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87 Nissan P/U turned into a hotrod ???

6K views 33 replies 11 participants last post by  deadbodyman 
#1 ·
One of the very best trucks I ever owned was an 87 Nissan with the Z-24 motor (4cy 8plugs) couldnt kill it ...I drove that truck for years...A few years ago I got rear ended and it was totaled.I've been looking for an other worthy one ever since ...As good as that little truck was I always thought a 350 motor 400 tranny and a possi rear would make it the perfect shop truck to haul a car trailer or just run to town for paint...Well last week I stumbled onto this at the auction and placed my bid,,, I won. its even the same color as my old one...
I had it running in 15 min then drove it around the parking lot and as far as I can tell what you see is what I got ,all it needs is a windshield , hood and hinges...EVERYTHING works even the ice cold air(condenser in the tool box)
 

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#3 · (Edited)
the interior is like new ,electric windows and mirrors,auto meter gauges grant steering wheel sony stereo with pioneer speakers new wiring harness and fuse box ,sunroof....
Someone put a lot of time and effort in this little truck not to mention money...so this week I'll be putting a windshield in then a hood and hinges and vent cowl ...
 

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#4 ·
I would say a 302 also.

From what I could see in the photo it looks like they did a reasonable job of putting it in there.

Not sure how well it will pull a trailer, or stop one.

A guy I used to know had a similar truck (but with stock driveline) with a manual trans. He used it as a scrapping truck. Too bad as it was in really nice shape before he did that.

He put some huge springs in the rear so it would haul more, looked pretty funny until they settled down some, but it would take a heavy duty car trailer sized trailer with a load then.

It was a bit slow, but ok still. Stopping wasn't very good though, doable but you had to pay attention.

Your truck will probably be faster with a load, but might make stopping more of an issue.

Might be ok with a lighter trailer hauling cars and small trucks for shorter distances with it.

I'm not sure how much or how often you plan on hauling vehicles but if its a lot, or heavier stuff/longer distances I'd think about getting a old f250.

I imagine the Nissan will be just dandy for running parts/paint though :)

Edit: Think I'd want a little more fan on the radiator also, either a bigger one or another one beside it. Especially if you plan on hauling loads with the ac on.
 
#12 ·
Theres two fans ,a big one in the back of the radiator and a smaller one in front and the condenser has a fan back in the tool box.... My car trailer has its own brakes so that'll help also...mostly it'll haul cars once in a while and chuncks (1/4 sections and roof scetions) doors etc..a lot. The guy did a bang up job on it all the work looks great...it should be a lot of fun on the road...Its very drivable ...and kind cool because its kinda quiet until you get on it then a bit loud but sounds good...I'd let my wife drive it without a second thought about her safty .....well ,mabee not quite yet but I'd let her MOTHER drive it thats for sure.....ordered my windshield today and found the hood and cowl panel it needs.
 
#13 ·
I don't know if Bigger 6 lug GM truck rotors and be adapted, Nissan 4 X 4 rotors can be swapped to 30's 40's GM truck 6 bolt hubs .
It has a big ford rearend thats been shortend and axels redrilled for the Nissan wheels...I was thinking the same thing when I looked under it I was surprized...I havent looked at the front rotors yet. but I didnt know they were interchangable with gm 6 bolts the gm 6 bolt are 3/4 ton trucks if thats the case I'd bet a dollar thats what the guy did...he really thought of everything.all the gauges are new and the speedo shows 9500 miles judging by the condition of the rest of the truck I'd be willing to bet thats the milage on everything.
 
#6 ·
That was a great find. I can only imagine the money and time that was sunk into this project. I think I would drive it as is, forget towing with it, it's too coll, or turn it. Nice!
 
#14 ·
I really love the sound John. older guys like us get tired quick of that loud droning all the time.. the whole exhaust is new with flowmasters and its nice and quiet but you can tell its not a 4 banger ,rev it up and everyone looks it has a great sound. The best part is I dont have to build anything or fix any cobbled up messes to drive it...I always said Id never buy a hotrod already built because I love building them but now....I'm reconcidering that notion....instant gratification has its merits..:D
 
#8 ·
Towing capacity would be about the same as the V-6 model of the truck, which is probably around 5000 pounds. A light trailer and small car is about it -- large car with a tow dolly. You can pull a bit more, but can't STOP it -- the truck probably doesn't weigh much more than 5K. I've pulled a mid size V-8 car (64 Fairlane) on a steel trailer with a Jeep Comanche (5K rated towing), and I'm sure I had close to 6K total weight. The trailer had surge breaks though, which made it safe. A trailer without brakes (electric or surge) would have been dangerous to tow, as the weight of the trailer will literally push the tow vehicle when stopping.
 
#10 ·
if not an od then likely a c4 . nice score . i run the flex-a-lite syclone fans on a thermostat. 16 in s-blade. they work fine. you can run a thermostat housing with the thermostat switch in it to run a relay for the fan .
 
#11 ·
My dad bought a '93 brand new.. Base model. KA24D with a 5spd, radio delete and it was pure white with a red interior. As I recall he also got it without the bumper since they were sold as an extra back then, he opted for an aftermarket Class II towing bumper he got from JC Whitney or somewhere.. It pulled a 21' Starcraft Chieftan about 300 miles every weekend during the summer. The mirrors were useless and the boat was taller than the truck by alot, but according to DOT the lightweight aluminum boat was legal to tow behind it, since it weighed a hundred pounds or so less than the tow rating. He had to keep the weight certs in the glove box because it drew a lot of attention.. But we never told them there was 500# of fishing gear on the boat, or 25 gallons of gas in the tank, that was not there on weight day.. We called it the tuna can because our Fam of 4 could actually fit in the front seat.. Hit the brakes, and it would skid about 5' since the trailer brakes had quite a lag before they tightened up
 
#20 ·
The 'easy' Automatic overdrive would be an AOD, but it's not very strong for a truck app.. I've heard of the E4OD being used with the diesel controller since they put that trans behind everything including F-250/350 diesels..

It's probably an AOD if it's a 4spd tho
 
#23 ·
I grew up with Datsan ,my dad bought a 69 datsan 2000 roadster (like an MG) he raced it all over the place like watkins glen and we all went and watched as kids until he blew the motor. so what did he do ,he pulled the motor out of the station wagon (65 ford 302) and shoe horned it in there..
I think if ole dad was looking down he would approve.
I owned the exact same truck same year ,color and everything I also updated it with the 90's frt end sheetmetal and grill like this one has had done (87 has three slotted holes in the hood) I loved that truck it never failed me .it wouldnt even run out of gas until it got in the drive way,did that 3-4 times. They say its a 1/4 ton truck but I drove around for a week with a ton of shingles in the back because it ran better than ever. after it got totaled from a rear end hit I swore I'd get another one. Believe it or not they are hard to find no body wants to sell one ,theres only a couple in the salvage yards and they're beat to death...I feel very lucky to have this one.
 
#25 ·
The Nissan Hardbody pickup is one of the best mini trucks ever built.. Never see one around here anymore since they have a severe rustout section of the frame which has taken most out of service. My local Ford dealer traded for a mid 90's 4x4 5spd V6 model that I was going to get. Looked mint but they looked over the fact that it had a rotted frame, but I cought it because I knew what to look for.
 
#26 ·
where you located Matt?
Its still raining here, like 4 days now.....
I did look at the rotors without taking the wheels off and sure enough they need replacing...thanks for bringing up the brake issue guys...I'm thinking "fatman" or the like, its worth putting 1200 into it especially for safty....
One more question when were talking towing, are rear shoes better than disc it seems to me they would be with more contact area.
 
#29 ·
thats what I thought...that front end really has me worried though I think the ortion bars are screwed up tight so the front end would go up as far as the back ,the control arms look to all the way down ,like they would when there no motor in it. I dropped my old camera for the last time and it finally broke so I cant take any pics until I get a new one.
 
#28 ·
For $575 you did awesome, you can't buy anything around here for less than $1000 that will realistically move under its own power - definitely not a pickup with ac. More like $1700, maybe $1500 with the damage.

I think the drums are better for rear brakes also. So people will argue the point, especially the ones who have paid to convert, but they just don't feel like they stop as well to me. Especially in a truck, I've never done any kind of testing so maybe its just the difference in feel I don't care for. I notice from the trucks coming into the shop that the manufacturers went to disk for awhile, then changed back to drum.


The older hardbodies are definitely popular trucks, when I was selling parts/vehicles for a tow company every older Nissan truck would part out completely in less than a month. Bent, broken, good, title, no title, every part would sell right down to twisted frames.


I've experienced the 'push' from stopping (or trying to) with the Nissan I mentioned earlier. Actually is why I brought it up when you mentioned towing with it.

It is a little scary, you stop at an intersection, but end up getting pushed out into it. Its also kind of hard to judge how much its going to do it. Varies by weight of load and speed. Pushing down harder on the brake has no effect when it does it.

Keep in mind this truck was pretty much always overloaded. The trailer itself was too big for the truck (so much so it needed bigger springs to support) and the trailer itself was often packed to the gills with metal.

A lighter car trailer with a car and some common sense and I think you will be ok, pushing it a bit, but ok.

For a '94

Towing Capacity - Infamous Nissan - Hardbody / Frontier Forums

As a side note, I didn't see the guy scrapping with Nissan for some time, and when I did there was a different front clip on the truck. I never asked why, but I have a guess.
 
#30 ·
one of the reasons It went so cheap is its a salvage title but I'm a rebuilder and repair salvage title cars all the time so its really no problem for me , it'll have to pass a state inspection before it can be retitled ...I just got extremely lucky thats all.there was only one other bidder and most people skip right over the engine compartment but I wanted to make sure it had the old Z24 motor in it ,the 4 cyl with 8 plugs so I was looking hard at all of them...I had over 300,000 on my last one when it got hit and it ran like a champ no smoke at all..
 
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