yenpit

FYI those plastic pieces vary between Datsun models ie 521 510 Z cars etc, so if you are buying, make sure you get the correct ones! Don't bother looking for NEW, you will only find USED..... 🙄

thisismatt it's too time consuming for me to box up, get quote, go back n forth with buyer.......but yes, I will do it if necessary! With eBay, I just list a part with a flat rate shipping cost, an international buyer buys it & I simply ship to eBay in KY! Prior to eBay's program, I have had TWO lost international packages & had to spend quite a bit of time trying to rectify...........eBay would now handle all of that thru the program!

The eBay international program just makes selling overseas so much easier for the seller! As far as I know, the buyer gets a discounted cost on shipping too, but I leave that decision up to the buyer!

There are two original 510 shift boot styles......one is round, other is oval. The stamped steel "base" tells you which one. Sorry I can't help with a new round boot. Have you tried new-datsun-parts.com or the seller on Facebook.....maybe Jay Datsun?

Mike responded via PM.........looks like some cool stuff! Gonna get on the road first, then chip away at upgrades.............. 😎

I'm new to the 521 scene (510's 20++ years, Z cars 6++ years), having just bought a 1972 flat bed! mklotz70 what parts did you make? What parts are you considering making now? Only 521 parts or other Datsun models? I've been in & out of the British parts market since the mid 80's, have seen early repop junk & how that repop market grew to what it is today. Sure, there is still repop junk out there, but a good solid 75% of the British repop parts are quite good to even better then original! The one thing I am seeing here in the Datsun market, is that the 510 & Z car values are going thru the roof, which to me means that the 520 521 620 720 truck values will follow suit by going up in value.......sure, likely NOT as quickly or as high as the 510's & Z's, but at least up! I chuckle when I see people asking 510 & Z car money for some of the other Datsun sub models, but that is typical in ANY classic car market. FYI I sell quite a few USED 510 & Z car parts on FleaBay. One of the best things to happen with eBay was their introduction of their Global Shipping Program......at least for sellers. If an international buyer purchases something, it gets processed thru that program...................I only have to ship the part to eBay's GSP facility in KY, which means I do NOT have to do ANY of the international pain in the rear stuff to ship it! I have even sold parts internationally thru the forums or Facebook, made a deal with the buyer for me to set up a listing on eBay, I purposefully misspell Datsun or add asterisks etc so nobody else will find & buy out from under the guy I'm working with, the buyer buys it (Buy It Now) & all I do is ship it to KY! I still sell directly internationally every once in a while if the sale is dead simple, but eBay has really made it easier! I know......eBay fees fees fees! Fees are the cost of doing business on an international level, so I gladly deal with it................ TJ

If your existing wood knob that you like has a metal threaded insert that is smaller that your new short shifter lever thread, drill & re-tap to your new thread...... I never liked those newer nylon threaded inserts, cuz under hard use they strip out!

Always replace the old flasher units, both turnsignal AND hazard, with a heavy duty electronic (not just electric like original!) flasher unit! I use Novita part # EL12 (AutoZone) on ALL of our classic cars & even on a recent Factory 5 Shelby Daytona build in our shop! It is a direct plug in, they have never failed me & they seem to "power thru" the old original potential wire harness corrosion!

FYI I just bought the NEW NOS OEM "Niles" 521 headlight switch off eBay from Thailand, but it is a SIX wire switch.............I'm ASSUMING this switch matches the SIX wire schematic mentioned above, that I do not think is USA spec.......?? Again, my 72 521 only has FOUR wires coming out of the main harness for the headlights. This NEW six wire switch also has a "twist" position like the courtesy/overhead light on a later 70's-80's car ie Ford Chevy etc when they still had headlight "pull on" switches, but I heard (DanielC??) that the JDM trucks might have had fog or driving lights, which MIGHT explain the "twist" on position........?? FYI the "twist" does not work in the OFF position, it only twists in the first (sidemarker lights & tail lights) & second (sidemarker lights, tail lights & headlights) positions. Our tech just ran a continuity test for me on the NEW NOS six wire headlight switch & he does NOT think I can make this NEW six wire switch work by deleting the other TWO wires. Crap! 😝 At least this NEW NOS switch was cheap............... 🙄. Still on the hunt for a FOUR wire switch that will work............. Funny......I grew up with these "pull on" switches on cars. Our tech is much younger & has never had a car with a "pull" on switch..........only the rotary style headlight switches of later cars! (oddly the 70-83 Z ZX's all had a rotary headlight switch). I feel old!!

All of the above ^^^^^^, but there is also an OEM headlight RELAY that can go bad, yes? Man, if you are only getting the sidemarker lighting with key ON, something is really amiss! Soak the fuse box (if it is original????) in white vinegar for a day or two to clean it. If you can post pics, a pic of the top & bottom, clearly showing all of the terminals so we can help verify it is correct. That might help the headlights, but I'm not sure simply cleaning the fuse box will fix the sidemarkers, cuz like they said above..........ALL of the lighting should work WITHOUT the ignition on.............. Be aware that most of the wiring schematics in print & online are NOT correct for our USA spec 521's (same issue with our 510's!). The most common color coded schematic that I see the most online shows SIX wires at the headlight switch, pretty sure ours only had FOUR wires at the switch, my 1972 521 only has FOUR wires!

280Z/280ZX 5speed is the "bolt up to the L series engine" upgrade, but you would need to shorten the driveshaft & fab up a trans crossmember/mount. I think Techno Toy Tuning (T3) here in the States sells a trans crossmember......? Be sure to match your throw out bearing mounting sleeve (attaches to the throw out arm) to whatever clutch kit you use............ ie 280Z Coupe (2+2 uses a different clutch kit) clutch kit you must use the matching 280Z Coupe t/o bearing sleeve. There are at least three different "depth" t/o bearing sleeves. I would expect that you can upgrade to the S13/S14 5speed, but iirc you will still need a 1971-1978 Z car 4speed or a 1977-1983 Z/ZX 5speed bellhousing, either of which requires having one of the front bearing holes machined out larger to suit the larger S13/S14 bearing...........just that one bearing, all else is good. If you decide to lower the car, one of the best budget upgrades for the front is to use the 79-83 280ZX (NOT the earlier 240Z-280Z!!) front strut assemblies with coilover adjustable springs. You have more available choices of replacement strut insert cartridges (shocks) for the ZX struts, a better more conventional caliper, vented rotors & larger wheel bearings. Of course you can also upgrade the rotors & calipers with various suppliers ie Wilwood, Ermish etc etc. Good looking 4dr! Love the dual Weber DCOE's!

They were never sold separately, only with the hinge assembly & they are long NLA NLS. PM me if you need a good USED hinge, as I might have one. Waterford.......do you race the 510 at Waterford Hills? I was in Kzoo & Holland 22 years, but sadly NEVER made it to that track, always attended Gingerman & Grattan! TJ Denver

I've got some original 510 rads, but none are known to be good as is...........I would sell as a rebuildable CORE unit. Shipping to the UK would be painful $$, but I can do it if you want one! Only way to get an exact shipping cost would be to actually box it up, which I just can't do unless it is sold. I can measure one, weigh it & GUESS, but sometimes that bites ya in the rear once it is actually sold & boxed up, cuz of added weight of packing material & added dimensions to accomodate! Another option is buy the aluminum rad & paint or powdercoat black, so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb! I bought an aluminum rad for my 65 Mustang GT, thought about painting it black, but simply didn't want to spend the time, so in it went as aluminum! I got used to it!

You plan on retrofitting a 280Z heater assembly?? 😣 Ugh, you would be MUCH better off locating another 521 unit and/or heater core..........MUCH MUCH better off!! Since buying my truck a month ago & spending time on this 521 forum, I will start buying parts trucks! I've been buying & selling 510 & Z cars & parts for many years, just didn't pay enough attention to the truck series & the need for good parts! I know where one parts truck is in an old school junkyard that is closed down, so I am already working at buying that one, as I know the owner! TJ

The brass crossovers on the bottom are different on the Niles fuse box that is currently on eBay. Am I seeing that you SIMPLY swapped the RED BLACK with the BLUE RED terminal to terminal? As far as I can see, the rest of your wires match mine.............

Old post, but what was the outcome? I've got a 1972 521, working on electrical, want to replace fuse box. Currently there is another OEM Niles fuse box on eBay out of Thailand, but it too is NOT the same as mine. Reading thru Chrlie69's post now, so might go Blue Sea fuse box & modify as instructed.........

If you need heater core parts, yes, there are at least 3 variants for the heater core unit on the USA spec cars...........no clue about the SA or UK or JDM cars! Many 510 parts sellers are not aware of this! The 510 heater valve itself is basically the same 68-73 EXCEPT I think there are at least 2 variants.........the little lever arm that operates the valve. Go to that link that datzenmike posted, go down to the heater valve section. See the first pic that says "a new shiney valve......"? Example you can see that the lever arm for that 620 pick up is very different than the 510.........but again, you would only be using the internal guts anyway. Go to next pics, you can see that the guys original 510 valve has the slotted lever arm. Problem here in States is that all of the heater valves (510 620 etc) are NLA NLS, except the expensive 240Z, so now it is considerably more expensive to rebuild the 510 valve! I'm curious why your hose pipe thru the firewall is so rusty?? Our USA spec pipe/tube is brass & although they too oxidize & fall apart, yours looks like it is a thicker steel pipe/tube.........?? Wonder if the heater valve is different than the USA spec cars??

One point I did not see mentioned, is that all of the 280Z 280ZX 5speeds are considered an overdrive by the 5th gear ratio. There are three different overall gear ratio's, but 5th is what you are after. The easiest to find & cheapest 5speed is the earliest 280Z & early 280ZX with a .864 overdrive 5th. The later 280ZX's had a .745 overdrive 5th & a .733 overdrive 5th. There are visual ques to identify these three different 5speed ratio's, otherwise you need to rotate the trans on the bench & count rotations to identify gear ratio's. The number stamped on the top edge of the bellhousing near the block does NOT help you identify the gear ratio's! As mentioned above, all of these are the long tail, which require a shortened driveshaft..........somebody above mentioned a 620 driveshaft that would fit.........?? I typically get $200-250 for a good rebuildable 5speed CORE, unknown condition, I get more if KNOWN to be good. The days of $100 good 5speeds are going away quickly with the values of the Z's & 510's going thru the roof & that they are 45++ years old! I have given away the 4cyl 4speeds before, cuz most are upgrading to 5speeds. I've had two of the short tail TRUCK 5speeds, but they are gone now. I do not know what gear ratio's those were..............

Sorry, I do not have that early style LONG truck shifter............

Very cool! Haven't seen many Datsun campers that small. 😎

Hmmmmmm if a different market truck ie Costa Rica, what trans is in it? Do you still have your 620 pick up that is listed in your signature to the left of your page? If so, pull rubber boots up on both, compare lower part of shift lever........hopefully the same? If not, post a pic of the 521 lower shift lever, in or out of the truck......either way is good!

I should have a long truck shift lever if you need. I ship internationally, so I should be able to ship via the USPS, yes? Let me know! TJ Denver CO