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710M or 710K?

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 7:53 pm
by itsalljake
Hi guys, girls if you're out there. My name is Jake and I'm a self-professed Pinz Noob. But I'm eager. I live in California and the pickin's are slim. Due to the recent CARB update even importing out of stat is difficult.

The pristine 710K's are more prevalent than the M's. And the M's, due to the soft top construction are usually rust monsters. What I want a Pinz for is to explore a large ranch and be able to drive on city streets. But the main reason is to get at least 10 people out on the ranch in any weather.

My question for this topic is: how customizable to is the K? Can I remove the side panels and keep the roof? The weather is always going to be nice out here but the shade will be as well important as the outward view. Ideally it would be a hardtop canopy with soft top sides and room for ten. Is there enough room behind the fixed 3 seats to have two benches? And remove the side panels?

Any and all comments appreciated.

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:25 pm
by rmel
M's are far more available than K's. If your looking for a hard top with canvas sides
ask Andre at Fat Fabrication to build you what you want for a semi-M conversion-- he
can make just about anything. He also has a super super nice M for sale.

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 9:07 pm
by itsalljake
I'm aware of Andres build and we're talking. But the $2K plus CA CERT is cost prohibitive. So if I'm going to spend the cash, to the state or vehicle, I'm choosing vehicle. Hence the question, M or K conversion?

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:37 pm
by Haf-e
Fitting 10 people in a M is possible - but in a K it would require blocking off the side doors in order to get some seating there - which seems kinda silly. I bet you can find a nice 710M in CA if you look and/or wait a bit. They show up every now and then.

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 11:42 pm
by mm58
Jake, for what you wanna do, it sounds like you need to be looking for a 712M.

1976 Pinzgauer 710K

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 12:52 am
by itsalljake
mm58 wrote:Jake, for what you wanna do, it sounds like you need to be looking for a 712M.

1976 Pinzgauer 710K
I kinda wish because the 712M's seem more available. But it's too long for what I want to do. Be advised when I say ten that means eight I the back and two up front. So if I've got five forward facing seats, can I fit two side benches in the back? And can I remove the side panels?

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 1:05 am
by mm58
I think if you wanna put 8 in the back of a 710K, you're gonna have to put in full length side facing troop seats (just like an M) and if they're all adults, it's gonna be tight.
Curious in what way a 712 would be "too long"

M's are not "usually rust monsters" just because they have a soft top. Depends on owners care and where it's spent it's life.

I think you underestimate how weather tight a soft top in good condition can be. Plus it's all ready to roll up sides and back, and has the added advantage of being able to remove the whole shebang if you ever want.

But if it's gotta be a 710, and it's gotta have a hard top and soft sides, I think you'd be better off engineering a hard top on an M, rather than butchering up a K. Just my .02 cents

1976 Pinzgauer 710K

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 2:05 am
by Haf-e
I don't have an 710K but I don't think there is enough space left behind the three forward facing seats to have a full bench seat in the back to allow four people to sit there. If you remove the table in front of the three froward facing seats, you might be able to have a pair of rear facing seats there - but the foot space will be tight.

You might want to look at how the zip line companies set up their trucks - they seem to typically use 712M's.

As far as removing the sides and not the top - it probably is possible but would require the use of a sawzall to do it... I've always seen the top and sides together as one unit when the top has been removed from a 710K or 712K.

I do happen to have a nice aluminum hardtop available and can arrange delivery to CA... I am in WA.

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 2:27 pm
by itsalljake
mm58 wrote:I think if you wanna put 8 in the back of a 710K, you're gonna have to put in full length side facing troop seats (just like an M) and if they're all adults, it's gonna be tight.
Curious in what way a 712 would be "too long"

M's are not "usually rust monsters" just because they have a soft top. Depends on owners care and where it's spent it's life.

I think you underestimate how weather tight a soft top in good condition can be. Plus it's all ready to roll up sides and back, and has the added advantage of being able to remove the whole shebang if you ever want.

But if it's gotta be a 710, and it's gotta have a hard top and soft sides, I think you'd be better off engineering a hard top on an M, rather than butchering up a K. Just my .02 cents

1976 Pinzgauer 710K
Yeah, the rust comment comes entirely from user storage error or carelessness. It's going to get used on a ranch and the trails are narrow with tight turns. I think the 710 is going to be pushing it but 712 is just not going to make the turns. I guess I'm sticking with the M plan. I was just curious about how the hard top and sides bolt together and if I could turn it into what I want. Nice hard top too MM! Maybe we can make a deal at some point.

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 3:14 pm
by oilcan
never been in a 710 but my 712 does have a tight radius. Seems to be about 38', which is maybe 8' wider than the 710.

i'm always surprised how tight it whips around, and if you don't have enough space, just run over whats in the way :roll:

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 5:14 pm
by Jimm391730
My 712W turns as tightly (or perhaps just a bit tighter) than my old Jeep Cherokee. Our 710M turns better than a VW Beetle.

In the SoCal heat, a K is an oven. But roll up the sides on an M (and take the front doors or door tops off) and the airflow is great (you really want a roof for shade).

A K is lockable; an M is not. But we have one of Andre's locking spare covers for when we need to keep small things from walking away. We have a custom rack from Andre as well for lots of storage up above.

We once had 12 (ten squeezed into the back, two in the cab) rockhounds bombing around the Mojave desert looking for fossils... along with some coolers, buckets of rocks, hammers, etc. The 710M didn't mind a bit, only the people squeezed in the back - but they were having so much fun they didn't seem to care at all.

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 6:34 pm
by itsalljake
oilcan wrote:never been in a 710 but my 712 does have a tight radius. Seems to be about 38', which is maybe 8' wider than the 710.

i'm always surprised how tight it whips around, and if you don't have enough space, just run over whats in the way :roll:
Running over the creek that is a 10' drop is not what I plan on running over. Again.

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 6:52 am
by undysworld
itsalljake wrote:
oilcan wrote:never been in a 710 but my 712 does have a tight radius. Seems to be about 38', which is maybe 8' wider than the 710.

i'm always surprised how tight it whips around, and if you don't have enough space, just run over whats in the way :roll:
Running over the creek that is a 10' drop is not what I plan on running over. Again.
Huh? Where did talk of a 10' drop come from? If you're referring to Oilcan's comment "just run over whats in the way", I believe it was somewhat facetious. If you've never ridden in a Pinz, you may either not realize how capable they are, or else that they do have limitations.

And for the record, a 712 will occasionally turn much sharper than a 710 or even an ATV, if you succeed in hooking the center axle tire on a hump or rock and can spin the truck around on that.

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 12:41 pm
by VinceAtReal4x4s
I don't think it's possible to make a K work. I had four people in one once and off-roaded it, and that was maxed out in my opinion. 5 would work but not for long.

The Volvo C303 has the same layout but is larger and has more seats in the back. If you pushed it, you might fit 9 people total in it, assuming you added two more small seats that faced sideways behind the middle seats. That would be very uncomfortable after a short while. 10 (with 8 in the back) is out of the question unless they are kids.

Re: 710M or 710K?

Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 5:14 pm
by TechMOGogy
1. Go with an M
2. If you go with a K remove table and install K rear seats in a rear facing fashion (your at 8people now) then have Andre build seats for the back = 10
3. Buy the hard top Haf-e has for sale
4. Pinz may not be right vehicle?

On another note and I don't own a 712 but I was told that you can lock them and get them to spin on a dime if you know what your doing - can an owner confirm since they are only 30" longer than a 710