pope_face

I just run regular... with the amount of driving I do I tend not to use premium. I did for the first few months, but then gas prices went up... they were at $1.30/L for regular at one point! Ignoring the exchange rate, that's $3.61 per gallon for regular...

Steroid: Hopefully I haven't completely missed a big thread about this somewhere else, but what are these airdams/rollpans you're referring to? As for on topic, I always love seeing people from the forums on the road. Haven't met anyone off this forum yet, but hopefully sometime soon (and hopefully for all the right reasons!). Which brings me to another thought... anyone considered making Ratsun stickers, with the name and/or logo? I think it'd be nice to show some love for the site that keeps your favorite car running... :D

"Strobe" stripe? I'm assuming you mean like a dashed line? Edit: I see what you mean... looks pretty good. Haven't seen it on a Datsun yet.

Clean engine... seems like everyone here knows their way around an engine rebuild. And yeah, those valves are pretty hardcore... were they even sealing properly? I run only Chevron in my DD too... not sure if it makes much of a difference, but it seems to keep the engine happier than the no-name brands... could just be what I want to think though...

I know you said it took you a while to do the blasting yourself, but I'm trying to figure out how long it would take a shop to do it. I want it done well, so all the paint and rust is stripped without warping the body. I know it's going to cost me, but if I could get all the panels blasted and primered in weld-through primer for under $1000 I'd consider it... if I could get all the welding done as well for that price, then I'd probably go for it. I really don't know how much it costs to get these things done around here, so I can't really begin making a decision on which route to take. I'll look around at some of the shops here and call that place in Washington, but I don't even know which places to start with around here... I need a reliable shop, but who that is, I don't know.

Alright, perhaps I can spark a bit more interest in this by actually posting what I want to do, so here goes: Mechanical: The truck came stock with a J13 and a four speed standard. I'd rebuild it, but I need an automatic transmission, so I'll likely pick up an L-Series and go from there. I'm not too keen on electronics and computer components in my engines, so I want a carbed engine, as well as one that won't have too much emissions equipment. Because of this, I was going to get an L16, but I'm leaning more towards getting an L20B now and spec'ing it to the early model 620's... hopefully that'll get rid of any emissions equipment on it. I've never done an engine build before, so I need to keep it pretty simple... strip and clean the block, replace the alternator (probably with a Saturn alt), and get new gaskets/seals/rubber all around, and likely switch the old fuel lines while I'm at it. Until I learn more about engines, I'll keep this one N/A, so I might try to bump up compression a little bit, either by replacing the head or the pistons... I'd like to run regular gas though, rather than premium, so this may or may not happen. I might swap the cam and valve assemblies, but I haven't decided on that yet. Same thing with the carbs... I'd like to run dual carbs, just for the sake of running dual carbs, but I haven't decided on whether or not I'll do that, or the actual carb I'll be using. Same thing with side-draft vs down-draft. Exhaust will use a stock manifold, depending on the best one I can find, and I'm hoping to run 2-2.5" piping all the way back through a Magnaflow and dump it just in front of the driver's side rear tire. I'll have to find out how legal that is, but I've always liked the look of that, so I'll see what I can do. As far as the differential goes, it has 4.88 gears at the moment... depending on whether I find a 3 or a 4 speed auto and the powerband on the engine I may swap out the gears. I mostly drive in the city, but I get on the highway enough to make sure I've got proper gears. So far, if I want to keep the stock tire size, it looks like I'll have to drop the ratio. I haven't decided on suspension or brakes yet either. I might keep both stock until I get the truck finished, replacing only the worn components. The only other thing is the wiring harness... I'm not sure of it's current condition, so I'll either see if I can pick up a new replacement somewhere, or get another old harness and rewire it myself. Interior: I'll probably keep this pretty basic... Recover and reinstall the original bench seat, recover the dash, replace a few of the trim pieces. I might try to fix up the stock steering wheel a bit, but I might just get a 620 or one of the Z car (280? Can't remember the model) aftermarket adaptors and throw a Grant or something on... The rearview mirror needs to be changed, maybe I'll get a chrome one from some old American muscle. Other than that it'll be mostly cleaning up the look of the interior, getting all the gauges working properly, and maybe putting in a tach and a metric speedo, as well as a voltmeter and maybe oil pressure gauge. There's no stereo right now either, so a headunit, a couple speakers, and an amp might be a good idea. Body: Everything's getting stripped off and the body will be sandblasted, welded (where needed) and repainted. I'll probably do the paint myself, although I haven't exactly decided on the paint scheme or anything yet. Likely some sort of cream or a light greenish/grey and maybe a simplified version of the current paintjob, probably in different colours. That's really one of the last things I'm worrying about right now. Other than that, I might put in a sunroof or a pop-out rear window... I like the split sunroofs on some of the 620's, so maybe I'll pick one of those up. Most of the body will be left stock... I might shave the front and side marker/turn lights and hide them somewhere, but I haven't decided where yet. There might also be LED's all around, if I can get my ass around to wiring them all up. I love the setup Hainz has with the clear outer lights and the yellow inners, as well as the driving lamps on the bumper, so I'm going to try to do something similar. I like larger outside lamps on a four-light system, so I might get a pair of 7" lights and see if I can get them to fit by hacking into the core support and using a pair of 7" headlight buckets off a Jag or Benz... if it works I'll just make a custom grille and headlight surrounds, likely out of the same plastic honeycomb material they use on new GMC's or Fords, or out of some aluminum and thin mesh. But, regardless of whether or not the 7" lights work, I'm planning to use a round lens out of a two lamp system to get high/low beams in the stock low beam lights, and replacing the stock highbeams lamps with 5.75 yellow fogs... I'll run the high/low beam lamps to the stock switch (maybe wire it to have low beams on even when high beams are on), and then run the fogs to a separate switch. Bumper mounted driving lamps will also get a separate switch. As for the taillights, I'm planning on using three round lamps on either side: the two exterior ones for dual filament bulbs (or equivilant LED setup) for tail and brake/turn lights, with the brake and turn lights sharing the same circuit... same thing as my Explorer. The innermost lights will be a rear red fog lamp on one side, clear reverse lamp on the other. I'll make a roll pan so I can mount the lights flush with the back. I haven't decided on bumpers yet, but I want to be able to have the tailgate come down all the way, so I'll either run without a rear bumper or set it up so it can be moved a bit so it offers protection but can clear the tailgate when it's down. I'll need to put a couple lockboxes in the bed to store all the tools and crap I tend to carry in my cars, and I might make up a tonneau cover to keep everything pretty dry. I would like to be able to have a comfortable enough setup in the bed so that I can sit there if I go to the beach or sleep in it if I go camping or get stuck somewhere out on the road. Some sort of roll-up carpet and padding would probably take care of that, that way if I need to haul something messy around I don't get everything too dirty and I don't have to waste too much time taking the carpet out and putting it back in. I might make an army-style canopy as well, something out of boat canvas with pvc windows or something to keep the rain out... The whole frame would have to be collapsable though, so I could store it and the canopy in the bed when I'm driving around the city. I'm not sure how much of this will work out, but little of it actually requires any major work... most of it's details that require a bit of actual physical work. Then again, plans have a tendancy to change, so if someone comes along with a better idea I might try that. We'll see once I start.

Hahaha, I've never seen that before... too bad there's nowhere to keep him in the pickups... :rolleyes:

Awesome, looks pretty good. How big are those lights? I'm hoping to swap out the tails on mine, and I want to make a rollpan as well, but I'm not sure how small I could actually go before it just looks too wierd and gets hard to see... those lights look like they're just big enough...

five2one: Thanks for the points... I do have a garage, so if I go through with it there shouldn't be much of an issue with that. I can see what you mean about the moisture and hassle of it all... The only reason I'm even considering doing it myself is just because of the amount of work needed. If it was only a couple panels or even just the cab or frame I'd take it into the shop, but I need everything done... you said the bed took about an hour and a half... I suppose the cab might take about 2, 2.5, the frame maybe an hour if it's stubborn, and then however long it takes to do the tailgate, both doors, both fenders, and hood... maybe another two or so hours for those last bits... so assuming they get it done quick, it might take 6.5 hours to get the entire thing done... Actually, I do see your point now... I suppose the hardest to do would be the cab... other than that everything else should be pretty basic, at least for the shop. I might actually look around for a shop to do it... if I could get them to sandblast all the paint and rust off, then paint it in a weld-through primer I could get the welding done when I have time... else I'll have to get it sandblasted, welded, and then primed in pretty quick sucession... Again, nobody knows of any reputable shops this side of the border? I'll try giving Alternative Blasters a call, like mentioned above, but ideally I'd rather not deal with crossing the border.

five2one: Thanks for the info... Any idea if this will strip off things like Rhinoliner or undercoatings? I'm not sure if I have any on my truck, but if I do I'd like to know that I can get it off, rather than ending up with bare metal in most spots and big chunks of rubber in others. It doesn't sound that bad if you're willing to take the time to do it yourself... I'm planning on doing most of the paint and welding myself anyways, so I suppose it would make sense to do the sandblasting as well. You didn't mention the type of compressor you used though... will most normal contractor air compressors work, or does it require something special (high pressure, high volume, certain adaptors, etc)? I have access to reasonably good air compressors, so if I can just use a normal one for both sandblasting and paint it'll save me some money.

Alright, a project thread is useless without pics, and I may as well do my best to keep all the info in here, rather than all over the place, so here they are: So far it could use a fair bit of work... The entire truck has been painted recently enough to cover rust spots, including the frame, so it'll all get stripped off so I can see what I'm really working with. The frame needs a bit of welding in a couple spots where it's becoming more of a C-frame than boxed... The driver's side fender is rusted right over the headlight, and it appears to have been pached with fiberglass and then repainted, but until I get the fender off I won't really know for sure if I can repair it myself, or if I need to replace the fender. The triangular hood support isn't attached to the hood skin, so it's fairly flexible and that might be what's causing the gap you can see on the passenger's side in the last pic. Apparently at some point the previous, previous owner was going down the highway and the hood latch wasn't closed properly, and it just shot up... not sure if it bent or not, but the mounting point on the hood for the driver's side hinge is shot... It's almost rusted out completely, so when the hood's up it moves a lot more than it should. As for the cab itself, it appears to be in reasonably good condition, although I was told there was a small hole in the floor that was patched up with fiberglass... again, I won't be able to tell what's going on with it until I strip everything out, but I'm not planning on replacing the cab, so it'll have to get welded up. Other than that, the alternator isn't charging and the carb needs a rebuild, but I'm planning an engine swap anyways so those don't really make much difference. The stock turn signal stalk doesn't work, so the orange box on the steering column has taken over that job until I get it fixed. The water temp gauge doesn't work, so it's been replaced with an aftermarket one, bolted to the dash below the gas gauge... which, coincidentally, also doesn't work... it shows half a tank when it's full. Probably just a bad connection to the sender unit. Else, the bench seat is bad enough to see the springs in a couple spots, so it'll have to be recovered at some point. The dash and some of the plastic bits are cracked or missing bits. The steering wheel either needs to be replaced or see some major therapy, although it's usable, and the rearview mirror is so old and dry it turns to powder when I touch it. There's no rear bumper, and the tail-lights certainly aren't stock, but that's not really much of a problem for me. Most of these are pretty small points, but they add up... Even so, it shouldn't be too difficult to get things sorted out so they look/work reasonably well. I'm not looking for a show truck, but at least a good daily driver.

That is pretty nice... I think it would great on airbags with some paint and shaved everything... Sexy... Alas, I'm too far away, and trying to focus on one project ATM... Hopefully someone else will grab it.

Thanks... :rolleyes: I'm not into 13" Daytons, just like I'm not into 22's. I'm into simpler wheels with some dish to them and big enough to suit the car, but not so big to overpower it. The only reason I said Euro was because the VW's were really the only cars I saw sporting these tire/wheel combos, and I'd never heard the term "stretched" applied in this way before... Then again, I've been more into the import tuners rather than American muscle for a while, so maybe my view is biased. Who knows? Truth is, I roughly priced out what it would cost to get something like this, and it ended up being quite a bit more than I'd originally expected... So it looks like the Datsun will be spared the embarassment (:rolleyes:) of the look, at least for the time being.

Alright, I've only been on here a few days, but I've gleaned just about enough information to somewhat figure out what my plans are with this truck, although at the moment everything is still debatable and I'm always open to new ideas... But, there's no point in me asking for suggestions if you don't know my abilities, so I ought to go through that first... this is the first "official" rebuild I'm undertaking... I've owned a couple cars so far, but by no means am I an expert. I've never undertaken an engine rebuild, I've never done bodywork, I've never done welding, and I have limited formal knowledge of the technical details of most vehicles... I do, however, have the inclination (and I hope aptitude) to learn more about cars and get things done right the first time... Also, I tend to ask a lot of questions and ramble on incessantly (as you've all likely been been subjected to already), but hopefully you'll get used to it... :rolleyes: Those of you in the truck forum have likely already been introduced to Madeline... A 1970 L521, currently with a J13 and a four speed. I got her about two months ago, almost to the day, but so far there hasn't been any actual work happening, save for research and brainstorming. I don't actually get my garage space for another month either, but I've got plenty of time to do the build, and it'll give me some more time to think about where I'm going with this first before I get knee-deep in it. However, there are some basic principles I'll do my best to stick to: 1) Cost. You all know what this means, at least in relation to Datsuns. I think the forum name pretty much sums it up. This is going to be a low-budget build. Not the "duct-tape and bailing wire" kind of low budget, but the "making smart decisions" type of low budget... I hope. I plan on doing most of the work myself, with the exception of the things I absolutely cannot do, and I'll try to get someone else to do those for cheap. Hopefully, that won't be much. The majority of parts will be used, although I'll do my best to get them in the best condition possible, or at least in a condition that I can fix myself. If there's no way to get a used part in a condition I can fix myself, then it's either get it fixed by someone who knows how to, or just get a new replacement part, depending on the rarity. All this brings me to my next point... 2) Function There's no point in me putting time and money into rebuilding something if I'm not going to do it well, so I'm going to do the best I can. I know it won't compare in certain areas to a lot of your cars, and I'm not planning on making it fancier than most of today's car, but it'll do what I need it to do. Exactly what that comes down to, I don't know, but what I do know is that I want an "SUV" of sorts... sport utility vehicle. I can barely afford to register and insure one vehicle on "normal" (day-to-day driving) plates, let alone two, so this has to be a daily driver. I'm also big on utility and adaptability, so I need something I can take to work or school in the morning, dinner dates in the evening, the beach on weekends, and parties at midnight. Then again, beach cruises and dates aren't as much fun if I can't show off with a bit of speed, and what's the point of having a pickup that can't haul anything? Having said that, it has to be sporty and fun to drive... it doesn't have to be stupidly fast (it's already terrifying going down a straight freeway at 160 km/h in a 4,300+ lb steel rocket of a 17 year old Explorer, let alone trying to do that in a 37 year old Datsun) but it has to be able to keep up with (and pass) highway traffic, have enough pep for some fun city driving, and handle well enough to ride the Sea-To-Sky at posted speeds with room to spare. Finally, I tend to beat on my cars a lot, so it has to be able to handle any abuse I can throw at it, but that goes back to doing the work right in the first place... 3) Form Just because it's functional, doesn't mean it can't be stylish. Sure, anyone can have the same build requirements as me, but what ultimately makes Madeline mine is the execution... I've got vague ideas about how I want everything to look, but the basic concept is this: Simplicity. I've always liked clean lines and accents to gaudy colours and bling... However, that doesn't mean I'm going to make it 'plain'. It'll express a view that I believe in, and that's the key. It is, however, getting late, and I've already gone on for far too long... Hopefully I won't kill your interest with too much typing. I'll post what I know about the current status of the truck, as well as some potential plans, next time I'm around.

Er... how did you break the plug? Do you mean just cracking the porcelein insulator, or do you mean separating the thread from the hex part? If you mean the porcelein insulator, then it makes no difference... if you mean separating the thread from the head (?), then you're probably pretty screwed... I've never had this happen before, but from what I figure your best bet would be to remove the head and see if you can get some leverage on it from the inside... if not, maybe drilling it out just enough to remove the inner part but not contact the threads, then trying to break it free or crush it... If all else fails, drill it out and use a helicoil... I don't know how well heating would work, but I'd be antsy about it because you might crack/warp the area around the spark plug... But, maybe someone else can chime in on this...

Nice moonroof... were those stock on KC's, were they a 620 specific aftermarket part, or was it something originally designed for a different car? I wouldn't mind a moonroof in my 521...

Looks pretty good... likely going to be the same route I'll be taking as soon as I take over the garage... Hopefully I'll just be able to drill out the welds rather than having to torch them off... I'd rather keep it all pretty basic and avoid any welding or anything unless I have to. Thanks for the info.

Alright, looks like I would've found what I needed sooner if I'd done a google search... just another reason to do a search before asking stupid questions... but, if anyone's interested, there's a pretty good rundown here. It doesn't answer all the questions though...

Does anyone know anything about the Euro look wheel/tire combos? I'm assume that's what stretched tires are... tires with a tread that's narrower than the wheel width, so the sidewall just curves down and in, rather than extending past the lip of the rim. I've always liked the look and I'd like to try it on my 521. My truck has 195/75R14's on it, on what looks to be 14x7" rims, so I'll just use those for comparison. Now, let's just assume the entire drivetrain is being kept the same, and I want to affect my top speed and acceleration as little as possible... so the tire diameter has to stay very close to what it is currently. I also want to keep the same amount of tread, or more, on the road... and I think the whole setup looks best with lower profile tires than stock, maybe with about 2" of sidewall... so I'm likely looking at 16x8" wheels or larger... What I want to know is, has anyone had any experiance with a wheel/tire combination of this sort, either running it themselves or knowing someone who has? Is there: A) A limit to how much narrower the tread can be compared to the wheel width? (In terms of actual measurements and/or a percentage) B) A recommended sidewall width range? (Again, in terms of actual measurements and/or a ratio/percentage of sidewall width to wheel diameter) C) A recommended ratio of A to B? (i.e.: for every X" of sidewall width, do not exceed Y" of difference between tread and wheel width.) D) Is there a certain type of tire that should be used when doing something like this? For example, passenger vs light truck, high performance vs all season, etc. E) Will stretching the tire affect any of the tires specs, in terms of speed rating, load capacity, tire pressure, etc? I don't think speed rating would be affected, but I can see the maximum load decreasing... I'm not sure how tire pressure would be affected, other than having to more vigilant about keeping the tires properly inflated at all times... There are probably more questions that I could ask, but I can't think of any more... I know this is something to ask a tire shop, but I'd like to go in and ask more specific questions rather than spending half an hour asking about basics... Thanks for the help... hopefully this will be useful to more people than just me... :rolleyes:

Hey Mike... your plates are expired... I like the whole "wet look" tires... Then again, I also like whitewalls and "stretched" (correct term?) tires... Actually, I do have a question about that, but I'll post it up in the suspension forum... it looks like that's where the tires are being stuck ATM.

Wow... these trucks have to have the easiest suspension to modify in the world... I've never read anything that basic before... Rest of world: "First figure out how much you're going to drop it, then go buy some coils, then take out these washers, cut the springs down 13/346th of an inch, over-torque the bolts by 56 ft/lbs, buy the most expensive shocks you can find, and then take it to the shop and get them to do it for you..." Datsun crowd: "Just stick these blocks of steel between your rear axle and leaf springs, then turn these nuts on the front until it looks good." Actually, come to think of it, these trucks seem to be the easiest to modify in any sense... Wierd, some of the greatest (in some senses) vehicles ever made are from a company that hasn't existed in some thirty years...

Nice... pretty slick looking wheels... And I vote... 15x8"! Or 16x8"... I'm not sure about down there, but up here there are many different tires available for the 15x8" rim... As far as I know, a 15x8" will accept most "standard" light truck tires, as well as 30x9.5's to 32x11.50's... If you want to go larger you could always get 15x10's, but I don't think you'd be able to move the tires, let alone the truck too... Are you regearing your rear end? Have you considered the 4.88 gears out of the old J13 L521's? I'm not sure about how well the differential would bolt up to the stock driveshaft, and I don't even know if you can find them there, but the width should be pretty close, and even if it was off a bit you could use spacers to set the wheels out further... then again, you don't really have a bed to interfere with your clearance... Actually, does anyone know the maximum tire/wheel combo that will fit on the trucks? I'd like to know specifically for the 521, but I'm pretty sure most people would be interested for one model or another.

$200 for all four, or per wheel? And what are those off of? They look vaguely familiar, but I can't keep track of all the lookalikes nowadays...

Well, you sound like you know more than I do, so keep up the good work... =P Which wheels are you using? Is it an Australian company, or do they just happen to be used by the Aussie teams?

Something I haven't thought of asking till now, but are the L-Series interference engines or not? I know the Hondas are, so timing belts are something to really keep on top of... just wondering if it's the same deal here...