If there are two things I love, it’s trucks that are old enough to run for president and decals on said trucks! The Nissan-produced Datsun 720 has always been a favorite, and this one looks to be mostly well preserved with only 70k miles on the clock. It’s located in Grant’s Pass, OR and you can find it for sale here on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $5,900 and the option to make an offer.
According to the seller, the low mileage is mostly due to the fact that it hasn’t been used or even registered since 2008; apparently, a tree branch fell on the cab (you can see the dent in the first pic) and it’s been parked ever since. Otherwise, it does seem to be in decent condition paint-wise and the seller says it just needs a new set of tires and a windshield to be ready to drive again.
This 720 is powered by the Nissan Z24, a 2.4L inline 4 engine capable of 103 hp. This one has been modified with a Weber carb conversion and is stated by the seller to run well with no issues despite sitting for a decade. These trucks were said to get around 18 mpg from the factory and the Weber carb is alleged to improve the fuel economy and hp; whether you’ll see any improvement with this particular install will remain to be seen. The truck features a 5-speed manual transmission and, if the giant 4×4 decals are any indication, is equipped with 4wd.
Interior is looking a little ragged, which along with the roof dent are my main sticking points with the asking price. That said, my truck had a similar dent in the cab roof when I got it and it knocked out without much trouble. Some bonus points for being located in the PNW as their climate is usually pretty friendly to these older vehicles, rust-wise. If you’re looking for a rad 80’s pickup it might be worth a shot to see if you can haggle with the seller and make a deal!
Maybe it hasn’t been used because with such a small bed, it has no utility. It’s too small to carry a sheet of drywall or plywood, or even 8-foot 2X4s. So, what good is a truck like that? I guess it was the beginning of the truck poser era, which is in full swing these days.
Oh God, here we go, another “real truck” argument, who thinks the only truck that is actually a truck is a smoke billowing, environmental polluting diesel F350 super duty Dually with smoke stacks that can carry a whole house in its bed! Maybe the seller doesn’t want something like that or need something like that! Maybe he’s like me and just uses his truck to go pick up used engines or haul his Waverunner around or just wants something that has 4 x 4 and a bed! If the government didn’t think these were trucks they wouldn’t have imposed the chicken tax back in the 60s so just because it’s not the size of a house and can’t carry a sheet of drywall flat, doesn’t mean it’s not utilitarian. Hi, I’m Paul, I’m 50 something, and I guess I’m a poser in full swing….lmao!
LOL! Funny but you do make a valid point and frankly I wouldn’t mind having this Nissan.I was stationed with a major in the Army who had a truck just like this and I thought it was his.
over the years i had three of these,each went over 300,000 km and were trouble free till the tin worm got them….perfect for hauling my dirt bikes to events
Rx7 is right!
My old man had this exact truck and he would haul a camper, carry shingles and other building supplies, well basically everything you would do with a “real” truck.
Maybe rex should see how dirty the box is on a king ranch diesel. Bet you could eat off it!
My best friend had one of these and the abuse it would withstand was amazing.
My favorite memory is lining the bed with a tarp and making it into a hot tub.
This little truck can go places the heavy, wide, long diesel trucks dream about. Be it 4 wheeling in the desert or going hunting in the mountains. Its where this can go and not what it won’t fit or tow. How many soccer moms never engage the 4.wheel drive? I will answer for you, most of them. Is sitting high and seeing what’s in front of you is a sin, then count me in. Toyota and Nissan don’t care, they sold a butt-load of these trucks.
I remember when compact trucks were like this. They were true utility vehicles, with little in the way of creature comforts. That’s not to say that they couldn’t be comfortable. For all but the tallest of Americans, or the heaviest set of American drivers, they could fit most people comfortably.
I have a later version, 1995 2wd xe with the king cab and 6′ bed. It’s painted yellow with a matching fiberglass tonneau. Bought two years ago ($1600) and it’s had a few minor issues, the current being a motor mount failed and the cross member has rubbed a hole in the oil pan. However, at 276k, the original engine (confirmed by a previous owner) still runs strong and passes AZ emissions testing. It hauls plywood and such without issue and gets 25mpg in Phoenix traffic. I see many of these smaller trucks, HB, Taco, Ranger, Dakota and even a few S-10s, still working hard.
This 720 4×4 is a nice find. Might run forever and the dent just adds character.
Let me assure you micro-truck guys that I abhor the monster-truck douchebags even more than you do. I drive an ’03 F-150 with 4.6 V-8, and just last week hauled 40 sheets of 12-foot drywall to the jobsite, because the drywall guy couldn’t carry it in his Ram shortbed. A drywall guy with a shortbed truck? Really?
For me, trucks are for tradesmen, who should drive no more and no less truck than is required to do the job.
I agree. I’ve never liked monster trucks. I’m not against those who do, but it’s just not my thing.
I am not sure if thats a fair price or not, but those are great little trucks. I have owned a lot of Datsuns & nissan.
That motor is great and can respond well to upgrades and perf.
I have one currently awaiting rebuild for my 620 truck.
The beauty of Datsun/Nissan is they followed the 50s-70s GM example and MOST parts are fairly interchangeable. That is why Datsun 510s run 240sx motors and Truck L20s and 5 speeds. Stuff fits. Toyota? Gotta know what month it was made. Nothing fits.
Interesting thing about that motor, Common was the L16, then a L18 and then the L20. (1600-1800-2000cc), the Z or NAPZ used the same bottom ends but introduced a cross flow head, Most with dual plugs, Datsun had experimented with dual point distributors with staggered spark, But on the dual plug heads it was intended to be a improved combustion design to help emissions and mileage, However it can be somewhat* exploited for performance.
The problem was many of the heads were made for low speed velocity and low end torque so dont favor high RPM-High flow. However by the time the 240SX came around & its bigger cousin the 300zx, Performance potential was serious and the 300ZX production motor is so good, they used them directly in racing. You can swap top ends and other parts between the NAPZ and L series motors and many people used to build morphed motors. The 4 and 5 speeds mostly interchange although a truck tranny has some unique rear mounts but easily addressed.
The early 1980s were a fuel injection setup that worked pretty well but used different mapping and no O2 sensor, Which some people played with because you could run a radical cam, but few people bother trying to tune one of these early systems now days. On mine a Truck intake and a weber dialed in makes an excellent system and easy to maintain and tune.
The biggest weakness?? Check the radiator. Water and coolant should clean and spotless. If you see sludge and Espresso coffee colored coolant, You have a leaking head gasket.
The combustion chambers dont generally blow per se, Instead a Oil port is located too close to a coolant passage, Unless an extreme overheat cooked or cracked head, You wont see water/coolant in the oil, But you will pump oil into the coolant.
Pull the head, Have it carefully measured and skim if needed but weld up the ports and add a outside oil line instead. Let the coolant passage alone, and if anything blue print and enlarge slightly on the head & block deck. But run a external oil line between the head and block,
Same with cam chain, CHECK it! Its adjustable, there is 3 settings before you replace the chain.
Datsun/Nissan are awesome little machines. 510s are legendary on taking down Porsches, BMW and others for good reason.
My current ones are a 72 510 wagon and a 1/2 73 Datsun 620 and 1/2 79 king cab 620. (built one truck out of 2)
Love them.
I agree. I’d pay $3,000 for the truck, and then re-build it from the ground up. I’d also install a turbo diesel engine under the hood. :)