pope_face

Jester: I was referring to Fisch's post up at the top... he mentions 9" Cragers... As for the Chevy wheels... I'm not sure about the Suburban ones in particular, but it's been rumoured around here that you'll have to either bore out the center of the wheels, or grind down the hubs on your truck to make them fit... That's if you can't/don't want to use spacers... Actually... there was another thread around here with a pretty in-depth exploration of Titans, IIRC...

The price looks good, but I have no idea about the quality or anything though. But, the braking surface on the rotors looks a bit small... or is it just me? I'd check out the OEM stuff to compare the total diameters... The other thing is the width... you've gotta make sure the rotor will fit inside the caliper, and won't be too small (I think too small is bad, right?). And... maybe distance from the front of the actual rotor to the inside of the hub mount? Maybe thickness of the center part? Not sure if it'll make a difference for the brackets or not...

Hmm... 9" might be a bit wide... I don't think I'd trust running something like that on a 521, unless it's on the back. The offset sounds pretty neutral though... I think the truck offsets were like -5 to +15 or something, but don't quote me on that. But, I think +20 offset still gives it less than 5 1/2" backspacing, so if Titans fit the fronts (without spacers) then you ought to be good. But... the Cragers will stick over an inch further out, so you might rub on the fender, and if you need spacers then you're probably screwed... depending on the rim diameter, you might need to run either shorter or narrower tires, or roll the fenders, or even flare them... Unless the Cragers are free or really cheap, you might be better off finding another set, or getting a new set from a shop that you know will work (test fit!). That is, unless someone can tell you for sure whether or not they'll fit...

Just out of curiosity, you will need to adjust the camber with IRS if you change the height of the truck, correct?

Doesn't look like it to me... four hooks, same as mine. Didn't the long beds have 5? Not bad... I could use another one, but that's a bit far for me to travel...

The Unimog is a dream of mine... but that is one sexy FJ...

Ah, now that makes sense. Do you have any idea what was the standard engine available with these conversions? Sorry for all the little questions, but it's kinda cool... I'm starting to appreciate the truck a hell of a lot more knowing all this... :D

D: Just out of curiosity, is the Datsun your only vehicle at the moment, or do you have a daily driver? Do you need a daily? I won't tell you whether or not to get the other truck, but I do suggest you think about it. I know how it is to not want to tear into something that's so old, but nothing lasts forever... life's like that. Few people have issues tearing into cars that are only a couple years old, and in 30 years a clean, unmodified Nissan Frontier or Ford Mustang might be as scarce as a clean Datsun. Maybe I'm commiting blasphemy by saying so, but as far as I know our trucks aren't the most desirable vehicle to come out of the Seventies... I mean hell, it seems a lot of people here own more than one Datsun... I've only had mine for a few months and I'm already considering picking up another... If the rest of the world wanted them as badly as us, they'd be fetching big bucks at collectors auctions, and most of us probably wouldn't be able to afford more than one, if even that. Look at the "museum" 620 in one of the other threads here... what's $6000 for a restored piece of history? Sorry for the rant... Either way, it seems as if you're going to end up with a Datsun, and that's good enough for me. But, customizing a car is personal... I know that personally I'd much rather start from scratch than continue what someone else left off. /end rant

Wow... I don't mean to intrude or anything, but may I ask why? Edit: Wait, nevermind... just saw your other thread...

Er... I can't tell if you're serious... :blink:

Makya: Thanks for that info... I didn't realize that Low Mfg. was a company that did these. Nice to know that it's period correct and dealer options... It makes sense to use American components due to availability, but it seems almost overkill, at least at the time. I don't know much about American trucks of the 70's, but it seems like there were already a few 4x4's of various sizes on the market. I'm pretty sure there were a few Japanese 4x4s available as well, like the Toyota pickup and the Nissan Patrol... I'm curious as to why they used American components rather than Japanese ones... it seems as if it would require more work to fit an American V8 as opposed to a Japanese I4. The only real reason I could see for that would be to get more power out of a Japanese-styled truck... but swapping an engine in a car seems to be a fairly personal choice. It seems that there'd be few people that would want an American engine in a Japanese truck that was off-road capable... was there really that much demand to make these kinds of conversions marketable?

Not hard, but you have to swap out both the engine and transmission as well as replacing all the motor mounts. I don't think the frame or body changed at all, save for minor differences like marker light placement. But, like I said, you have to weld in new motor mounts, so make sure to get an engine that has them... you may as well try to get a 5-speed transmission while you're at it. The only other thing is the differential gearing is so low... but, if that works for you then keep it.

Looks good! Excited? Are you going to touch up the paint at all, or are you not bothering with that until you get some more work done to it?

It looks clean, but I'm not really diggin' it. I don't know any of the history behind it, so this is just my layman's opinion, but it looks like a nice restomod, but that's about it. Personally, I think that some of the other 620's posted around the forum are a lot nicer. I'm not keen on the American components used in it (I'm biased...), and I don't much see the point in having it off-road capable if it's too nice to use offroad... But then again I'm against the new Hummers, just because I think they're somewhat useless... I like the body work, I like the restoration, and it's a nice, clean truck, but I just don't think it's a museum piece. Showpiece, sure, but I'd rather see complete, original Datsuns, or ones modified with period-correct parts in a museum. But, that's just my take on it, but I know nothing about the history of this truck... anybody care to clue me in? Is this one of a series of dealer-modified vehicles, or factory variations, or was it one of a run modified by a specific guy/shop (like the old Shelby Mustangs?), or is this just a 620 that someone took and made into a one-off 4x4?

Sounds a bit low... But, the heater in my truck doesn't work either... actually, neither do the blowers. But, the heater in my daily blows HOT. I've never checked it with a thermometer, but it's hot enough to make my hands hurt if I hold them over the vent for too long... Are you getting enough hot water running through the lines? Maybe your lines are clogged somewhere and you're not getting enough flow... I'd check that, or maybe the heater itself is not switching to full heat when you move the lever (or however it's operated). Does anyone know what other heaters could fit? Or where I could track down a decent aftermarket one or so? I think the old-school VW buses used a similar heater, but mounted under the seat... could something like that be rigged up to the vents?

Interesting... IIRC the old cons for supercharger were the inefficiancy compared to the turbos, but I think that's not really an issue with the new superchargers... So it seems that superchargers are superior... I know this is somewhat off-topic, but is there anything that a turbo does better than a supercharger?

You don't need a blow-off valve? I thought you would, like in that video you posted... I know the supercharger runs off the engine rpm's, but if you're trying to drop the revs quickly couldn't there be some "residual" pressure left? You would need some sort of valve to control the amount of boost though, correct? Then again, I'm an idiot when it comes to superchargers because I never really bothered to learn too much about them... I just figured most of the principles were the same as a turbo...

Oh, sorry... I didn't realize you had the same setup... I hate to be a pain and ask so many questions, but would you mind telling me how much lift you get in the front? Do you have issues with camber if it's either really low or really high, and which heights does the camber become noticable/affect the handling? Within an inch of the lowest/highest setting? Two, three inches?

I just noticed it's a RHD too...

Are you keen on keeping the bench? You could always swap over to bucket seats. As for the brackets... I wish I could help ya, but I really don't know... I just know that the benches vary in widths between a couple of the models...

Happy: It doesn't look like it has lights at all, but those ones you have are usually pretty easy to find. I can't tell if they're domed or flat, but if they're domed then I think GMC uses them as clearance/identification lights on the roofs of their small cab-over trucks. You could call them. Or... Pepboys/NAPA/whatever y'all have down in states should have just lenses for either the domed or flat ones.

Pretty cool... and yeah, both of them have pros and cons... the first one's FI, which is pretty cool, but it seems a bit too... thrown together almost. The parts look like they work together but don't quite fit. The one that Mike posted definately looks a lot better... Er, wow... I just watched the video... I always preferred turbos over superchargers, but that was just plain cool...

Yeah I've looked at a few threads and I know it'll fit, but as far as I know that's with more or less stock front suspension/steering. I'm just not sure if a suspension setup like airedout's or Bee's would interfere with the engine... then again, there's always some way to make something fit...

Alright, well I suppose I'll focus on getting the engine and doing a test fit, and then go from there... I don't mind hacking into the engine bay, but I'd rather not cut too much into the firewall... I can get comfortable behind the wheel now, but I think if I take out any more room it'll get too small for me to drive.

Looks pretty good... glad to hear it's just as nice in person as in the pics. Now it'll look even better... :D