Please advise a fool who may become seperated from his money

[welfarewarrior]

i am a young and foolish 20 year old who fancies himself to be a car guy. now i dont believe in fate, but i also think somtimes things just fall together for you and youd be a fool not to jump on such an opertunity.
i am looking at purchasing a 1984 nissan 720 reg cab diesel and was wondering if this would be considered brilliant or stupid. i recently took an interest in biodiesel, (i hate it when someone uses a product and then throws it away such as used cooking oil (WVO)).
So i spent many a night researching it and became even more interested. then a flood of pdiesel owners i know started talking to me about how they would like to experiment with it, the next day the "Dirty jobs" biodiesel episode aired, and i became further convinced that since i need a hobby this might be it.

Sadly i do not own a diesel so i started looking for a good test mule and was not thrilled with what the seach was bringing back, too pricey or too worn out.
then helping some freinds move i spotted this little nissan sitting looking all depressing and decrepit. the box sides are bashed and rusted and have beeen fixed with half an inch of bondo (GAG) the wheel wells have rusted through, the cab rockers must have been optional that year because this one doesnt have any, the rear bumper is aftermarket and a piece of junk, the front looks like it found a really sturdy mailbox at low speed and their is not a single mint panel on it.
on the plus side it is fixable with a little love(i have a soft spot for old rusty cars), the engine (194k miles) supposidly runs like a champ (havent had a chance to talk to the guy yet) and has a new tranny. he wants 1200 obo's for it but ill offer 650 an not go a dime above 800.

now i ask of all your collective wisdom to help guide me would this be a good starter vehicle for a newbie to the diesel world, or am i so nieve its funny. i personaly believe that an older diesel would be easier to learn on and a sd22 engine is supposed to be one of the best in its day. so once again i ask for guidance and wisdom from those that know the trecherous waters im standing above, should i dive in or cower on the diving board and scream for a life guard to get me down.


P.S. i apologise for the length, poor grammar and spelling on this post believe it or not im actually a somewhat eloquit speaker but writing aint my strong suite

[redmondjp]

Welcome to the forum! Yes, a nissan diesel pickup would be a good choice as your first diesel vehicle, but the one you are describing sounds like it needs much more work than it would be worth. If it really does run well (and the transmission is still in good condition--read other posts in this section for more information on the weaknesses of the 5-spd transmission--I really doubt it has a 'new' tranny in it), it might be a good drivetrain donor. And the price this guy is asking is just wayyyy too high. If you watch the ads (Craigslist is good), you'll be able to find something better than this one. I know it's not a truck, but take a look at this nissan sentra diesel on Portland Craigslist:

1984 Nissan Sentra Diesel for sale

This car, from what I can tell, is in much nicer condition than the pickup you are describing, and this guy would probably take a reasonable offer for it. Just to show you that there are other good vehicles out there, so don't get too hung up on that rust bucket.

With as much rust as you are describing, I wouldn't put an hour's worth of work into the cab/body. These things can rust out badly, esp. if in a corrosive environment (e.g. coastal area, as I suspect the one you are looking at may have been in). I actually saw one this past summer in the boneyard that had massive frame rust right at the back of the cab, such that when they picked it up with the forklift to move it into the yard, the frame bent such that the front of the bed was pointing up toward the cab, and the front of the cab was pointing down toward the ground--it was hideous!

If you have the time and space available to do the work, you could do a drivetrain swap into another vehicle (possibly one with a dead gas engine) that you should be able to get for cheap. But this may be more work than you want to tackle right now.

My advice, after working on cars for the past 25 years--it's much, much easier to work a few more hours, collect a few more dollars, and buy yourself something that is nicer to start off with, rather than trying to turn a junker into something nice--as Butthead said so eloquently to Beavis: "You can't polish a turd."

[EvergreenSD]

You can't?

[welfarewarrior]

thanks for the advice to be perfecly fair i was alittle hard on the truck it is better than i made it sound though not that much better. then again what i am currently driving is a 90 suzuki sidekick in about the same condition (more rust that metal) and has close to a 1/4 million miles on it, and the sidekick is about the best vehicle ive ever seen, i just cant kill that thing.
i have a good idea that the diesel motor is good becuase around the lower mainland (Vancouver and surrounding area) we have manditory emmissions testing once a year, if you fail you cant get insurance. for which the truck recently passed i did talk the mother of the guy who owns it,( its sitting on her front lawn) and yes the tranny is newish after being freshly rebuilt with all new goodies 300 miles ago.

the idea for the truck was just to prep the cancer areas with rust killer and all that good stuff then patch the holes with tin and fiberglass over, then coat the lower patches with undecoat. do the same for the inside of the box using the undercaot as a bedliner and finally spray bomb the rest of it with something like red oxide primer and then dont give a SHIrT what anyone thinks. i know shes too far gone to be a fixer-upper but ( i dont think) too far gone to be a beater.

im actually headed down near redmond this weekend for the antique auto swap meet in the monroe fairgrounds, while im down there ill see if i can pick a copy of the little nickle and see if there is anything interesting. once again thats for the insight it is much appreciated.

[philip]

SNIP- as Butthead said so eloquently to Beavis: "You can't polish a turd."

If you bronz it first ... it'll polish up but just don't squeeze it.

[claybodie]

This post sounds like the train of thought I had a little less than a year ago.
I also developed an interest in alternative fuels and ended up buy a 1982 Datsun 720 k. cab diesel.
The thing seemed like it was in better shape than what you have described, but I did do quite a bit of body work - rust holes on hood, doors, and 1 side panel. I used a grinder attachment for a drill and polished everything down, then used rust killer, bondo, primer, paint (carquest will mix stock paint and put it into an aerosol for cheap). Only had to use fiberglass matt in a couple places.

Other things I have had to deal with (which you may also):

Center bearing was thrashed and needed replacement. < $100
Idler arm bushing needed replacement. $10
Water pump needed replacement because it begines to wobble and the fan will eat into the radiator. = $120 at the local shop.
Changed trani fluid, gear oils, and engine oil.
Fixed a tire + new spare: $30

Those are some of the little things.
I actually just had the trani rebuilt because I pulled a bearing cage out of the trani fluid and the thing sounded pretty bad. I probably should have just driven until it completely fell apart and then switched it out, but I didn't want to get stuck on a 2400 mile road trip I'll be taking.

Additionally, you may have to replace the glow plugs, and it wouldn't hurt to get the injectors spray tested and have an engine compression test.


A couple questions I have for the forum:

What does it mean if you see a lot of smoke coming out of the crankcase ventillation? It's not a LOT, but enough to see at night in the headlights. Could it have anything to do with B100 in cold weather? (no smoke out of tailpipe though).

Other thing - should a trani not stick after it's been rebuilt? Everything seems really smooth except for shifting into second gear (especially deceleration). Usually it's ok if RPM's are high enough.

Last thing - what is the rattle that goes away when I push the clutch in?

[philip]

A couple questions I have for the forum:

What does it mean if you see a lot of smoke coming out of the crankcase ventillation? It's not a LOT, but enough to see at night in the headlights. Could it have anything to do with B100 in cold weather? (no smoke out of tailpipe though).

Some visible vapor trail is normal, particularly as the engine and oil rise past normal operating temperatures. Your oil condition plays a big part in this vapor trail too.

Other thing - should a trani not stick after it's been rebuilt? Everything seems really smooth except for shifting into second gear (especially deceleration). Usually it's ok if RPM's are high enough.
Last thing - what is the rattle that goes away when I push the clutch in?

Much has been written here by myself and Al about input shaft chatter. One the gears set up a wear pattern, the tooth clearances will remain excessive in spite of new bearings.

[greyfoxxca]

Hey there welfare warrior

I have bought a number of old diesels in the lower mainland. I paid 1200 for an 85 with 120 k klms on the speedo. The body is rust free but the old guy that drove it had a dent in every corner. A rusted truck is worth no more than three to five hundred.

I put one of these motors in a mazda b2200 supercab. This was not for the light of heart but was not any harder than putting it in a nissan truck.

I still have this truck and if you are interested in buying it, email me. It also passed aircare and runs great. The box is rusty but I have a replacement lined up.

cheers
George