Just Sitting In A Dead 620 Reminiscing

[mellotrongirl]

I bought this rusty and bruised old '79 King Cab 5-speed from a neighbor two blocks away as I was looking for something reliable and inexpensive to have as a daily driver both as a long distance cruiser and a local haulabout...and for $700 it just seemed what I was looking for. The guy who was selling it wanted to upgrade to a 720...(!)

 

I ran it for close to fifteen years...only replacing the water pump, a set of tires, a couple batteries and a muffler aside from basic preventative maintenance. Oh, and a typical carb rebuild...

 

Two summers ago, it overheated & warped the head after losing radiator fluid, and since then it's been parked at a friend's garage about a mile away. I do some lawn maintenance once in awhile out back as needed, and I catch myself just sitting in the driver's seat just talking to it like it's an old lame racehorse put out to pasture.

 

And every time I sit in the seat and smell those musty flashback smells of the good ol' days when we went everywhere as a team, I get inspired to bring it back to life once again (the tires haven't even gone flat). After all, the Datty was my ticket to get out of the house & discover the countryside, and the most reliable business partner I've ever known, and so throwing it away sort of speak like disposable trash just doesn't seem like the correct thing to do; although I risk being nickel & dime'd to death, and ridiculed by those who never had a sentimental attachment to anything anyway.

 

It seems affordable enough to resurrect it to safe and reliable operation once again...find a good used head somewhere, some gaskets, radiator parts and then tune it up and replenish the fluids...tags and insurance & we're off. Simple and doable in an afternoon. Yet where's the motivation?

 

"I've been here for two years now, Jenny! You only come by every couple of weeks to visit when it's warm out. When are you going to get me a new battery and take me out for a spin? The sun travels across the sky, and I can see the mountains through the window. Last year, you'd park another 620 out front...either the electric conversion one or the longbed. This year it's a singlecab VW truck twenty years older than me! So what gives? Am I just another dead used vehicle to you?!?? I overheard you say it clearly in my presence: 'If a Datsun has 200,000 miles on the odommeter, it'll go another 200,000'. I'm not arthritic, I'm not incontinent, you hear no death rattles within my chambers...but if I don't get moving once again, I'm going to suffer from atrophy. I have too many great memories to let my optimism wane.

 

"I was made in a factory in the Far East; mass-produced by the thousands and sent worldwide to be respected as a servant to your very beck and call, and now my purpose has regressed to neglectful retirement. I hear you plan to part me out in bits and pieces like some kind of a living organ donor.

 

"And so night falls once again & I'm here in the sallyport watching the world go by while you're at your house tinkering with all the other vehicles you love more than you love me...why don't you get on that Ratsun website & see if someone will adopt me? I hear about those welding and sheetmetal types who take things completely apart and reassemble them like Trans-World Airways did with those Constellations back in the 50's...wow! I might get a new coat & to go to all those shows and meet a few 320's or 521's or ??!!

[INDY510]

cool story....

 

 

even cooler pics.............. the truck looks amazing.......... great photography

[Pumpkn210]

Those pics are really small

I wanna see the Dead truck! I like old crappy stuff! Cereal!

 

I like your story too. I love resurecting old been sittin vehicles, both my 210s are rescue cars! Get er back on the road, or adopt er out to me, been lookin for a free 620! :D

[elmerfudpucker]

:crying: poor lil truck....

[H5WAGON]

The time it took to write that story, you could have pulled the bad head....lol

 

You can do this......The Love makes it easy.

[mellotrongirl]

In a few days will come my side of the story. I've also got a '71 521 that's been sitting at the head of my driveway--dead for four years due to a carb float issue, but it's kind of in a more sociable situation...up there with water coolers and coffee tables.

 

Cars and trucks have souls...Tom Waits will tell ya all about his '55 Buick (complete with healing powers) :D

 

In the meantime, I should try and substitute the word "dead" for "dormant" :thumbup:

 

I told similar stories about a 2003 Skip Andres Kozminski 10' balsa surfboard that never got baptised and a 1973 Mellotron M-400 that went from active touring and recording studio sessions into a storage shed. That essay got a *LOT* of musicians severely pissed off at me.

[Pumpkn210]

 

Cars and trucks have souls...Tom Waits will tell ya all about his '55 Buick (complete with healing powers) :D

 

late night and early morning low clouds

with a chance of fog

chance of showers into the afternoon

with variable high cloudiness

and gusty winds, gusty winds

at times around the corner of

Sunset and Alvorado

things are tough all over

when the thunder storms start

increasing over the southeast

and south central portions

of my apartment, I get upset

and a line of thunderstorms was

developing in the early morning

ahead of a slow moving coldfront

cold blooded

with tornado watches issued shortly

before noon Sunday, for the areas

including, the western region

of my mental health

and the northern portions of my

ability to deal rationally with my

disconcerted precarious emotional

situation, it's cold out there

colder than a ticket taker's smile

at the Ivar Theatre, on a Saturday night

flash flood watches covered the

southern portion of my disposition

there was no severe weather well

into the afternoon, except for a lone gust of

wind in the bedroom

in a high pressure zone, covering the eastern

portion of a small suburban community

with a 103 and millibar high pressure zone

and a weak pressure ridge extending from

my eyes down to my cheeks cause since

you left me baby

and put the vice grips on my mental health

well the extended outlook for an

indefinite period of time until you

come back to me baby is high tonight

low tomorrow, and precipitation is

expected

 

 

The piano has been drinking, my necktie is asleep

And the combo went back to New York, the jukebox has to take a leak

And the carpet needs a haircut, and the spotlight looks like a prison break

And the telephone's out of cigarettes, and the balcony is on the make

And the piano has been drinking, the piano has been drinking...

 

And the menus are all freezing, and the light man's blind in one eye

And he can't see out of the other

And the piano-tuner's got a hearing aid, and he showed up with his mother

And the piano has been drinking, the piano has been drinking

As the bouncer is a Sumo wrestler cream-puff casper milktoast

And the owner is a mental midget with the I.Q. of a fence post

'Cause the piano has been drinking, the piano has been drinking...

 

And you can't find your waitress with a Geiger counter

And she hates you and your friends and you just can't get served without her

And the box-office is drooling, and the bar stools are on fire

And the newspapers were fooling, and the ash-trays have retired

'Cause the piano has been drinking, the piano has been drinking

The piano has been drinking, not me, not me, not me, not me, not me

 

Love Tom Waits! Awsome Lounge Music, great fun to drink to!

[mellotrongirl]

Tom had something like four or five Buicks...unlike a lot of Datsun owners, I don't think he had them all at the same time...

[Pumpkn210]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmPd7Rc_Ggw

[MicroMachinery]

Ah yes, The Piano has been Drinking.. Haven't heard that one in years..

[CharlieBucket]

First time i heard that song was Live in Atlanta! Love Tom Waits!

[mellotrongirl]

That last triple CD set he did for Epitaph had that one spoken word disc of extracurricular ramblings...kinda got longwinded & noodling, but came across as sort of Carlin-esque with all his observations. It's pure Waits so indeed it's a keeper. His spoken work highlights IMHO were definitely around the Frank's WildYears/Swordfishtrombine era; we can all agree he never toured nearly often enough; certainly a testament to the old saying about the silent thinkers being the most creative. I did a brief commercial AM radio stint some 30 years ago, and a great shakeup tune would be to throw on "Step Right Up" or some early Captain Beefheart between such pap dictated by the music director like John Denver and Dan Fogelberg. Luckily I was on the overnight shift & the management went to bed around eleven, otherwise I wouldn't have stuck it out. I replaced a deejay who was fired when he ran down to the store during the full length version of Echoes or Atom Heart Mother or some other long song by Pink Floyd...and accidently locked himself out of the bldg.

[Jayden71]

:console: Its okay, someday you will get to see the sun set on the open road again. Don't you worry. :console:

[sick620]

I have a 79 620, Its my life. Im crazy for it yet it keeps me sane. I think its alive sometimes, ok all of the time. I talk to it. It makes me feel better after a date that goes wrong or a hard day at work... it seriously runs the best when I play 80's pop music or billy idol... I will NEVER sell it or trade it for anything..... I learned how to drive stick in it and its my first car..... Bring that baby back to life and love it.... theres something special about a 79 620..... magic isnt just in fairytales....

[mellotrongirl]

Sick620, excellent post--sums up the relationship between my '79 kc bulletside & me...the truck was my therapy, my freedom and my business partner. It was my ignorance that led to the sorry state it's in now. Of the four Datsuns remaining that I have, this one has the soul and the ability to communicate transcendentally. Let's go it would say, and off we went. Too many good times were had with this truck to just tow it off to the crusher.

 

Yet Sick620, I need to come to my senses. To get my '79 running right, it's going to take serious TLC (time, labor, cash). It has sat idle for two years & after that kind of downtime, I'm going to have to do everything from flush the fuel delivery system from flushing the gas tank to a carb rebuild. Gaskets need to be replaced, the cooling system ought to be rinsed, all fluids rejuvenated. The windshield is broken, the rearview mirrors flop, the upholstery is shot, the electrical system is chaos, the steering is sloppy, dents and rust everywhere & on and on. My mechanic won't even mess with it anymore, like it's a lost cause and a moneypit.

 

All good things must come to an end, I'm afraid...and I'm just plain going to have to psyche myself into parting it out (the engine, the 5-speed transmission, all the lenses are clean/uncracked, the back window, wiper motors, door glass, etc. are OK) Like being an organ donor, it's a respectful way of not letting good parts go into the ground. I've had something like twenty vehicles in my 35 years or so of driving, but this one just rocked my world in a good way. Probably the best $700 I ever spent.

 

You've heard the stories before, and it's happened to all of us at one time or another: "too many projects" "can't afford the upkeep/insurance" "no place to park all these things" "it sidetracks me from my other priorites and responsibilities" -- and that's what's happening to me on the homefront.

 

The sendoff is worthy of a celebration of life...some kind of a big farewell party...and I ought to invite every Japanese car owner in the neighborhood for the bon voyage...the ookii sayonara .

[sick620]

What do you want for the little guy.... If i promise to put a motor in him and get him going will you sell him to me?

[mellotrongirl]

I figure she's worth $150.

 

New water pump.

Strong brakes; recently rebuilt/turned.

Good rubber

All lights, signals work. Brights, brake lights, etc. all work fine.

5 speed -shifts smooth

Drives like a little sports car

Clear title in my name, but tags expired June 2009; Oregon plates

Doors shut; windows roll easily

No cracks on any of the lenses

Tight exhaust system

Only one hubcap; the other 3 are missing

Gets about 32 mpg

 

Needs battery

Slow leak air in both front tires, but good rubber all the way around.

Crack in windshield

No heater (PO modified the heater system & I couldn't figure it out.

Leaky radiator.

Warped head, but engine turns freely/not seized. New starter. It sparks, but doesn;t fire up.

Sprung front door a little, but shuts & locks fine

Interior really needs a makeover.

No radio

Typical cracked dash cap

Due for oil change, filter, and plugs

May need fuel pump attention.

 

I'll be out at the sallyport where it's parked tomorrow, so I'll take some pics.

 

Oh, and hey--a nice baby/sky blue 521 popped up on the Richland/Kennewick/Pasco craiglist a few days ago = just thouight I'd throw that one in just in case there's interest..and it looks like the $2,900 topless Fairlady is still for sale on there too.

[sick620]

I will buy it for 150 for sure! Just need to find a truck and trailer

[sick620]

Get me some pics? Get good ones of floor and inside of bed thanks sooo much.

[mellotrongirl]

Here's a few pics from this morning; the light coming in through the window vs. the shade was a bit of a photography issue. I'll pull up the mats & take a pic of the bed floor once I'm out there again. I don't believe rust is an important issue on the floorboards, but the bed of the truck is wavy, but not full of rust holes. I figure the 5-speed transmission is the most valuable component of the vehicle of it was parted out.

[Pumpkn210]

That screams "Im off to make trouble for the establishment"

 

Nice, needs a bed but I cant resist the KingKabbage!

 

Whats that pegboard? thing under the dash with cloth? on it?

[Jayden71]

Get me some pics? Get good ones of floor and inside of bed thanks sooo much.

 

Dude! I'm closer than you, I'll buy it for $150.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:lol:

[sick620]

Im cooler than you though :D.....

[sick620]

Thanks mellotrongirl! If I PROMISE to get that thing running and driving and love it as much as you did will you sell it to me for the $150? I pm'd you! That thing reminds me so much of my 79 when I got it... it was rusted in the same exact ways! Have you named it? A truck with character like that deserves a name :D

[mellotrongirl]

Thanks mellotrongirl! If I PROMISE to get that thing running and driving and love it as much as you did will you sell it to me for the $150? I pm'd you! That thing reminds me so much of my 79 when I got it... it was rusted in the same exact ways! Have you named it? A truck with character like that deserves a name :D

 

 

Y'know I never gave it a name! The Mellotron truck I guess...someone wrote a fingered message on the driver's door "I want your Mellotron Jenny" and I figured it was one of the staff at the University who was egging me to sell it to him...(no way). So I guess it's kind of referred by the family as the Mellotron truck. The 521 is "the Mexican truck", the white Datsun was known as The White Ghost by the previous owner (we call it the EV as it is an electric vehicle conversion), and the last one I bought two years ago is merely The Longbed. Seems I called the pictured truck King Crimson for awhile, but I couldn't envision the name sticking. The VW's all have names; the Honda doesn't.

At one time I had a 1973 Toyota Corona SW and an '85 Chrysler New Yorker. The neighbors called the NY'er and the SW the Pretty Mobile and the Shitty Mobile, respectively...or the Flash Mobile and the Trash Mobile. :D

 

I spotted another 521 in town (the only other one I've ever seen in my neighborhood) about a month ago parked about a block away from Riveria Activity Center on 2nd & "Y" about a block or so North near the trailer court...looked nice & straight--current tags; silver and dark purple-ish exterior. Hasn't been there lately, tho' but I know it's been moving around. I'll see if I can corner the owner & get a status report. I also spotted a 620 dually camper about 4th and Benton/Crook...pretty unique vehicle...pics upcoming hopefully soon.