1984 was a transition year for Nissan, at least for North American vehicles. It would be the first year that Nissan 720 trucks were badged as Nissans, although some, such as this 1984 Nissan/Datsun 720 King Cab DX (Deluxe) truck have both Datsun and Nissan names on the tailgate. The seller has this solid truck listed here on eBay in Banning, California and the current bid price is $3,050, but the reserve isn’t met.
1984 was also a transition year for Nissan in that their new factory in Smyrna, Tennessee had begun making vehicles halfway through 1983, and you have to look to the VIN to know if a vehicle was made in Georgia or Kyushu, Japan. This one has a “W” in the 11th position on the VIN so it was made in Japan. Early trucks received a single-wall truck bed and rope ties of the 1983 trucks but had other features of the later 1984 trucks, such as this example.
I recently had a 1983 Datsun/Nissan Sentra two-door sedan and it had both badges. The 1985 and later vehicles would only have Nissan identification on them. The 720 was available here from 1980 through 1984 and then the D21, known here as the Hardbody, was offered to Nissan pickup buyers. This truck doesn’t appear to have what was normally a dealer-installed rear bumper and it looks great overall. The bed floor looks great, this truck must not have lived a very hard life over the last four decades.
Being in Santa Barbara, California its whole 100,000 mile existence, this 720 was reportedly owned by a retired local woman and it really looks well-preserved to me. The interior doesn’t show the usual rips and cracks and looks great. The King Cab gave buyers a little extra space behind the front seats for two (small) passengers or a very handy storage space. I thought the DX model had a bench seat but maybe one of you know exactly what model this is?
The engine is Nissan’s Z24, a 2.4-liter OHC inline-four with 103 horsepower and 134 lb-ft of torque when new. This one has a three-speed automatic sending power to the rear wheels only and the seller says it runs and shifts great. Even the AC is said to be working as it should and this looks like a nice example. Have any of you owned a Nissan 720 truck?
Is this the double spark-plug motor ?
Yes, sir! Nice catch, I normally mention that. Almost all U.S. market Z24 (along with Z20 and Z22) engines were “NAP-Z” engines with two plugs per cylinder. Since this was a California truck, all of them would have had that engine in the name of pollution control.
Yes, there are plugs on both sides of the head.
Yes, absolute junk
What a great truck. Someone will get a lot of use out of this. If it was a stick, it would be perfect.
Smyrna, TN is the plant. I had a 1986 and mid-year they switched to the hardbody, so parts get confusing when ordering for this body style when it is a 1986. Mine had the Z24 engine as well. Looks like a nice truck.
Georgia?! Dang it, sorry about that. Thanks for catching that, Blu! I had Georgia on My Mind… for some odd reason, sorry about that.
My brother had one of these from 1987 – 2015. His was manual shift, and was his pride and joy. He maintained it in immaculate condition, even though it was his daily driver for most of the years he owned it. He was broadsided by a drunk driver running a red light, damaging the frame and breaking his heart.
I hope that he gets another Datsun 720 truck again! 🙂
My opinion these were the best years for the Nissan trucks. Now the new pretend Nissan trucks the box is so small a case of toilet paper from Costco fills the box
What? Still make 6ft beds, and next year more bed/cab options than any other mid sized truck. CC w/long bed? No issues. Body on frame, still a good real truck. Nothing pretend about it. Plus last one with a big v6.
Camped in the back of mine across the country last year. 6’3” and a 5’2” wife slept under a standard cap. Short queen mattress fit perfect.
Owned one of these back in the late ‘80s.
I’ve owned a lot of vehicles, and I don’t think I despise any of them more than that thing, an absolute piece of junk.
Based on the comments I’m in the minority, but my experience was terrible. Driving along at 30mph and it randomly died. Towed it home with my Buick LeSabre and it never ran again. Buick for the win!
The 83 I bought it 84 was nice but I had to have the head gasket replaced after about 30,000 miles. It ran great afterward, but would sometimes diesel (run-on) when shutting it off. One day I was giving it a tuneup and noticed the plug wires for each cylinder were reversed. I plugged them into the proper spots on the distributer cap and it ran perfectly from then on.