N-Dually Build Thread, Nissan 720 Dually

1980-1986 Datsun 720 forums. All 720-specific topics and discussion can be found here.
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N-Dually
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Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2011 6:02 pm
Car: 1986 Nissan 720 Dually
Location: Tennessee
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Hi All,
This is my first build thread so bear with me. I have this information on my blog also, but I am not sure if it would be proper forum etiquette to just post links to my blog. I will still add the link to each post at the end of each section.

I will try to keep the information here strictly technical. My blog will be more detailed ( http://hhocountry.com/nissan-dually/ ). So here goes...

It is a 1986 Nissan 720, Z24 - 4 cylinder (8 spark plugs), 5 speed manual, with a 1 ton dually rear end. It has been neglected and it was DISGUSTING in the cab!

The first thing I did was to drain and replace fluids and some other basic maintenance. This included:
  • Engine Oil / Filter
    Transmission Fluid
    Rear End Fluid
    Back Flush of Engine and Radiator
    Wiper Fluid
    Air and Smog Filter
Next, I gutted the interior. My Better Half helped me sow new "custom" seat covers and door panel covers out of my old BDU's. I will post a picture of the "new" door panel in a later update.

Image

I also removed the headliner and used Rust-oleum Bed Liner on the bare metal.

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I also bed lined the door jam, doors, and bumper.
Image
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Last edited by N-Dually on Mon Jul 25, 2011 4:26 am, edited 1 time in total.


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Rev_D21
Posts: 6897
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2003 9:49 pm
Car: 1986.5 D21 LB HD 2WD V6 5Speed
1991 D21 Reg 2WD Auto
1995 D21 Reg 2WD 5Spd
1996 D21 Reg 4WD 5Spd
2012 Versa 1.6S 5-Speed
Location: Somwhere in Western NY
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Looks like an excellent start to a great project. Keep up the good work!

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PEZi
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Awesome man!

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N-Dually
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Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2011 6:02 pm
Car: 1986 Nissan 720 Dually
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Here is the promised picture of the "new" door panel.
Image

The new carpet for the cab floor is coming tomorrow! :)

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fastboatman29212
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Car: left this forum. Sold my truck.
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Very nice!

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MetalFab
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Joined: Sun Feb 28, 2010 10:02 pm
Car: 1985 720 4x4 reg cab flatbed.
Location: Northern California
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I'm digging the flat bed although it's a tad overbuilt (not always a bad thing) Though you could save some weight I'm sure. I think I'm in love.. Swap over to diesel, add a gear reduction box (high/low in every gear) and make the bed a hydraulic tilt and I'd trade my tow rig for it and then some xD Very nice find! The only mini's I've seen up here in nor-cal like yours are toyotas.

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N-Dually
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Car: 1986 Nissan 720 Dually
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MetalFab wrote:I'm digging the flat bed although it's a tad overbuilt (not always a bad thing) Though you could save some weight I'm sure. I think I'm in love.. Swap over to diesel, add a gear reduction box (high/low in every gear) and make the bed a hydraulic tilt and I'd trade my tow rig for it and then some xD Very nice find! The only mini's I've seen up here in nor-cal like yours are toyotas.
It is a bit overly built, especially for our purpose. We plan on removing it and building our own wood bed. The current bed will be for sale if anyone is interested. ;)

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N-Dually
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Car: 1986 Nissan 720 Dually
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The carpet is finally in! I also installed the drivers seat. Here is a before.
Image
And after with one of the seats in place also.
Image
I also replaced the instrument cluster which fixed the speedometer, and some dummy lights.

Next, I replaced the exterior door weather stripping on both doors, the bottom hinge on the drivers side, the low beam lamp on the passenger side, and re-installed the trim. As I replaced some of the bulbs, I discovered that the blinker flasher is faulty, I will be replacing it tomorrow.
We also made a new shifter boot out some scrap BDU material. I decided to leave the center console out. I think it looks better.

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fastboatman29212
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Looks great! Where did you get the carpet from? I need some for mine. Also, where'd you get weatherstripping for the door? I think you are talking about the rubber stuff, right?

I will post pics of my new exhaust later today.

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N-Dually
Posts: 93
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Car: 1986 Nissan 720 Dually
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fastboatman29212 wrote:Looks great! Where did you get the carpet from? I need some for mine. Also, where'd you get weatherstripping for the door? I think you are talking about the rubber stuff, right?

I will post pics of my new exhaust later today.
Thank you. I got the carpert from here: http://stores.ebay.com/autocustomcarpetoutlet

I got all my weather stripping from my local pull-a-part. http://www.pullapart.com

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N-Dually
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Car: 1986 Nissan 720 Dually
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Today, I finished putting the dash back together, replaced the fuel filter and some vacuum hoses. I also put the front back together. The truck is done for now... :nono:

Oddly, The "new" speedo is off by 10 mph. It registers 10 mph higher than the truck is going. Any ideas?

Image

86 720
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Car: 1986 720 4cyl Standard Cab

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It's the spring on the speedo needle. It's tweaked. Should cost about $75 to replace it at a speedo shop.

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Rev_D21
Posts: 6897
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2003 9:49 pm
Car: 1986.5 D21 LB HD 2WD V6 5Speed
1991 D21 Reg 2WD Auto
1995 D21 Reg 2WD 5Spd
1996 D21 Reg 4WD 5Spd
2012 Versa 1.6S 5-Speed
Location: Somwhere in Western NY
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That truck is awesome. I owned an 86 dually back in 1998. The truck looked just like yours except white. It was a great truck. I sold it to a guy who was looking for a dually. Saddly he let it sit for the last 10 years and now the frame is broken along with the truck being rotted away.

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N-Dually
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Reverend D21 wrote:That truck is awesome. I owned an 86 dually back in 1998. The truck looked just like yours except white. It was a great truck. I sold it to a guy who was looking for a dually. Saddly he let it sit for the last 10 years and now the frame is broken along with the truck being rotted away.
Thank you. Mine used to be white also. I will be painting it. I am between white and kaki. Leaning towards white. Black trim. As you can see and read, this truck was neglected badly also!

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N-Dually
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I have been having some issues with the truck. First, I finally fixed the brake light switch and some wiring in the rear. Then, I stopped a water leak that originated at the grommet for the wiring harness on the passenger side firewall.

I replaced both coils and painted the bracket that holds them. Next, I cleaned and painted the battery tray. I also added a new fuel filter, and a fuel pressure gauge, in preparation of the new Weber 32/36 carb.

Image

I decided not to bore folks too much with pictures of coils and filters. :drool:

synack7350
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Car: nissan '83 720 king cab pickup 2wd 2.4L Z24
Location: Boaz, AL

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man good progress! keep up the work. lol at the bdu's that's creative.

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N-Dually
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Last night I added a few more parts and did some more prep work for the Weber conversion.

I replaced the oil sending switch and temp sensor. I mounted the bracket for the fuel pressure regulator and connected the fittings and pressure gauge to the regulator. I also made some new hood bumpers. Oddly, very hard to find in stores and expensive on-line. I made my own adjustable ones for ~$4.00.

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The bad news... This morning the fuse block started to bellow out black smoke. Melted the YR wire on the #4 fuse. The 15 amp fuse did not pop! It melted the wire bare about 6-7 inches back. I will have to strip the harness back to make sure all is ok. I double checked and the YR wire goes to the instrument panel, etc, AND oil pressure switch. I just replaced it last night. Could it caused the problem? Bad sending unit? Well, I will have to check. Bummer, I was hoping to pop off the old carb tonight. :bang

Oh... the battery light came on too. Probably the alternator dying. No telling how long the PS reservoir was leaking on the alternator before I fixed it.
Last edited by N-Dually on Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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N-Dually
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The alternator finally died and now I have a new shiny one.

Next, I cleaned up the wiring in the engine compartment by either taping or re-taping all the wires. I also replaced the battery terminals with newer color coded ones. Then I replaced the thermostat and the V-belt that drives the power steering pump. And now I am happy to say that there are no leaks of any kind on the truck.
Then, I removed the old carburetor and installed the new Weber 32/36. Major difference! It runs MUCH better!
Image

Here is a picture of my regulator setup. I moved the original hard lines and modified them for a cleaner look.
Image

Here are more pictures of the install and items: http://www.hhocountry.com/2011/08/11/ni ... -8-11-2011
Last edited by N-Dually on Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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N-Dually
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This weekend I removed the flat bed. I then added some new lights and repaired the light harness. I temporarily mounted the lights while I work on a new bed plan. I also added an old "Perfect Pull Up" hand me down as a device to tie the trash to. :biggrin:

I also fixed the last known electrical issue. The previous owner had run an extra wire from the fuel pump straight to the fuse block. After a little bit of research I discovered that the fuel relay was the culprit. The Haynes manual doesn't even mention it. The relay is located behind the passenger knee panel on the side fire wall, beside the auto choke relay. The solder points had tiny cracks. Unseen to the naked eye. I soldered the contacts again, and that did the trick. They are marked by the two red circles. Thank you Fastboatman29212 for the link you posted about the relay!

Image
Image
Last edited by N-Dually on Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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fastboatman29212
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You can thank me, but really all the credit goes to the guy who wrote the article that I referenced. I hope you stick around cause we sure can use all the electrical/wiring help we can get on this forum.

You are fearless! :mike

2 timer
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Wish I had the knowledge to do some of the things I have already seen in this thread.
Oh yea the a** on that truck looks good now! :yesnod

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Where does that little hose connect to?
Image

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Rev_D21
Posts: 6897
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2003 9:49 pm
Car: 1986.5 D21 LB HD 2WD V6 5Speed
1991 D21 Reg 2WD Auto
1995 D21 Reg 2WD 5Spd
1996 D21 Reg 4WD 5Spd
2012 Versa 1.6S 5-Speed
Location: Somwhere in Western NY
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Bottom of the OEM air cleaner?

2 timer
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Like the evaporator canister?

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N-Dually
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Thank you all for the encouragement!

Yes, that line goes to the evaporator canister.


This evening I swapped out the old rear shocks with some new Gabriel shocks. The old ones came off with no problems... Ignore the Saws-All... :)

I am thinking of replacing the muffler. As you can see from the picture, the welds are terrible and it leaks like a sieve. I would LOVE some stacks!

Image
Image
Last edited by N-Dually on Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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srkendal
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Car: 1984 Nissan 720 Cab and Chassis with Stake Body

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Nice job on the truck! :dblthumb: I just got one of my own on Monday. I had to replace my muffler and flex joint, they were roached! I don't think I am going to get as carried away as you have, but my interior is really very clean. The mileage on mine is only 40,600, and the interior bears that out! Are the dual wheels still available anywhere? Just wondered in case I have any problems.
-Kendal

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captainzeros
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1981 Datsun 720 Longbed
1973 Datsun 240Z
Location: Independence, OR

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Well, assuming the rear wheels are the same 6 lug on 5.5" pattern as the non-dually trucks I'd figure wheels wouldn't be TOO hard to find if you had a problem with them some day, it's the same 6 lug pattern as a lot of chevy trucks as well as a some mazdas and toyotas

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N-Dually
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srkendal wrote:Nice job on the truck! :dblthumb: I just got one of my own on Monday. I had to replace my muffler and flex joint, they were roached! I don't think I am going to get as carried away as you have, but my interior is really very clean. The mileage on mine is only 40,600, and the interior bears that out! Are the dual wheels still available anywhere? Just wondered in case I have any problems.
-Kendal
Nice truck! and Thank you. I wouldn't really say I have got carried away. I feel that it was all necessary. The truck was/is a mess!

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fastboatman29212
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N-Dually wrote: Image
Dually - You are playin with my head with this photo! You must have flipped it with your computer . . . or else I'm going crazy . . . . :crazy:

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Rev_D21
Posts: 6897
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2003 9:49 pm
Car: 1986.5 D21 LB HD 2WD V6 5Speed
1991 D21 Reg 2WD Auto
1995 D21 Reg 2WD 5Spd
1996 D21 Reg 4WD 5Spd
2012 Versa 1.6S 5-Speed
Location: Somwhere in Western NY
Contact:

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Yeh really, it's all backwards.


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