'79 620 daily

[swb"74"620]

damn sounds alright than.

[copydat]

Hi Gary,

Love the build mate!

 

Hey - I've got my LWB 78' 620 now, with tray and truck rear view mirrors! Needing to upgrade the drum fronts. I'm having trouble tracking down a wrecked 720 KC series stub axel and assembly for the straight bolt up as you have done, do you know if a D21 Navara series would have a similar application?

 

Cheers,

Geordie

[Gary]

awesome! :D theres another chap in vic on ozdat who has one which is cool, more and more are popping up :cool: get a thread up with some pics!

 

funnily enough there was a d21 nav next to the 720 i pulled the hubs from, i had a glance and it looked quite similar - same sorta uprights and same basic design. if you can get some for a test fit (ie got a mate wrecking one or something) its worth a shot, if not take some pics of your setup, and see if you can compare when you've got one in front of you. the annoying thing is it doesnt take much difference for things not to fit :( even if it bolts up you might have alignment dramas like camber you cant adjust out. so keep in mind while you're sussin bits to save dramas later

 

i hit wreckers reasonably often so ill have a look about for d21's for a closer peek. 720's arent too hard to find though, they're still around :) you could find them at generic wreckers, not just nissan/datsun places. you chaps have self serve places ya?

[swb"74"620]

Are your heater vents warped?

I dont know what to do with mine :|

Like the ones at each end of the dash.

[Gary]

they are a bit :( same with the new dash but less warped

 

i thought they had trim pieces missing or something, but i think its just how it is. if you were tricky i dont think it'd be hard to make a quick bit of trim to sorta squeeze in between the dash and the plastic venty thing though, and still be able to operate the vent

 

might give it a quick go tomoz see how it looks

 

progress wise;

been busy with one of my other cars and doing other stuff so not a lot of progress. should have all of tomorrow to get cracking though. ive decided im going to shave the parker/indicators in the valance, and recently got some fresh cables in the post from thailand (accel, hood release, handbrake and throttle) which is cool, should kill two RWC items off the list :D

 

also been having some fun on importmonster looking at some cool 6 stud wheelios. i havent found anything amazingly hectic that i want just yet, couple cool ones here and there though;

 

ive got a mate into importing stuff so if i find anything i like i'll see if i can get me some

[swb"74"620]

You reackon with the vents i could fibre glass over the vents (Im gona be re painting dash) and cut and fit some 720 ones in or something?

(They dont need to open and close).

 

OT: Wheels look great going for the classic jap look?

What are your plans for suspension?

[Guest DatsuNoob]

good build!! man you dont know how many guys would kill for that dash!!!

 

I would kill a puppy for that dash :hyper: I like the set of wheels 2nd from the top, or the last ones best.

Looking good here bro, keep it up.

[Gary]

could do i guess, unless you do the whole dash it could look weird though, hard to match the texture

 

i dunno with the wheels, just keeping my eyes open see what i could do. i like the enkeis though, not sure if the watanabe lookin ones would really work for the ute. something with a nice offset and some lightly undersized tyres i reckon would suit when its low

 

progress wise;

was going to get into things, but ended out servicing my other car and a mates s13, then swapped his cam cover over for a blue one which ended up taking most of the day by the time we were messin about

 

wrecker hunting this week sometime, hopefully find me some cool stuff

[dennis]

MMMMM, me likey the last wheels.

[copydat]

Those wheels are win! Yeah we have pick and pay less wreckers up here in Sydney - but I called them up and he knew the 720 series I was talking about and he ain't got any.....:angry: Will stay on the hunt for these discs.

 

Keep up the sick build Gary!

 

 

[rollinlow]

its tricky to say

 

tubs are hard to find, lwb are a touch tricker to find, decent runners with alright bodies are reasonably hard to find. but you really need to find someone that appreciates them for what they are and is willing to pay for its rarity. the old adage that its worth what someone will pay rings true

 

i was happy to pay what i paid, but one with a decent body and good engine, with something cool like good condition interior or 5 hook tub or KC or something i reckon would go for similar money to 510's down here, id guess at 2.5-4k maybe. immaculate ones or full resto's, or some hectic conversion done would obviously be more, just like 510's. some SR20DET 510's go for like 15-20k!

 

your on the money, but i was lucky enough to score a near mint 78 kingcab Deluxe, factory bucket seats, factory fitted canopy, floor shift, sunvisor, clock, fuck all rust, had a full rwc check for $1800 down here in Tas :D

currently fucked the j15 off for a sr20det and have notched it, keeping grandpa spec look :cool:

 

keep the updates flowing,

[swb"74"620]

Good find, mine is a swb with factory bench, near perfect dash, all body work done (except 5 dollar note size rust in floor) combo skin on tub (Putting original rear bumper on though.

I want a sun visor and canopy haha would not find original in a million years.

J15 still runs hard haha 80,000ks on the clock (wonder how many times it clicked over :/)

I paid $1900 maybe too much but I fell in love with them and it was the only one I could find.

[Gary]

thanks for the nice comments :D

 

awesome to see more 620's here and there! next datnats (if its not all zeds like some seem to think) could be sweeeet if its on the east end of australia, road trip for most of us wont be so bad. that one in tas sounds like a killer find! i paid 1200 for mine in its current condition, a couple people laughed when i told them how much after showing them the floor and sills and tub and all. i was happy with it so i dont mind :D

 

progress;

will be slightly on hold while i make a quick towbar for my other car, so i can pick up a cheapppp engine for another of my cars which i need to do within a few days cos he's holding it for me. was pretty keen on using the ute to pick it up but its not ready yet - i wanted to pull the old 'btw i put a 1JZ VVTi in the ute yesterday!' and just have it sitting in the tub :D alas not to be

 

so tomorrow, maybe next day to finish it off before i can keep tearin with the ute. ill likely need towbar on my other car to pick up things like if i find a bench, or a nicer rear diff ive been meaning to get into. so still kinda relevant :D

[Gary]

fun and games :(

 

balls out making and fitting this towbar to find the kent had sold the engine on me despite him saying he'll hold out till i was done :no: ah well, more cash for other things. i can tow stuff now though which is cool, probably not more than about 600kg at a time thanks to the way ive made the towbar though, maybe make a beef one someday so i can do cars :D

 

bit disappointed :( engine would have been nice and solved a problem or two on another project, but shit happens! back to the datto :D ive cut back the front valance a little, almost ready for some shave action. lots of bog covering considerable rust :( ive made some sections to cover where the lights used to be, just need finishing and welding in

 

tomoz hoping to get tearin on the cab, i want that back on and lookin hectic already. next week seeing as how i can now move bigger stuff im planning on wreckering it up, seeing what i can find.

 

on the list is a diff, a bench, an earlier front grille, aand... thats it. maybe some fresh carpet too if the handsomes at knox can help out

if worse comes to worst with finding a bench ill get any old good lookin bench and make it fit, the threaded holes for the seats in the floor are busted so i want to get seats sorted before i fix and undercoat the floor etc

[swb"74"620]

Whats up with your diff?

Just replacing it for the fun? What are you replacing it with?

[Gary]

id prefer something better for freeway, the current ratio is annoying. i think mines in a bit of a bad way too, i wont know till i have a good peek at it though. might find a new one with disc rear too, drums are fine for the rear though i guess so no big deal. dan, the previous owner, had a couple spare H190's but that was a while ago. if he's still got one ill suss it, if not ill get lookin for some more

 

some more progress;

this is what's done to the valance so far, lots of bog and not so good steel underneath. will do the trick though

 

also been messing about with some new carbide burrs i got for my die grinder. ive never actually thought of it before, but it slowly dawned on me that griding with a burr puts practically no heat into what you're grinding. useful for weld beads on thin material where any form of grinding disc (flap wheel or particle) needs very patient application to stop the panel from going all wobbly. i was messing about with the holes i filled on the back of the cab to see if it works and it does work good :D need some more practise with it cos its real easy for the die grinder to get away from me at the sort of speed im running it at, but with some more practice and a bit of a change in technique i reckon it'll be an easy way of keeping things straight. i guess ill find out with the valance :unsure:

 

i got into the bit on the chassis that needs doing, i removed it a while back and got it up next to some fresh 3mm sheet ready for duplicating. i basically traced it out and copied what was already there. it came out alright, just needs the holes drilled and tapped for the fuel tank, the ends finished so they suit the chassis, and the center of it boxed so it'll be a touch stronger which im planning on doing with 2mm sheet

 

tomoz ill finish it off and maybe get it in, then make a start on the top and bottom bits of the cab mounts

[copydat]

Did you just use cans of degreaser for the sump, crossmember and gearbox? I can't believe how well they have come up, can you let me know what the secret is for that 40yr old grease blasting technique?

 

Keep up the great work - and we want more updates!!! haha

 

 

[Gary]

no real secret :) just a couple things that are handy;

scrubbing brushes - hit the homeware section of bunnings and find yourself a good scrubbing brush. get a couple different sizes, good stiff plastic bristles = win. most of them have a scraper on the other end

paint scrapers - while at bunnings get some paint scrapers, a broad one and a thinner one (or since they're cheap, get a few big ones and cut them down to whatev size)

lots and lots of degreaser - supercheap usually has the 5 export degreaser cans for $10, if not autobarn or repco might, if not bunnings does too from time to time. dont pay more than 2.50 for a can, you can pay up to $25 for one, but for chewing through grease the cheap stuff does the trick as good

 

scrape off most of the chunk first up, no use coating it in degreaser just yet, hose it down good after then you can rip into it with degreaser and your brushes :D you dont need to go nuts with the degreaser, just makes it lots easier to lift chunk while you're scrubbing. cleaning stuff does take time though, you can get fairly impatient cos you're thinking "shouldnt be taking this long gdammit". gotta be patient! pictures make the stuff i had look good, theyre still a bit dirty but better than what they were. still cant find a thread with your ute innit ;) doo eettt

 

progress;

sunday finished the ends of the chassis bit i was working on and welded some bolts to it for the fuel tank. theyre a little bigger than factory and now that theyre on upside down should make installing/reinstalling fuel tank easier. needs welding in and painting and it'll be done

 

monday had to deal with some other stuff, but got onto handsome dan about a nice diff, and likely will have a disc rear 3.9 H190 on the way soon :D freeway cruising will be muchhh nicer. J15 might not like it much though, but will see i spose

 

today i went wreckerin! found... not much really. i was only really checking the west today (thinking about hitting the east sometime soon) cos i had to get back for work, but hit 7 or 8 places and found nothing :( i got laughed at by most. was quite an adventure though :D

one chap i got put onto used to be a datsun wrecker, now his shop is something else but i spied a 510 in the back and he told me to go look at it. was a two door 510 (nuts rare over here) with lots of SSS badges, and an almost brand new looking L series inside. the inspection plates for the timing chain and the bracket for the alternator were still in that goldish rust preventative stuff! he had another beige 4 door which was nice too. he told me nicely that in more than 10 years as a datsun wrecker he never wrecked a 620 :( not confidence inspiring, specially given hes in the west

 

bit of a weird moment too, i rolled into a carpark and thought it looked kinda familiar. then noticed it was an automotive fabric/trim supply shop just next to it, the one i went to years ago when i first got my licence. was my first ever decent trip by myself on my P's :D i locked my keys in the car accidentally, went back inside to ask for help and they got the people at the wrecker next door (same one i went into today, being laughed at for asking for datsun parts) to break into my car for me haha bit of a trip!

 

was put onto a place before all that too, a chap at a wrecker i usually go to was nice and told me about him, saying he's probably one of the few that still keep 'old bombs'. i rolled around to find a picture perfect junkyard. quietly snuck in looking for an owner, there was just an open wire fence and cars all up and down the shop, the backdrop was a few rusty containers with I beams stretched across it, and lots of random parts on makeshift racks on top of that. not a lot of people around to talk to initially (there was a cat though) piles of cars behind it and little paths and cramped walkways inbetween bits here and there was all i could see

our junkyards are usually are quite well laid out cos the OH&S people get nasty when they see things even slightly dodgy and hand out BIG fines and shut places down if they dont like em, so this was a real treat to find :D eventually found someone who pointed me to the boss, hiding away inside half a container lookin for stuff. i got talkin to him, was an interesting one for sure. kinda shocked he let me wander around the place by myself, initially had me climbing around on top of a wonky crossover between two containers looking for a grille i wanted. then i saw em... complete mazda R100 (bullshit rare), mazda 1300 ute, a couple complete old celicas, old kingswoods, two datsun 1000's (handful more dattos too, not just rare ones), a mini, a fastback torana, old morris', old KE rollas, he had a 50's chev (i think, i dunno my pre 60's real well :() out the front, and another 50's american import in what looked like its own shipping container (four ports on the front quarters, i dunno what model)! countless rare random bits everywhere! racks upon racks of old transmissions, iron bellhousings and trans cases, heaps of old school alloys (bullets, jellybeans, mini-watanabe lookin wheels, old deltas etc), stacks of what i would imagine were rare falcon bits (guess he like falcons, was lots of stuff for them). it was an absolute labyrinth of cool shit :D and that was just one of his yards, he had more!

but alas, no datsun 620's, i found 510 headlight trims though so i think hes had rareish datsuns at one stage (1000's aside!). im gunna go back someday soon, he wanted a big a4 picture of a 620 with the grille i wanted so he knew what he was looking for, he seems pretty switched on upstairs (albeit mad as a brush :lol:) so hopefully he has something somewhere. i spent probably an hour there and only got to rummage about in one yard, outside of any containers or shelves he had about the place

i did find a bench seat though :D not original (out of an 80's KB rodeo, which are rare as they are so far as i hear) wasnt that excited at the time cos i had heart set on an original one, but the more i thought about it, this one looked pretty cool and happened to be about the right size to fit, so i picked it up :D happy as a clam now though heh

 

sorry the the essay, just thought id share todays adventure :w00t:

 

test fit proved goooood, feet dont suit the mounts on the cab but i can mod them heaps easy. ive got it resting on the front rail about where id mount it normally anyway and it fits good! i think its a little bit short left-to-right but close enough, seating position is nice (sorta hard to tell without a steering wheel there) and its shit loads comfier than my buckets, which im pretty sure have come out of a 120Y

 

grinning like an idiot i was :D im sorta keen on having a go at retrimming them myself. i can sew alright, and recently inherited a pretty cool (feature wise) sewing machine and table. the bench needs dissembling to address some rust and give it a clean, i think the runners need a good looking at and regreasing too so ill decide whats happening with it tomoz i think. i might just settle on a seat cover for rego and worry about the rest of it later

[swb"74"620]

Haha shit. That wreckers sounds mad. Were all the rare cars complete?

[WAGON JON]

Thats what I say, try it your self!

[Gary]

why not hey :D practice means you can do more cool stuff!

 

the cars were complete at the yard i visited yeah, i think the mazda ute had a few little bits missing but aside from that dull look they get on windows and the like from years of dust and rain, most of the cooler cars in the yard looked like they'd be alright runners

 

progress wise i havent got up to much, i spent yesterday dissembling the bench seat and toying about with the runners. i broke them pretty good trying to get them apart so i could pull the rust out of them and grease them nice, i dunno if its cos of how old the little roller thing is but it really didnt want to come apart and i damaged em :( im likely going to pinch the runners of another bunch of much newer seats ive got lying about. and my compressor decided it likes blowing its dedicated 15A power supply more than working like it should. so spent some time fiddling with that, it uses two V belts to transfer drive to the pump and every now and then on startup it gets severe chatter which somehow makes it pull more amps from its supply which flips the breaker. think it needs some dry lube

 

today me and a mate were trying to sort out a high idle problem for a DET pulsar. tomoz we're going to pull the plenum off see what we can see. its got quads (GTiR) so fair lot of tricky little things to mess with

 

as mentioned ive pulled the bench apart, seat bolster looks alright just needs a little drying out, the vinyl is old and dry and a bit faded and a couple little holes, and has "redio" paint penned onnit. i guess they mean rodeo :lol: today i removed the springs and wirewheeled most of the rust, and freed up and lubricated the latch to fold the seat forward. was stuck good but works great now (5.56 = win). ive decided i will have a crack at retrimming it, maybe without tubing along the front and top seams, only cos i dont think my sewing machine will like sewing through 4 layers of vinyl and another layer of foam. ill hit a fabric place once the bench is ready and get it happening soon

[Gary]

progress!

 

repaired both ends of the seat frame, it had some snapped spring things and a couple broken cover supports. the bits the rails bolt to were cracked around the rear holes so welded that up nice. treated the rust still onnit, then gave it some flat black. looks much better already :D

 

i went for a spin and pinched the seat rails from an N13 pulsar ive got, got them home, cut the seatbelt thing off, removed the original mounts, welded up the front holes on both rails and extended both a little (funnily enough, they were about 4mm short from bolting right on), redrilled the front holes, then fitted em to the seat :) did all that, then realised maybe i should have used the seat rails from the buckets i already had in the car :huh: idiot. these are probably stronger though, one plus

 

now just need to position it right, and gotta make the right feet to suit the cab, and it'll be ready for its fresh trim. i got a tricky little idea for the trim today too :) ill see if i can do it first before mentioning it heh

 

then i hit the lathe real quick and made a new little handle to fold the seat forward, i just need to carefully pinch the end to suit the handle, then drill some holes in it ready for grub screws ill make to hold it on nice and firm. i sorta hurt the original plastic handle :( also made a little knob for the sliding rail release to match. kinda.

 

maybe have the seat mounted good tomoz

[Gary]

sundays progress;

 

with the rails now bolted nicely to the seat, just needed to make them bolt to the cab. the rails have feet riveted on from factory, but cos they were nowhere near what i needed, and i wanted the seat as low as possible (perfect for me but im reasonably short) i extended the existing rail to suit the cab holes. i made and welded on the new feet for the rear bolts, test fit was win. also made the front of the rail suit chassis, and tidied up and smoothed out what was left. reversed and extended the adjustment lever too

 

today;

 

drilled out the holes in the cab for the seat (one of which was missing a threaded bit altogether :() and welded nuts in the front rail and the rear bits to suit. then got into the rails again after a few test fits, i blanked off some of the adjustment on both rails to make it easier to align too and did a little more more finishing, then greased em and painted, now all finished :D

 

bench now bolts in properly, just needs a trim and it'll about be done :) might save that for a little later though. when i get done with door trims i think i'll suss it, the original idea for the trims might be replaced with something a little nicer now that'd match the seats. see how it goes

sometime this week might be getting some disc rear H190 lovin too :D

[Gary]

progress;

 

havent really been able to get full into it this week :( just been doin little things when i can. i finished the chassis bit, boxed it at the center and cleaned it up, ive painted it since the pic too. ready for welding in

 

i pulled the bumper out too and gave it some attention, i bashed out a few of the dents, and the two little recessed bits behind the number plate. all i really wanted to do after that was wirewheel the rust from the back which would be easier without the mounting brackets on. tried to remove em and managed to round the square bit the bolts sit in, so used a grinder to get em out which left me 4 nice square holes innit. it had lots of other holes so i thought id just shave em all and work out something else for mounting it, and maybe have a go at shaving the seams on either end too. didnt get through a lot today but enough to find it comes out alright

 

tomoz the house is getting pulled apart for steam cleaning so dunno what ill be able to get up to, sunday is free though so see what happens :D

[Gary]

progress;

didnt get anything done on weekend, ended out doing a bit of spring cleaning (well, winter cleaning anyway) and sorting car shit, rearranging the garage and fixing a few other things

 

monday got sidetracked with other stuff, welded the bumper some more though. also pulled one of the doors apart for a peek. i sorted out how ill attach my planned door trims, and how ill cover them. ill use 15mm stainless bolts as studs which'll come through the holes in a covered door trim. still dunno about speaker location though, sorta want em out of the doors and inside someplace but there isnt room :(

 

today got back into it! i cut back some of the bumper, needs more touching up and more patience

 

i cut out some more replacement bits for the cab and welded in most of them

 

also welded a few holes

 

also made the upper cab mounts

 

tomoz will work more on the cab