jesus620 Posted November 19, 2012 Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 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... Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted November 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment
Dat Lurka Posted November 19, 2012 Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 I didn't build that truck. Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted November 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted November 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment
mrbigtanker Posted November 19, 2012 Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted November 19, 2012 Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 That's a clean truck you got there. Nice work so far :) Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted November 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment
521chowda Posted November 19, 2012 Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 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 :) Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted November 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment
Project Bandwagon Posted November 20, 2012 Report Share Posted November 20, 2012 looking good jesus! Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 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. Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 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: Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Cleaned up the core support: Before: After: Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 I found some poorly repaired body damage on the passenger fender so I stripped it and the old rusty cowl cover: Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 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. 2 Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 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) 1 Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 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). Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 Also picked this up this morning... Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted February 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 I was asked to post a pic of the bumperet bracket on my 620 so here it is... Quote Link to comment
K_trip Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 - removed - Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 Cool looking truck. And your title reminded me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc3NTz4GKyg Quote Link to comment
mattyhacks71 Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 This is a great build so far, keep it up! Quote Link to comment
jesus620 Posted February 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 thanks...progress has been slow but I'm just glad I can drive it again. JoeCool, glad somebody got the reference :thumbup: Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 Keep up the good work :thumbup: Quote Link to comment
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