521 redo/finishing touches

[.sunlover]

Okay, i'm gonna' start with a little backstory of my 521, we all know these are hard to find, and even harder to convince people to sell, even in '02 when I bought this one with no licence, (A very Leadfoot, and general disregard for the law)I saw it first when I still had my 79 620, with the replacement motor I budget rebuilt, (rings, bearings, my matchbox dizzy, spitshine lol, mostly to have fresh gaskets and no leaks.) it had 60k original miles anyway, just sat forever, so no biggie.

 

 

 

 

I heard him pull up and he had it shiny stock green, on the niiice prime wheels I also now have, little, webbered l16 otherwise stock at the time, just a small water leak at the pump, I warned him it was a big deal because he didn't know when it would start pourin, he assured me he'd stay on top of it, and the next day he siezed the engine. well, he loved the truck, and found another l16 w ported l20 head, turns out from my nearly lifelong best friend at the time. 2 things were true about my buddy Nathan, He was a hussler, and knew how to get what he wanted, so having had one before liking them, and knowing how I loved the truck version of the 510 and aimed to one day own 1 of each, and keep all my life Eventually, Dave ( the 521 owner ) came to owe Nathan 300 bucks.

 

 

 

I don't know how you guys do it, but we were our own debt collectors back then, debt waaay overdue, so Nathan rampaged in with a couple buddies, started taking stuff that looked valuable, and negotiated for the truck that now had a header, and fully done l20b head ( intake/exhaust/big valves, cam ) big exhaust to a supertrap also, but it was barely running, interior was uuuuugly, ugly buckets just sitting in place, someone keyed a Swazzy on the drivers door and who dave loved at the time :( --I'm not racist, they make assholes in every color, that's a lousy way to judge character imo.--.

 

All dave got out of the sale was the stuff Nathan grabbed returned, and the 300 was just written off, he still gave up all the extras too. another rolling 521 chassy in great condition with no motor I later stripped the doors dash I hear lower geared rear end for him at the time. still driving my 620 when he got it, just before the cops got real serious on me and I bought a bike. his first truck was a 521 also, that was where he got the motor and eventually the rolling chassy from.

 

he planned to keep it awhile, at first, or wanted me to think so, he had no licence either, and it wasn't long after I traded my road tested 620 for a 510 project that I was going to combine with a totalled 1980z at the time, that he started talking up the value.... then approaching the idea of me buying it. I saw it coming, and was playing the semi interested not excited part, and still ended up paying 1000 for it with a couple 280z seats and reblacked carpet. NOT COMPLAINING.

 

I took years to pay back what I owed for my license, and have taken this truck with me and tinkered this and that, no real direction, I was far from legal to drive, so I started alot of odd projects on it, the paint got too thin, and I had no idea how to body and paint, but knew I could stop the rust, and should paint it all before I dropped my l20 in it. No way I was sticking with avacado green.

 

 

 

I have since learned the right way and have the time to redo it that way, but with no rust, i'm dialing the rest in before I make it really shine. So, younger, and capable of anything in my own mind, I handbuilt a new wiring harness, trimmed, and fit a 510 dashboard and new gauges, quickly painted on a bedliner, and dropped my l20b and flywheel to the machine shop got a new matchbox dizzy, electric fan and fuel pump, and all the normal rebuild stuff. new brake seals and brakes all around, clutch set, starter, alternator...... everything basically, including a new weber, the one in it was missing parts, and progressive circuit was overworn, plus that's some hard stuff to adjust when it's really not set up for this motor anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

It was '06 I think when I could just peel and coax it around the block with that old carb on it, I started it a couple times since, I was going to road test it with the new carb, it was sliding all over the yard, good starting point to tune it, I wanted to take the hill just outside my yard (yes, i'v had my licence back since 05) and 2 things happened. the fuel pump blew, and the battery died. I just managed to pull it back up the hill into it's spot when it sputtered out, and hadn't got it to start since, until I finished being pissed off that all that work, and many of you know exactly haw much work that is, doing it all myself, produced a pretty piece of lawn furniture.

 

 

 

Now, I've gotten yet another wind, Worked in an oem service body shop, and learned the right way to do things, and as you can see in my pics, it's ready, fuel return system so it's compatible with the 5-8 psi pumps, and the adaptor for the delco 2" foot alternators so I get more charge and save money. Brand new 110 amp delco for $70 or hitachi 30 amp for $100. Yah, i'm making the adaptor, hehe. I added alot of power systems too, so i'm not sure the replacement would have been enough for the radiator fan, fridge, and air compressor, I like the music loud too. I put more than you get in a new car into this where I could, 5 open power ports, fridge/warmer, power usb port, sd or flash memory reader, mp3 player ready, when you open either door, the led turns on, and knight rider strobes back and forth until you close the door. the smokescreen hasn't been tested, but should be one hose from completion. even the air bags are just a couple brass adaptors and axle and frame mounts away from being ready, and cab controlled up and down, but i'm going to do a dual leveler system, eventually.

 

 

 

 

 

should handle awesome. Not 510 awesome, but definately awesome. I did the truck first, because, I wanted to have a truck to haul the 510 parts in, hehe, I have another truck now, but when i'm old and grey ( a long ass time from now ) i'll have my 521 and 510 521 for work and daily, 510 for road handling and fancy, and when there's more than 1 passenger of cource. anyway, it starts right up, runs great, and when I went to take that hill yesterday, found out my old fuel pump can't keep up with the demand of taking that hill at 5000 rpm, it was an old pump I thought was broken before, but worked fine when I tested it, so I tried it. I have another one like that, anyway, half way up the hill after sounding like a racecar and running well, sputtered out, and I rolled back down to my driveway, the pump had been running so it started right back up, and I pulled into my spot and put the battery on the charger. Now it waits for parts, still a pretty lawn ornament, but on the afternoon they show up, i'll be driving a fresh 521 up that hill, and there will be pics and maybe a video. My picture link again: My link

[tomagatchi559]

nice hopefully ill get my 521 soon

[.sunlover]

nice hopefully ill get my 521 soon

 

good luck

[.sunlover]

Okay, I had one helluva time getting my datsun road ready. I hope this resurects the thread, because I like to finish things. I got the alternator, made the adaptor bracket and installed it after a mock up at the shop for the correct spacing for the belt to run smooth, and wired the output in, and installed the unnessesary ground wire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I installed the new starter, added a re-useable fuel filter for a total of 2 inline 1 before the fuel pump next to the tank one before the regulator that I re-installed in the system but as a bypass, so the line is 3/8 w/ a 5/16 weber feed and a 1/4" return running to the regulator in and back to the tank from there. Otherwise it would be 1/4" to the web from the regulator. Anyway, the regulator almost immediately blew, so I got one after clamping a paintbrush to the return line getting the cheapest fuel pressure gauge ever and trying to adjust it so the pressure stayed steady.

 

 

 

fSo bought a regulator, adjusted it, reroughted the fuel pressure gauge to the cab so I know the pressure when it matters most, ran some gas through the lines and they pressurised :)......

 

 

 

with water :(. drained water, let it sit, drained water again, started it and moved it a little, drained water again, filter clogged, cleaned filter, moved it a little, it clogged again.........

Unleashed the most putrid pile of foul language ever unleashed on this world followed by more than a couple beers, next round, I say fuck that tank, and check the 45 gallon ex diesel tank that held my home heating oil after my oil tank cracked. I converteed my heating system since, so it was extra. Checked the tank although it should be okay, it's been sealed for the brief period of time it was outside, all one uniform color, only a light discoloration here and there. okay, buh bye cargo space, I'd rather drive a non cargo hauling 521 then park a cargo freindly one in the driveway forever, so....

 

 

 

 

 

 

sediment terrible though, worse then the stock one I had treated already, actually. more water in this one somehow then the other one had, and I shook it out first, it sounded dry. hmmmmf. okay, well, it's sediment, i'll just install a gravity filter after I make one. should catch all the nasty and let the clean gas through. There can't be much sediment, I would have seen it....

 

 

 

 

 

a crazy amount of hours later, an insane amount of sediment removed, it's not clearing up. In fact... the weber is sounding a bit clogged too. I remove, dissassemble, dip, blow through, rinse, dry, reassemble, the web.

 

(okay, no good pic of that)

 

I toss the stock fuel tank into my other truck and head to the shop, follow the cleaning procedure, drain, dry, change the filler hose, cut out the threaded filler cap from the 45 gallon tank and clamp the hose on (yeah, same size) both ends. resize my fuel sender again to fit the lil tank, hook it up, re-install the tank...

 

 

 

 

 

add a couple gallons of gas, lines pressurise and yeah, it did clog the filters a couple times, but before I knew it, I could shake it up hard....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and only thing getting in my lines is air from the tank being run so low the fuel splashed away from the fuel pickup. Oh, by the way, the one uniform color in the ex diesel tank was a layer of rust 1/16" thick that broke away enough to see what it really was. Grrrrrrrrr......... well my lil tank is rust proof, and theres no way for water to get into it anymore. I just wish I could safely go over 150 miles on a single tank. I'd have to get 32 mpg to go 300 miles on that one, but I figure i'll get 20 and it'll still have a bit of gas in it when it starts sucking air. When I quiet down my exhaust, i'm leaving a spot for an aftermarket fuel tank tho.

 

It's Road ready! :) Oh, just so you can recognize me on the road from your perspective I'll look like this :P

 

 

 

and if you're curious, nothing major just........

 

 

 

and a front view

 

 

[.sunlover]

Just bumping it because I edited the story, added more pix, and split it up so it's not such a scary pile of words, and besides, I'm heading to the road with it to daily drive Finally. It's getting registered Monday :)

[d510addict]

Me likes bumpers and tail lights, what is that tail light panel from and the lights?

[.sunlover]

Me likes bumpers and tail lights, what is that tail light panel from and the lights?

 

I made the light panel, and they're (semi) truck leds. brighter, more efficient, thanks for the compliment. You ready to part with that slack adjuster yet? I picked these lights up from Betts spring. Little known fact.... The service manager there is a Datsun fanatic and last time I was in there, he had 3 1200s sitting in the shop.... He resurrects them from the dead :)

[DanielC]

Will the slack adjusters help my 1970 521? It has a broken hand brake cable, and a LOT of slack.

[.sunlover]

Will the slack adjusters help my 1970 521? It has a broken hand brake cable, and a LOT of slack.

 

you should have slack adjusters there now, unless someone did a retarded backyard fix. they just keep your breaks adjusted near the drum, nothing much to do with the Ebrake. you might want to adjust them though. the rear mount of 1 of mine broke when it was siezed and my brakes were stuck to the drum and drilling a hole and sliding a pin..... okay, coat hanger :) through allows for too easy of movement and it seems they get cockeyed and lock my right rear wheel all of a sudden..... it used to go and stop just fine :( quite an unpleasant suprise. just glad it didn't happen at 70 on the freeway :) they have a slide to allow for movement anyway, but the slight restriction must be very important.

[DanielC]

No, the cable is broken, as in one end of it is laying on the floor, in staid of going into the outer cable, and into the brake backing plate.

 

You do know 521 brakes are not self adjusting. You need to readjust the brakes every oil change.

[.sunlover]

No, the cable is broken, as in one end of it is laying on the floor, in staid of going into the outer cable, and into the brake backing plate.

 

You do know 521 brakes are not self adjusting. You need to readjust the brakes every oil change.

 

Well I don't understand what your question was if you know about your slack adjusters. Still looks to me like you're asking me if new slack adjusters will fix your ebrake cable. maybe i'm just over tired and not understanding things. very possible, slept like 2 hours last night. good luck getting it fixed though man...... Datzen mike seems to know anything and everything.

[.sunlover]

I got my parts!!!!!! pulled some waaaay stubborn brake drums as trade for the slack adjuster, and luckily had noticed yesterday my fuel tank is rusted through and leaking, so also as an added bonus I got a better 521 stock tank also, just that fast...... special thanks to Derrick, it's so hard finding anything I dont have to completely fabricate mounts and adaptors for these days. Now it won't smell like gas around my truck and I won't have to flatbed it in at Canby. anyway, it's nice out, i'm gonna put that lousy gas to use cleaning parts, wire in the fridge, and put my a/c dayton blower heater fan on the ignition switch so I don't have to plug/unplug it for circulation. :D I even bought tools!! Ratchet wrenches for work.

 

 

 

Update.... fuel tank is nasty inside (I'm still Ecstatic for the freebie) time to switch to something stronger, and slush around some nuts and bolts for an hour or 2 or until its all clean......

 

 

 

it has a coating like axle grease, but thicker, and yes, I guess that's possible.

 

Now, i'm sick on old gas fumes, probably smell like a junk yard, and just realised this thick mess........

 

 

 

 

 

would go away alot faster and easier if I ran it in the solvent tank at work for 8 hours or so...... wish I had my respirator here with me........

 

anyway, I'm bagging that for now and on to brakes and electrical...... No better match then beer, gas fumes, and electricity. if you hear of some chucklehead blowing his ass off in oregon city, that will probably be me...... LOL :)

[.sunlover]

Yawn..... installled the new (to me) slack adjuster, gonna weld the ripped through part on the retainer spring mt so they don't keep coming off with the drum. I actually forgot to put those back on my 620 when I was much younger and it drove fine until I found them when I was sober 1 day and nearly crapped myself knowing what they were supposed to be on. I don't want to leave them off and push my luck though.I didn't have my good ratcheting butt connector crimp tool, so electrical is happening tuesday before work, I just mounted my little inverter and chased a spare ignition lead for it. I have the leads already for the bed power port for the fridge / warmer. I have a 3 way switch for my air compressor / bed lights right next to it. By the way, I slept off my old gas fumes fog, and dreamed I had Superpowers again..... This time I was with a whole superpower group of friends, and there was a rival superpower gang that was starting a war with us. our group was chatting, drinking beer and eating cookie dough, and one guy moltovs our rides, I give chase, and there's a guy taking a video of my reaction, the guy that threw it throws me his sunglasses that were a weird flat panel, and I threw them another gang member, because they were ugly, and he points out he did that for only 30 bucks...... he really only wanted to see the look on my face. The scene pauses, and I teleport into an old kitchen in a light mist, , and seek advice form my (dead) grandma then go back..... It was only my ford, and the other guys (and girls) cars, but I still woke up before I "Reacted" on him. Lucky it wasn't my Datsun..... I have drool on my sleeve for the cookie dough, those old gas fumes give me WEIRD dreams.... anyway, i'll update again Tuesday, since It will be dark at 1am when I get home from work tomorrow, oh but I guess technically Tuesday. I'm gonna go eat something.

[.sunlover]

Work on top of work, double shifts, haven't touched the fuel tank, just repaired the break retainers, and installed the new to me slack adjuster, so the breaking problem is fixed. I'm gonna fill the new to me tank and let the varnish soak to the bottom and soften up, and band aid the one I have in it. When this one's clean, I'll switch it out. Hopefully I can repair the other one and have twin tanks eventually. Put a Y in the filler hose, so they both fill and a y in the feed tube so they both empty. I'm gonna reroute and make it dual muffler/exhaust and shorten it anyway, so might as well fill the undercarriage completely with stuff. behind the tanks will be the rest of the air ride, then a trailer hitch too. Even with the bags, I couldn't tow much being so light, but maybe occasionally if I was super careful, dolly another datsun.

[WAGON JON]

Take the tank to the radiator shop and have them boil it out. Works great....

[DanielC]

A "Y" in the fuel hose going to the engine will not work, without a valve. When one tank gets empty, it is easier to suck air from that tank, instead of fuel from the full tank.

[.sunlover]

Excellent idea John, thank you, That's what i'll do. Daniel, that's a good point, I was thinking that they'd be self leveling, i'm bottom feeding, but you're right, any hard cornering or uneven grade will empty 1 tank into the other. Will it also do that if I Just connect the tanks with a separate line though? It would be cool if I didn't have to switch the 2. I'm also shaky on how they'd hook to my fuel gauge, a tank switch also switches the sender leads?

[.sunlover]

Okay, with some good advice, I decided to clean the tank myself with carb dip, those same nuts and bolts and a chain.

 

 

 

the bolts were already stuck in the varnish mess so at first the chain slid around slowly and alone. 5 minutes later everything was freely sliding around cleaning it takes some endurance to shake a tank for a whole cleaning, so I did it in stages, clean soak, clean soak, etc. I thought I must have it all, the metal was gliding in there quite freely so I decided to dump it out. maybe 3 hours in all, a carb just soaks for 30 minutes, so it should have been plenty. What i'm guessing happened is it got saturated with varnish, because it was squeaky clean in places, and there are islands of up to 3/8" thick crap some with nuts soaked into it. I rinsed it with water, then poured some stank gas back into it to soak the water to the bottom under the gas (removing the oxygen, thus no oxidation) , and probably will repeat the process again with a new can. I'm probably not saving much money, if any, but for me it's a matter of principle, I want to be the only hands on my Datsun, MY baby, and nobody gets in her guts but me :).

 

 

 

it's like 80% clean, the way its just crudded in pools, I wonder if it's clean enough to run, gas seems not to dissolve it, just soften it, It would be cool if I could either re-use the crudded up dip again hoping the nasty drops to the bottom and the stuff at the top (taken from 2 gallons) is enough to get the rest, or just run it feeling relatively sure the islands of yuck will stay put. I really don't want to buy another can, but I will for my baby if I absolutely must. any advice would be appreciated.

[.sunlover]

okay, new update, daily driving this beauty 300 miles so far. I recleaned my tank, soaked it for 3 days. slushed it around and it's great. rinsed it, dried it in my oven, it sat for a few days, installed it when I had time, and my fuel pressure came to 10+ lbs. Got no clue why it changed. bought the right pump (a 2-4 regulated instead of a regulated 6-9) somehow, it's kicking out rust, seems to be about done, i've been keeping it full. I seriously want front disks, and a brake booster, although, I just have to weld the brackets and frame support to run my air ride rear end, the disks are gonna' be first. all go and no stop, is just stupid.

[.sunlover]

I forgot to mention earlier that after my first drive to work, my belt started squeeling on startup, so I tightened it. I changed the oil and adjusted the slacks again, pulled out and went to a wide spot in the parking lot, and cut a cookie at around 6000rpm. the belt starts squeeling again, and I recheck it, and the alternator is only fastened by the pulley!!!!. the mounting bolts to my adapter bracket snapped off. the front one snapped off in the mounting block. Luckily I was at the shop, so I pulled the mounting block off and Dan had a great idea for getting the broken bolt out. We welded a nut to the broken bolt, and spun it out :) found a couple grade 8 bolts, and bolted it back up, tightened the belt, and drove 150 miles, no issues except an unrelated one, just a clogged fuel filter, but it was a bit scary because the threads to my reuseable on became almost too stripped to use. it was 3 in the morning (I don't get off work 'till 12), so if I couldn't get the threads to grab, I was stranded in a little town until whatever auto parts store I could walk to opened up. first try, it popped back off just when I was ready to open the gas valve, 2nd try it held okay, but I bought a new one, the filter is a bit clogged again, and I doubt I can get it to stay again if I broke it down to clean it out.

[.sunlover]

Okay, installed the new one just in time, the old 1 broke apart right when I went to remove it. Drove everywhere with the new one, then low fuel pressure, then stalling an hour from home. Filter wasn't tight inside, keeper but blocked the fuel inlet holes, tightened it and it drove home fine. Driving it home from wrk the next day though.... raining, lights went out, wipers began to make the motor stall, shut them off, dark highway, heart thumping like a double bass drum, it got me home, battery, wouldn't hold 12 volts, got an optima to match my overkill alternator, went to canby, whoohoo, fun stuff, but, valves were ticking, adjusted them right at the show, tuned the carb a bit, damn, it sounds good now, then a couple trips later, it's dead again. Couldn't fix it for a bit, because now I'm on house arrest, but squeezed it into my yard work time, and because the tentioner arm had been loose, my adaptor bracket worked loose again. All good now, and back to daily driving the metal love of my life :)

[Wide14u]

glad truck is fixed

[.sunlover]

well, all was not well, once again, either the dying battery ate my alternator, something broke loose inside one of the times my first generation adapter bracket busted loose, or my badass brand new alternator was defective..... IDGAF, it's not charging worth a damn, and I have a new 110 amp chrome alternator (with warranty) coming for a mere 69 bucks :) thermostatic fan control switch, to ease the power use, and o2 sensor and bung for my lean rich sensor, so I can fine tune my web jetting (mileage + power). i'm gonna weld it in where my exhaust leak is, and get 2 birds with one stone. just a small bungee for my long for easy filter access fuel hose to stop it from kinking, and this is my best vehicle. my 260000 mile ranger is really feeling it's age lately. Hiccuping, weak oil pressure at times, bald tires, suspensions shot, wipers are on there last swipe, etc, it's time for this to be my backup vehicle, until I do the heads timing, tires, and stereo deck on my tbird. as long as I have a backup vehicle, i'm starting on my 510 after this round on the truck though, it's sat long enough.

[.sunlover]

pulled the old alternator, and it jingled when I shook it, lol, going on 2 weeks of trouble free DDing. Well, unless you count the starter swap I had to do at the gas pump on my way to work the other day. Still, it's the only thing i've been driving. What's with the shitty replacement parts? that starter was less than a year old and didn't even get me 1000 miles. The alternator I can understand, it broke its bracket a couple times, and was getting slapped against its mount while I was driving it. I may have bumped the starter switch while I was driving, but it was fine in the driveway, but not at the gas pump 5 minutes later? anyway..... I'm getting rid of the ugly canope, and making an aluminum bedcover. i'm making it so it converts into a canope if I need one, and supports weight and has roof racks for short things when it's down, and long things when it's up. not as complicated as it sounds, should be a 5 minute conversion when it's built. then i'll start my power rear window. jeese, that just leaves the changover shock mounts for a more readily accesible type, air bag brackets and leveler valves, ball joints and front disks so I can clear front bags, then thorough bodywork, and thick paint, and all i'll have to do on it is maintenance. other than a couple weeks for the body and paint, I shouldn't have to take it off the road again for any of that. scratch that, i'll do the bodywork 1 spot at a time, and sand/primer/paint it in a weekend.

[.sunlover]

it's driving stronger every day. can't imagine my life without it. Daily driving my dream of a truck. Next post will have oiks and be about the shit I touched on in my last post. should be pretty soon, but i'm having so much fun driving it as is, it's hard to stop to work on it. Swinging more towards "I need to drive it here" "I need to drive it there" and things of the like, but with that soft spring, I'll probably fab up those bag mounts and frame support at least. cost me nothing, and leveler valves are cheap. dual needle air gauges a little less cheap, might spend a bit in brass, but it's not smart to take off my canope before I can transform my bed cover to have one to use whenever I want/need one, thus, no need for power slider rear window atm.