Last Old Norwegian 521

[Conan]

 

 

 

 

I got started on the floor this weekend, made some mistakes along the way, but in the end it turned out pretty good to be a first go (i need to replace a little bit extra on the right side as you may see on the last picture)

I had hoped i would get more done, but its a start. I will practice a little more before i get started on the main floor board on the passenger side. Again all tips are appreciated, i don´t want to F@@@ anything up.

 

Im hoping i´ll get the new slave cylinder by tuesday ;)

 

[Conan]

Got some work done this weekend on the 521. Changed the engine oil (10w40 mineral oil), changed the Orange horror named Fram and put in a bosch oil filter, and i changed tranny oil; put in som Redline MT90 GL-4.

 

Still waiting for the new slave cylinder, its taking its time...

 

Also! i cut out the floor on the passenger side and made a new floor out of 1.25mm sheet metal that i welded in and coated with "hammer paint", took me a while, but got it done. Im at work now, but will upload the pictures once i get home; if anyone are still reading this thread? hehe :mellow:

[erichwaslike]

i still read it, still subscribed to it

[Conan]

i still read it, still subscribed to it

 

All i needed ;) was starting to wonder if i just posted to myself xD

 

Next weekend im thinking about getting the driver side done.

Im also trying out a carb cleaner fuel additiv, testing it with a very dillute solution just to hopfully get it running a little smoother without negativ effects.

(removed my ballast winter weight, 150kg of gravel, the 521 runs like a dream...atm at least)

 

My floor

 

My hole

 

Took 3 vice grips to get that old rusted bolt out.

 

My new floor in place

 

My new floor painted ;)

 

My enormous work space..... girlfriend was not too amused she had been waiting for 2 hours in the cold for me to get done xD

Edited January 31, 2011 by Conan

[erichwaslike]

the one thing i would suggest id drilling a few holes above the support in the floor and spot welding it do it. thats how it is originally and will keep it from rattling.

[Conan]

the one thing i would suggest id drilling a few holes above the support in the floor and spot welding it do it. thats how it is originally and will keep it from rattling.

 

 

I was going to but my drill fried out, so i did´nt even get to make a hole for the bolt i spent 30 minutes removing, and a another 5min making a new long bolt (did´nt have any that were long enough) :(

 

This will be done this weekend instead of doing the other side, as i managed to get crap in my eye from hammering underneath, so i have had impaired vision the 2 last days (had to gotto the emergency room in the end when it got to bad. Eyes got swollend and red, had to stay home from work and was´nt even able to play GT5 on playstation....... whats the point of having a sick day if you can´t watch tv, work on the car, or play... waste of time xD

 

[bananahamuck]

Got some work done this weekend . Im at work now, but will upload the pictures once i get home; if anyone are still reading this thread? hehe :mellow:

 

I dont post all that much in build threads unless i can help ,( and there are way more knowledgeable people on here than me ) ,, but i can assure you,, you are not posting to yourself..

 

PS.. nice job on the floor

[wayno]

Great job on the floor, keep up the good work. Do a little as often as you can, and before you know it there is more to do.:lol: wayno

[Conan]

Great job on the floor, keep up the good work. Do a little as often as you can, and before you know it there is more to do.:lol: wayno

 

Thats the one thing i know for certain about the datsun.... there will always be work to do heheh

 

Plans in the order i wish to do them:

 

-Add my coyote skull hood ornament (real skull, just going to giv it a few clear coats before i bolt it on)

-Change floor on driver side

-Put in new (black) carpet

-Clean up engine bay

-Get the car rust treated underneath

-Redrape the doors in black, paint the dash, and maybe replace seats with a bench.

-Change tailgate (have a new one that is hole free)

-Get new rims and wheels

-Maybe doing the opposit of everyone in here; i want to raise my 521 xD

-Put in a sound system and burn out some banjo cd's xD i like having musikk that represents the car.... in my corolla only old school metal is allowed.

-Before summer i will need to get a new racoon tail off ebay to have in my radio antenna, now thats what i call high class styling xD

 

 

For the summer:

-Sandblast the whole thing and repaint, thinking a black and with really neon green highlights at fenders and bonnet maybe the ratsun rat and wrenches on the hood or on the doors.

-Alternativly, paint all black and make the rat/wrenches into a police style bagde to have on white doors xD

 

For uncertain futur:

-Put in an L engine if i can track one down, was thinking maybe a KA or SR.... but i like everything being old, i like their simplisity and over dimensioning when it comes to wear and tear; most importantly they are not run by one of my arch enemies; "the computer"

-Needless to say i will get a 5 speed tranny.

But before i can do this i still need to make a few more misstakes before im at that skill level, as for now i am surviving with the J13. Thank god the 521 is so cool, or else i might actually be embaressed everytime i get passed on the highway while trying to get to 90km/h.

[banzai510(hainz)]

I want to see a piture of your girlfriend!I hate working on Datsuns in the cold!

[DanielC]

I was going to say if you posted more pictures of your girlfriend, and the Datsun, your thread would get a lot more replies. Some might even be useful.

[Conan]

Lets just say she isn't as big a fan of the datsun as i am, so its not easy getting her near enough to take a picture while she still looks happy xD

 

While planning for this weekend i of couse remembered everything i wanted to get done on the datsun.... of course i forgot that my brother was coming home for the weekend and that i had dinner plans with my " inlaws" so datsun plans were cut short :angry:

 

I did get something done though. On saturday my slave cylinder finally arrived! Got it changed, while underneath i saw some gear oil leaking from where the driveline connects to the tranny, i also feel some resistance when trying to change gears.....So i guess i have a bad seal and maybe some worn bearings, so im wondering if i need datsun origionals or if there are any "easy to come by" parts that i can use out there? Getting sick of waiting 2 weeks for parts....

 

 

[Conan]

I´ve been broke, changed jobs, im still broke, company went bankrupt so out of a job again and had problems with my corolla which i have now decided to part with.

But over to what we all really care about the datsun :) Ive welded in a new floor on the driver side as well as 4 other holes i found, changed fuel line, put in a window washer tank which i took from the corolla, and added a stereo, speakers and sub. I have tried everywhere to get a hold of a new gasket for my tranny, so going to order one from the states now. Except for the tranny i need to fix my wheel alignment, which i have no idea how to do, it pulls to the left most of the time and especially when i brake. Also i was wondering if there is a complete rubber kit for the entire front suspension, its all old and brittle :(

 

Now over to some pics ;)

 

 

 

This fist picture is the joint between driveline and tranny, this is where i have a leak, feel free to post link to RA of which part(s) i need, is it the bearing, the seal or both? it takes 2 weeks to order so need to get it right the first time! ;)

 

 

 

[banzai510(hainz)]

glad to see you back on here

[Gary]

repairs are lookin awesome man, good job :D

 

keep smashin at it! the ute's looking great

[DanielC]

This is one of the sites I have bookmarked.

http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun520/Datsun520521Index.aspx

A lot of the numbers are old, or obsolete, or worse, NLA (No Longer Available).

but I have found that a lot of times you can call a Nissan dealer, and if you tell the parts person the part number, they can enter it into their computer, and get a part you need.

 

For the transmission oil leak, most likely you need just a seal. look at the surface the seal rides on, if it is still smooth and shiny, a new seal will probably fix the leak.

 

Brakes pulling, first check the tire air pressure. Next, pull the brake drums off, look for oil or grease on the shoes, leaky wheel cylinders, and then the condition of the brake drums. Also remember if one side is adjusted tighter or looser than the other, the brakes will pull to the side. The brake shoes may be different length for the forward and aft shoe in the same wheel. If you put a shoe in the wrong place, the brakes will act differently. Same idea with the top and bottom springs.

 

The basic principles of front end alignment are the same for all cars. Any front end shop should be able to do it.

 

Go to this page, and scroll down to the service manual you need, and down load the PDF file.

http://www.olddatsuns.com/620tech.htm#wd

 

If you print out the front end section, from the service manual, and give it to the alignment or tire shop you have work done at, they may be more willing to align your front end.

[Conan]

Thanks for the warm welcome back ;) nice to be here again, my last job didnt have computer access hehe.

 

Today was jet another set back on the datsun, by misstake i left the key in the on position, came back from walking the dog and my coil had blown up and spewed nasty black gunk all over my engine compartment which i cleaned on last saturday... tried with the "fits all engines" chinese made coil from my corolla, but didnt get a spark. Thinking that it might have too much resistance for the datsun or did i pull that out of my ass? Really didnt need this right now, having about as much money as a hobo after shopping for booze and an evergrowing list of repairs on my cash thirsty datsun, anything that can go wrong goes wrong, its like it just doesnt want to be my friend :( heheh

[Conan]

Got a new coil yesterday, so the datsun is up and running again, i also fixed my horn so i can finally let people know when they are pissing me off hehehe... I also managed to track down the tranny seal and had it shipped in from sweden overnight, i will get this fixed in the weekend, but does anyone have any tips to make this an easier jobb? or a short step by step?

 

Next task at hand will be changing all the rubber in my front suspension as well as putting in the carpet ;) Can´t wait till i get all this done, and can finally enjoy my "daily driver"

[DanielC]

The service manual will give you a step by step for just about anything you want to do on your truck. Look in there.

[Conan]

Small update.The datsun is still my daily driver, although i spend a few days a week fixing new problems that keep coming up hehe Since last time i have posted i have had my carb out twice, flushed and made new gaskets. I have replaced most of my brake lines, replaced coil , replaced bad wires, installed window washes tank, got my horn working etc etc...... All i need to do now is get my new brake lines approved and the datsun is yet again street legal :) When this is done i can finally start making the datsun a little prettier, i can finally invest in a carpet heheh! Finally got myself a steady job as a Lab Tech so money for datsun parts is finally on its way. Pics will come (at work atm) ;)

 

 

 

I was wondering if anyone had a good suggestion to what i can do to make my J13 a little bit more sexy on the throttle. In norway our max speed limit in the area is only 90km/h, all i want is to get to 90 as fast as the other cars, as well as i would like to be able to gain speed when driving up hill since norway isnt too flat so this is quite annoying heheh

[Burabuda]

most guys here would suggest an engine swap

l20b?

but i think you mentioned you were keeping the j-series

 

you attending japantreff i hope?

http://www.datsunpmcregisteret.no/Artikler/tabid/344/Default.aspx?ArticleID=8

[Conan]

most guys here would suggest an engine swap

l20b?

but i think you mentioned you were keeping the j-series

 

you attending japantreff i hope?

http://www.datsunpmc...spx?ArticleID=8

 

Hmm i will keep my eyes open for the engine, my 521 needs a little "umph" ;) I was thinking of keeping the J for as long as possible, but i want a new engine ready for installation incase something happens with the J. Unfortunately the datsun isnt reliable enough for the long trip to lilehammer from stavanger, its stopped too many times for me to trust it on long rides and im leaving on vacation on the 1st of august, if i didnt have a flight to catch i would have pushed my datto back from lillehammer if i had to hehe ;)

 

I was wondering what i need for the engine and tranny swap, what can i use thats already in my car and what do i need to purchase, so if any

one could help me make a shopping list it would be great ;) i also want to raise my datsun a few inched but im still not sure how i want to do this.

 

Great to be back, now that i can afford to continue ;)

 

 

 

 

[DanielC]

The big thing you would need obviously is the four cylinder L-engine. the J series transmission will not bolt on to the L engine, so you need the L-transmission. Good news on the transmission, pretty much any 4 or 5 speed L series transmission will bolt on the L engine.

For the rear axle gear ratio, in the United States, the 521 with the J-1300 had a 4.875, and the 521 with the L-1600 had a 4.375 for the rear axle ratio. World wide, there was also a 4.625.

Putting in a L engine in a 521 that had a J engine would also require a change in motor mounts, The front two, because the J-engine sits straight up, and the L engine is tilted to the right slightly (15 degrees, I think) I do not know if a J to L engine swap requires a change in the rear motor (or transmission) mount. If you end up with a long tail five speed, the rear mount will require some changes.

 

First thing I would suggest is to find out your rear axle ratio. If you have the 4.875, and want to keep it, I would almost think a five speed would be necessary. If you go with an L-20 engine, I would be a little worried about the strength of the 4.875, but it probably will be OK, if you are not hard on driving the truck. The engine will be turning relatively fast, at open road speeds. One of the reasons the 521 became available with the L-16 engine, and the 4.375 rear axle was to make the truck a little more compatible with highway speeds in the USA. The high RPM will not hurt the L engine, because it is an over head cam engine, in fact, it will probably tolerate it more than the pushrod J engine.

 

I would also not rule out a L-16 or L-18 engine, either. The J engine is rated at 67 horsepower, the L-16 was rated at 96 horsepower, and the L-18 was rated at slightly over 100 horsepower.

 

Being in Norway, you might also be limited on what Datsun power train parts you can get. Your first step is to find out what is available. Or how hard or expensive it is to get stuff shipped from the USA.

[wayno]

Are there a lot of MGs over there, the mg blocks are a lot like the datsun J block, some parts might even interchange.

[Conan]

I have had a break from ratsun for a while until i had more to show. Atm i am repainting the 521 dark green metalic with black on the inside of the truck bed, i will also be changing over to wood on the floor of the bed and will attempt a black rising sun on the hood; im now done with respraying the bed and im prepping the cab. I am also on the look out for a new engine and tranny and have found a guy that is selling everything i need, which is why i wanted to ask what do i need? He lives a good 5hours drive +2 ferries away so it would be good to get everything in one go. I will be swapping my J13 for a L18 so im getting a L18 with tranny but what else is a must on my shopping list? The guy is cleaning out everything he has so i need to get everything in one go as datsun parts dont grow on trees around here hehe

 

Pics are on my camera waiting till i'm done with the cab ;)