Texans???

[Rhapakatui]

So, I know there are atleast a couple of other Texans on here...King bee66 for example who tried to help me find a truck.

 

I've been working on this truck for a couple weeks now, and I sometimes find myself feeling like the only one around who doesn't think Datsun's are crappy old cars that don't exist anymore because they weren't worth anything in the first place.

These West Coast guys seem to have all the cool Dattos. I'm quite jealous. I say The Lone Star State needs to represent. I'm working on a build that keeps getting more and more ambitious. I think some pics of Texas vehicles may help my motivation. Not to mention, we do have the reputation of being a proud state... wouldn't want to let anyone down by being all humble. Mine's not much to look at at the moment so all I really have are before pics but I guess thats a start. Hopefully this gets a reply or two.

 

+

+

= hopefully something cool that drives next year.

[metalmonkey47]

WOW looks like you got a project ahead of you

[Rhapakatui]

Yeah, I'm still not sure how I'm gonna do it. I keep goin back and forth between doing FWD and RWD. All I've really got figured out is the suspension set up... I was supposed to be doing that tonight, but kinda got behind schedule and didn't feel like starting fabrication at 10pm. Guess all that should really be on my project thread though.

[pharouh]

 

I've been working on this truck for a couple weeks now, and I sometimes find myself feeling like the only one around who doesn't think Datsun's are crappy old cars that don't exist anymore because they weren't worth anything in the first place.

 

 

I know just how you feel. Indiana is pretty lonely when it comes to Datsuns too. keep it up!

[king bee66]

awesome dude, im glad you found what you were looking for!

[skunk]

RWD for the win.

keep it up, when you get that thing on the road and you can fix whats going wrong with it your self and your friends are paying $200+ for some one to change there alt, you can :lol: in they're face

[datzenmike]

RWD, it's set for it now. If you don't have a motor and tranny run something else local to you, maybe a V6. The frame is accessible for this now with the body off. The 620 is the nicest looking Datsun truck ever made.

[Rhapakatui]

That's just the thing, I HAVE a good motor and tranny, but they're in a FWD Altima. I was gonna rebuild the l20b that it came with but it was just missing too many parts, and the local JYs scrap anything over 20 years old. It's like building a truck in the Logan's Run universe. Even Aubrey Jack, the local redneck pick and pull guy said he rarely sees anything Datsun anymore. He has like 4 trucks that drive around pulling old cars from pastures selling parts and scrapping the rest. I'm gonna check with the Imports JY in Beaumont (60mi away) tuesday and see if I can work out a trade for this Altima stuff... if not, I'm putting an Altima motor in a 620... BTW the 620 in my opinion is one of the nicest looking trucks ever made period.

 

 

[Rhapakatui]

awesome dude, im glad you found what you were looking for!

 

 

Yeah, I found one.. Had to drive to the other side of Alabama for it. 12 hrs there and like 15 back with an overloaded S10 Blazer.

[datzenmike]

BTW the 620 in my opinion is one of the nicest looking trucks ever made period.

 

Well actually that's exactly how I feel too. I used to have a 521, had it for 8 years back in the mid late 70s. A friend had a crashed 620 that I stripped for him. I fell in love with the design. Many years later after moving out west I needed a little truck for firewood. A friend sent me to a co-worker who had one for $100 and it was a '78 KC and that was it.

[Rhapakatui]

Well, I wasn't alive in the 70's ;) , but when I was 14 my three wheeler kicked the bucket, so my mom decided that rather than get another one (it was a necessity in the woods where I grew up) she would buy an old truck, so she picked up a blue '76 long bed with aluminum aftermarket rims for $400 from my uncle for me to practice driving. Then when I was 16 we decided that 45mph top end wouldn't be fast enough for a high schooler, so we did a body swap onto a flipped '86 hardbody with the z24 and I learned how to work on cars. 6 months after we got it on the road I totalled it on a dirt road with a 35mph speed limit.:blush: Then I payed $50 for a '78 or '79 orange single cab that I intended to put my z24 in. After 2 or 3 years of it being in my parent's field they asked if it was ok if they just scrapped both of the trucks. Mom put that motor in another HB and my 620s went to the vultures.

 

Young and dumb I guess. Now I'm paying for it cause I really really want a running one and the parts have long since dissapeared from South East Texas. Leaves me with the daunting task of a motor swap. Since I'm doing that, I figure I should just go all out and do suspension, body mods, interior and all. I have a 1 year goal.

 

 

[dennis]

I know of a few 510's in the DFW area but I have not seen one on the road besides mine.

[Rhapakatui]

I'm a little embarassed to admit it on a Datsun forum, but I've never even seen a 510 in person...

[bonvo]

datsunfreak is in Texas somewhere if i recall correctly as for the project my .02 would be keep it rwd but if you wanna use what you have put the motor in the bed and swap over the front suspention and make it our rear suspention throw a cool camper shell on it and call it done i think it would be bad ass and the weight distribution would be alot of fun

[datsun65]

Rhapa,

 

Hey, I'm in Houston and there are still a couple of Datsuns around. There are periodic get togethers in the Houston area. About three week's ago, a couple of Datsun owners got together at the local Plane Zero gathering.

 

Here are a couple of PIC:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rhapakatui]

datsunfreak is in Texas somewhere if i recall correctly as for the project my .02 would be keep it rwd but if you wanna use what you have put the motor in the bed and swap over the front suspention and make it our rear suspention throw a cool camper shell on it and call it done i think it would be bad ass and the weight distribution would be alot of fun

 

 

I've talked about the rear engine idea, my only problem is I'm not sure how all the stearing junk in the front end of the Altima ties in with the drive parts.... I've worked on a FWD or two, but only the motors. Never really got into how these things run and steer with the same tires.

 

 

Hey, I'm in Houston and there are still a couple of Datsuns around. There are periodic get togethers in the Houston area.

 

Wow, I had no idea. Houston car events are totally doable in a day trip. Maybe when I get this thing going I WILL have places to take it where I'm not the outcast. The local small town car events have all kinda cars, just most of em are big 3 or powered by V8s. I saw an rx7 last year with what apeared to be a 350 in last years burn out competition.... looked kinda silly.

[Rhapakatui]

Just got off the phone with the Imports JY... They want my motor plus $600 in exchange for a 240sx KA24DE. I'd say thats a bit of a ripoff.

[Z-train]

The 620 is the nicest looking Datsun truck ever made.

WRONG.It's the best (looking) mini-truck to ever have roamed the planet.