born 11/71 datsun 521

[pliggity]

I bought this truck a few months ago and it came basically the way you see in the pictures. I bought it as a '71, but my title came back to me as a '72. It's a L16 block, L18 head, Weber 32/36 carb, electronic ignition w/MSD coil and 6A box. 3" straight blocks in rear, cranked down torsion bars up front. Stock steel rims, I NEED CHROME DOG DISH'S!!! Odometer reads 35xxx miles, and the Jiffy Lube sticker says 135xxx miles, so I'm just telling myself it only has that many on it. Just bought the front bumper (THANKS TANA!!), should hopefully have it on in the next few days, still gonna polish up that shine!! Just mounted the Sparco Sprint bucket seats, made custom seat mount brackets out of uni-strut steel lengths(from Home Depot electrical section). I bought the seats for cheap, they need to be re-covered BAD!! I have a herniated disc, so the bench seat was hell, just needed a cheap, quick fix! Total seat install cost was about $175 for everything!! It's a work in progress, and I'm not sure what kind of time frame I'm on, just kinda piecing things together as I go and as $ allows. I only have a link to myspace photo album : http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhotos&albumID=1322876&MyToken=f38dad9c-dfc6-4ab8-9855-37d52f943881

[dat521gatherer]

i cant see the pics cause i dont have a myspace anymore:( link says i must be logged in to do that. how about a photo host?

[Figbuck]

I have two MySpace pages and I can't your pics.

[pliggity]

damnit! :mad:

 

i'll open a new picture account today... busy at work...

[pliggity]

ok, got a picasa album going.

 

this should work: http://picasaweb.google.com/pliggity/725211600Patsan

[Voleurz]

dude, just get

http://www.photobucket.com its soo much easier then any of these othr things.

[Figbuck]

Cool. Nice truck. How is it sitting in those seats? How tall are you? Weight? Have you had to drive anywhere and had to sit for a long time, how do they feel?

[DatDoug]

That used to be my old truck. I sold it to my neighbor Jerol. I used to love driving that thing! It had the Dog Dishes on it when I sold it to J. Doesnt he have them? I did the Rising Sun on it. It was my first. (inspired by hainz of course) Wish I would not have sold it. I am currently looking for another 521. Here are some pics of it when I had it and when Jerol had it.

 

 

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Here it is when I first bot it

 

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[pliggity]

that's awesome! well...for me having the pictures of it stock, i mean. not so awesome for you since you wish you hadn't of sold it.:blink:

 

which, by the way, datdoug, what year is this truck? i bought it as a '71 from jerol, and DOL gave me a title saying '72?? and as far as i know, being the manufacturer's date on the door tag says 11/71 would make it a early '72 MY truck.

 

when i got the truck it had slotted mags on it, and the tires were way too big for me. and by the time i met back up with jerel to get the steels, the dog dish's had been crushed at his work? or something of that nature? i was extremely sad to say the least. so now, i'm on the hunt for a nice set of chrome dish's.

 

as for the seats... i dig 'em. i had sparco sprints in an '85 corolla GTS before, so they're alright for the money. my back is so messed up, i'm having to make some foam inserts to put in the low-mid back part of the seat. these seats are a lot better than the original bench, but not quite perfect yet. i drove about 45 minutes on the i-90 to i-5 & downtown seattle, and it's comfortable for me. other than the bounciness of the truck itself, being so low, the shocks are pretty much blown, it is a really stiff ride. i'm 5'9" 145 lbs. the bottom of the seat closest to my knees comes out from the back wall of the cab about 25", and the seats do not hit the window. the uni-strut bracketry my buddy and i put together allow a little bit of adjustability front to back, and i could put washers/spacers in to raise or lower the base of the seat, had i needed to.

 

next, i have to mount my front bumper, then probably buy new shocks all the way around. and i'm working on putting a stereo in the bastard, cuz this AM only business is NOT CUTTING IT!!!

 

thanks for the compliments, & the info!!

[pliggity]

... and as for me buying the truck... i saw it one day while i was working, parked on the side of the road, so i stopped and took a picture of it with my camera phone. i loved the thing so much, i had to have it. so a few days later, the truck was parked in front of his work, so i popped in to meet the owner. i spoke to the owner(?) of the shop and the gal at the front desk, and they looked at me funny when i explained i wanted to buy the datsun from whoever owned it! finally, they found jerol and introduced us, and i want to say the exact words out his jerol's mouth were, "are you f**kin' kidding me?!?!" jerol excitedly rattled off all the stats about the truck and how great it was! i told him i would buy it, and we agreed on a price!

 

however, i did kind of drag it out about 3 or 4 weeks before i did end up actually getting the truck from jerol. thanks to the car collision i was in on a vacation in california, which coincidentally cause a herniated disc, making it a real, literal, pain in the ass to drive this magnificent machine with the original bench seat, so in came the sparco's and here we are! :D

[DatDoug]

Yeah its a 72. Knowing Jerol he probably has those hubcaps he just forgot where he put them:lol::blink:

 

That truck will look so much better when you get that front bumper on it! Keep us poseted (with pics) on the progress

[fisch]

Too cool man! Always love seeing another 521. Your rig looks to be in great shape!

 

Do you know what the radiator is out of? The outlets are wrong for stock. But is is always great to know what might fit in there incase I need one down the road. 510 will fit, and folks do a vw rabbit/ sirraco swap sometimes.

[pliggity]

well, if you happen to run across them next door, let me know!

 

and thanks, nice to know what year the truck really is. i should have the bumper on this week sometime. anybody know off hand what size/thread bolts i need to install the bumper?

 

and ya, i am definately trying to keep track of everything with pictures. part of the reason i was so stoked to see it original!! do you by chance know if the 135k miles is right?

 

i was thinking of repainting the truck a completely different color, but now i am having second thoughts.

 

fisch, thanks. i scoped your site, too...that is some awesome artwork!! not sure what the rad. is out of, but datdoug might know?? i do know that it works champ! other than my 32/36 weber being mal-adjusted, this truck is a solid daily! i only found a few tiny rust holes that made it through the floor board, other than that, just some surface rust under the carpet. the foam under the carpet was soaked when i pulled everything out to put in the seats. i haven't found out where the water is originating from, or if it actually made it in from the small holes? i've since also siliconed up the plugs and holes in the floor. i got some other ?'s, but does this project section mean i can ask them here, too???

 

thanks again. this rocks! ratsun.net has made my day!

[shane_lxi]

I can give you $40 for the bench seat. Let me know. Truck looks sweet, got any plans?

[pliggity]

Shane, $40 for the seat is fine, but you'd have to come pick it up in Seattle.

 

As for plans... I'm going to work it on little by little and adjust my thinking as I go... but for now, its going to look like a rat rod, but I want it to perform/drive like a 240.

 

I'm not keeping this project under any time restrictions, because I'm still a bit unsure on things as far as minor details, but I do have a general idea.

 

I'm trying to find out, what kind of suspension stuff can I do to the 521 that is a bit more performance oriented, maybe auto-x style... I'd like to get some short throw shocks, obviously. But I want to swap out my 3" drop blocks for angled 4" blocks, re-key my torsions and lower it a bit more. It's already running on the factory bumpstops. I want it as low as possible, but able to drive half way decent.

 

And...how tuff is it going to be to get some rims? Is there a panasport replica in 6 lug???

 

Still didn't get my bumper on, too drunk from the holidays! I'll do it by this weekend, so you guys can have pics!!

[DatDoug]

That is not the original bench seat. It is out of a 73 620.

[pliggity]

Right on, thanks for the seat info... So...There you have it Shane, it's a 73 620 seat... but I still want $40 and you still have to pick it up. Let me know if you still want it. Thanks.

[banzai510(hainz)]

TR3 polish the paint if possible,keep it red with the Pantina lloks cool

paint the rims gloss white ,white sidewalls(not the big ones)with the stock caps.

 

4inch would look cooler but I have Jack issues at that height. Get tired of lifting the truck up to use the jack

also beware of steel plates at contruction sites!!!!!!!!!

 

PS you can cut the rubber bump stops in back and I just unbolted mine up front(bump stop)

 

 

PS I dont think the MSD 6A is needed. If anything get a better battery hold down!!!!

I let a buddy borrow a 6A I got from someone. it lasted 1/2 hour ,maybe he hooked it up wrong?

[pliggity]

thanks for the info. i am a "on its nuts" kind of guy... if its not riding on its nuts, i'm probably not driving it! it's already down 3", and thats not enuff. i'm not worried about "too low" cuz i have a low-pro snap-on jack that has gotten under all my other cars. and F a construction site and their steel plates!! those are shitty in ANY CAR BECAUSE 90% OF KING COUNTY, WA ROAD CONSTRUCTION IS TERRIBLE!!!

 

will the TR3 polish bring back the redness of the paint? or will it dull it up?

 

and as for the bumpstops, thanks, i'll probably do that soon... but w/out the bumpstops and shitty shocks, wont that make my ride worse? i'm thinking i should maybe wait to do that until i get the new shocks before i take out what little suspension travel i have before metal on metal contact!

 

and i'm not sure about the MSD box. i still haven't looked into how to wire it up or anything. i found it in my garage when i moved and thought "what the hell." how do you suppose that it will be the first thing to break? never had a problem with any MSD parts before.

 

**oh, and yeah, definately need a better battery tie down! that was because i bought the truck without anything holding the battery in place, i dipped on a right hand corner, the battery slid of the tray into my #1 spark plug, ruining the wire, and pulling the wires from the fuse block that are connected to the battery!! that was an in-the-parking lot fix. the setup on there isn't going anywhere for now, but i'm broke for the time being, so i'll get to it eventually... i'd like to clean up the tray/bracket and surrounding area and get 2x check to see if i need a new battery or not.

[banzai510(hainz)]

TR3 will bring out the paint if still there. I use it to clean up the engine bay also. Jeff did his.

Spaycan paint will never shine once it gets old no matter how much polish u use.

 

As for the 6A Nobody really use them anymore.PLUS

(but i'm broke for the time being)

The Matchbox is more than fine for a L motor. Plus that one was left at your house for a reason.

I worked on a guys 510 and he was going to give me one. I told him to leave it by the garbage can and the next day another showed up right next to it.

Why add another componate that could fail? Bryon Meston and Keith Law on the 510REALM do NOT use them for reliability isses.

But youll put it in anyways. Why clutter a nice engine bay? But its your rig.

 

The torsion bar doesn not get any stiffer if you lower it ,your just reposition the bar. Nissan motorsport has stiffer bars if needed. as long as it doesnt hit the bump stop or frame you should not notice a difference(maybe in your mind)

The rear people remove some leafs but that can cause U joint,vibration ,carrier bearing wear and more during accelleration(axle wrap).

 

your rad looks like a 73 620 set up,Maybe??

Most 521 use the 510 radiators and lower/upper hoses.

[pliggity]

1st of all... what is "pantina?"

 

well...the paint left is pretty oxidized, there's a few surface rust spots, and the paint is just not that nice anymore. i'd like to fix the few dents on it, the front valence, and fill the old holes from the 3-way door mirrors, then re-spray it. and i think i would rather have flat black or gray than flat red, but keep the hood the same for now. i have a future idea, but i'd have to buy a new hood to try it on, so maybe next summer?

 

as far as the 6A, if it doesn't do anything for the truck, except break, then no, i won't use it. i used them on hondas before without problem...but i'll take a datsun guys word for it! how about my blaster coil? anything to worry about there? the one on the truck looked terrible, and the old wires were extremely corroded.

 

what i'm getting at is...when i hit bumps now, the only thing that stops my axles from hitting frame is the bump stops, and that is only when they're not riding on them! if i were to remove them, am i wrong in assuming i would be driving more of the time with metal to metal contact? and i am not interested in pulling leafs and dealing with all of the side effects.

 

i guess, if i were to put in new shocks(maybe pinto aftermarket?) to get a shorter throw, then get the 4" angle blocks, re-key torsion, and pull the bump stops... is that going to be any better than where i'm at now? i just don't know much of anything about these old truck suspensions. i'd rather have coilover struts to play with! that stuff is easier for me.

 

and as for the radiator, still don't know. if datdoug would clear that up, i'm sure he'd be the one to know:confused:

[banzai510(hainz)]

if you have a matchbox nissan ignition on there already and a Blaster 2 coil that is fine and a very good system.

 

reindexing the torsion bar one click is more likely to hit the frame in front but I have mine far as it can go(bolt extended far as it can go) and I dont hit the bump stop but remember I took mine out(bump stop) so there is more room for travel now. I forgot as we did Jeffs of how much room there was when bump stop was removed and we reindex his one click. Jeff might know more(or remember better).

Jest remove yours and see. Ez to take out. just a 12mm nut or bolt.

 

Doing th rear is just my persoanl opinion here as I have had my datsun a few years now and had no proplem. You u want to go lower bleach has done the removing leaf job and would know more. But might be more proplems and should get a angled block. Mine is a Belltech 6202 which is 3in 2 deg. maybe get another 1inch and add to it but then need longer U bolts as the ones supllied will not reach.

 

Patina is the coloring as it ages. Kinda like a old gun it gets that rusty rustic look. Kinda like Mklotz 320 truck he has. adds charator to it

Your truck has that Fun its cool look without spending alot of money on new fancy expensive paint (which wont add that much real value to the truck unless a ground up resto)

[pliggity]

so, i'm assuming that i have a matchbox nissan ignition?

 

the reason i wanted to go another click on the torsion bar, was to keep it closer to level when i swap from the 3" block to 4" angle block... if i can crank the torsion bars down without having to re-key it, i'll definately try this first. and pull the bump stops. i'll just see how the truck rides when i actually do it, and adjust accordingly from there.

 

do you have a favorite shock that you'd recommend for the 521 that low?

 

and as for the paint...still undecided. i read mklotz' post and checked out his pictures. i agree about the cool look without spending a lot of money, but i'm leaning towards a rattle can job as it is anyways. how much is the TR3 polish stuff? and i'm not looking to add real value to this truck. i will just go little by little and see what happens.

 

on a different note, my back which has been killing me all week is seeming to feel a little bit better, so maybe i can make some time to work on my truck in the next few days. i definately have to clean the interior now, thanks to the dumbshit puke in the wendy's drive-thru that can't put a f**king lid on a fountain cup properly!!! i have 32oz of sprite spilled, dried, and totally sticky all over the drivers side of my cab and my rubber floor mat needs to be peeled off of the floor. i hate people. i'll try to get pictures up tomorrow.

[pliggity]

ok, so i've got an update... but the camera batteries are dead, so i'll try to get pictures uploaded tomorrow...

 

the front bumper is mounted. wheels have been replaced. bumpstops removed. and a tiny bit of minus-paint work. plus i put the carpet back in.

 

i used the TR3 polish, and it made it shine quite nice...but there is more dirt/darkness left in the paint than i had hoped. i think i need to go over it again...maybe with a wheel? but the rest of the paint is kinda crap, and i still want to re-paint the truck, but i'll most likely wait until i can do an engine swap and do it all at the same time.

 

[/img]http://picasaweb.google.com/pliggity/725211600Patsan/photo#5161062580600705010[/img]

 

sorry for the crappy teaser... but i thought i'd just build it up a bit before i showed off my truck! :D

[Datsun4u]

well, if you happen to run across them next door, let me know!

 

and thanks, nice to know what year the truck really is. i should have the bumper on this week sometime. anybody know off hand what size/thread bolts i need to install the bumper?

 

and ya, i am definately trying to keep track of everything with pictures. part of the reason i was so stoked to see it original!! do you by chance know if the 135k miles is right?

 

i was thinking of repainting the truck a completely different color, but now i am having second thoughts.

 

fisch, thanks. i scoped your site, too...that is some awesome artwork!! not sure what the rad. is out of, but datdoug might know?? i do know that it works champ! other than my 32/36 weber being mal-adjusted, this truck is a solid daily! i only found a few tiny rust holes that made it through the floor board, other than that, just some surface rust under the carpet. the foam under the carpet was soaked when i pulled everything out to put in the seats. i haven't found out where the water is originating from, or if it actually made it in from the small holes? i've since also siliconed up the plugs and holes in the floor. i got some other ?'s, but does this project section mean i can ask them here, too???

 

thanks again. this rocks! ratsun.net has made my day!

 

Yea, I have the same problem with water getting into the cab. I found out where mine was leaking from. Look at the winshield, top passenger side, and see if your gasket looks old and dried out. The corners could be like mine, they seperate pieces. The water leaks through the gasket and runs down the piller behind the dash and kick panel to the floor. One way you can tell if its leaking is spray down the cab with the hose.

I have not figured how I am going to fix it yet, except to replace the whole gasket around the winshield. I am thinking maybe dig out that part and just fill it in with black silocone. Here is a pict. of the corner.