1978 datsun dolphin housecar

[DOCSHULTZ]

looking forward to it being a fun project . camper almost seems more used than the truck itself ,.anyways i'll keep you all updated with info and pictures as she progresses, my wife calls it my new dog house. lol ,also thanks in advance for any insight on getting it running in top shape cause thats where i'm starting first.

[DOCSHULTZ]

just use the code like nismo dr said lol..

 

Pro tip, don't use armor all on your dash. it will crack eventually, use some mothers brand stuff... Armorall is good for, well, not much :lol:

 

 

true, learned that the hard way but mothers is what it accually has on it in the pict

[DOCSHULTZ]

true, learned that the hard way but mothers is what it accually has on it in the pict

i dont use armor all on anything after it cracked a dash on another one of my cars about a week after i put it on.

[Eagle_Adam]

[DOCSHULTZ]

I see someone gettin pregnant in this thing at cAndy 2012!!! :lol:

my wife cant have kids or it would definatly be a possiblity once its fixed up lol

[datzenmike]

will take a pict of the tag on the inside of the drivers door jam and post, the only aluminum tag i have found is on the drivers side by fender well but hard to cant read much of it ill post a pict of it as well. vinl # starts with ehl620 and is on the tag on inside of door.

 

EHL620 is the designation for the Cab Chassis model sold without a box.. Excellent.

[DOCSHULTZ]

I meant the Nissan aluminum tag riveted to the driver's door jam. Should have the build month on it. Campers were only from Jan '78.

 

 

the only aluminum tag i can find is under the hood on the drivers side. but cannot read most of it it does have a few numbers stamped on the bottom of the tag though. i'll try and get pictures of tags tomarrow forgot them today.

[izzo]

i dont use armor all on anything after it cracked a dash on another one of my cars about a week after i put it on.

 

 

Cool man, i didn't know what you used. Just trying to save you from that happening to this dash. Good on ya!

[dolphin]

hello folks, thanks for the ratsun community, I just bought an old 1978 datsun/dolpin 620 housecar, I'll try to load pics as soon as I can figure them out, this think is a POW!  let me tell you what I've done, and what I think I know (more to learn by far).  it had a bad alternator, so i found ratsun and ended up putting in a 200sx alternator, not much, but 15 more amps w/o much modification, a bigger fan belt, and a pain with the lower radiator hose and the bracket, it fit, but just barely (it just failed, not sure why/how come, more to come...)

Also, mine only has wider on the rear, they are 245-60-14, on maybe ten inch rims, the tires are fifteen years old, this thing, as per the state DMV, has been unlicensed for ten years!  It too, has 81,000 miles on it (is it the same one mentioned above?) .  I can't find much at all about them, some info on toyotas, but I did find someone somewhere else posted that theirs also had the wide tires on the rear, and not duallys.  Also, the federal government banned duallys on the rear of these, as they would cause a failure in the rear end (stress/breakage), unless they were a beefier axle made for duallys...given that the only wide fourteens I can find (any fourteens for that matter), are only a B rating.  Somewhere on the web, I read that these (1973?) dolphin weighted in at like 6000 pounds with like 3700 rear and 1800 front, so I figured that those rear tires weren't strong enough to carry this camper, so I got some fifteen inch rims, and had some used 235-75-15s put on them, but then I got problems with clearance on the front end, so we cut a little out of the front frame right in front of the tire, and raised it up with the torsion bar adjustments, still touches a little, I'm stumped, now I need a f'n alignment, and the shop can't fit it in it's bay.  I may just order in some of those 245/14s, and go back to that system.  I should have taken it over some scales and found out for sure what it weighted in at!?  The carb is bad, has to be primed, coughs, sputters, spits back up out the carb, until it warms up, then smooths out some, it did pass emissions, my mechanic told me to warm it up good, prior to taking it in.  Electrical has issues, brake light, signals, etc. my brother is checking that over now.   the cord to plug the camper in, I guess, had been patched, and shorted out, blew the GFCI on the house.  I read that they step down from 110 to 12, but no converter to step up to 110 from the 12 volt system, and my brother agrees.  There is damage on the inside, cushions, bed, paneling, etc.  the stove is rusty.  I found one used stove but it's $150.oo, and I may just paint this one with high temp paint?  cushions for the camper, I found some dog beds for like thirty bucks each, so four of those for the inside, and a futon I bought for twenty bucks will work for the cabover, the cab seats, doors and headliner are in good shape, anyway fols, more to come, and thanks!

[dolphin]

holy toledo, this is the one I just bought, same goofy wallpaper on the inside, same cushions,see my other post for more info on it!

[dolphin]

don't can't run duallys, the feds banned them due to them causing issues/stress/braking on the rear ends, they were not designed to take them, mine came with extra wide (ten inch rims) and 245-60-14s, on them, I've switched to fifteen inchers to get a C load rating, but those are too large, I'm stumped at this point, the 145s can carry like 1500 pounds, and I read that the rear of these dolpins rv campers came in at like 3800 pounds/front at like 1800 pounds, I should have driven to a scale to find out...more to come

[dolphin]

okay, one question for the "pros"  I have to prime this same camper, that I just bought, to get it to start, it lags, coughs, sputters, and sometimes spits back out the carb, probably needs a complete rebuild, ,the state DMV said it has not been licensed for ten years, they almost couldn't even find it in their system, could/would that be an accelerator pump issue, once it's warmed up, it runs fairly well, lags on acceleration, but that's about it, just passe emisssions test, but I took it in WARM...

 

also, does anyone truly know how much these things weighed?  I'm still struggling with tire decisions(s)

[dolphin]

okay, I did what I should have  done, in  the first place, went to a scale, the whole vehicle weights in at 4100 pounds, rear comes in at like 2200 so any B range tire should work fine, 245s are very pricey, so probably going with 235s

[datzenmike]

Jesus! 4,100? My 620 ended up 3,400 and it was a pig on the highway, worse in town. Even with a Z24 swap.

[Eagle_Adam]

Need pics!!