Reconstructing the 620's front.. Help needed

[metalmonkey47]

Hey guys, I'm looking for a little advice here.

 

I got the 620 apart and I'm trying to get the front end pulled straight. The rad core support is sitting about 1/2 inch higher then where it should be relative to the grill, and the boxed crossmember (I guess???) that the grill rests on is pretty well destroyed. I'm trying to best reconstruct it and pull it out, up, and flat. It's currently sitting about an inch lower then it should be and is still pretty well knocked in. I'm trying to avoid cutting metal out to repair is, bit I'm at a loss. I need to knock it straight but leave it boxed.

 

I was able to use a slidehammer to pull it back out (somewhat.) I don't want to continue to weaken the metal.

 

 

 

 

[Laecaon]

Why not source a new valence? Drill out the spot welds and then simply bolt on the new one. What I did when I wanted to paint behind my valence.

[metalmonkey47]

Why not source a new valence? Drill out the spot welds and then simply bolt on the new one. What I did when I wanted to paint behind my valence.

 

Been looking, but no luck. Most Datsuns around here that are in yards are there because of front impact and are in no better shape then the one I have. There has got to be a way to straighten it out. I'm just not thinking very clearly right now. Going off minimal sleep and distracted since I'm going to court in a few hours.

[Pacific coast Datsun]

You could make a few relief cuts then pull each section out 1 by 1.

Once straight weld the cuts back together.

Or...use a come along & a torch to relax the metal as you slowly pull out the damage.

[Lee R]

It says plastic but it isn't. There is a thread on here that someone bought it and fit fine........

 

http://www.partstrain.com/store/?N=0&Nr=AND%28universal%3A0%29&PN=0+4294944191&VN=4294967035+4294960609+4294960587+4294967132+4294967158&domain=partstrain.com&Nr=AND(universal:0)

[Eagle_Adam]

It says plastic but it isn't. There is a thread on here that someone bought it and fit fine........

 

http://www.partstrai...AND(universal:0)

 

bad link

 

 

 

 

pumpkin just did something similar to this - http://community.ratsun.net/topic/41665-pump-king-gotz-me-another-620/page__pid__670533__st__20#entry670533

[Laecaon]

It says plastic but it isn't. There is a thread on here that someone bought it and fit fine........

 

http://www.partstrai...AND(universal:0)

 

http://www.partstrain.com/store/details/Nissan/620_Pickup/Replacement/Valance/1974/Base/4_Cyl_1-dot-8L/657.html?location=Front

[metalmonkey47]

http://www.partstrai...?location=Front

 

That's not what I'm looking to repair. I already have one of those.

[Mirrorimg]

Why not drill out the spot welds then hammer if from behind to push the dents out? Then once its all straight you can bolt it back on or weld it in place.

[hvyd]

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/35245-620-core-support-replacement/page__fromsearch__1

Here's the link to my core support thread. Might be of some help.

[DaveyDaveDaveDave]

Im with most of these guys. Its not too hard pulling the whole thing off. Three beers, two chisels and a hammer should do it. WAY easier to bend something around when its not part of the car for a day. Then you can mock it up, make sure it lines up, take it down, tweak it some more and so forth.

[DanielC]

You have your hands full. Yes, what you have can be straightened out, but I think it is going to be way more difficult than trying to get some better body panels.

I noticed you live in Atlanta, GA. That will make it much harder to find parts in a junkyard. That is another challenge for you. You might have to enlist the help of a fellow ratsuner, who is in to 620 trucks, and lives on the west coast to spend some time in a junk yard, and obtain the pieces you need, or you may have to be patient, and wait for something to become available locally. That could be a long wait, and then in the next month, three more will pop up, in your back yard.

 

I think your best bet in repairing what you have is to do some dissassembly. This is a good tool for removing spot welds.

 

I also think you need to take a careful look at the damage. It could easily go all the way back to the firewall. If the impact was more on one side of the truck, there is also a possibility that the frame on the truck could be "racked", that is one side frame rail is farther forward, and the frame instead of being rectangular, is a parallelogram. There is also a possibility that the frame may be twisted, that is one side high, or low, and that is going to make is very hard to make body panels fit.

 

This is going to be hard to hear, but it might be easier and cheaper to get another 620, and have this as a (very) long term project, or a parts donor. Sorry.