaft. Once that was all good it was best to run it in the 2" mode so there was some downtravel otherwise it rattles your teeth. Due to the longer arm it needed a lot of shims and it really exaggerated camber when articulating and needed to be aligned at the resting position or any adjustment really threw the camber off. My bushings are worn but that is 200k miles so can't complain about that. My SAS is at the front of the project list now so I am just going to milk them through the summer. These are the Jim Conner racing edition I am guessing he sold the design.

[powderfinger]

The biggest issue I see with installing a lift is, if you plan to actually drive the truck on the road with the stock engine then the lift is a waste of time. You only put a lift on so you can fit larger tires. Any tire tall enough to require a lift will cause the truck to be so underpowered it will be miserable to drive.

[datzenmike]

The '83 and up 4x4 had 4.11 gearing. If you can find an earlier 4x4 the gearing is 4.375 so you could go 10% larger diameter tires with out affecting the performance. That's ony a 31" tire.

[Joecar]

3 minutes ago, datzenmike said:

The '83 and up 4x4 had 4.11 gearing. If you can find an earlier 4x4 the gearing is 4.375 so you could go 10% larger diameter tires with out affecting the performance. That's ony a 31" tire.

I’m going to buy new tires soon so would the stock 215/75r15 be best tire size for that truck?

[powderfinger]

On 3/19/2024 at 11:30 AM, Joecar said:

Has anyone found a matching interior color spray to restore faded trim for the tan interiors?

I have had good luck with the Duplicolor Interior Spray for vinyl. Never tried to find the tan that matches though. I have only used the black but it has held up well. I think it holds up really will to something like your arm sitting on an armrest. But it will still scratch off some if hit with the side of a shoe a lot. My console around my shifter used to be blue and I painted in black. It looks great but there are shoe marks on it now that show a little blue.

 

The key to using this stuff (and all of these are VERY important).

 

1. Clean, clean, clean. All contaminants need to be removed from surface.

2. Scuff surface

3. Light coats, this is extremely important. If you try to do this with two coats I guarantee it will not work well.