My 72' 521

[E-Rock]

Hi guys. New to Datsuns and new to the forum. Picked this truck up to replace my 1970 Volvo 142s(which I'm having trouble parting with) but I'm loving this thing so far. Converted to 5 speed. Weber 32/36. I'll have to post more detail shots. The rear bumper has a rad engraving from what I think is the original dealer in Texas. I really love the look of this truck. I'm fairly new to cars in general but I've always wanted one of these.

 

The tie hooks were cut off the sides and I'd love to replace them. Anyone have some left over from a project or know where to find some? Also would love to replace my cracked dash.....unless you know of a crafty way of filling the cracks.

 

[Wide14u]

looks like you have a good start

[flatcat19]

Welcome to the madness.

 

More pics!

 

I love all these 521's coming on the forum as of late.

Watch out 620s.

:ninja:

[Ken_B]

Always nice to see another 521!

 

 

[metalmonkey47]

Welcome! Body looks pretty solid

[E-Rock]

I don't really have many plans other than cosmetic stuff. I'd also like the find a front bumper and apron....but in a way, I kind of dig the mad max look.

 

Edit: also don't have any plans to paint it. I love the paint :)

[jon521]

whoa another 521! take the dash pad off and rattle can the dash! thats how mine is

 

Welcome to the realm of really awesome shit

[.sunlover]

there's alot of things you can do to spice up your dash......

 

 

 

You most likely wont find that front apron anywhere. Too many people just junked them, or they rusted away.

[E-Rock]

Rattle can it is! But, my dash pad is cracked all to shit. Do they sell replacements or is there some way to fill the cracks? And when I say cracks, I really mean valleys.

 

Also, I'd like to replace all of the seals and weather stripping. I found some places that sold replacements but it seems really pricey. What's the cheapest you've found?

[wayno]

Rattle can it is! But, my dash pad is cracked all to shit. Do they sell replacements or is there some way to fill the cracks? And when I say cracks, I really mean valleys.

 

Also, I'd like to replace all of the seals and weather stripping. I found some places that sold replacements but it seems really pricey. What's the cheapest you've found?

 

 

What jon521 is saying is to rip the plastic material off the metal part of the dash like in the photos below.

Keep in mind that you should first check and make sure there are not big holes in your dash like the photos below, you need to put your hand under the dash and feel for these triangular/square holes.

 

There is also the option of finding a 520 solid metal dash, they are kind of hard to find, but worth it in the long run.

 

There is a guy called 620green that has sold a brand new dash to one of the members here, I don't know if he can get anymore of them, but if anyone can it would be him. Before you bought from him you should go threw his thread, as there are a couple unhappy customers, I have bought from him with no issues, but it does take time to receive the goods from the other side of this planet. Here is a link to his for sale thread.

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/30173-datsun-520521-parts-for-sale/

 

There are guys on ebay that are selling weather stripping, but some of these products are not OEM, they are remanufactured and that doesn't mean they are good, there is one guy selling out of texas that is a bit spendy, and most have been unhappy with the product, buy at your own risk from him. 620green has also been selling weather stripping on the link above, don't know if his is a nissan/datsun product, ask him, if he says it is and you buy, tell him you want it sent in the unopened, original packaging.

[wayno]

I forgot, Welcome to Ratsun

[Jayden71]

Very cool man!!

 

Welcome to lulzapolooza!!

 

 

 

and tons of info :D

[E-Rock]

Thank you for the information! That was very helpful. I'm going to go feel up my dash. :D

[E-Rock]

So the dash does in fact have those holes in it. Time to get crafty.

[wayno]

This is what the former owner did to my dash before I bought the truck, you need to remove it to do it right though.

Most of the dashes I have seen do not have them holes, maybe the wrecking yard? Look for a 520 metal dash also, that is the best way.

 

 

 

[jon521]

i have never heard of the "holey dash" except for these 2 times

[wayno]

i have never heard of the "holey dash" except for these 2 times

 

 

Me neither, but they are out there.

[jon521]

E-Rock, if you end up taking the pad off or the whole dash off for a swap, take some pictures of the underside

[MRocha]

welcome

[E-Rock]

I'll take some pictures if I end up taking it off. Thanks for the warm welcome everybody. I like this place.

[E-Rock]

Hi guys. Been absent for a while. No new updates other than a very shitty one!

 

The truck had a blown head gasket. That has since been fixed but the truck is still running hot. I'm assuming that this is due to residual oil in the coolant system and radiator? I'm a novice so I'm just taking a minimally educated guess. I was going to try flushing the coolant system but I thought I'd ask you guys if you thought it would solve the problem. Should I replace the radiator and hoses? I've never dealt with this before and I can find much information about what to do after a head gasket is blown. Any help would be very much appreciated!

 

Thanks!

[DanielC]

Check the ignition timing. Retarded timing can cause an engine to run hot. How is the compression on the engine?

[E-Rock]

I just had a mechanic(I'm no mechanic) run through the engine and he said compression is strong and and it runs really strong. It's plenty fast. It ran hot with the blown head gasket and continued to after it was fixed. There is definitely residual oil in the radiator.

[wayno]

I just had a mechanic(I'm no mechanic) run through the engine and he said compression is strong and and it runs really strong. It's plenty fast. It ran hot with the blown head gasket and continued to after it was fixed. There is definitely residual oil in the radiator.

 

You say you had a blown headgasket because you had oil in the water jacket/radiator, or did you have water in the oil? This is a very important question to answer, as you can throw a lot of money at this with no results. Is this a L16 with a stock 210 head?

Let me go into this a little deeper, I had a 1971 datsun 521 with an L16 with a 210 head(stock), I had oil in the water jacket(radiator), I would flush it out, then drive around town with no issues, but when I would drive on the freeway, the oil would reappear in the rad. water?? It turned out to be a crack very close to the oil jacket in the head, which cannot be fixed. How this issue is known to me is it happened to me, and I was lucky enough to know Dan Hart, he told me that he had a head sliced like a loaf of bread till he found the crack inside the head. This is not a headgasket issue.

[E-Rock]

Was the compression still strong? My mechanic did a compression test and it was fine. I'm only guessing that there's residual oil in the radiator because he didn't flush it. He also had the head leveled. I hope I'm not having the same issue!