'79 620 daily

[Gary]

was great! didnt skip a beat all the way into town and back, same deal last night :D

 

nice quiet corner of the parking place:

 

really feeling some L20 though :( will get cracking on that i think

[swb"74"620]

How high Is that off the ground Gary? :D

[Pedro]

Gary does the J15 getting along ok?

 

I'm doing a mini rebuild on one for a 411 wagon, but just want to make sure I'm not completely wasting my time.

[Gary]

How high Is that off the ground Gary? :D

too high! :lol: the height is probably about as low as id go without frame mods, lowest clearance point is the member underneath the engine i think, sits at 110mm from the ground

 

Gary does the J15 getting along ok?

 

I'm doing a mini rebuild on one for a 411 wagon, but just want to make sure I'm not completely wasting my time.

for what it is, it does pretty good. its got torque enough to get up and move something like a 620 (~1050kg i found out recently) when its got 500kg in the tub (ive had a little more than 200kg in it and it barely noticed). so it does what its made to do nicely

 

but its no performance engine, i know some view performance as going heaps fast everywhere but it isnt. having some get up and go and happily reving up nice and smoothly, and accellerating good when the mood takes you is my idea of performance. the J is asthmatic and doesnt really enjoy revving, and doesnt pick up speed too good either. so its a solid engine and one id trust if i ever needed it for something practical like a straight daily driver or a workhorse or something, but if i wanted a good engine to have some fun with id look to other engines that were made with fun in mind (like an L for example :P). this is with a 4.6 rear though, which limits speed to about 100k's before it gets fair uncomfortable, it doesnt seem to really like 80k's, 70k's is nice. i guess depends on box too, the 4speed i have doesnt help performance i reckon, its good for a workhorse though

 

thats just my opinion, they might be a lot better with a weber, a cam, a 5speed and some porting :)

 

progress;

just cleaned and painted a few things for the L20, finished messing about with the exhaust manifold (going to paint it in potbelly black i think). ill get the oil pump and dizzy in tomoz i think

[Gary]

progress;

i degreased then painted the exhaust manifold

 

also got the oil pump back on and the timing thingaligned (i think), and the fuel pump plate and timing inspection cover back on

 

i managed to lose the old alternator :unsure: then when looking about for good replacements found that R31 alternators bolt on and match the belt. the FJ i bought had a quite fresh one so it donated it to the L

 

some more bolting up to go (pretty sure ive mixed 90% of the bolts in with my collection from about 8 other cars :() then its not far away from conversion time

[Gary]

progress;

i made the alternator fit today, i noticed the holes in the arms of the alternator are to suit 10mm mounting bolts, rather than the stock L 8mm. not a critical problem i spose but the slop can make it annoying to align the alternator pulley properly so i turned two sleeves to suit, only because i couldnt be bothered drilling and retapping the stock bracket :(

 

i modified a bolt to plug the other dipstick hole i tapped earlier, and re-fitted one of the water jacket plugs, then lifted the L20 and mounted it on the engine crane sideways so i could get to the crankseal and do the flywheel and clutch. so will probably do that tomoz

[Gary]

progress;

a little more done on the L20

 

removed the old rear main seal, cleaned it up and got the new one in

 

i cleaned the dizzy up a little, nothing fancy

 

i got the new box out for a clean, looking ok now

 

removed the release bearing, removed the old bearing from the carrier and pressed on the new one i got in the clutch kit, greased it up nice then installed it. also cleaned the clutch fork and bent the wire retaining thing back to normal so it works now

 

fitted the sandwich plate, then the flywheel and torqued it up. also did the crank pulley while i was there

 

i made a clutch alignment tool to suit the pilot bearing, and cos i was lazy i made the other end suit a 17mm socket i had that fit the clutch spline perfectly :D worked good :mellow:

 

fitted the clutch and pressure plate, torqued it down nice

 

fitted the box on good then bolted the starter up

 

its just about ready for conversion i think, im thinking about removing the J today so i can get the L in place and figure out engine mounts (gunna try use the 510 mounts ive got, adapt em to suit etc), and figure out where the shifter is going to be in relation to my bench, given its a long 5speed

[goes2fast]

progress;

a little more done on the L20

 

removed the old rear main seal, cleaned it up and got the new one in

 

i cleaned the dizzy up a little, nothing fancy

 

i got the new box out for a clean, looking ok now

 

removed the release bearing, removed the old bearing from the carrier and pressed on the new one i got in the clutch kit, greased it up nice then installed it. also cleaned the clutch fork and bent the wire retaining thing back to normal so it works now

 

fitted the sandwich plate, then the flywheel and torqued it up. also did the crank pulley while i was there

 

i made a clutch alignment tool to suit the pilot bearing, and cos i was lazy i made the other end suit a 17mm socket i had that fit the clutch spline perfectly :D worked good :mellow:

 

fitted the clutch and pressure plate, torqued it down nice

 

fitted the box on good then bolted the starter up

 

its just about ready for conversion i think, im thinking about removing the J today so i can get the L in place and figure out engine mounts (gunna try use the 510 mounts ive got, adapt em to suit etc), and figure out where the shifter is going to be in relation to my bench, given its a long 5speed

 

The shifter on the L series 5 speed is in the same position as the 4 speed, so unless there is a difference in the J series placement, you shouldn't have a problem. I did notice that your seat doesn't have the notch cutout that the US L series trucks have, so the J may be different.Keep up the great progress reports, I always look forward to your posts! :cool:

[Wide14u]

i dig on all the updates thanks :D

[Gary]

thanks lads :D

 

my internet has died, more specifically my router im pretty sure. ive removed the J, got the L in place (after realising 510 sumps are different), its all going in ok, just figuring out how much to drop the trans mount to suit the long 5speed, and then the lean i need for the engine mounts, then just need to sort out driveshaft length and it'll just need the other basics before it moves. hopefully it does actually move heh

 

so far ive discovered;

long trans shifter pokes out within the original trans tunnel hole

US/L equipped cabs actually have a small recess in the rad support to allow more room for the radiator - i dont

510 sumps are deeper across the front than truck sumps so it fouls

trans mount is a lot lower than the J series one, probably 2" or so im not sure yet

 

so ill keep smashin at it, ill get a proper update with all the pics ive taken once my internet is working again :)

[Gary]

internet is fixed! until it changes its mind again :\

 

progress;

sunday i thought id pull the J out so i disconnected it all

 

then removed it

 

then monday i cleaned the enginebay while i could, also gave a few spots a quick paint, then removed the column shift mechanism and a couple other things

 

then knocked a new seal in the 5speed

 

then went about installing :D

 

yesterday i got some bits for the exhaust (2 1/4", might need a resonator too but we'll see) and a different fuel pump while i was at it

 

yesterday and today ive been messing about with fitment. as it turns out, the sump for the 510 is quite a lot bigger at the front than the 620's L sump so ill need to modify. trans fit good though once i took the sump off, the shifter pokes out toward the rear of the trans hole, will need to modify the shifter to suit my bench though

 

trans mount needs to drop quite a bit so i need to figure out how much, that should give me a good idea of the sort of lean the L is on, then ill make the engine mounts to suit, then measure up what length the driveshaft needs to be and get that made so hopefully over the weekend it'll be done enough to drive. would have quite a lot more done if it werent for troublesome home computer networks though :angry:

[Zeusimo]

2 1/4" Seems A Little Big :unsure:

[goes2fast]

2 1/4" Seems A Little Big :unsure:

 

Mine runs great with 21/4 and a Flowmaster! :P

[Gary]

2 1/4 was recommended, i was keen on 2" cos ive already got donuts to suit but it seems more people are happier with 2 1/4 :) ill mess about with mufflers if its too loud, exhaust chap is fair confident the one i have should be enough to keep it quietish. i dont like the buzz, im more for induction noise :D

 

progress;

yesterday i modified the gearbox crossmember to suit the new trans. i ended up dropping it 30mm (using the J bushing), and shifting it back 10-15 mm to get the engine nice and close to the firewall. ill pull it again and gusset it and build it properly once the L is running, it'll do good for now though

 

also to help out with getting the lean right i needed a way to lessen the play in the rubber bushing so it'd sit at the right angle, but have enough play in it that i could tell if the bush was under any load while it was in position, all to help get the engine mounts right, so i did this:

 

today was a bit of an adventure, the gearbox crossmember finished allowed me to determine the tailshaft length needed to tie engine to diff, so after some measurements i hit a chap that operates out of his garage to shorten the shaft and balance it. so off i went, out across town (1hr 10mins decent traffic it worked out to be), he said no probs he can get it done pretty much while i wait, but he needs the rear section to balance it with, theyre not independent of each other balancing wise like i thought. seeing as how i need this done, and he was nice enough to get it done for me pretty much straight away, i had to swing back home and get the other bit. 3hr trip turned into about 7hrs by the time traffic built up and i got home then back again. but never mind, all sorted now :D job was done nice as, and for a reasonable price, was a top bloke to boot :D it ended up being shortened by 140mm to suit :)

 

the driveshaft chap used to own a bunch of 510's and a zed that he raced :D showed me a photo of the zed, looked tuff. so many people i talk to that make stuff for cars in general have history with datsun

 

tomoz ill hack at mounting the engine properly, hopefully getting that done tomoz so the weekend is just plumbing it up and trying to start it! i noticed i need a different radiator too, ill see if the 510 one will work though i think, might be a bit thick

[Gary]

i noticed yesterday i was at 999 photos for this build :o so i made the 1000th something sorta cool:

 

always in the build, never finished never dead :D

 

progress;

i hit a steel place today for some 5mm sheet to do the mounts, i got about 65 times more than i needed but 5mm is useful stuff :D also picked up a flange to suit the standard manifold. i got into the passenger side mount after that and ended out getting the angle and position of the bolt holes done, just needs gusseting and it'll be about done i think. before the mount was made and bolted up i worked out a way to make the engine lean as it should by fitting the standard carb then using a level across its throat to make sure it was straight. also marked a center line on the frame and aimed to keep the crank pulley aligned to it. spose see how it goes once the engine is sitting independent of my crane :D

 

pretty sure i got positioning right for now, there isnt a lot of clearance down low for the sump but the trans is very close to the tunnel and with the engine any higher at the front it looks weird

 

with the mount bolted up and checked that it hadnt flexed or bent as it is, the level was good

 

tomoz im checking out a datsun with a mate who's in the market :D always great seeing more, better still when your mates own em!

[Wide14u]

i dig this thread its at a good pace :D

[Gary]

getting there :D

 

yesterday went anc checked out a 510 with a mate, was nice as :D body was good, had lots of datsport goodies and an S13 DET too. he put a deposit down, should be getting it in about a week = awesome :D pretty sure it wasnt driven very much, and mate plans to drive it daily which is even awesomer

 

progress;

yesterday i gussetted the left engine mount, then fitted it and set about making the right one to suit. i welded them up then finished them today. just need some paint

 

its weird though, the L is sitting a little too low, but i cant raise it or else the trans will foul the tunnel, and if i raise the front the carb isnt level and it looks weird. the steering linkage is about 10mm from fouling the swing of the crank, let alone the sump! im not sure whats wrong, maybe the tunnel needs bashing with this trans. the oil filter fouls the engine mount too, and the alternator probably wont fit thanks to the steering box on that side so ill make it fit on the other side. so much for a factory option engine :lol:

 

thanks to some offroader chaps ive found what i reckon will be a solution to the sump problem, i'll flip the steering linkage. this'll easily give me enough clearance, but as the holes for the tierod ends are tapered, ill need to reverse the taper. the plan is to get some machine rod tomoz and make some tapered inserts, then drill out the existing holes to 17mm or so, press fit the insert, then bolt it all up and see how it goes. my lathe might find boring steel out to be a bit too much though so this might be interesting. i was sposed to get this done by monday :D guess it'll take a bit longer

[Wide14u]

that 510 is so nice

[Mika]

Sounds like it's too hard to put the L series in. Oh well, you'll just have to put the FJ in it!:thumbup:

[Greiggy]

Sounds like it's too hard to put the L series in. Oh well, you'll just have to put the FJ in it!:thumbup:

 

this man speaks the truth !!

[Gary]

nooo FJ 620

 

510 needs something to keep up with mikas new one! :lol:

 

progress;

been messing about with making these tapered inserts, i broke a boring tool cos im stupid so now i need to make one which is easier said than done. trying to get my head around how to make one from 1/4" HSS bar rather than turning a holder and making an insert. im not sure that type is so good for something as small as im doing, specially considering im trying to cut a taper with it also (only 2.6deg but still!)

 

i got an alternative filter thats about half the size of the stock one but it still fouls the engine mount, so i need a relocation kit :( the upside is theyre not too expensive, and i might get away with buying a cheaper slightly less suitable one (none on ebay are datsun specific) then turning an adaptor to suit the block fitting. see how it goes i spose

[Gary]

progress;

finally finished my inserts! i hit a steel place a couple days back to get some appropriate rod, then drilled out the center to suit the lower end of the taper, then cut the taper, then turned down the outside to suit 17mm hole.

 

then drilled out the existing holes in the steering arms (point of no return :lol:) after some messing around, then managed to fit the inserts

 

the steering link fits the tapers nicely, they dont budge nor do the tie rod ends once theyre in, ill see what happens when i drive on it a bit though. should be good but you never know. ive got plenty of clearance for the sump now :D

 

sump will probably be next i thnk, just need to move the drain plug, modify the pickup, make some clearance for the lower crossmember and drop the sump down a bit to make up the lost volume. i dont think it'll be as simple as im imagining it but i spose will see

[copydat]

It never is that simple - but you always seem to get around it anyways! Good work man.

 

I really need the flipped steering linkage as well - the CA sump fowls big time. I've hit up Greiggy for some help as he had the same issue. Failing that I'll ask more 4x4 guys as you mentioned earlier, they would regularly kill/flip/mod steering gear all the time - specially the rock crawlin dudes.

[Wide14u]

its coming out great on the flip job

[Gary]

we'll see how it goes :lol: should be good but theres a lot of things that 'should' be :(

 

geordie if you want to flip the link the only way to do it properly is to remove the arms completely and either get them on a drill press or better yet a milling machine. my way was rough as and i wouldnt recommend doing it that way again :)

 

progress;

i was sposed to get started on the sump but ended up finishing the gearbox crossmember instead. its not really gussetted as it perhaps should be but it'll be enough i reckon. i started cutting out bits from one side to help with exhaust clearance, i just matched the profile of the frame in that area since there wasnt a lot of point going any smaller. then just two quick supports and some paint. by the looks of things the exhaust is going to hang down a bit, it'll probably be the lowest point of the car (stock one was bashed in nicely! hah)

 

tomoz its sump time :D ive removed the member under the engine ready for tomorrows work and got a vague idea of what to do. the pickup will definately need moving which might be interesting, im not sure what it's made of seeing as the flange and mesh screen look like theyre actually brazed rather than welded. maybe ill have to make a new one