Learn me: Nissan 620

I'm finding myself in immediate need of a vehicle. In the near future, a truck will be required, so why not kill 2 birds with one stone. One of the problems I am having is finding the tow rating of a Nissan 620. If one can tow 3,500 pounds, I'm well into the safe zone.

This is the truck in question.

Is there anything about these trucks that's significantly different from the (much) newer Nissan Hardbodies? I know I need to look for rust everywhere, but this one does look pretty clean.

I seriously doubt they can tow or haul that much. My 86 hardbody can't.

My 720 is an improvement over the 620 I had, and there's absolutely no way I'd put 3500 lbs behind it.

2,000? That's kind of my bottom end limit.

Even if you could pull it, you couldn't stop it. I would not tow more than 2500 lbs behind a mini truck on stock brakes, and with that kinda weight you have to really be thinking ahead.

My friend had one way back when, hauling firewood it did OK. Hauling a car on a trailer is a real bad idea. Don't ask.

I thought all those were long gone . I would not even try 2000 pounds in one of them, my friend had one back in the day and was towing a set of jet ski to the river and had someone else tow them home to avoid having an accident as the truck lacked the power, braking, and sway control to tow the jet skis.

Keep looking.

620's all had 4 wheel drums, I think. 3500 is so far over the top, brake and horsepower-wise, its not even funny.

I had one of those long ago. They rode like a covered wagon. I took two leaves out of the rear spring packs and swapped out the 8-ply OEM tires for some radials. Of course I new nothing much about trucks back when I did that, but it did ride much better. I have no other useful information...,

Man I love these trucks! Although this one has some...er...interesting mods. I don't know much about towing, but I will 2nd everyone else and guess that you shouldn't tow much/anything with it. Trips to Home Depot for mulch? Sure. Towing your boat for a day at the lake? Maybe not so much. Although, I loaded the mess out of a beater Nissan hardbody (engine stand, 2 manual Datsun trannies, L28 engine, a bunch of wheels and tires), and it worked. A little sketchy, though, so I'm sure I had exceeded its limit.

You should get this just to fix the stupid mods and make it cool again.

I'm seriously still considering it, even if I can't really tow with it. Brakes can be upgraded, as can the rear axle. After all, these trucks are really easy to modify. If one of the main issues is lack of power, then I'll reserve towing duties for a bigger truck down the road. Right now, I need a Lowes Depot truck, with an occasional short trip with an aluminum jon boat.

Those tacky mods just mean a lower price to me!

This won't be the lawn service truck I mentioned in a previous thread, as I feel that it's just too old to be put through that sort of abuse. It has survived this long and is still in decent shape. The last thing I want to do is wear out a cool truck like this one.

The engine in this truck, according to Wikipedia, makes around 100HP. That's not terribly far off of my old Hardbody. If it isn't tired and making 75HP, I shouldn't have any problems using it like any other 1/4 ton truck.

Can't speak for a 620... Had a 720, and over the road driving with a load of firewood in the back was.... Interesting...
And if a 620 is anything like a 720 watch for frame rust... You could be saying "oh snap"...

I had a 620 king-cab. It had front disk brakes, and with an L20b engine. With a Weber Carb and home made long tube headers, it could go pretty good. However, I would not want to tow with it. The rear brakes were not self adjusting, and if they got too much clearance they would get really grabby.

It was a fantastic little truck, and if rust hadn't taken it, I'd still be driving it today. It ran great right up until I decided that it had to much rust to be safe. In my trucks case, the frame was still in pretty good shape, but the cab mounts and seams in the floor boards, and some other seams were one good bump away from disintegrating.

If this one already has front disc brakes, I can always swap in an axle with disc brakes. That's not a terribly hard task.

The boats I'm looking at are less than 2,000 pounds with the trailer. Like I said, a small boat.

What about trailer brakes, air helper bags, etc?

How similar is that to a Chevy Luv? My dad had a 2wd one in the late 70s, early 80s, and we'd load it to the top rail with firewood, so it should do ok as a Home Depot truck. I imagine it could handle a Jon boat too.

Get it no matter what if it isn't rusty.

It's about the same size as a LUV. Building a 4 link and putting the rear on bags isn't out of the question, either, but that would happen some time down the road.

I had a 720 and 2 scoops of mulch was about all it could haul. I couldn't imagine towing anything more than a 14" John Boat with it. I sold it for $2400 and bought my diesel K1500 for $2600, best upgrade ever.

I do find it interesting that there is a bolt-on DCOE swap for these trucks. I might go that route if I end up with it. It appears to have a downdraft Weber swap already, so that can be sold to help fund the DCOE swap.

In reply to Derick Freese:that's because the L20b engine is basically 2/3 of a 240Z engine, or if you prefer, a big bore 510 engine.