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How I Found My Datsun


Cruzn620

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It is really interesting to hear people's story's of how they came into the datsun ownership club...mine was just a matter of chance as most people's, but i thought i would share it anyway. I was driving around town on some errands, and i drove past my buddy's mom's tattoo shop and out side there was this truck that i had never seen before, it was old i could tell, but it had the smallest extended cab i had ever seen! i thought it looked funny, but really cool. so i got home, got online and found out that it was a datsun king cab truck. From that moment on, i had to have one. Being a long time (hahaha..long time...for the last 7 years) mini trucker, i already had visions of that truck laid out with a nice paint job. I searched classifieds, ebay, anything i could get my hands on, until one day i was driving back to my parent's house for a holiday meal and i spotted one. This truck was sitting right next to one of my cousin's trucking company's big rigs, so i called him up. Turns out, it belonged to one of his driver's, so i got his phone number and gave him a call. Unfortunatly he realized how bad i wanted the truck, so he marked it up BIG TIME. so i finally saved my money and i called to arrange a meeting time, when he told me that he blew a head gasket on it. i talked him down $200 more dollars and my dad and i went to pick up the truck. i got it home and drove it around town a bit before i realized it was time to dig into the motor. being a motorcycle racer and mechanic, i thought i knew it all, so i started tearing into it. i had the head reworked, valves, seats, spings, bought a new dizzy, water pump, timing set, belts, hoses, radiator, all that good stuff. i got it all back together...wouldn't run. double checked everything...wouldn't run. i had a mechanic (A REAL MECHANIC) look at it, and he was like "dude, you don't have any compression on your #1 cylinder" so i was baffled...it had compression when i tore it down, now its gone? so i was bummed out that i was looking at a rebuild, and i basically let the truck sit for a year. after going to several truck shows this year, i got the itch again. i took the head off, reinspected it, and found a STAPLE in the #1 cylinder exhaust valve seat...a STAPLE!! it had to get in there from the machine shop because i dont own a stapler...so i got that out, lapped my valves, and it was installation time. i got that on, new battery (old one had a bad cell, couldnt spin the motor over fast enough for it to hit) and turned the distributor a bit and wham...fired right up!!! so now i have a running datsun and the build up is beginning. I am going to be doing a full frame off restoration, shaving the body, bags, body drop, KA24de pushing 15PSI boost swap (eventually) and of course paint and a LOT of interior mods, including right hand drive. i am expecting the build to take 4-5 years, but hopefully will have the body straight and bagged and body dropped by the end of next year so i can save up for all the tools i'll need to do the rest of the work. That is my datsun story and i'm sticking to it. what is yours???

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Several years after the '72 oil crisis I bought a new '76 B-210. My first car had been a '70 340 Dart 4spd and after that several cars with V8s including a '57 Chev and a '69 Charger. Anyway times were changing and performance cars were out, well, too expensive on gas for sure. I grew up on 7 1/2 cent a liter/34 cents an Imperial gallon gas, man they gave it away.

 

Enter the B-210. What can I say, what it lacked in brute HP it made up for in being fun to drive. A year or so later a doper at work needed $50 for his car so I bought it from him. Another Datsun. A 510. Since he never legally put it on the road I was the second owner. This one was even better on muddy rutted back roads.

 

What I didn't particularly want, but needed, was a truck, and so I looked for a Datsun. What I found was a tired '71. With a lot of wire a chewing gum I kept it on the road for 7-8 years. (the stories I could tell) This is when i saw my first 620 that a friend was stripping. This was it! This was the truck I wanted to spend my life with! lol All I remember was that it had a 5spd, so no older than '77. I kept my 521 for another 5-6 years and life happened and time passed.

 

About 15 years age I moved my family to BC and began living the life. This included cutting wood for my own wood stove. Well a truck would be handy for this so I asked around. A buddy mentioned a co-worker of his that had a small truck for $100. After a lot of back and forth I got his address and went for a look. It was a 620!!! I gave my friend the money and he went to see him at work the next day. That night he told me it was mine and handed back $25 that he had talked the guy out of. What a Bud! Truck of my dreams for $74. That's right, there was a Loony under the pass seat.

 

That's my story.

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How I found my DATSUN... Well I purchased my first datsun ('74 620) around 2yrs ago but the journey started over 21yrs ago... Here we go!... around 1986 my older brother had a '74 620 and his friends owned a '73 and a '76 620's (this was bigtime mini truck day's!!!!) I used to watch them customize their truck's in my dad's garage paint schemes, rims, custom interiors etc.. when my brother decided to sell his '74 620 I offered to buy but he wanted more money!!! (I was pissed) at that time I was only 15yrs old... as I got older I started collecting and restoring other classic vehicles mostly chevy's... but I never stopped thinking of the 620 and It's beautiful line's. I would from time to time "search for one" but they were always to much, to far away or "it's sold". around 2yrs ago me and my wife got to talking and i decided that's it I was on a mission I looked and looked and looked and one thursday morning I got the recycler classifieds and there she was a 1974 620 running blue 1,100.00 I begged my wife and I said this was the only truck that really meant anything to me and she agreed.:D I called all day until he answered in the late evening i told him my 620 story and said I will give you what you want and more if you let me pick it up tonight... he agreed and I purchased my first datsun 620 that same night. since then I purchased a "73 620 from steroid so now I got 2 620's................ LIFE IS GOOOOOD:D.......... Oh yeah when I see my older brother he always asks me If i want to sell... I JUST TELL HIM "YOU AIN'T GOT ENOUGH:cool:"

that's my story!! 'datsun dreamer.

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well when i was a young kid.. like 3-4-5-6 my grand parents had a b210.. i dont know much about it cause i was so young, so then years later when i was like 12 or so my step dad had a 77 620 i thought it was pretty neat.. well then a few years later i met another guy who had a 77 620 an i liked it alot, I WAS HOOKED... so then i made it a point to own my own one day.. so a few more years later a guy i worked with said hey my friend has a truck like your buddys for sale for $100 all it needs is a head gasket.. i thought hell thats a steel... so i went and bought it... turns out it needed a whole new frickin head, radiator.. an other crap that im sure i've mentioned a million times before.. so like $1000 later an i got a awesome truck that i love

theres my story enjoy

 

p.s its my first vehicle.. and so far only..

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How I found my Datsun would be an awful long thread here...

 

My folks have had a Datsun since before I was born- they bought a '73 620 brand-new and still have it, though it hasn't run in years (starts, just no brakes from sitting). My mom spent some time and money this summer trying to get it back going again, and has kept the registration current (it's one of the few cars left with "end of month" registration expiration. I have one that way too). They also had a '79 210 wagon from 80-86, but my Dad didn't maintain it well and they sold it to my Grandpa who kept it about a year, realizing he really didn't want such a small car that his dogs don't like riding in.

 

Anyhow, I got my learner's permit in '89, and after finishing Driver's Ed, my folks decided they didn't want their insurance rates going up so they wouldn't let me get a license until the permit expired OR I needed the licence. But, my Mom decided I needed a car to practice on that wasn't an '83 Dodge Van (stick shift!) or a '77 Malibu. The '73 pickup was tempermental at best- it had a lot of small issues that kept it down under 2000 miles a year, and my folks figured that once I got my license I needed a CAR since I'd be driving not just me but my sister to school- putting the backpacks in the bed wouldn't be good in Seattle winters.

 

I had always liked the '78 510 wagon our Church's music director had, and being a Datsun, my mom could work on it (similar enough to the 620), so when we saw a clean green '78 wagon at the local dealer used car lot, she bought it. Big mistake- the car had major compression problems, oil consumpteion, and cost way too much. But, it was mine to learn on, and I took my on-street test in it the week before Christmas, 1990. It didn't last long- in March '91 I got T-boned by a woman in a Prelude who blew a red light right into the passenger doors. My mom was in the passenger seat, got a pretty badly bruised arm, but even with my statement and my Mom's statement the cops wouldn't take my story that the Prelude lady ran the red (she even asked ME who had the green, but changed her story when the cops showed up) and the cops put down "undetermined" as the cause. Plus the Prelude chick had no insurance. Before the Insurance company came to take it I recovered my radio and we gave the driver's seat to the Church's music director, since his had the common 70s Datsun seatback failure (my folk's 210 had the same problem).

 

Well, that was the end of that, right? I was stuck driving the 620 to school, so I put the decrepid '70s canopy that didn't fit (it was for a LUV) on the back to keep my books dry. My folks bought my Grandpa's '79 LTD wagon for me, but circumstances change...

 

That summer the church Music Director decided to move to Cali. He didn't want to take his '78 510 Wagon with him- it had 200,000 miles and was pretty worn from all his ski trips. He bought a Mazda 323 but the dealer only offered him $300 trade (this is the same dealer my Mom paid $1800 for the oil-burner green one). My mom offered him twice the amount- he did NOT want to sell her that worn out car, but she persisted and I came home from my summer job working in a rubber factory (no, not THAT kind of rubber!) and found the brown '78 510 in the backyard. My mom handed me the keys and said here, it's yours. Since I was only 17 at the time I couldn't legally own it, but I got the title a couple years later when I was in the Navy. Still have it to this day... another 100,000 miles later. The church music director? He came back in the late 90s and couldn't believe I still had it. And yes, the driver's seat is the one I was sitting in the day I got T-boned in 1991.

 

The rest of the Datsun fleet would grow to this day. Some have some strange tales, some were pretty simple. No others were bought from dealers, though.

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my story is a simple one.

 

basically my 620 was my first car. Dad used to work at an abbitior and they had about 5 of them on site for the maintainence guys to drive around in.

 

one of his work mates had a white 1978 one which he used to drive to and from work in. he was upgrading to a 720 so my old man basically bought the registered one off him and got it home.

 

needed lots of work, such as new guards, complete brake overhaul, new tyres, rims and suspension. we got it going and i was happy as pie crusing around in the datto.

until it done a clutch one day ( i used to work as a pool installer and we used to tow the old pool linings out with it ). i thought it had done something worse so we pulled the motor down, to find it had the original honing marks on the bores!!

 

instead of rebuilding we just bought complete cars and stole the motors out of them to put into the rego'd 620. and thats where it came to the stage of buying more engines, or putting something faster and more reliable in there.

 

and as it sits at the moment it has no diff in it, no engine in it, in bare metal awaiting funds to be painted and reassembled.

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  • 3 weeks later...

72 521 i got in 1996 after driving by it a couple dozen times i had to buy it. it had a sale sign in it and was straight for $500 i gave the old guy some new $100 bills from the new design of that year. i had to tell him they weren't fake.

 

71 521 i got last year from craigslist for $260. it's my daily beater.

 

77 620 i bought this year from a person i know to help him out. sore subject. it's not worth the metal it's stamped on.

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ok my story (for the truck everyone says doesn't exist) The truck was being driven daily by a neighbor of my best friend,it was love at first site!It took me 18 months to get it from him.(and if his wife didn't get pregnant I probably still would not have it)but for the skinny I want to get the motor/tranny combo perfected before it is rolled out.

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So if you have seen my 620 on another website,bear with me. Those who haven't...this was my Dads in the 80's. It was sold years ago and I found the owner, after setting for 13 years I got it back. I have a L20,U67,header,SU manifold,280z 5speed. I am still in the process of getting it together.

 

:blink:

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(for the truck everyone says doesn't exist) I want to get the motor/tranny combo perfected before it is rolled out.

 

we say it doesnt exist because it doesnt... well atleast to us.. we've never seen it.. there for its not real.. well except maybe in your imagination.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HAHAHAHAHA JUST FUCKIN WITH YA

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we say it doesnt exist because it doesnt... well atleast to us.. we've never seen it.. there for its not real.. well except maybe in your imagination.....

 

HAHAHAHAHA JUST FUCKIN WITH YA

 

Aaah... anticipation!!!!! It's better than sex! ... always available, guilt free, safe, no special tools needed and you don't have to 'snuggle' after.:lol:

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haha that's a good one... my best and most used excuse was a cigarette... i would immed grab one and act like i was gonna light it, they'd tell me i had to go outside and then i'd chain smoke a couple... then the moment has passed and i've got to go cause i've got "plans" ... which is true... i plan on leaving.. haha

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Ok, so I am a bit older...ha, that means I have had time to own more Datsuns.

 

My friends and I were going for a ride in my other buddy's 1965 PL 410 sedan. This was in 1975!! Well this guy apparently never did any maintence to the car and on I 5 north we heard a funny noise and started to pull over when the drivers side rear wheel went flying off into the traffic. The wheel went across the meridian and smashed into a nice new Audi. Our driver had no insurance and was so angry "at the car" that he said he was going to let the city tow it away. Smart me..I asked if I could have it and he said yes!

 

I took it eventually to a place I worked at called Wings Aloft, where we did small plane maintence and the guys there helped me alot as they all loved the old little car. It got a complete rebuild, paint job and I restored the interior to original. The previous owner did not believe in stop signs, as he had damage to all four corners of the car and doors too. Even though the car was then only 10 years old, it was in terrible shape, but ran, sort of.

 

The car was my daily driver and I used overflow AV gas, filtered thru a coffee filter for 5 years. Then I took up autocross racing and even won my class in 1992. I had put on a Weber carb, stiffer shocks, better exhaust, racing harness and Datsun 411 disc brakes up front. Otherwise, even today it is still orignal, the last of the positive ground Datsuns (65) with the original E1 engine and tranny. It still starts up easily and runs fine. It has over 600,000 documented miles on it, but I did drive it daily for a great many years. Jeff has laid his hands on it and many NWDE members remember it from many years back. I love to take it to shows, but havent' lately as the body now needs some work and a nice new paint job.

 

This is a very rare car and if anyone knows of any others, I sure would like to hear about them. It has the same engine as the 320 trucks. Of course this crazy Datsun affliction has led to the ownership of many other Datsuns and always looking for more. My 65 PL 410 does remain my favorite Datsun.

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Well, I was born and raised up north (Alaska) so I can't say I really saw many Datsun's growing up. The few I did see were rusted away but the motor was always still going strong, I was impressed by their durability but didn't really give them much thought. I was a MOPAR girl.. :P

 

Then I met tdaaj. He said he liked Datsuns and I asked how many he owned. He said he didn't know so I made him guess.. "Um.. 20 something?" :eek:

 

I figured if he found them intriguing enough to have that freaking many than there must be something to it. So I started researching them and learning from him, I was impressed, and now I have my own lil' 521

 

Although what I really want next is a 4wd Datsun.. :cool:

 

So I guess now I'm a Mopar/Datsun gal :D

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