There was a craze for adventure-ready vehicles in the 1980s. While the popularity of the Jeep is timeless, buyers then (like now) were looking for a do-it-all vehicle that could manage both the commute and the weekend. Enter the Nissan 720 Bushmaster.
Several automakers seized on the same idea—to take their popular compact pickup truck and convert it to an SUV by adding a roof and rear seats.
The Chevy S-10 Blazer and Ford Bronco II made waves in Detroit, but Toyota knocked it out of the park with the 4Runner. Nissan was deep into the planning stages for its Pathfinder, to debut in 1986— but needed to jump into the market sooner. Thus this Nissan 720 Bushmaster, for sale on eBay in Virginia for $19,750, became the opening salvo in Nissan’s battle for SUV supremacy.
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Let’s explain the truck’s badging. First, notice that the tailgate has both Datsun and Nissan branding. This truck was built amidst the corporate rebranding from Datsun to Nissan during the early ‘80s, so both names were used to ease the transition. The 720 name isn’t really printed anywhere on the truck, but it’s known to enthusiasts for this particular generation (1980-1986). Nissan generally referred to it as “truck” for marketing purposes.
The Bushmaster story, however, is something special. Nissan wasn’t yet equipped to build its own SUV. So contracted with a third party, Matrix3 in California, to adapt the venerable pickup for SUV duty. Starting with an extended cab (King Cab in Nissan parlance) 4×4 truck, Matrix3 cut the rear of the cab, welded the bed to the cab, and applied a roof over the entire vehicle. Rear seats were added where the bed had been.
It was a quick and dirty conversion, to be sure, but the resulting vehicle was remarkably similar to what Toyota did with its first 4Runner. The Pathfinder to come in 1986 was a much more civilized vehicle while still remaining quite rugged for adventuring. But the Bushmaster was where it started.
Restored but With Patina Befitting an Off Roader
The seller of this Nissan 720 Bushmaster details the work that went into restoring this unusual truck. A replacement engine—a 2.4-liter four-cylinder Z-series mill—was sourced and rebuilt to factory spec. The entire truck was restored mechanically and on the interior, save for a wrap-style steering wheel cover. The exterior looks excellent, though some bits like the roof rack and the Bushmaster decals have a bit of wear.
That’s perfectly fine and in keeping with the rough-and-tumble nature of this rare beast. These are very unusual vehicles, and yet incredibly easy to live with. The Nissan 720 pickup is legendarily reliable, though rust can be a concern in salty states. So be careful if you decide to drive this Bushmaster through the winter. But drive it and enjoy it, as you’re likely never to see another on the road or the trail again.
