Jasper's 1977 Datsun 620 - Blue Sky's *Disc's, Titans, lowered* [NewPics](updated 02/04/2012)

[Jasper]

This first post will be a bit of a read, scroll down if you are too lazy. There may be some foul language as well.
I don't recommend you do anything you read in the following story!





Prologue: I had been looking for a good running 620 intermittently for around a year. After looking at anything from junkers to fully restored trucks, it seemed I'd never find one in my price range that wasn't also a piece of junk. Well, fast forward to 2 weeks ago. While perusing the Craigslist with SearchTempest, I eventually find one that's about 3 hours away from me. I email the owner, and eventually give him a phone call. He makes the trucks problems very clear in all phone calls, and sounds like a pretty nice guy. I make the decision to buy the truck, and get the money out of the bank.


There she is: I spend the night at a cousins house who is going to lend me some assistance and entertainment on the journey. We leave at around 8:30am on a Saturday. The drive is scenic, and time flys by pretty quickly. We reach our destination at around noon, after taking a few wrong turns(Damn gps technocrap). I meet the owner, and after talking for a bit he takes me for a drive in the truck. Having never ridden in a 620 before, let alone any Datsun, I get to experience it all for the first time. The ride is rough, I can faintly smell gasoline and exhaust, and the motor sound is akin to something you'd hear in a cartoon. I love it. We get back to his house, talk a little more, and I hand him the money. Now the only thing left is to get a U-haul and get her back home... or so I thought.


Forsaken: My cousin, PO, and myself all hop in my Ranger to find a Uhaul place. I had printed out directions to the closest one on Mapquest, but I am informed that there are some that may be closer. We drive to the first one, and it's closed. We drive to another that the PO's son told us about, and it looks like they're out of business for good. We then drive to the one on my Mapquest directions, and either we mus-interpret the map or it no longer exists. We drive across the highway to a truck stop, and I'll be damned, they've got one out in front of the gas pumps. Roll in, ask the clerks, and one of them makes some wise-crack about how people never make reservations any more. I eventually learn, through a thick Arabic accent, that the tow dolly out front was reserved by someone else 20 minutes prior to my arrival. One of the clerks sets up something on his computer so that Uhaul will give me a call some time.

Out of options, and low on morale, we drive back to the PO's home. Upon arrival, I call Uhaul myself, explaining the urgency in my situation, and she says they will give me a call in around 30 minutes. While we wait, the PO's wife says we should stay for lunch. Now, I'm not a person who likes to take handouts or anything, but she insists, so we decide to have lunch with them. While lunch is being cooked, our trio plays Frisbee in the front yard to pass time. The phone rings! It's my boss...

As it turns out, he just needs to clarify some things with me relating to package shipments. Woo, dodged a bullet there. Time for more Frisbee. Another call! The only way I can describe the way this mans sound, is to have you close your eyes, and picture that nerdy scientist from the Simpsons. Rather than explaining some bloated scientific theory, he gives me a phone number to a Uhaul place about 20 minutes away that is open and has a tow dolly. I call the number 5 times and leave voicemails, and never get anywhere. When lunch is ready, my cousin and I are treated to real some southern hospitality. Pork chops, rice, beans, and fresh veggies. Wow!

After lunch, the PO and I start thumbing through the phone book and calling any Uhaul renters we can find. After maybe 10 calls, we get a Fina gas station that's got some. The problem is, it's over an hour away. It also happens to be in the direction we need to go to get the truck back to my house. Mind you, it is almost 3pm and I have a 4 hour drive ahead of me. So, we make a plan to drive both my Ranger, and my newly acquired Datsun, to the Fina station so I don't have to back track and waste 2 hours.

This is probably a good time to list some of the immediately apparent problems:
She's needs fuel.
The steering has about 5 inches of play in it.
The brakes need some coaxing to get the truck to stop. Double tap method.
Speedometer doesn't work, and no tach.
The tags are expired, and it has no inspection.
The last time I drove a manual, was over 4 years ago when I drove my dads ranger around the yard for 5 minutes.


Blue Sky's takes me for a ride: The PO and his wife call the truck Blue Sky's because of its sky blue color, and white bed topper. The bed topper kind of looks like a cloud.

So, I get all settled into the truck and pull it into the PO's garage for some pre-drive inspections. Nothing unexpected. Front left tire is a little low, but that's about it. Now, here comes some fun. I start to back the truck out of his garage. Stall. Damnit. Fire her back up, and get about 3 feet. Stall. Kill me now. Bring the motor to life again, and I make it to the street. I talk to my cousin a bit, and he is going to lead us to a gas station. Get back in Blue Sky's, put her in first gear. Stall. Why, lord? The PO has been watching me this whole time, and I can only imagine what he has been thinking. Fired up, and I make it to the first stop sign. After a quick lesson in shifting, braking, and keeping the wheels pointed straight, we make it to the fuel station.

I pull up to the pump, only to find out the fuel door is on the opposite side as my Ranger. God, here we go again. Back it up, get her spun around, and wouldn't you know, I didn't stall this time. Both trucks filled up, onward with our journey.

Now, I told my cousin that he needed to keep the speed under 45 for safety reasons. It feels like we are going at mach 2, but I conclude that it only feels fast because the truck is much lower than my lifted Ranger. First stop light. Oh, ummm, oh shit, eeek. I didn't hit anyone, so you can assume I figured out how to stop the beast. For every stop on our journey, I pump the brake pedal 3 times, and then put it near the floor. Engine braking also plays a small role, even though I had only read about it online. After an hour of driving, we finally make it to the back woods installation that was the Gladewater Fina.


Now it's my turn: I'm 19, and my cousin is 18. I have never loaded something on a trailer without my dads assistance. As we are trying to figure this tow dolly business out, a gas station patron runs outside and hands us a Uhaul user manual. After a short speech about how dangerous this is, we thank him and he leaves. After 30 minutes, the truck is on the dolly.

Safety check list:
Front wheels strapped down. Check.
Hitch locked onto ball. Check.
All safety chains connected. Check.
Lights hooked up. Check. The Uhauls lights don't work, awesome.

Well hey, lets get on the road! Pull onto the street, and there is a loud, god awful metal scraping noise. I pull over and see the Fina clerk looking out the window. Crap. Well would y you looky there, we didn't put the dolly's ramps up.

Okay, now lets really get on the road. After driving around for a bit, we make it back to the highway. It's getting dark soon though, and my cousin needs to take a leak. While my cousin does his business, I fiddle with the Uhaul lights some more. As it turns out, they work when I apply brake pressure, but nothing more. I figure I'll just turn the Datsuns hazard lights on for the duration of our trip. Back on the road, no problems, smooth sailing, and after 3 hours the truck and I are finally home.

I'm excited to get the truck off the dolly, and show my dad that it does indeed run and drive. Apparently my truck has different plans. She starts right up, but wont go in gear. Come on lass. Push her off the dolly, and I decide to give it one last try. Start her up, fiddle with the shifter, and the whole thing just pops up into my hand. What a sick sense of humor my truck has...

Push her into her new sleeping area, and I'm back on the road heading to a party...

[Jasper]

Overall, she is a decent looking truck. The main reason I bought her is because she is running and driving though. There is a dent in every panel, but she's mine.

 

 

Oics from the previous owner.

 

 

 

 

Current agenda:

Steering play: Mostly fixed with steering box adjustment. Still needs at least one tie-rod end. Could use all new rubber though.

Brakes: PO says it needs the slave cylinders rebuilt. I'll have to look into it.

Speedometer: PO says broken cable. I'll buy a new cable this week and test it out.

Shifter: As it turns out, the little pin holding the shifter down fell out. After a little searching, I found it in the yard. I guess the C-clip popped of or something, who knows where. I knew I'd find something useful with my metal detector some day!

[AtlanticCoastDatsun]

my my the learning journey you have just embraced, the first 3 months with this little truck are going to teach you more about mechanics than any college ever could. Welcome to the club. :cool:

[AtlanticCoastDatsun]

the steering play is most likely caused by the worn idler arm, adjusting the gear box is problematic at best. As far as the brakes if the slaves arent leaking then they are fine, drum brakes suck, GET USED TO IT. DOnt buy a new speedo cable untill you service the old one, remove it and pull the cable out of the sheath, clean it very well and the inside of the sheath, grease it up and re install, it should work fine. Almost every part on these truck are servicable.

[Jasper]

Thanks. I'll pull the speedo cable tomorrow after work. I think I remember the PO saying the slaves leaked. I saw a 620 at a muffler shop a few months ago, and it had been sitting there for half a year. I wonder if it ended up at the local auto salvage...

 

 

Seeing as I bought this truck from the original owner, I also got some goodies with it:

 

Original Datsun owners manual. This little book even explains how to push start the truck. Awesome!

Original warranty booklet. It has all the information from when the PO first bought the truck, and a couple shop service entries.

1977 Datsun Dealer Directory.

 

I also got a couple pieces of paper that list all the work the PO has done to the truck, starting at 14,700 miles, and ending at 166,050 miles when the speedo stopped working. The oil changes are very regular, and other stuff like new plugs, wire replacements, pad replacements, and motor work.On top of that, I also got a 1.5 inch thick Datsun 710 Service Manual, and a bag of miscellaneous parts. I even got the ORIGINAL mud flaps that he took off the truck!

[Jasper]

Off work finally. The agenda for today:

 

Get the C-clip for the pin that holds the shifter in.

Try to find some 2 or 3 inch lowering blocks. I'm thinking that lowering 2 inches in the rear, and lowering the front with torsion bar adjustments would give it a nice rake. I've also read that some people who lower 3 inches end up sitting on the bump stops.

Look around for a new shift boot.

Investigate brake system problem.

Maybe get a tach to mount on the steering column or dash.

 

I was planning on hitting the local junk yard but it rained today. <_<

 

 

 

I poked around in the garage a little yesterday and found some sweet looking Thrush side pipes. I'm thinking they would look much better on the 240z than they would the truck though.

[Jasper]

Got some stuff done today after work:

 

After a lengthy time of head scratching, banging my knuckles and getting my hands dirty, I got the speedo cable disconnected at both ends. The cable at the top end pulled right out of the sheath. I'm currently looking on ebay for a replacement.

 

Found out my local junkyard has closed down. The owner was a man who was in his late 80's, so I can see why. It's a shame. This is just what I heard today from someone local though, I may drive over and check it out myself some time.

 

I'm currently investigating the possibility of converting the front to disc brakes. I'm sure it is a worthwhile upgrade, and it will save me the headache of working on these front drums.

[Guest Rick-rat]

You can probably get a new speedometer cable from Rockauto

[Jasper]

Thank you very much. They've got one on there for a little under $8. I keep seeing people talking about RockAuto, and I guess this is why. Crazy selection.

 

 

Edit: Got the speedo cable ordered!

[Jasper]

Put the truck on concrete today. Pumped the brakes for about 15 minutes, then checked all around for leaks. I didn't see any fluid drips on the ground, and nothing was on the inside of the wheels or drums. I bled the brakes afterwords and they still require pumping for any noticeable stopping power. I'm thinking it's the master cylinder now.

 

 

Used some rubber silicone to build the hood rubbers back up. No more rattling. Looks ugly, but it's not like I'm gonna be opening the hood to show people the engine bay. :lol:

[bananahamuck]

Pumped the brakes ..as in bleeding them??

.. Is there no air bubbles coming out of each wheel cylinder and the shoes are adjusted out. I like to adjust them out till they scrape about 3/4 of the way around ,,,OR at least somewhat evenly side to side.. But im sure others have other opinions..Those need to be right so the wheel cylinders dont have to move shoes out very far.

If those are right then it might be the master cylinder...

[Jasper]

I just pumped the brake pedal a lot at first, to see if the wheel cylinders were leaking any fluid.

 

When I bled the brakes, I didn't get any air out of them, only fluid.

 

 

With the truck running, you can press the brake pedal all the way to the floor and not feel any pressure from the pedal. Give it a double tap, and you get a little pressure. Hold the brake pedal down, and it feels like it's losing pressure very slowly. I'm just diagnosing it as a master cylinder problem, and hoping that it works.

 

Just bought a master cylinder from RockAuto, so we'll see what happens on Monday/Tuesday.

[bananahamuck]

Yes, it acts like it`s a master,, like you posted,, i was just saying make sure you do all the cheap / free stuff first..Make sure you bench bleed master before install ,,it will be easier to get the air out. ,,

...Not trying to act like a know-it all i just notice your age and trying to help you get it going as cheap as ....well.... a Datsun owner.

 

...Ya gotta love Rockauto though ...just got a timing chain delivered this morning..

[]2eDeYe]

Definitely adjust the brakes like bananahammock suggested. They should be adjusted at least every other oil change.

[Jasper]

Thanks guys. I'll definitely take all the help I can get.

 

I think I've got a "tool" around here somewhere that my dad used to adjust my old Cutlass brakes one time. Something like a bent screwdriver.

[Jasper]

Replaced the speedo cable today, and it works!

 

 

With all this rain lately, I've been checking inside the truck every morning for water. Seems that the door seals are leaking, and possibly the top corners of the windshield rubber. Every morning after it rains, I fold the floor mats up and dry the floorboards with a towel. There is a fair amount of surface rust, so one of these days I'll have to use a wire brush on the floors and spray something in there. I'm thinking that PlastiDip would be good in the floor pans after all the rust is removed.

[dave71]

welcome to the house of rust lol.....looks like you got a good starter truck ...good luck on the project

[Jasper]

Bought 2" lowering blocks yesterday, and installed them today. Here's a few Oics:

 

 

 

 

After Oics will have to wait for tomorrow, when its daylight.

 

 

Also got some goodies in the mail today:

 

Tie rod end

Door weatherstripping

 

Going to lower the front tomorrow.

 

 

Also, the brake master cylinder came in yesterday. I started to bench bleed it, and one of the little hoses popped off so I just said screw it. I'm flushing the lines all the way out with new brake fluid anyways, so I'm not too concerned with air in the lines.

 

Gonna lower the front tomorrow. Hopefully the title transfer form comes in the mail tomorrow so I can get it all legal and on the road before the weekend.

[Jasper]

Skipped work and got some stuff done to the truck today:

 

Brake master cylinder replaced. All lines flushed and bled. I think I need to adjust the drums themselves now. Can only get the right front to lock up.

 

New door seals installed. Hopefully they settle in soon, I don't like having to slam them.

 

Front end lowered. Re-indexed torsion bar 1 tooth. The front of the truck is now sitting on bumps stops, so I'll need to pull them off tomorrow.

 

Also replaced the drivers side steering tie rod end.

[Jasper]

Got all the parts I needed for the disc brake conversion over the weekend.

 

Honda Passport rotors - junkyard

1992 Nissan D21 calipers - junkyard

Mounting brackets - Datsun Parts LLC

 

 

Got 17 inch Titan Off Road wheels Sunday. Was only $250 for all 4 with some big tires, seems like a good deal. Selling the big tires on Craigslist should bring a little money back. Oddly enough, my dad had some 17 inch wheels on one of his project cars, and said I could use the tires off those for now.

 

2 different tire sizes, and 3 different brands. The Ratsun way!

 

215/50/ZR17

225/45/R17

 

I think I'm putting the shorter, wider tires in the front.

 

 

 

I'm currently trying to install the rear wheels. I didn't think I'd have any trouble, based on what others had said, but it does in fact take some work. I bought 1/4 inch spacers, but with those on there, I don't have enough stud to hold the wheels on. My solution is to grind the rear hub down so that the wheels fit without spacers. Hopefully the wheels don't end up too close to the leafs and other such components.

 

 

If all goes well today, I can get the truck inspected before the shop closes. Fingers crossed that I don't run into any more problems.

[Jasper]

Got everything done, but didn't get a chance to inspect it. I'm confident it will pass in its current state now though.

 

 

OICS!

 

As you can see, I did a bit of grinding on the rear hub...

 

This is the solution to the problem of sparks hitting my face and landing in my hair. Safety first!

 

Yummy bracket.

 

 

Pics of everything installed will have to wait for tomorrow, it got dark before I could snap some pics. Was too busy driving it around in the yard. :rofl:

[Jasper]

Passed inspection today!

 

 

 

Now I can work on it and drive it around legally, feels good. I need something to stop the tailgate from rattling, I'm thinking some rubber silicon will do fine.

 

Debating on removing the Can-O-Pee. It's ugly, but it's also protecting the inside of the bed from rusting. May just have to bite the bullet and get some spray on bed liner.

[izzo]

hmm silicone :\

 

Maybe get some strips of neoprene from hardware/parts store. Clean surface well before putting it on tho, itll look/work better than silicone.

[Jasper]

Can't believe it's been so long since my last update, damn.

 

 

Since my last updates:

 

Removed topper

Got everything leveled out, height wise

Clutch slave cylinder is leaking when clutch pedal is held down. I have to drive it around by putting it in Neutral every time I stop.

Drive shaft center support is fully toasted. Temporary fix involves stuffing folded up piece of bicycle innertube into the ring, lol.

Mysterious whining noise from under hood, only when over a certain rpm. Adjusted belts, and sprayed oil into/onto a couple things. Mostly fixed.

 

 

Latest pic:

 

 

 

 

Ordering parts on RockAuto right now. Clutch slave, drive shaft donut thingy, maybe some new wipers.

[Jasper]

Finally got the clutch slave installed today. Had to wait to get a flare nut wrench, to avoid buggering all my lines up.

 

Turns out, my slave line was leaking too. I didn't feel like waiting for that to come in, so I looked around a bit, and found something that would work. The stock rubber drum brake line works great, although it is significantly longer. It looks like it would rub on the A arm though, so I used a piece of coat hanger to secure it out of the way. Because the line is longer, the bends in it are less extreme. I feel like even though the line is really old, it should last a couple years at least.

 

 

Tomorrow morning, I'm going to try to get the drive shaft donut thingamajig installed. Hopefully I can finish before it gets to 107 degrees outside.

 

Also going to do an oil change with some cheap 20w50, and a Bosch filter. I'm thinking I'll run this cheap oil in it for maybe 800 miles or so, and then do another change with a nice oil, perhaps Valvoline or Royal Purple. Also, currently using good old fashioned dino juice, since I think synthetic would cause all sorts of leaks and problems I don't care to deal with right now.

 

 

And it seems there is a leak in my brake system somewhere in the front. Could be my shoddy work, the junkyard parts, or something else. The leak is very minor though, doesn't affect normal driving. I'll just have to check the Master every time I fill up with gas, and keep some Dot3 handy.