ONWER: Hiroaki Sato RIDE:...
ONWER: Hiroaki Sato
RIDE: '83 Nissan 720 King Cab
HOMETOWN: Iwate, Japan
You spoke, and we listened! You guys wanted to see some feature worthy 720S so our search took us far and wide.
There are a ton of really nice 720 project trucks out there, but none completed yet, so we hunted and hunted and our search turned up this family gem from Iwate, Japan. Hiroaki Sato, owner of this super-clean Nissan 720, is the father of three boys and owns a custom shop in the country area of Notheren Japan called Passion. Hiroaki's town is a very small country area where there wasn't too much interest in minitrucks. Hiroaki, even though he is an old-school minitrucker, had to build custom Japanese-style vans to feed his family for many years.
In 2002 a truck show started in the northern area of Japan called Truck Masters, Northern round. This brought lots of interest in custom minitrucks and once again sparked Hiroaki's own interest in building a minitruck. He loves the Nissan 720 because that was the popular truck when he got into the minitruck world in the 80s. So the first one that Hiroaki Sato built for Truck Masters 2002 was built with his old- school style still in mind; camper shell, big old-school stereo system, and interior was like custom van days. At the show Hiroaki noticed that his style was out of date so he sold that truck to a customer and bought another 720 to build it totally different using "today's style" which is the one you now see before you.
It was definitely not easy for Hiroaki Sato to build a minitruck using modern style cues, as his head was still filled with custom van styles. He learned today's style by studying Mini Truckin' magazine very closely and his two sons helped him along the way. His sons are now old enough to build their own rides so they all are building Nissan 720s in the shop side by side. It's very cool to see father and sons enjoy building their minitrucks together.
Two of Hiroaki Sato's three sons are now currently competitng on the show circuit with their custom built 720s. However, after this show season is over they are all going to be torn apart to be built super wild with motor swaps, IRS suspensions, body-drop, crazy air setups, and more! So stay tuned as this definitely isn't the last we've seen of this family full of Nissan 720 lovers. For more details check out the Lowdown.
The Lowdown
Rolling Attire
Wheels: (Front) 17x8-inch Intro V-Rods 5 (Rear) 18x11-inch Intro V-Rods 5
Tires: (Front) 205/40ZR17 (Rear) 255/35ZR18
Chassis Modifications
Suspension Front: Firestone airbags, modified frame
Suspension Rear: IRS suspension from Nissan Silvia (same as 240sx), custom pushrod system with airbags, narrowed for 11-inch-wide rear wheels
Control arms: Modified stock arms
Air/hydro accessories: 3/8-inch valves and airline, three-gallon aluminum air tank
Frame mods: Back-halved for complete IRS suspension from Nissan Silvia (240sx), frame was cut down to lower the cab
Brakes: Five-lug conversion using rotors from a Nissan Skyline, four-piston caliper in the front, two-piston in the rear
Performed by: Owner at his custom shop called Passion in Japan
Body Modifications
Shaved: Door handles, gas door, antenna, corner marker, taillights, tailgate, emblems
Body-dropped: Two inches traditional, the rest was done by modifying the body mounts and cutting down the frame rails
Body mods: Custom front bumper, molded, and built-in custom turn signals, taillights are bolted on top of bed when he drives along with the license plate that way it's fully shaved for the shows
Bolt-ons: Custom made SS-style hood
Performed by: Owner at his custom shop called Passion in Japan
Paint
Brand and colors: Sparkling Silver from Nissan Z
Performed by: Owner at his custom shop called Passion in Japan
Interior
Seats: Recaro seats
Dash: Smoothed and painted black
Misc.: Custom-made center console and door panels
Performed by: Owner at his custom shop called Passion in Japan
Stereo
Head unit: Alpine
Performed by: Owner at his custom shop called Passion in Japan
Engine/Performance
Intake/Carb: Dual Mikuni Solex 44mm
Transmission: Five-speed with stick on floor (stock it was four-speed beside column)
Rearend type: Nissan Silvia IRS with POSI
Detail work: Paint and chrome
Performed by: Owner at his custom shop called Passion in Japan
Special Thanks From Owner
To my wife who never says no to going to truck shows all over Japan with me so we could spend a special second honeymoon together, and to my three sons who light my fire so I could start to build trucks again; my family means the world to me!