paisa13 Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Friend of mine gave me this truck about 5 years ago! loved the style of the truck but since it didnt run i had been sitting in my back yard used as a yard waste dumpster until last year! Someone knocked on my door asked me for the truck but i couldnt find the title! Few months later the title appeared and the itch to work one the truck began!This is what i looks like right now!! Dont have any pictures of how it looked before!!Truck had the L18 but could never get the thing to start! I started by swapping the hitachi carb for a new weber 32/36 and a brand new points distributor! I should of done my research and bought a "matchbox dizzy" but im new to datsuns!Intalled new plugs, wires, coil, distributor and carb and the Truck fired up right away even after sitting for four years!The first drive was an experience to remember!!! All exited about getting it to fire up and eager to take it for a drive i didnt even think about the breaks!!! I took off and sped up as much as i could! With a cloud of black smoke behind me i wouldnt be hard for someone to miss me!! When it came time to stop, well i couldnt!!! The pedal went to the floor and only the the front rights felt like it was grabbing! I ran the stop sign, luckly no one was at the intersection! Downshifted to slow down and turned back around to my house!!After some research i order Beebani brackets and did the disc break swap along with some new titan wheels!!!I fell in love with the truck and its potential of how i want to get it!! The L18 was dying on me, burning a lot of oil and just not very reliable!!I bought an L20 from a guy and decided to refreshen it up!! intalled new bearings, rigs etc...Had to go with my Raider colors!! All about the Silver and Black!!Here are some pics of the old L18 coming out!!Out with the 4 speed in with the 5 speed from a 280zx Intalled the L20 about a month ago! I had never rebuilt and engine before until this one so im was real happy when it fired up!! Ran a little rough at first but after putting the timing light on it! it settled down and got smooth!! Took it for a spin and ran great!! Huge improvement from my beat up L18The 5speed is so awesome!! I tried the stock shifter from the truck and also the 280 shifter and decided to go with the short one from the 280, it took me a while to get used to it but its quite interesting feel!! Still have to clean up my ghetto paint job a bit more!! ]2REDEYE stopped by and gave me some tips about getting my engine to run better. Starting with the distributor! He suggested the matchbox! The distributor that i had was brand new so i called Autozone where i bought it and asked if i could exchange it for a matchbox and pay the difference in price, since it was still under warranty, they said no problem! I paid about $60 dollars more for the matchbox dizzy but it came with the module included so im happy with my new set up. Way better then hunting for one at pull-a-part!!In all i have a fresh L20 with 5speed tranny. New big breaks that work awesome also swapped the master cylinder for the 280zx one which gave me more pedal!! New tires to go with my Titans, so in all a good beggining to my yard waste dumpster!!The body is pretty rough!! The whole passenger side looks like it got side swiped and there is rust on the fender and on the bottom of both doors.Here is an interior pic!! No carpet yet! Dynnamat and carpet in the future!! Notice my patch work on the floor since it was rusted out!!Bad news today!! Took it to les schwab to get an allingnment since im all over the freeway!! Got the news that its un allingnable since the kingpins are shot!!After reading some of the post, replacing the kingpins is no joke, specially since i do all the work myself!! I went ahead and ordered the Kingpin kit from Autozone along with new wheel bearings!! Gonna be my project this weekend, hopefully!! All together $190 or so dollars for parts and some headaches in the near future!! Quote Link to comment
izzo Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Good job man!! Quote Link to comment
ariascarlos1990 Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 nice little truck man! Quote Link to comment
jefe de jefes Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Paisa trece que te parece. Nice truck bro! Love the engine color. Win lose or tie , Raider till I die. Quote Link to comment
Wide14u Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 it looks good motor is great Quote Link to comment
pharouh Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Sideswiped? Looks good to me! Nice! Quote Link to comment
73dat Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 looking good paisa trece :cool: Quote Link to comment
Skib Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 moved to project datto ;) Quote Link to comment
paisa13 Posted January 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Thanks for the props guys!! I started working on the kingpins today after work! This project is a nighmare! The lockpins are rusted on and cant get them out!! loaded them with some pb blaster, gonna let them soak, hopefully i can get them out by this weekend!! Quote Link to comment
paisa13 Posted February 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 Finally got the kingpins done!! It was a tough job!! Loaded everything with antiseize in case I need to take them apart in the future!! You definitely need a big sledge hammer and a good drift!! Quote Link to comment
Dudeman Posted February 3, 2011 Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 Howdy, and nice truck. I've seen it a few times driving to work (I live just down the road from you and work in Smokey Point) and wondered if you were on the forum... If you see a red 620 around it's probably me, though it might be a while before it sees the road... Quote Link to comment
paisa13 Posted February 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 Howdy, and nice truck. I've seen it a few times driving to work (I live just down the road from you and work in Smokey Point) and wondered if you were on the forum... If you see a red 620 around it's probably me, though it might be a while before it sees the road... Thanks! I love the truck, still have a lot of work to do! If you need a hand working on your truck swing by Quote Link to comment
Farmer Posted February 3, 2011 Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 Liken the silver paint in the engine compartment. The engine also looks nice. Larry Quote Link to comment
paisa13 Posted February 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 Went to Les Schwab to get an alignment and they told me again that they can't do the work!! According to them the tierods and everything is custom fabricated and they can't work on it cuz it's not stock!! I replaced everything recently with new stock parts that looked identical to the original ones that I took off, so I don't know what they are talking about!! I'm at Performance Nissan right now, they told me they can handle a Datto!! Quote Link to comment
paisa13 Posted February 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 Getting my baby worked on at Performance Nissan in Everett!! Waited for almost three hours but when i drove it home the wait was worth it! The difference in driveability is priceless, im not all over the freeway anymore!! Quote Link to comment
paisa13 Posted February 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 During my wait, i was checking out the new cars in the showroom! I fell in love with the GT-R and its wheels!! How would this set up look on my truck?? Kinda like them more than my titans!! Quote Link to comment
paisa13 Posted February 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Sprayed my wheels black to see if i like them!! I really do, probably gonna get them powder coated in the future!! 1 Quote Link to comment
paisa13 Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Gonna start doing the body work on my truck! Have some replacement parts already so just need to sand down the whole truck! Was curious to see how the original paint looked under the copper paint that it has now! The original orange looks pretty good to me! I used a scraper and the copper came off fairly easy! Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 That orange looks pretty crisp under there. I still have the bolts and nuts for that core support. I can drop them by after work whatever day you'll be around. :) Quote Link to comment
sirchopz Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Hey bro when you began to rebuilt your engine, how did you start your rebuild. I want to rebuild my own l20 on my '74. But I am not sure how to start? Any feedback is appreciated. Quote Link to comment
Mr Raiders Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Paisa trece que te parece. Nice truck bro! Love the engine color. Win lose or tie , Raider till I die. ^^ What he said ^^ Nice looking engine, and truck Quote Link to comment
Wide14u Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 i like the black on the wheels looks good Quote Link to comment
paisa13 Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 2eDeYe' date='28 June 2011 - 07:10 AM' timestamp='1309273823' post='502338']That orange looks pretty crisp under there. I still have the bolts and nuts for that core support. I can drop them by after work whatever day you'll be around. :) Sure thing Steve! I usually get home everyday around three pm! You can swing by whenever u like or I can pick them up! Thanks Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 I'll toss them in the truck tonight and stop by tomorrow after work...right aroun 3:30 4. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.