sammyboy808 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Yeah, sorry I jumped the gun :hmm: . I'm so used to people putting straight axles on trucks, to install highsteer so the leafs dont hit. Doing that essentially includes welding in a toyota IFS steering gearbox. I should have kept a build thread on my truck....Perhaps one day I will get all the pictures together and make something out of it. I do love the work your doing, your truck is going to be one of a kind. Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted March 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Yeah, sorry I jumped the gun :hmm: . I'm so used to people putting straight axles on trucks, to install highsteer so the leafs dont hit. Doing that essentially includes welding in a toyota IFS steering gearbox. I should have kept a build thread on my truck....Perhaps one day I will get all the pictures together and make something out of it. I do love the work your doing, your truck is going to be one of a kind. Yeah, I was going to ask if you had a build thread somewhere. I want to see more pics! I love the 4x4 620's. I bore people to death everytime the subject comes up by explaining the conversion process and how rare they are, especially here in the East. I can't say enough that the body swap was the easiest part of this job. The only "mod" I had to make was to trim the inner fender on the driver side to give a little more room for the steering box. I didn't even bother to mention it. The body mounts lined up great, and the brake lines fell into place so well that all it took was a little bending to get them hooked up from the firewall to the frame, and the electrical is pretty simple, too. The steering column took a bit of engineering and there will be other things to work out, but I think it will be worth it. If I hadn't run into transmission problems I would be a little further ahead, but I am trying hard to nail down the exact trans model I have so I can get the parts ordered. Speaking of that, I found that if the reverse idler gear has 23 teeth, I have an early 720 diesel trans. If it's 21 or 22, there are still multiple possibilities. I wish people were more careful with ID tags. I spend a lot of time debating whether to spray a sharp modern metallic color on it and use the aluminum 17" rims in the first few pics on this thread or go with a more basic but original-looking solid color and white steelies for that survivor look. It would look good either way, and that's what makes it so hard to decide. Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 I should have kept a build thread on my truck....Perhaps one day I will get all the pictures together and make something out of it. Yes do! :D Quote Link to comment
RCStealth Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 I know the truck is just primed, but I'm likin that dark grey color! Quote Link to comment
Eagle_Adam Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 7 pages later and im caught up, great build!!!! Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted March 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 7 pages later and im caught up, great build!!!! Thanks! Havin' a blast. Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted March 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2013 Today I started this: Then I discovered I needed a ladder rack for my Dodge by tomorrow. So I built one. Not quite done yet, but it will get the job done tomorrow, then I can finish it. Hopefully there will be time to beat on the 620 before I go back to work all weekend. I also found more evidence that my trans is from a diesel 720 by counting the teeth on the reverse gears and comparing it to a parts breakdown for multiple Nissan transmissions. I should be able to order parts tomorrow. 1 Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted March 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2013 The front valence I ordered from Rock Auto came in today. I expected plastic like all the other ones I found online, but was happy when it turned out to be steel, and about as heavy as the original. I scuffed it with a scotch-brite and undercoated the back, then primed the front. The left fender was in better initial shape than the right, but still had some issues and required a fair amount of filler to rough in. The area behind the front bumper has been pushed in and up, so I will order a new bumper and use it to get the sheet metal in the right place. I guess I will start on the hood or a door tomorrow. Also looking at color chips and 620's online for color ideas. I like some of the original colors, but none are reaching out and grabbing me by the philtrum. Speaking of 71B's, I haven't ordered parts for mine because there is a slight chance that my father-in-law has a good 4x4 720 trans in his garage. Not holding my breath but worth a look anyway. Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted March 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2013 My hood is a little dented in the middle, and of course the support beams have been bent, which makes for bouncy sheet metal that's impossible to fill and sand. So I cut a support beam from a spare hood and tacked it in as an additional support for this one. Then I filled under all three with expanding foam to make the hood rigid and workable. Thursday I will strip and smooth the hood. I don't know why, but my body bolts have been coming out with no problem. I really expected to break off at least most of them, but so far so good. So I removed a fender to clean up the door hinge/jamb area. With two paint jobs and two coats of primer, the jamb area was starting to flake and peel, so it's getting stripped. It's pretty much time to clean out the cab and pop out the glass so the cab can be worked. This is meticulous work and probably painfully boring to watch, but it's what's happening for the foreseeable future. I will try to mix in a bad transmission or some other such hangup here and there to keep it interesting. Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted March 27, 2013 Report Share Posted March 27, 2013 I don't mind the meticulous stuff :D Quote Link to comment
Eagle_Adam Posted March 27, 2013 Report Share Posted March 27, 2013 X2!!! there could never be enough pics of the boring stuff to be honest Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted March 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2013 I don't mind the meticulous stuff :D Lol. No, judging by your build thread, you don't. X2!!! there could never be enough pics of the boring stuff to be honest Fair enough, I'll keep snapping them. I'm enjoying the ride. You've got a great Ratsun build going on, thanks! With that said, I'm sure glad we didn't see more of that ladder rack build :rofl: Haha, I almost posted the finished rack because it turned out good, but I know what it's like to be following a build and the OP goes off on a tangent. So in other news, this is one of the colors I'm considering. It's a love it / hate it color, but I think it's sharp. 1 Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 Haha, I almost posted the finished rack because it turned out good, but I know what it's like to be following a build and the OP goes off on a tangent. I like a good rack as well :lol: 1 Quote Link to comment
blueridgespeed Posted March 29, 2013 Report Share Posted March 29, 2013 My hood is a little dented in the middle, and of course the support beams have been bent, which makes for bouncy sheet metal that's impossible to fill and sand. So I cut a support beam from a spare hood and tacked it in as an additional support for this one. Then I filled under all three with expanding foam to make the hood rigid and workable. Thursday I will strip and smooth the hood. nice work! Is the expanding foam something special like a $$ FUSOR product?. Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted March 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2013 nice work! Is the expanding foam something special like a $$ FUSOR product?. Negatory. We usually have automotive foam around the shop, which expands less and doesn't get as rigid as the household foam, but we were out. So the hood got the Great Stuff treatment. The increased rigidity will be good in this case as long as I didn't overdo it. Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted April 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 Well apparently everyone that sells new front bumpers for the 620 get them from the same place, because everyone is out of stock even though they're listed for sale. Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted April 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 Not much to report. I've been trying to untrash the hood. It's the better of the two only because it is rust-free. Sometimes you can't tell how bad a panel is until you start trying to smooth it out. I don't like a lot of filler in a hood but I will see how it shapes up before I chance a poor fit with an aftermarket replacement. 1 Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted April 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2013 I took some time to tend to other things, but I got a chance to beat on my 620 today. The hood is roughed in: And I've been stripping the left door jamb and cab: More tomorrow if the creek don't rise. Quote Link to comment
RCStealth Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 Wow, can't get over how straight you made the hood look! 1 Quote Link to comment
Eagle_Adam Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 seriously, great job on the hood man 1 Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted April 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 Wow, can't get over how straight you made the hood look! seriously, great job on the hood man Thanks guys. It probably has more time in it than it's worth, but you get that sometimes. :) Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted April 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 A little more primer: The rockers are solid, and this side of the cab wasn't bad other than the long dent under the bullet. Very satisfactory for a '79. Quote Link to comment
RCStealth Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 I'm assuming your truck from the east coast? If so, :w00t:, the thing's straight as an arrow from what I've seen and is definitely the exception to the rule. Love looking at all the "time taken" in the photos. Can't wait for more because it keeps me motivated to move forward on mine. Quote Link to comment
SandyMush620 Posted April 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 I'm assuming your truck from the east coast? If so, :w00t:, the thing's straight as an arrow from what I've seen and is definitely the exception to the rule. Love looking at all the "time taken" in the photos. Can't wait for more because it keeps me motivated to move forward on mine. I'm not sure where the truck is from originally, but I picked it up here in NC. It looks about right for this area; a little rust under the paint but not like a beach truck. I'm anxious to drive it but I can't bring myself to wham-bam it so yeah, it'll be a while. My wife calls it "my other wife," lol. Quote Link to comment
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