Pacific coast Datsun Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Ok as some of you guys may or may now know i was able to extend my vacation & spend the 3 days after Reso & Mikes place. He graciously put me up, fed me & even tried to pay for the gas in my 620 :D I was able to view his extensive magazine collection & see how meticulous he is in finding all the Datsun info in EACH magazine & documenting it. We also spent the better part of each day in the garage working on "chop-tana" which is his chop roof 620. I helped put all the missing engine parts back on & get her to turn but she wouldnt fire [carb issues IMO]. Mikes friend Scott was also visiting & helped us too. Probably the koolest thing ive seen in awhile is watching the glass guy Mike found actually cut & install the windshield in "chop-tana". It was his 1st ever time cutting a curved windshield & he made it look easy. We even made it over to the other property which held even more 620 parts that blew me away!! If i lived any closer id be over there alot. Mike was generous to give me another air damm seeing as mine was tore off when we unloaded it off the trailer..hell Mike said it almost turned inside out before a small piece broke off :rolleyes: All in all it was a trip ill remember for a long time & cant wait to get back out there to see "chop-tana" run & drive. Thanks again Mike for everything & i gotta say this..if it were'nt for the net i wouldve never met him & all the others ive met along the way. Enjoy the pix guys... PARTS !--------------------- the 76 & 4 door original frame & bed... SOME of the magazines... pic speaks for itself... V-8 620... chop-tana's engine... ill post the glass pix soon :cool: Quote Link to comment
1lo620 Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 That is very very cool. It sounded like a great time. It must just be amazing to just sit sn bull shit with Mike about 620s past present and on going projects. That I think would be very cool to do one afternoon. I am glad to hear that he is getting the chop top up and going. I wish I had the fund right now to do the work on mine and get it going but probly not any time soon....Very cool, very very cool....... Quote Link to comment
Pacific coast Datsun Posted January 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Yeah we did alot of BS-ing :D Mike is full of stories from back in the day & future plans. Heres the windshield pics... 1st a template was made of thin paneling & installed like it was the glass... clamped in place & line traced around template... using a $25 cutter on the 1st cut... carefully pressing down after the 1st cut is made....we heard the glass "give way" @ this point... turned over & the 2nd cut is made... then he pressed down & made it "give way" & heated it w/ the torch... & there ya go it worked....notice Mikes Kool aid smile :cool: then all the edges are sanded smooth so as not to rip the gasket... & finally installed carefully... The way the gasket was trimmed it's hard to see the cuts & will be sealed with a clear sealent & the whole process took about an hour. Quote Link to comment
Figbuck Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 That is wild! Good stuff! When ever my wife starts giving me a hard time for being obsessed with Datsuns, I show her pics like these that mke me look like a dilettante! Iz that a CB750 chopper? That's sick. Quote Link to comment
fisch Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 That is one hell of a how to! Are there any profile shots of Chop TANA? Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 I love that truck :) Mike posted a bunch of pic's in the project section on the nude board a while back ;) Quote Link to comment
phatdave Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 :D..Sounds like a fun time! Quote Link to comment
Steroid Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 My old motto: SAVE EVERYTHING!!! Thanks for the writeup, Mark. I appreciate Your help and time! Hey guys, as You might (or might not) know, Bullhead City is right across from Laughlin. My invite is always open (vacation destination!!) and there is now a local run on the river. I live for days like the 3 Mark spent here. My old buddy (in photo holding spoiler) is Scott Wilkie. He is another minitrucker that I met 32 years ago. Most of My friends are/were minitruckers. Scott met Me when driving through Barstow in 1976 and saw the Datsun SS sitting at the gas station that I worked at. He had a wrapkit molded porsche red 620 and I waved Him into to talk to. He is still My close friend and had gone to Resolutions with Us. That was His first "sleepover" minitruck run since 1979!! He hung out with Mark and I to share of the "days of yore". A good time was had. But this is what I'm talking about. GOOD TIMES!! It is always inspirational to have others over that appreciate Your projects. A wife can only tolirate so much, and Mine is a "jewel" to be so tolirant! My first wife said "No, You're not bringing THAT home". I have never heard that from Terie even though I want to save everything. If I cann't use it, there is a good home just waiting for it (Right Mark-----shifter fork!) But Datsuns have been such a part of My life and I really think that others at Reso saw this last weekend. The topper was that Bob even put a 620 on the t-shirts and banner!! Maybe I bite off more than I can chew but slowly, sometimes VERY slowly, My projects inch along. I had waited over 2 years to finally find somebody competitant enough to cut and install Choptana's windshield. Now, with that done, I can move foreward again!! And money permitting, maybe most of My trucks can be running by summer! I had given Myself a 5 year timeline on all 7 trucks, which I am halfway into. I feel (other than what $$$ the dually project will cost Me) that I will have less tied up in 6 of those trucks total than a brand new fullsize Ridgeline or, at the highend, certainly a Hummer. And I will have much more fun deciding just what I feel for the day like cruising in! These projects don't cost Me an arm and a leg. Bringing back a look from the past is very cool. Now, there is becoming a brotherhood (SWDP) to attend runs with and hang with. Very cool! It is a pleasure to have 620 "maniacs" (a term that Makoto Okamura gave Us at Reso) over. Next time You are over, Mark, maybe more will be organized!! By the way.. anyone interested in 7 "slightly used" bowling balls?!?!?? (Photo # 2) Oh, and yeah, that white 1976 is for sale!! SAVE EVERYTHING!!! Quote Link to comment
datsun dreamer Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Mike, The Chop Top is looking AWESOME! Cant wait to see her Done:)! The '76, Will you part out? Or sell Complete? Quote Link to comment
1lo620 Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Hey Steroid, I am going to Scottsdale sometime in March to visit my Mother. who now lives down there full time. I looked into the distance to your neck of the woods, and I would for sure like to make a trip to meet you and see your shrine.. I will contact you closer to the trip and when dates are set. If you schedule works, we should meet. Quote Link to comment
datrod Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 I'm diggin the red old skool honda chopper. Boy that brings back some memories. The 70's rocked. I Had a triumph chopper back in the day. hard tail,springer front end, and no front brakes. What the hell were we thinkin back then. Quote Link to comment
Steroid Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Dave, that would be cool. Just let me know. Jason, it should be ready for a show in a few months now. You might see it when I trailer it to Hesperia for Mike Schartel to pinstripe at His shop. Next, now, is to have Wayne make a headliner, then the sunroof can be installed. After that, it should go together pretty fast. A lot of You guys have asked how to install square headlights. I will make a photo article when that is done and post on it's own thread step by step. The chopper is a 1972 Honda 500 that was built by Denver Mullins of Denver's Chopper fame. It is a one off as the motor, frame and rear wheel were supplied by the owner to Denver. Usually a Denver's Chopper had one of His frames so this is a very rare bike. I had hoped to bring it with Me to Long Beach but it would not have fit in Funtana's bed. I will bring it this year as the fourdoor duallys bed is a longbed and it should fit just fine. I'm sure the Japanese attendees will be blown away!! Quote Link to comment
1lo620 Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Y aMike I will for sure hit you up with the travel info soon as i set it in stone, I am looking forward to meeting you and checking out the stash of Datsun things you have, Exspecially your magazines, I still want to find that artical of that white chopped top that Beebani posted that looks a hell of alot like mine. We'll chat soon...:cool: Quote Link to comment
Icehouse Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Sounds like a awesome trip!! I like all the pics it almost feels like I'm there :D Quote Link to comment
Pacific coast Datsun Posted January 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Dave i sure hope you get a chance to visit Mike. The amount of 620 knowledge & history @ the house is wild! I had soo much fun even though we had 45 mph winds the entire time :w00t: I just was hoping to get chop-tana to fire but she's close & helping to organize the garage a bit was relaxing to me. Heres a few more pics from the visit... This is in Blythe....funny name... view from the deck... a few taken @ the river... & yes a louvered hood just waiting to be installed... Quote Link to comment
datsun dreamer Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Beautiful River and deck pictures:D Mikes Garage looks like a library:) Quote Link to comment
Pacific coast Datsun Posted January 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 While i was there Mike showed me a video of himself, son & friends transforming a Ford granada [ill let Mike explain] but i had him pause the tape so this pic could be taken...it's Mike ramming a shopping cart w/ a metal spike attached into the pass. door!! Look at that face!! :lol: Quote Link to comment
Steroid Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 First to BUSINESS........ IT RUNS ! ! ! About an hour ago, My neighbor came over and started following every wire with His test light (He sure makes THAT look easy) after I installed Funtana's battery in Choptana. 15" ago He said "OK, try to start it" and low and behold, Choptana fired right up!!!! I had ran that engine for about 20" two and a half years ago before removing it from the pea green truck that Jason (Datsun Dreamer) purchased, so I knew that it should run. And it does!!! Now on to "plumbing" the brakelines, clutch line, throttle cable and then detailing. It might be ready in a month or so. It should be by April where I would like to drive it to Las Vegas for Viva Las Vegas (see website). The only catch to V.L.V. is only pre-1963 vehicles are allowed. But there are LOTS of others attending and cruising around outside the run. So the next question is: which truck should I bring to Bluelake/Canby?? :) Quote Link to comment
Steroid Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Now to pleasure. The video Mark took that photo of is My kids and Their friends (along with "some" Adult supervision) totally destroying a Ford!! The tape starts out wih My allowing Cayton to drop a bowlingball through the windshield. As most "science projects" go, that got boring so it was decided that LARGE rocks should be dropped onto/into it. From there it progressed to Cayton "louvering" the hood with an ax, "stabbing" crashing and other basic destructive bodywork methods! That photo was one of Marks favorites. After several design changes, that shopping cart was "modified" with a pointed steel shaft that is usually placed into the ground to throw horseshoes at. So You have an idea of its size and length. Yes, it punctured the Ford quite a few times and this photo was taken by Cayton taping from inside My trying to shove it all the way through the door!! No, I don't have the Ford any longer. It was part of a 2 part deal to remove a 620 from a guys yard. "You can have that truck for free but You've got to take that car too". So Mark has a roof for His convertable, I made, and sold, a blue trailer and the dually has side rocker panels from the truck that came with the Ford. See, this proves a point: EVERYTHING IS USABLE ! ! You might say that that photo demonstrates "Mike on Steroids"!!!!!!!! Hence, the name.:lol: Quote Link to comment
datsun dreamer Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Mike, Thats awesome:D! Can you get this into video? That would be cool!!! Quote Link to comment
Steroid Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 What?!?!?!? And IMPLICATE Myself!!!!!! You would not believe what else is on that video, right Mark?!?!???????? Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Bet that feels good having it running :D I vote for the four door at canby :cool: Quote Link to comment
fiveNdime Posted January 13, 2008 Report Share Posted January 13, 2008 Sanding of the glass with no mask or glasses Not the best of ideas.:confused: Always better running then not! Quote Link to comment
Steroid Posted January 13, 2008 Report Share Posted January 13, 2008 Hi Jason. Well, to answer Your question on post # 9, it looks like the '76 is now not for sale. Per emails and conversations with My son, Cayton, who is in Japan and will be coming home (U.S.A.) on February 1st, yesterday and today, the '76 will now become another project. Yes, it appears that within a day or so, I will have "special" parts only available in Japan, Australia and a few other places on the planet that will make it a very unique "stock" vehicle. No, I don't have them in hand yet so I won't confirm the project until that time. By this time next week I should know for sure if another "dream" 620 will be constructed. I will, however, give a few more hints if You guys haven't already guessed what it might be. It will sit stock height, be painted a stock 1976 Nissan color and possibly have mag wheels of some type or stockers with hubcaps. But it will be VERY different from any "stock" 620 in America. Later!!!:confused: Quote Link to comment
Steroid Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 Well, did You guys guess yet??? Right now, (yes, as I'm writing this) in Japan, Cayton is taking 4 LARGE boxs of parts to the base post office to ship to San Diego. Still no idea??? One box weighs about 45 pounds. Three boxes are very long. All are 620 parts. Mark and Guy know, the rest of You have to guess!!!!!:eek: Quote Link to comment
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