1966 datsun 520 kingcab project, act 2

[wayno]

I fooled around with a couple tailgate letters this evening, I am going to scrap whats left of the gate out as it was used for parts, now I will cut my new letter out and ad it to this project on of these days.

 

[wayno]

this thing is looking really nice... i love the way the bed flows now. :thumbup:

 

Thanks, I kinda make this stuff up as I go, if I see something cool, then I go for it, but I have been planning to do this for a while, ever since I seen this photo that ggzilla posted on the "U" model thread.

I beleave I am going to have to lift it a little, I have no clearance with the front wheels, and if the bump stops were there, it would basicly be resting on them.

I suppose I could use a eastwood fender roller on the front fenders, but none I have seen have the capability of bolting to a 6 lug pattern.

[wayno]

Hi there ratsuners, hope everyone got some stuff done on there projects since ratsun was down, I got my small project done just in time for the crash, so I did some other stuff, which needed done for a while. :lol:

I rolled the front fenders a couple days ago, got a little aggressive on the first one and maybe left some marks, but will fix them later, but the second one came out great.

I also made a set of 720 (Z'd) drop arms, if these work properly, it will drop the frontend another 2 1/2 inches.

Here they are, this is where I started.

 

 

 

I put the braces into position.

 

And then they were welded.

 

 

Then the boxing in was done.

 

[wayno]

More oics.

\

 

 

I might have an issue with the bump stops, I will post how that goes when I get to installing them.

I also am going to have to drill new shock mount holes lower in the pocket, but that was something I planned to do before I even cut the arms, I just have not got around to it yet.

It took about 5 hours to make these as they are in the final photos.

[wayno]

I did the front shocks today, in the stock configuration they were completely compressed, so I used some metal and made a new mount using the sway bar mount hole in the LCA.

 

 

 

I think I will make a bracket that bolts on top of the lower balljoint, using the balljoint mount bolts to re-mount the sway bar.

This way I am able to even go lower in the front, but am going to drive it before I go lower and decide if I need the bumpstops in the front put back into position, I probably have about 4-6 inches of body travel left before bottoming out metal to metal, I do not have that left in the rear, there is only about 2 inches there.

So I guess I am going to have to start thinking about the rear soon, after I get the sway bar dealt with, and drive it down the road once.

I kinda want to drive it to the bluelake meet/show, but that would depend on how many guys are going to drive their 320s to the meet/show, as I don't want to miss a big 320 get together.

[wayno]

Well I put a battery in the truck today to start it up for the first time in a couple months, and now it won't idle without the choke closed(see photo below), I don't like down drafts on anything, if you let them sit any length of time, they don't work properly anymore.

What is that screw on the lower rear passinger side of the carb in the photo below, idle mixture?

[wayno]

Now that I have ranted about it on here, and took the time to take the photos and post them, it now has decided to work properly, and is idling after sitting for half for a while not running.

I don't get it, if it isn't predictable, then it makes me mad, it's like going to your car and wondering if it is going to start this time.

Looks like I am going to have to work on the brakes also, the fluid drains out while sitting which is not good, brakes are kinda high on my list of things I want. :lol:

Looks like it's the front circuit that's the issue, these calipers had sit outside in the weather for a long time at the guys house I bought the frame from. :(

[wayno]

I went to start the truck today, it has been almost a month since I started it, and it is did the same thing again, it is very difficult to keep it running, I actually have to pour gas down the carb to get it started at first, once I get it going, it will not idle without a screwdriver holding the choke closed almost completely, after it is totally warmed up I still have the issue, it won't idle and if I open the choke it dies.

Then I shut it off after warmed up and walk away from it for 15 minutes and go back, I can start it and it idles fine, WTF.

There are no issues at all now, what's going on?

It did the same thing last time, I walked away for a while and then start it up and it runs fine, what is this a symptom of?

[bonvo]

hmmmmm that is a stumper there man

[mklotz70]

The fact that the choke has to be closed means that you have a massive air leak somewhere. The change after sitting for 15 minutes is a bit weird. I'm guessing that something is stuck in a leaking position, but when you come back and restart while it's still warm, it works right away and seals up. My first guess would be the PCV valve.

[Boaty]

Hey Wayno.

Out of curiosity... when you did those drop arms, what was the difference in overall length?

I didn't look super-close but the first thing that popped into my head was the length difference in those arms after chopping them. Did the overall length get put back to where it was originally or did you intentionally shorten them up a bit?

[erikcarter]

looks great Wayno! I always wanted to make skirts for my 521 when I had one. Love the Ute look!

[wayno]

Hey Wayno.

Out of curiosity... when you did those drop arms, what was the difference in overall length?

I didn't look super-close but the first thing that popped into my head was the length difference in those arms after chopping them. Did the overall length get put back to where it was originally or did you intentionally shorten them up a bit?

 

 

I shortened them up about a half an inch, and I planned to do that, as the upper arms had to be lengthened 5/8ths of an inch because of the drop, my thinking was if I shorten the lowers enough, I might be able to use the stock upper arms, but I have not looked into that part of it yet.

I seem to be in a unmotivated phase, and just am trying to keep everything moving that is moving, I have to many projects going at the same time. :frantics:

I am going to probably make another set for the 720 dually, I will document the measurements at that time.

Even though I cut and dropped the arms 2 1/2 inches, that is not the drop I ended up with, it turned out to be about 2 inches, maybe a little less.

This was a learning what I am doing set, I still have not worked everything out yet.

[wayno]

I decided to start the truck more often, to see if it helps with the issues I have been having.

So I pumped the pedal and hit the starter, and it hit the first couple tries, and by the third time it was going, and it would idle, but had a very bad miss, I ran it for a while and it did not get better, so I pulled a few of the plug wires while it was running and found that #3 cylinder was the culprit, so I shut it down and pulled the valve cover and found the issue, one of the lash pads was sideways holding the valve open.

So which one of you ratsun gremlins is coming to my house and screwing with me. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I put everything back the way it was supposed to be, and it ran just fine. :)

How can a rocker arm get out of the lash pad groove/channel in the first place, :confused: as it was running fine when I shut it down a few days ago, hmmmmm gremlins, ratsun gremlins. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[wayno]

I started another set of 720 drop LCAs, the last set was shortened about a half inch, and since the truck is so low, I don't have any clearance for turning the wheel, so this set has been shortened 1 inch more, for a total of 1 1/2 inches narrower than stock.

As I said, I started them today, I will finish them next week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wayno]

I checked fitment today, and was overjoyed to find that 1 1/2 inches is a lot to take off the arm, I had to start cutting back the upper piece to clear the bump stop, I actually had to take the whole 1 1/2 inches off the top, I was able to get everything to clear, but am wondering about how to brace it now, I can get it fairly low though.

Here are some photos of how much I had to cut off.

 

Here is the arm test fitted to a 720 frame.

 

 

I will be collecting everything I need to mount it on the 720 frame before I actually mount them on the 520 project.

[wayno]

The modified bump stop.

The shock is just holding it up, this is against the bump stop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wayno]

My plan is to use this hole at the bottom for the shock mount, it will require that I find a very short shock with both ends being threaded.

 

Here are both of the LCAs completed.

 

These LCAs have been shortened 1 1/2 inches each, that would be a 3 inch narrowing of the track width, I am hoping this is enough to get the wheels away from the fender, as when I turn the wheels even just a little the tires hit the fender wheel wells.

I did not have this issue with the 521KC when I put that cab onto a 81/82 720 frame, and this 520 project is sitting on a 86 nissan 720 frame, I am thinking that the track width is wider on the 86 frame, I know the rearend housing is wider than the 82.

[wayno]

As you can see in the photos below, my drop arms did not take into account that the track width of the 86 720 frame, so when I dropped the 520 cab onto the frame, if I lowered it, the wheels hit the fenders.

Passenger side.

 

 

 

Drivers side.

 

 

 

[wayno]

So I made another set of drop arms, they are 1 1/2 inches shorter, so it narrows the track width 3 inches.

I went a little over board and seen how high I could get the wheel inside the fender well, in these photos the wheel is hitting the top of the fender, and only turns a little bit before hitting the floor boards/firewall.

 

 

 

So I put the bump stop in and decided to use that as my lowest point at this time.

And this is where I am right now.

 

I had to figure out what I was going to do about the strut/tension rod, it was hitting the idler arm, and was not coming close to lining up with the mount holes, so I made a temporary block out of a 1 X 2 inch rectangular tube, the permanent one will be of solid or very thick walled metal.

 

 

 

I still have not connected the torsion bar to the LCA, that will be done tomarrow.

I also took the bump stop out and loosened everything and was able to jack the LCA up till the upper control arm balljoint hit the upper inside fender, but I had to remove the steering arm on that side, as it was hitting the frame 2 inches before the upper balljoint hit the top inside of the inner fender, I suppose I should of taken a photo, me bad. :lol:

[wayno]

This is sitting on stock bump stops, the torsion bars were not connected when I took these photos, when I cut down the bump stops, it will be able to drop another 2 inches, but I will be riding slightly higher than this so I will have a decent ride with some travel left.

Still need to go to the auto parts store and find some shocks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mrmark]

wow! Sick!

[Laecaon]

I have a bad feeling about your shock situation.

[wayno]

I have a bad feeling about your shock situation.

 

 

I don't yet, the way I am doing it, I need both ends to be threaded, I have 9 inches, maybe a little less, that is what a 521 shock is, and if I can't find anything, then I will raise the shock tower, but I have a feeling that I can find what I need.

[wayno]

I went to the auto parts store to look for shocks, and less than 5 minutes went by and we already had a set of shocks ordered, they are shorter than the 521 shocks, 8 1/2 inches compressed, I think that will allow me to remove some of the bump stop material to get it even lower, but I have to wait to see if they will fit, as the specs don't say how big around they are, that is kinda important.