Ham's '73 620..

[GreenEggs&Ham]

Well it was about time I got a Datsun. Having been first drawn here looking for a PS contest I stayed for the community (read: Insomniacs). I love the technical right ups on here; they consume my spare time. Thanks to all who have gone before me repairing, upgrading then posting the results backed with pic's. My last project was a C33 laurel back in NZ. I did the logical thing and swapped in a RB25det. Sold it, then moved stateside. So I'm not new to modifying, just new to owning old school J-tin. Anywho, on with the oics

 

Highbeams are out and missing front right turn signal.

 

Apparently this L20 was plucked from a 78 620. The Weber is running a little rich currently.. Thermostat was MIA.. Radiator had a leak too :hmm: Whoever painted it must have run out of masking tape... lol

 

Under the battery tray, well whats left of it. Its the only significant rust I found. Might move the battery to the bed before it falls through.

Once I have a little more experience welding I will attempt to fix it.

 

And these sweetened the deal. Only 14x7, they just need a polish and new-er rubber.

 

Just to satisfy my curiosity (the front is only leaning against the existing wheel).

 

Nothing too exciting in here really. just a CD player and the bench is from a newer Nissan (really uncomfortable). the 4speed shifter is sloppy, looks like it needs a bush/shim. Added to the list...

 

Progress to come ;)

[DatDoug]

Very sweet truck. I like the color & Slot mags ALWAYS look good on a Datsun B)

[]2eDeYe]

X2

 

Great looking truck :thumbup:

[K_trip]

I like this truck! I'm with Doug ... dish mags are a great upgrade!

 

I wonder if they swapped the transmission with the L20b, because

it's the longer style (notched bench seat too), unless it's a late 73

 

Is it a 5 speed?

[GreenEggs&Ham]

Yes they are! I'm tossing up between stretching or running some 225 BF Goodrich's.. mmmm

Nope shes a 4 speed... I wish it was a 5 speed; its on the to-do list that seems to be growing every time I take a close look at her haha.

Ive read here the 280ZX 81-83 is the better trans to have..

 

Replaced the radiator and hoses yesterday also put in a thermostat. The '78 radiator needed all four mount holes drilled to fit the '73 frame. Piece of cake :) Just hoping that it wasn't overheated badly prior to my ownership... Why else would someone remove the thermostat??

Installing Some mechanical gauges for a weekend task. There are disconnected and cut/broken wires all over :huh:

 

 

[GreenEggs&Ham]

Got to run the truck for a bit yesterday (25min drive after warming her) on the way to school.

Running temp @ 55mph is 170-175 degrees in air temp of 50-55 degrees.

The thermostat is rated to open at 195 degrees. Am I correct in assuming the water is not circulating? Is my engine running too cold?

It has a clutch fan with no shroud; I'm not sure what its off.

Here a pictures of the gauges. I used the side of a broken coffee machine for the back plate haha. I got love for Dremel :D

 

 

[k-autic]

I got the same set up of gauges including the tach same place as well its pretty sweet

[sick620]

nice truck dig the color and wheels. looking forward to progress :)

[]2eDeYe]

Dig the recycled gauge pod :D

[GreenEggs&Ham]

Wholy shite its been a while since I've posted! Well my plan has changed quite a lot over the last year and a half.

Heres a pen sketch of the ideal end result of the ute:

I managed to find the wheels I wanted on craigslist for the right price; 15x8 machined and blue where it wasn't..

this truck already has way too much blue!

 

I got my order backwards doing tires first, so two decks of cards and Flat Black Rustolium to the rescue :)

 

Its the little things that count right?? With that in mind I mounted the bumper corectly to be rid of the crooked smile,

fitted the PicknPull front turn signal, and radiator overflow, and D21 retractable seatbelts. I painted the wipers, and fitted the wheels after adjusting the rear brakes,

and fiddled with the timing, so now she runs better too :D

Before:

After:

Then I stumbled across a 1991 Ka24DE out of a 240sx; I was informed it had been over heated and pulled because of that, the rest was unknowen.. for $90!

Begin the dissasemble! annnddd I discover Its been overheated with a bust headgasket with a little surface rust in one of the cylinders.

The head has a helicoil for the timing gear bolt hole... and it looks like the valves have hit two of the pistons. But it does have an awesome looking crank with barely worn mains and big ends. Bolt ons will be: flywheel/clutch, Starter, gearbox, P/S delete parts, coil... and so on. This ones on the back burner due to a rebuild with ambitious plans of hyabusa throttle bodies :w00t:

 

Priority parts to come this winter: D21 disc front end, Drop spindles with coilovers.

[GreenEggs&Ham]

Well winter is almost done, and so is the parts gathering, i've picked and pulled these

Hard lines, radius rods, lower arms, spindles with hubs, from an 89 Hardbody

New disks, hoses, calipers with pads for a 90 V6 Hardbody

Bee's upper arms and coil over mounts

Just upper arm shafts with the bushings, and the coilovers to go..

 

I'm super happy with Bee's work, it looks top notch :thumbup:

Really looking forward to welding / bolting in these. The install should be in a few months, or once the snow melts from in front of the snowcat bay lol

 

 

In the mean time I fitted a Grant steering wheel:

 

And flush mounted the turn signal/marker lights with some M5 allen button head screws

[GreenEggs&Ham]

Here is where the swap began. We got busy making the most of the unoccupied snow cat lift

 

 

The original setup. I'm not really surprised on the condition of the components... wore out would be an understatement!

 

 

Wayne torching off the shock towers

 

 

Perspective is a little off with a wide lens.. I used a shop press to get the upper bushings in the arms prior to bolting in; its probably the easiest way. Cut and ground off the upper arm bump stop mounts.; I'm happy with how it all cleaned up.

 

 

More pics to come..

[GreenEggs&Ham]

To avoid the cost of drop spindles I got one of the shortest street QA1s available, with a 7in 350Ib spring. 

The mounts I got from BeeBani are for the Rod End shock, I opted for the poly bushed model, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hal-aln3855p, which required trimming to fit, easy. The spring is barely compressed in the pic. 

 

 

After needing a forklift to get it off the lift I drove it onto, here is the initial ride height setting...

 

 

Camber is exaggerated by uneven ground and the ride height. I believe that was on the shock bump stop.

 

Take your time when setting the lower shock mount; ensure spring clearance with the upper arm as it articulates up and down. I did not; the result was the top hat and spring catching and resting on the upper arm. I chose to plasma cut and grind out about 6-7mm to clear it.

Don't make the mistake I did!

 

 

More to come..

 

 

[GreenEggs&Ham]

Now for the radius arms. I have no idea why someone welded a half link onto the front crossmember...? One of the mounts was bent nicely, so I opted to make new mounts where the D21 arms came to
 

 

After a cleanup with the torch and grinder, Wayne welded in some angle iron for mounts

 

 

Here are the D21 Radius arms installed in their stock location, which is a closer to center and set back a bit more than the original 620 arms.

Gussets still to come!

 

 

[Spoona_Jay21]

Love the progress! good work!

[GreenEggs&Ham]

Last night I finished bolting the panels I had pulled, bleed the brakes again, and drove it home.. all 34miles down highway 80. The ride was nice with the 350Lb springs; I would say it spot on for the L20. Onto the steering next.. replace old parts or try for a hybrid rack setup out of a mx5/s13.. options involve more planning. Work to begin in the spring..

[]2eDeYe]

I like the new tension rod mod. You might want to gusset the angles though as there are a lot of fore/aft forces at work there. :)

[GreenEggs&Ham]

I like the new tension rod mod. You might want to gusset the angles though as there are a lot of fore/aft forces at work there. :)

 

Thanks for looking out  :)  I do have plans for those. Not wanting to outstay my welcome, I had to get it home from the parking lot at work.

I'll work on the KA rebuild this winter and weld them in once engine bay is clear, sooo

Ill be needing some of those fancy engine mount brakets you make :thumbup:

 

Just before the re-panel last night

[]2eDeYe]

Looks great! :D

[datzenmike]

Except that camber sort of makes it 'unfinished'. Could you cut a section out of the LCA or does the tension rod placement preclude this?

[GreenEggs&Ham]

Except that camber sort of makes it 'unfinished'. Could you cut a section out of the LCA or does the tension rod placement preclude this?

 

The camber allows fender clearance under full suspension compresion and steering lock, but you are right about 'unfinished' and all the tire wear issues that go with that.

 

A couple of options on the cards for fixing the negitive camber;

 

1: Relocate the mounting bolt holes in the LCA 10-15mm closer to the balljoint; Tension rod bolt holes on LCA will likely need slotting

 

2: Use an upper ball joint from a 85 2wd Toyota Pickup to maintain the wider track I have currently, but that means cutting on Beebanis A-arms to fit these; no tension rod issues with this option; fender flares would likely be needed.

 

Number one does sounds easier...

 

[datzenmike]

Not sure if just over 1/2" will fix this.

 

[GreenEggs&Ham]

Been really busy lately; just not on the truck. Purchased a house with the new wife, the two car garage will make working on this a lot more convenient. Anyway I used a digital level on the face of the rim to find degrees of camber. 5.3 on the drivers side, and 4.7 for the passenger side. Not a driven much, so for now it will remain that way. Considering beebanis adjustable arms as another option too. Pics to come...