Project: "The Datsun"

[Bloodman324]

Hey there 720 enthusiasts and owners! haha cheesy intro I know Well i've decided to create a build thread for my truck nicknamed "The Datsun" so that yall can see how far i've come from when I got it, to keeping up on what all i've done to it so far. Ya I know i've told you all most of this stuff on my first post but I figured, what the hell, its good to hear in detail what has been done to it.

When I first got it it looked like s*** and was bone stock with some issues:
-Carpet was neglected
-Door panels were in bad shape
-Dash was cracked all over
-All the plastic panels were faded and ugly lookin
-Seats were nothing but springs
-Needed new plugs, wires, air filter, oil filter, coils, distributor cap and rotor
-Needed new clutch fan
-Header bolts needed replaced and rethreaded
-Carrier bearing was shot
-U-joint was really bad
-Drivers side fender wrecked along with a big gash down the side and a wrinkled bed side
-Had really huge ugly mirrors

So thats what was all wrong with it, when I got it I:
-Replaced carrier bearing and u-joint
-Got the header bolts replaced
-New air filter
-New carpet
-New dash
-New seats (out of a Bronco II)
-Painted all the plastics on the inside
-New mirrors (off a mid-70's camaro)
-Put a custom steering wheel on
-Tinted the windows
-Put on a bug shield
-Put on a spoiler
-Switched the rims and tires with some stock chrome Dodge Ram 50 rims
-Put in some new sun visors
-Installed a $99 Kenwood stereo with 2 4" Pioneers in the kick panels and 2 6x9 stock Chevy speakers in speaker boxes in the rear between the rear seats
-Replaced interior door handles with ones out of my old Dodge Ram 50

I've got some great ideas for this truck to make it all cool like haha now time for the pics!

How it looked when I first got it. Pics are in chronological order showing what all i've done









New seat!






You can see my old truck (Dodge Ram 50 1989) sitting next to the 720.



New steering wheel



New rims!






Tearing down of the inside




Both seats in to see how they'd look



New seat covers and the stereo and speakers are in




Bug shield off my old truck



Tinted rear windows



New mirrors





Truck all prettied up haha still shines



New dash, carpet and freshly painted panels






Spoiler before paint




Spoiler after paint




f*** up my bumper, bumper end, and fender by running into someone at the gas station





Also scraped the pillar at the gas station too



Thats all where im at right now lol I am currently working on making new door panels, i've got the passenger side cut out and ready to be covered in black fabric, still have to cut and make the drivers side pics will follow of that soon.

[PEZi]

Looks like some good progress man!

[breadbox]

Nice work, keep it up man.

[synack7350]

wow I've never seen the complete jump seats in a king cab before! Are you going to yank them or leave em in?

[Bloodman324]

Thanks guys ill be sure to! lol and i'm gonna keep em in cuz I use them quite a bit haha Me and my friends cruise around the back roads for hours into the night sometimes and they say its pretty comfortable back there, especially if its just three people, cuz then the one in the back seat can stretch their legs out onto the other one.

[Bloodman324]

Here are some pics of my new door panels!

Bare door


New speakers



Door panel


Speaker spacer and hole


Semi finished product





Installed some interior door handles from my old Dodge Ram 50


Also here is somethin that'll give my truck a little rumble!



That there is a glasspack! haha we were gonna put it on my old truck before it blew up and we never got around to it. Just got the ends widened today and now were waiting for the clamps.

[synack7350]

oh that's cool I love the front seats btw! I need to do something about mine!

[N-Dually]

WOW! You started off like me! I dig the extended cab and hood vents.

I also gutted the interior and applied a bed liner product.

NOW!... Did you make those door panels or did you buy them? If you bought them, WHERE???!!! The new dash looks great also! Is that a Thrush Glass Pack? I added one on mine and LOVE it!

[Bloodman324]

Thanks synack haha and thanks N-Dually I love the hood vents too, their pretty sweet. And thats cool haha I was thinking bout doing the same but I like the carpet more. The door panels I made myself out of some thin paneling that I bought at the hardware store. Not quite sure what type of board it was, just knew that it was huge and thin. Ill look and see what it is exactly and get back to ya. And the dash I got from a guy who took it out of an 84 nissan 720. Kinda faded still but looks lots better then the old one haha and not sure bout the glasspack. All I know is that its a glasspack. My dad bout it a couple yrs ago to put on my old white truck but never gotten around to putting it on. Cant wait to put it on!!

[kickinindian]

well the thrush one i have on mine is red... but they do sound amazing!

[Bloodman324]

Cool beans man haha my trucks gonna sound a little more louder cuz I have a crack in my header on the inside curve going down to connect to the exauhst pipe haha so it's pretty loud right now! But I can't wait for it to soun even better

[Bloodman324]

Alright so ive been kickin around the idea off getting rid of the front bumper, incorporating the turn signals into the holes in the panel behind the bumper, and putting some mesh or making a custom little grill for the big openings behind the bumper in the center. Really not sure how itll look and how to put the turn signals in with out having them look weird haha anyone got any ideas? Could really use some brainstorming haha

[Rev_D21]

You have the same spoiler I once had on my 720 many moons ago. Seeing it brought back memories.

[Bloodman324]

Ahh really!? haha dude thats awesome, ya i love my spoiler what happened to yours?

[Bloodman324]

Got the Glasspack on! Sounds pretty sweet although the crack in the header makes it seem like there's no difference in sound, but the rumble has definitely gotten a bit deeper

[Bloodman324]

Well re-did the weatherstripping around the door using the weatherstripping off my ram 50. Got a tight seal now!

[Nathyne]

Much improved since you got it. Really like the fin wonder if i could hunt one of those down bet there are very few left.

[pistolkeith]

good work! you've really made it your own! i like!

as for the bronco seats, how'd you go with getting them in there? lots of mods or bolt straight in?
I am in California and my seats are like sitting on rocks around a campfire. even driving to the supermarket at the end of the street is becoming hard. let alone the drive to Toronto ill be making come the beginning of the new year.

[Bloodman324]

Thanks guys!! haha and Nathyne you can buy the same one i have at this site: http://www.jcwhitney.com/whale-tail/p20 ... ilterid=j1 I gotta warn you tho its pretty spendy lol The bronco seats i just bolted the tracks from the old seats onto them. The bronco seats are a bit narrower then the originals so i did have to drill two new holes. but thats about it lol im working on tryin to buy some new Procar by Scat seats to put in there, but that wont happen for a while lol

[Bloodman324]

Hey, back with some updates! haha havent been on for awhile due to school work, and work lol anyways got some new weatherstripping on the doors (semi-new that is). Replaced the battery and terminals and battery holder. Got some new (used) 15 in rims with huge old winter tires that barely fit. Gonna have to get a smaller tire to be able to steer haha, here are some pics of em on:







Got some bad news tho, I have no turn signals whatsoever. So now my plan is to run my own wires and get the turn signals back working without using the factory wiring harness.

Also some new ideas soon to come: Gonna put the 6x9 speakers beside the rear seats at the bottom of the panel using a custom panel i will make, while a small sub will go in between the rear seats. Gonna make a switch center in the space above my cubby hole in the center console which will house: Dome light switch, hazard switch, rear defroster switch, driving light switch, and down the road my sunroof switch. itll look a bit like this:



Ill make that panel once i tear my dash out and redo all my wiring for my radio, speakers, and turn signals and such.

Also been saving up some goodies haha

Spark plugs and wires



Some wire loom and yellow and black rolls of wire



New power outliet/cig lighter and push button switch for horn


Distributer rotor (cap is on its way, had to order it lol)


Oil filter


And some driving lights


Still need to get an air filter, new coils, jug of oil and a jug of anti freeze. once i have all that imma do a complete tune-up (something this poor truck badly needs haha)

[Bloodman324]

Update 11/16/11: Got my turn signals working, was just a flasher that was bad, got studded snow tires on (so glad winters here!) The belt on the alternator shredded away so it sits in the yard useless for the moment till we can get a new belt to put on. Thats bout all ive got for right now.

[Bloodman324]

Well, got new spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor replaced along with fresh oil, new oil filter, new alternator with a new belt. Runs like a fricken champ now All thats left to do is get it in to get the brakes checked and redone.

[Bloodman324]

Truck needs an $800 dollar brake job and my dad doesn't want to put that much money into it because he's afraid the engine won't last, so it's gonna sit for awhile. While I save up money for new brakes I'll be stripping the interior and spraying the entire inside of the cab with this road noise reduction stuff called "boom mat". That and many other improvements will be made soon after winter. So I won't have updates untill then so, wish me luck!

[Rev_D21]

Ahh really!? haha dude thats awesome, ya i love my spoiler what happened to yours?

I had to give up the truck long ago before I had a place of my own. I got the wing from GF Customs.


$800 brake job? Replacing everything? Have you tried RockAuto.com for pricing?

[Bloodman324]

Yep, replacing the whole bit cuz its all pretty shot. I haven't looked at RockAuto.com for anything yet, although know that i think about it, i might just consider replacing everything by myself and save some cash. But for now it'll just be some slow tinkering, upgrading, and customizing. I actually like the idea of not being able to drive it, cuz now i'm buying me a temporary car and ill have more time to work on my truck since it wont be a daily driver.

[Bloodman324]

Update: Found out the choke on my carburetor is stuck in the on position, so instead of messing with it imma save up my coinage for a weber. Took out the back panels to get them ready to be dyed. My other plan is to put 6x9's in the side panels below the rear seats. So while i had the panels out already, i made a small template to trace onto the same board i used for the door panels.



Gonna cut that section of the panel out for the other panel to fit in once finished








Just got a butload more snow this morning so i will update more once its all gone

[86 720]

If you can turn a wrench, you can replace the entire brake system yourself. It's actually really easy.

I did a write up on the master cylinder, and it wasn't that hard or expensive.

[Bloodman324]

Ya thats what ive heard, and thats what im going to do. Made some progress on the rear speaker panels, got the passenger side all cut out and ready to be attached and finished:

[Bloodman324]

UPDATE 2/19/2012:
- Stripped most of my interior pieces of spray paint
- In the process of gluing the speaker panels to the rear panel themselves.
- Removed all my "hokey" radio wiring.
Pics of my progress so far below:

[Bloodman324]

Update: 4/14/2012
Ok so its been awhile since I've posted, but I've been busy. Things I've done so far:
-Finished rear side panels
-Removed both fenders
-Removed cowl
-Removed doors
-Cleaned up the engine bay
-Removed the front bumper
-Welded emblem holes on both fenders closed
-Welded holes on passenger door














I dont have pics of the filled holes on the door just yet, I'll have more pics of those next update.