Jesus Built My 620

[jesus620]

My name is Jesus and this is my 620 build. I've always liked Datsuns, but never owned a car older than '88 and never done more that basic maintenance.

 

I found the ratsun last year and shortly after set out to find a project truck.

 

After a couple of months and hours on craigslist, I brought home my 620:

 

 

 

 

Drove 2 hours up to LA and drove it back on questionable breaks.

 

First order of business was getting the brakes fixed, which meant a new brake booster and a good bleeding.

 

Next came clean up and some cosmetic stuff:

 

Ditched the house carpet (original vinyl was decent shape underneath)

Installed new mirrors

Installed a dash cap to cover the cracks

Patched up the cracked gauge bezel

Installed retractable belts from the jy

Painted grill and hood trim

Painted the stock wheels

 

I tried to clean up the fenders and hood with TR3, but some one had given it a shitty paint job from the doors back and there was no bringing that back

 

Also upgraded to a matchbox dizzy.

 

So after a few months she was running and looking good:

 

 

I drove her for a few months months and loved every minute of it. I might have stopped there but the rust monster was calling...

[jesus620]

Both floorboards were covered in rust and had a few holes a bit larger than pinholes. This is the passenger floor after I patched it using a metal based filler...driver's side was just as bad or worse.

 

[Dat Lurka]

I didn't build that truck.

[jesus620]

Once the holes were covered, I stripped the entire floor and the rockers

 

 

And followed that up with a couple of coats of POR15

 

Next, I painted the rockers, door jams and the center rail with a rattle can

 

 

Followed that up with some sound deadening. I went with RAAM mat from http://www.raamaudio.com/. It was easy to install and seems to make a big difference, but haven't driven it yet.

 

[jesus620]

And that's basically where I am at now...I should have the interior back in the next weekend and plan to POR 15 the wheel wells next.

[mrbigtanker]

And that's basically where I am at now...I should have the interior back in the next weekend and plan to POR 15 the wheel wells next.

why did'nt you POR 15 the floor boards as well?Looks good though.

[]2eDeYe]

That's a clean truck you got there. Nice work so far :)

[jesus620]

Thanks guys.

 

mrbigtanker, that is silver POR15 on the floorboards...It's is supposed to do a better job of filling pinholes and pitted areas.

 

The wheel wells are not that bad so they will get coated with black POR15.

[521chowda]

Nice lookin truck you have there Jesus . Are you going to lower it, or keep it at the regular ride hieght? Either way its looking good :)

[jesus620]

The overall plan is to keep it close to stock and I think that goes for the height as well. I still want to use it as a truck so if I do lower it, it won't more than a couple of inches.

[Project Bandwagon]

looking good jesus!

[jesus620]

Progress has been slow but I've been able to get a few things done:

 

I cleaned up the fender wells:

 

Before:

 

 

 

Used a wire wheel on the 4.5 inch grinder to knock off most of the old undercoating and surface rust:

 

Two coats of black POR15:

 

 

I finished it off some 3M spray on undercoating but can't seem to find a picture of that.

[jesus620]

The battery tray area was rusted out, so I ripped it out and had my nephew who has some welding experience come over and make a couple of patch panels.  He also made a new heavy-duty battery tray out of flat iron and a couple of threaded rods:

 

 

 

[jesus620]

Cleaned up the core support:

 

Before:

 

After:

[jesus620]

I found some poorly repaired body damage on the passenger fender so I stripped it and the old rusty cowl cover:

 

[jesus620]

The fender seals were totally busted so I made some out of some garage door weatherstripping 

 

 

I sliced it in half using a sharp utility knife:

 

 

Placed it up against the fender, marked the holes and excess length with sharpie and trimmed it.  I then used some double sided tape to get it to stay in place.  The stuff will want to fold or warp because of how it's packaged so you might want to let it lay in the sun help it flatten out.

 

[jesus620]

This is my first time working on a car/truck this old and my first time doing more than basic maintenance, so I'm learning as go.  I've picked up a lot of good tips and inspiration from everyone on the forum.  But one thing I learned the hard way was old cars have rusted bolts and they break fairly easily.  

 

I know because I've broken several bolts during dis-assembly.  So before I put everything back together I soaked the bolts in some rust remover:

 

 

And then clean the threads on both the bolts and nuts using tap and die (my  new favorite tools)

 

[jesus620]

Got some work done this weekend.  I installed my "new" doors (check out the pinstriping), cowl cover and valance.  

 

Also pulled it of the garage to clean up a bit.  The truck hadn't seen the light of day since July  :D...I had to resist the urge to go for a drive (no headlights, markers or seatbeats).

 

 

 

[jesus620]

Also picked this up this morning...

 

[jesus620]

I was asked to post a pic of the bumperet  bracket on my 620 so here it is...

 

 

[K_trip]

- removed -

[JoeCool]

Cool looking truck.

 

And your title reminded me of this:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc3NTz4GKyg

[mattyhacks71]

This is a great build so far, keep it up!

[jesus620]

thanks...progress has been slow but I'm just glad I can drive it again.

 

 

JoeCool, glad somebody got the reference  :thumbup:

[]2eDeYe]

Keep up the good work :thumbup: