Hey Ratsun...i'm new..

[RudyV]

hey guys im rudy...a noob that bought a 521, some time ago. i haven't really had time to work on it much since i got it. (work and all the "good" stuff) but now I graduated and have tons of time, and really want to get her running, so i was hopping you guys could help.

umm as far as i know about her is

the last owner i got it from was an air force tech so he thought it was ok to put in a 75 colonge V6 which is ok...if it ran. which means i need a engine. :hmm: and the tranny is a long tail ford? that may not have a reverse due to lever being taken off. :no: and the driveshaft looks like it might spin out of control due to it being cut down and welded pretty bad to go along with the longer tranny :frantics: so i was thinking (and searched with no real answer) if such thing has been done where you would get an other vehicle and switch everything into a 521? engine tranny driveshaft and differential?? anything would help.

so yeah thanks ratsun :hyper:

P.S. i tried finding a L18,20B but in my area i find them really scarce?

[flatcat19]

Welcome.

 

Another 521 brought to the darkside.

[RudyV]

haha thanks.

 

have you heard of anyone doing what i want to do? :confused:

[wayno]

You need to find a complete running L20b/transmission from something, and get the front section of driveline from a 521, or the whole driveline, depending on what was hacked up, you would likely also need a radiator and all hardware(intake, exhaust, hoses, throddle cable, ect.) from a 521, unless the 521 radiator was used in the conversion.

You might be to the point of just putting something else in there, depending on how power hungry you are, but I don't know much about that subject.

 

wayno

[RudyV]

well i am sort of coming to the conclusion of like how you said putting something else in it. but im sort of tight on cash and cant really go for something like an sr or vg at the moment

so i was thinking something carbed, maybe fi(sugestions) ?

correct me if i'm wrong but...

would a car/truck with around same wheelbase work? not entirely perfect. but enough so its similar and it could fit???

would it be a good starting point?

[flatcat19]

And this was an Air Force tech?

US or Canadian?

Thia guy works on planes?

 

How hacked up is the engine bay?

Pics?

[wayno]

well i am sort of coming to the conclusion of like how you said putting something else in it. but im sort of tight on cash and cant really go for something like an sr or vg at the moment

so i was thinking something carbed, maybe fi(sugestions) ?

correct me if i'm wrong but...

would a car/truck with around same wheelbase work? not entirely perfect. but enough so its similar and it could fit???

would it be a good starting point?

 

 

I am unsure of what this last statement means, but I will assume that you are talking about what I have done to my 520/521s, my 1969 521KC stepside diesel is sitting on a 1981/82 datsun 720 diesel frame, but I lengthened the cab to match the frame/box proportions, so that means I lengthened my cab 14 inches.

I am not saying that this is what you should do, but the 720 series frames are a great upgrade from the 521 frame.

The standard cab 720 frame might be close to the same wheel base as a 521, but that isn't something that interests me, as I want legroom, so you would have to measure them to see how close they are.

The 1980 datsun 720 came with an L20b, the rest of the years came with a Z block, the Z block is not a popular conversion, but they are out there everywhere for cheap, and they have lots of torque, and I am pretty sure it will fit.

[RudyV]

flatcat19

yes he gave me proof haha his insurance card from then.

and US

and well i don't have pictures on comp or photobucket but its looks like trash... they "painted" valve covers while still on the engine and there's like coat hanger wire to connect carb to accelerator cable.

he also mentioned his nephew had it for a summer so.... that's where a whole bunch of awkward things happened? and he "painted" it black....

 

wayno

well i mean as in

IF.... a '90 Nissan D12 wheel base was around 99.6 inches (same or similar to 521)

could it be possible to get the engine, tranny, shaft and differential

and put it inside my 521 (of course i would make mounts for everything too)??

[flatcat19]

KA will fit.

Been done.

 

I think Wayno's 720 frame swap is a good idea as well.

Disc brakes/ball joints/z22 motor.

 

Dependant on the position your airman left the engine bay in will /could make a swap a nightmare.

[RudyV]

well the fire wall looked un-touched and the sides also, just the mounts that might have been cut. but i didn't look that far.

what did get cut from what i could see was for the tranny to make the long tail fit.

so KA would be best bet?

you guys really helped me alot :sweat:

[flatcat19]

KA is a good option.

Only you can decide I'd it is the best bet.

 

People make brackets to extend the mouting point to house long tail transmissions.

[elmerfudpucker]

IF.... a '90 Nissan D12 wheel base was around 99.6 inches (same or similar to 521)

could it be possible to get the engine, tranny, shaft and differential

and put it inside my 521 (of course i would make mounts for everything too)??

 

I would almost wonder if you could just swap the cab and bed over to the D just as easy and it would be better all around to include better brakes and steering ect and a tad bit less labor intensive...

[RudyV]

alright thanks alot guys.

ill see what i end up with.

 

thanks again.

[wayno]

flatcat19

yes he gave me proof haha his insurance card from then.

and US

and well i don't have pictures on comp or photobucket but its looks like trash... they "painted" valve covers while still on the engine and there's like coat hanger wire to connect carb to accelerator cable.

he also mentioned his nephew had it for a summer so.... that's where a whole bunch of awkward things happened? and he "painted" it black....

 

wayno

well i mean as in

IF.... a '90 Nissan D12 wheel base was around 99.6 inches (same or similar to 521)

could it be possible to get the engine, tranny, shaft and differential

and put it inside my 521 (of course i would make mounts for everything too)??

 

 

I don't know what the wheel base is for a 521, as I don't have a stock 521 frame on anything I have.

It is much easier for me to transfer a 521 cab onto a 720 frame, as cab mounts are easy to make.

Don't know about a 90 nissan D12, I would look real close at the width though, the 86 720 frame is on the edge of being to wide, I would never transfer everything to a 521 frame, I would use the D12 frame if at all possible.

I also used the 720 diesel wiring harness, tilt steering column and all electrical components on my truck, I integrate the 720 wiring harness into the instrument cluster, and the 521 wiper motor which has all 3 speeds(intermittent, slow, and fast), but all this takes time and a will/the motivation to do such a thing.

[ggzilla]

Easiest place in the world to find an L20B is in southern california. There was one for sale in San Diego last month.

[RudyV]

Easiest place in the world to find an L20B is in southern california. There was one for sale in San Diego last month.

 

i shall check thanks

[RudyV]

well i found a L20B with a 5 speed....closer then expected...really close

 

my front neighbor sold me his '79 620

he couldn't get it to pass smog and since he had it for 2 years non op.. yeah..he got tired. so today we made plans when take it over to my place, price, title and what not.

so now i'm guessing i can swap out that V6 for the L20 :thumbup: also thinking i can swap the whole front arms with brakes (his had disk. mine drum) have all 4 headlights, driveline, diff., seats, steering column. new set of wheels, everything for 900 i think its a good deal, thinking of bringing it home tomorrow. so i'll post pictures then.

[wayno]

You cannot put the 620 balljoint frontend on your 521 frame without major modifications, I have done it, and it just won't work unless you really know your shit, I will never do it again, as I have had a lot of issues over the years.

Measure the wheel base of the 620 compared to your 521, is it close?

If you are getting a regular cab 620, I would just transfer the 521 cab/box onto the 620 regular cab frame as they are within an inch I beleave, if you are buying a 620 kingcab, then I would just transfer the cab onto the 620 frame and make a flatbed for the back, this is advise given to you for the sole purpose of you ending up with a safe 521 with front disc brakes.

If the former owner of your 521 put a V6 in your 521, it is likely that some modifications were made to the engine mounts, this doesn't mean that the L series mounts were removed, but it is a possibility, if they have been removed, you will need to weld new ones on.

You will not be able to use the 620 oilpan in you 521 frame either, the L16 oilpan and the L20b oilpan are differant, you will need an L16 oilpan to put the L20b in your 521 frame and still have steering without making major mods to the steering also.

I am sorry about all this negitivity, but you should know this now, before you find out after you have put a lot of time into it, and possibly end up scrapping both of them.

[RudyV]

thank you,

i searched that regular cabs where off by about an inch maybe a bit more but the thing is that this one is a king cab

 

also i was thinking of using the motor mounts it had on already? would that be okay?

and i read about the oil pan needing to be replaced, does this mean that the tube would have to also?

lastly could i even use the brake setup? with brackets or would it be a no go also?

[Green Queen]

well the fire wall looked un-touched and the sides also, just the mounts that might have been cut. but i didn't look that far.

what did get cut from what i could see was for the tranny to make the long tail fit.

so KA would be best bet?

you guys really helped me alot :sweat:

 

 

 

a KA engine would be a nice one. if u look up a guy on here his name is ( wide14u ) u can see how he did his.

[Green Queen]

Scrub-Boy Budget KA24 carb'd build

 

 

here is the title of his bill thread (project datto) i forgot one of his friends posted it for him lol

it should be on the first page.

[wayno]

This might be a long reply. :hmm:

The 620 LCA(lower control arm) is wider at the connection to the frame, you can either have 620 bushings pushed in, or put washers in there to take up the slop which is basicly a jury rig, then comes the UCA(upper control arm), this arm is not long enough, it is short by about 5/8ths of an inch, so you will have to lengthen the UCAs by about 5/8 to 3/4 of an inch, I did it by having 2 sets of upper arms and making one good set, now this is very important, you have to put the driverside UCA(upper control arm) on the passenger side, and the passenger side on the driverside, otherwise you could end up killing yourself or someone else.

The UCA spindle shaft has holes in it for mounting to the shock tower hat, these holes are much bigger than the ones that the 521 UCA spindles have, so you have to put sleeves in the UCA spindles so the 521 bolts will not be like a fist in a wash bucket, another important point is that I have had these UCA mount bolts break several times when I hit the brakes, I don't even have to hit the brakes hard, these bolts also have a habit of working loose, so you are always having to check them.

The master brake cylinder will also need to be modified, as the 521 master has a built in 10 pound residual valve, this is to high for disc brakes which only need a 2 pound residual valve, so either you will need to remove the residual valve from the 521 master, or you will need to put the 620 dual reservoir master in your 521 and re-plumb your brake lines.

You will also have to buy adapters or put metric brake line connections on your 521 brake system to connect the 620 front brakes.

I am sure I have forgotten some things, and I will add to this post when I remember them.

If you put your cab onto the 620 frame, you will have to come up with a way to mount it to the frame, as it is likely that the mounts holes don't line up perfectly, but this is something I don't know, as I don't own a 620, you will also need to put the 620 steering column into the 521 cab, and then wire the 521 cluster into the 620 wiring harness, you might also be able to use the 521 harness, but you will still have to use the 620 steering column, maybe you can use the 521 steering column components on the 620 column, this is another thing I would not know, as I don't/have never owned a 620.

I hope this helps you in some way, some day I should find out the answers to all these questions and do a write up on it.

[RudyV]

Hey Guys, so well.... ahh... Just want to say sorry for the Community as I look back at all the things ive posted... looks like it is all about worthless haha. boy I really did not know what I was talking about. goes to show what happens when you don't use the search button hard enough. or too impatient when finding answers in replies. sorry again guys.

 

anyways I decied to revive this old post for the reason that for the last 2-3 weeks ive gotten off my ass and got to work finishing the Datsun (521)

I don't think I posted any photos of it during the swap. but I will search around tonight.

I swapped it in with family and friends about a year ago. (Christmas time) due to the reason that we had to leave our old house and move somewhere else. problem was. at the new home there was no garage. so in about a week (nights only, and a week and a half before we had to be out) we did the whole swap (engine and tranny only w fab) and well since we cut it close to days in the garage we never got a shot to turn it on. and so we moved to our new at least to me new home/mobile home and the truck was stuffed in the back along with all the motivation to get her running. till like I said just less then a month ago. along the way I used ratsun a TON! (as guest) an that is the reason that I felt I really fucked shit up . sounding like a dumbass.

I found out many things over the course of this month and experienced and discovered new things. and well at the moment this is how she looks. (hood was off. was getting stripped from old paint and rust)

 

 

 

 

 

 

and how she was back then. (see the vette being cut up? :huh:  awkward haha)

 

 

 

I will get more engine pics soon as well as tranny and engine mounts if any of you guys want

 

 

 

so yeah thanks guys, and Ratsun! will post more as we go along,

 

 

hopefully someone new will read this and not do(type) what I did.

[RudyV]

oh P.S. it is drivable now :devil:

I went with a GM Module set up since I left the oem 620 module in the cab (620 was junked)

I took off smog related stuff since I was missing pieces I left in the 620 put the Pcv on (was never connected when I first got it)

and well yeah, drive line was shortened. brakes Bled. made a makeshift exhaust from old pipe I had around till I have time to go to an exhaust shop to get something made. yeah I feel like next step is really the clean up. put the back on blocks and reindex the front after I get a new exhaust. at the moment exhaust is about 5 inches off the ground. speed bumps are around 5 also.. so if I lower... :frantics: