Hi everyone:

I own a 1983 Datsun 720 Ute (L18 petrol engine, 4 speed manual dual cab 2 wheel drive) which I inherited from my parents when they bought a new ute just over 10 years ago. They are now purchasing another vehicle and will be selling me their Toyota Hilux, and I am now debating what to do with the Datsun.

I will no longer need the Datsun, it is a good car, however it does not suit the country driving I do as it is pretty underpowered (compared to modern cars) and is not safe in terms of having an accident and at 30 years old is really not up to daily driving. My parents bought the ute brand new in 1983 and it is in very original condition:

• Has an original 188 000km.
  Original clutch, radiator, engine / gearbox, paint etc.
  Never in a major accident, just a few dings on the body work from normal use.
  No rust, tray is in excellent original condition.
  Original dashboard without any cracks!
  Registered in NSW (Sydney).

There are only three issues / things that don’t work with the ute:

• The dashboard clock does not work.
  The radio / tape deck does not work
  It crunches in reverse unless 1st gear is engaged first. I assume this is because the flywheel spigot bearing is dragging, however I was not prepared to pull the gearbox to fix it.

I would like to keep the car but do not really have the room to store it undercover, if I leave it outside it will only deteriorate. However I would rather keep it under a tarpaulin outside than sell it to some idiot who would wreck it.

I wanted to know based on this condition, what would it be worth (sold with say a pink slip)? Would a Datsun enthusiast be interested in such a ute?

I would rather sell it to an enthusiast at a lower price and be sure it will be taken care of, but am not sure if this car is really collectable in the same way as say a Datsun 1200 ute, datsun 1600 etc.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Jason

Mate, if you were in america you would have people fighting for it !
Unfortunately in Aus they just aren't worth that much.
I bought a king cab in great cond with 160000 on the clock for $350 . That was cheap in my opion as they are a good solid Datsun/nissan,.
I would put a blanket over it and tuck it away and see if the prices rise in the next ten years.

Can you post some photos up? My Gixxer died last week and a 2nd car might be needed sooner rather than later. A Datsun ute would be almost the best result

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Redtop SR20DET into a 1980 Stanza
4 Door 720
Blog

Nickcordia, thanks for the advice, I suppose with the lowering of tariffs ansd cheap cars from Korea / China now, these things are just too old to be worth anything..... I will probably post it up on Gumtree for a few weeks, if I don't get any interest, I will not reregister it and just retire it to the farm under a tarp...

Stanza, I still need the car for a few more months till March next year, so cannot offer the car now. I'll put a link here to the Gumtree ad. Bit unlucky with the Gizxxer, I have heard they are pretty reliable. Being into Guzzis myself, if I could combine Suzuki reliability with Italian character, I would be very happy!

That a good time frame actually. We are seeing how long one car and a pushbike can keep me getting to work on time... When its time to sell, please hit me up first befeore you put on Gumtree. It starts to get cold and wet soon after march. Not that nice for pushbikes...

_________________
Redtop SR20DET into a 1980 Stanza
4 Door 720
Blog

Stanza:

No problem, I'll post the photos up here in March and if you are still interested, we can talk it over. As I said before the ute has been a good vehicle for our family, so am keen to sell to a Datsun enthusiast (even if this is not really a classic Datsun) who hopefully might look after it better than other possible buyers at the low end of the market.... If you are looking for a Datsun 720 ute, I really doubt whether there are going to be too many more original utes of this model in Australia.

Thanks,

Jason