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Another 521 on the road


Tucson620

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Behold my new ‘71 521. Seller said grandpa was the original owner. Drove it home, passed AZ emissions the same day, and it’s registered and back on the road. The truck did some work in its life, but is intact and mostly original. Been lurking and learning (my first Ratsun post was an “I’ll take it” for a matchbox dizzy :cool: ).

 

The good:

 

- New interior – all metal (520?) dash just powder coated, new upholstery and door cards, knobs and controls there

- Remaining paint is original, no charge for patina and surface rust, beautiful hubcaps on stockers

- Stock L16, Hitachi, and drive train run pretty good (though not NHRA sanctioned)

- Recent work on brakes and carb, no crazy wiring mess

- Came with a spare rebuilt 4-speed

 

Not as good:

 

- Plenty of dings/dents, need a new hood (but have emblem, and original tailgate chains).

- Floorboard rust has been treated with black paint stuff, don’t know how well

- Cab is misaligned with bed both horiz and vertical, one or the other’s been off – are mounting holes on either slotted?

- Truck crashes and crunches on bumps and turns, steering slop – needs shocks and maybe k-k-kin-king…, [ahem] front end repairs

- Rear main seal and various other oil leaks

- Shifting is loose and crunchy – place your bets, could be neutral, could be reverse!

- Tires are shot

- Steering wheel is broken, taped up (PO didn’t know how to take off horn)

- Leeeetle uncomfortable to drive! (I'm tall) – wheel and shifter argue with right leg, then my left buttock yells about it :angry:

 

Yes, I has them... some late afternoon shots:

IMAG0216.jpg

 

IMAG0230.jpg

 

IMAG0218.jpg

 

IMAG0226.jpg

 

IMAG0236.jpg

 

IMAG0243.jpg

 

IMAG0219.jpg

 

 

 

Thinking about:

 

- Need new tires NOW. Stockers are OK, but I like a beefier look and thinking of disc brakes someday. I kinda dig the Chevy rally wheels (15x8). Heresy?

- Fixing the oil drips and shifting problem by installing the spare transmission – looks like oil pan gasket too. What gaskets to get?

- New shocks – KYB Gas Adjusts or KYB Excels?

- Kingpins don’t seem to move, but all the rubber bushes in the steering linkage are old/cracked. Idler arm to passenger wheel clunking for example.

- Checking out cab/bed alignment – original looking doubled fabric “shims” in the bed mounting. I wonder if the cab has “sunk” too? How does left/right happen?

- Lowering, but I’m function-over-form. It’s gotta be work as a truck. 2” too wimpy?

- Thinking about a replacement steering wheel - like 14". What fits? Grant doesn't list 521, only 620.

 

What say ye?

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It looks like a 520 dash, that is a score, as it will never crack. If you loosen all the bed bolts, which is never easy, you might be able to shift the bed/box over some to get a better alinement of the two, best part about this is all it costs you is time, as you are not trying to remove the bolts, just loosen them and then tighten them, but some may break, but they are cheap. The truck looks real good on the inside, and normal condition on the outside, best of all, it looks to be complete. NICE, keep us posted on your progress. Have fun with it. The lower you go, the shittier the ride.

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Nice 521.

All the body bolts and fasteners on a 521 are American SAE sized (fine thread) The fenders are held by 1/4-28 threaded bolts for example.

Brake and clutch hydraulic fittings are 3/8-24.

The engine bolts are metric.

The engine pipe type fittings are BSP. (British Standard Pipe)

 

Do not trust a good looking fuse actually is. The glass fuses are well known for looking good, but not having continuity.

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Thanks for replies. So my boy asked me to go on a ride tonight - we got one block and the left rear tire de-treaded itself. We flap-flapped home (thank Rat we were that close). Now the wheel/tire situation is SERIOUS. I have a line on 15" Chevy Blazer rallys with trim rings for a decent price. Or... just put some 205/70-R14s on the stockers. Guide me!

 

I don't think there is a single thing you mentioned that I have not thought about my own 521, or that I've read someone else say.

Even the part about the left buttock? Interesting...

 

 

If you loosen all the bed bolts, which is never easy, you might be able to shift the bed/box over some to get a better alinement of the two..

I'll try this tomorrow, see if bolts are rusted. Bigger concern is vertical alignment - the floorboards have a black POR-15-ish coating on them top/bottom, but maybe are deformed letting the cab sink. Maybe the cab bushings were replaced/messed with when that work was done.

 

 

Nice 521.

All the body bolts and fasteners on a 521 are American SAE sized (fine thread)

A new challenge for me and the toolbox, coming from Toyotas/Subarus/Kawasakis/Hondas, etc. But from an old Volvo family, same deal with the 60's era ones.

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If your running points still You should get a point coil for a 521 in there.

The MSD coil is a .7 ohm and is using to much current in there ,your points will wear out faster. 1.6 is stock ohm value and the ballast 1.6 ohm

 

It will be fine if you run a Matchbox as thats the same value coil and DONT need a ballast resisitor(the white ceramic block)

 

go to olddatsuns.com the tech section

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If you are considering front disc in the future, 15" rims will give you more room for larger caliper options. There are more tire options for 15" also, I believe.

 

The bed/box misalignment is very likely the cab rotted around the mounts. The cab weight caused it to sink or shift.

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Thats a very nice little truck, very jealous of your dash! My 521 gives me the same sore left bottock feeling on long drives too. Blazer rallys look great on em but 8 inch wide front wheels and no power steering isnt so fun :D. Like wayno said lower you go worse it rides, my truck is lowered 5 inches up front and 3 out back, rides pretty rough but looks good. 2 Inches looks good and keeps a lot more usability.

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Thanks for the comments. There's some amazing 521s on this site, seem to pop up out of time capsules (like DatWifey's newish white one).

 

Been looking at the floorboards and I think they are raised, weakened from rust. So that's why the cab seems to have sunk 3/4" inch. Solution to that will take a little investigation. Probably nobody else notices, but I do right away -- here you can see both the vertical misalignment and the horizontal (shadow shows bed offset. Couple character marks too):

IMAG0235.jpg

 

Hainz has good eyes. Re: MSD coil mismatch with points dizzy - what's cool is I actually KNEW that already from my Ratsun studies! YES, Datsun knowhow!

Researched when I put a matchbox and new coil on my 620, then sold it with the truck :mellow: . Maybe it's time for another.

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