Loren O

I went up to where my 521 is STILL sitting, waiting for space in my friends garage so I can assemble the ever-growing pile of parts,do the engine&transmission swap,& get this truck ready to be driven. While I was there,i removed the rusty crome moons &flat tires,& put on the 6- lug slot mags I bought from Taadj. Here's a before pic. Here's the pic's I took today,after the new wheels were on. I think it looks alot better now. I wish I could get some real progress done on this,but it's an hour drive from my apartment in Canby,to where the truck is stored.

Brought my 720 4x4 leaf springs up to where my 521 is STILL sitting,waiting for my friends garage to get finished so I can put the ever-growing pile of parts on,& do the engine & transmission swap. While I was there I took off the rusty crome moons & flat tires,& put on the 6-lug slot mags I bought from Taadj. Here's a before& after pic.

I went back to the salvage yard/tow yard that I got the 720 4x4 leafs from & got the shackles today. They're pretty bent,probably from someone hooking a cable,or chain to the shackle to pull the truck from being stuck somewhere. I either need straighten them or try to use the shackles on my 521 already. Will the 521.shackles work with 720 4x4 leaf springs? I might try using truck springs my goon someday,but getting my 521 ready for daily driver status will come first.

I picked up the 720 4x4 leafs springs I bought today. The bushings look like they are pretty worn,& the shackles weren't with them. Can I use the 521 shackles,or do I need the ones from the 720 4x4? Does anyone know where I can get the bushings i'll need for this swap? We didn't list them at NAPA when I looked earlier today. I'll look again tomorrow.

No,the t-tops are fine. I was refering to the "phantom top" . The poor car looked like it had recieved the full "hoop-tee" treatment at some point. If it had just had a fish tank,or waterfall inside, I would've been sure it had been on " pimp my ride".

I'm pretty much over it now,but I probably won't be making any big effort to buy parts from that yard. Is this the difference between buying used parts,versus new/rebuilt parts? I have worked in the auto parts industry for 15+ years,both in the warehouse end of the business,also as a delivery driver,& parts counter sales employee. If I had ever given a customer even close to the "i don't give a shit,check the website" type of attitude I recieved today, I would have been fired by the end of the day. Not that the retail end of the business is perfect either,especially if you happen to be looking for parts for a.vehicle more than 10 -15 years old,but at least we try to be polite about it.

I completely understand them not being able to tell me over the phone whether they had a specific part or not,but they should be able to tell me if they had a 521 there still. I think I was more annoyed by the 2nd workers attitude/tone of voice/lazy sigh, than I was about them not being able to tell me what I wanted to know. That &the fact that it took an hour of calling to get them to answer the phone during business hours. I guess i'm just old school. customer service has always been part of my job, & I expext at the very least polite customer service from businesses that I would potentially buy from.

I saw this last wednesday. Note that it's in a handicap parking place. I think that funky top is thia car's primary handicap. ,

10:15 They finally answer thier phone ,& i've been calling them since 9am. this is what I hate about places that have websites,they don't seem to be able to answer any questions over the phone anymore! Can't be bothered to actually physically look to see if the have what I'm looking for,so I don't have to make an hour drive for nothing. "it's on the website". No,if I could find what I wanted to know on the website,i wouldn't have spent the last hour trying to get you to answer your damn phone! Now that I've finished my rant, they said there weren't any datsun pickups there. I'm still not sure if I believe the guy on the phone,or if he was just too lazy to go look. If anyone has an already shortened driveline & shortened transmission mount for a 521, that they'd be looking to part with/sell,please let me know. That way I won't have to send mine out to be shortened. Thanks!

Does anybody know it this 521 is still there,& if it still had the transmission mount & shortened driveline?

My sister-in-law sent me this pic today.

My thought was,based on the discussion here about 720 4x4 springs being flatter,stiffer & such a good idea for a lowered truck,that the same concept might also apply to the truck style rear axle in my 510 wagon. It's my daily driver,i often have a carfull of the family in it,+ whatever else we bring along,& my tools/spare paets,etc. I'll be doing the 280zx strut/brakes swap,& buying some lowering blocks from joel. The whole flipping springs deal sounds like it's not the best approach,& I'm not building a race car so the mono-leaf spring idea isn't really necessary for me either. I have to get my 521 down from the p.o.'s place to whwre I can get to work on it,get it to daily driver status before I can do anything to my goon anyway,so I have a little time for research.

Just curious,&i haven't looked for spring measurements,but has anyone ever thought about going this route on a 510 wagon? Maybe a different spring swap,going for the same overall effect?

I've been busy lately,so I haven't had a chamce to.go back to that old wrecking yard,but I hope to go there soon. I need to make a list of what everyone is looking for from there.

I just found & read this entire thread. HOLY CRAP !! this build is spectacular! I'll never need to do anywhere near this to my 521,since it'll be a driver mainly,but it's cool to see the AWESOME possibilities! Thanks for posting this in do much detail,maybe some of it will find it's way into my project.

I like that grille too ! I guess i'll have to look for something similiar. Gotta be less expensive than the ('73? ) bluebird grille that I originally wanted!

I just sent you a message.

I'll pm or call you. I looked at this boat towards the end of the blue lake show,& can't get it out of my mind! I think it will go good with my 521 when it's finally on the road. Have you done any more work on it?

Nice! Those curb feelers look great on your car!

I bought these 2 inch blocks to go with the 720 4x4 springs I'm getting

I really want to find a way for me to own this boat!

I agree ! It doesn't seem like there's much going om lately in Goon -town. I haven't posted anything,mostly because all I've been doing with my Goon is just driving it every day. It's due for a lot of work,but i'm trying to get my 521 project daily driveable first.

Where is the ad on craig's list? I couldn't find it.