gearhead Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 First off let me say that I am sorry if any of this get covered on a regular basis.I did try searching but I didn't find much. Ok, first issue with my 74 620 after I bled the brakes is that the truck doesn't stop straight and it is very easy to lock up the rears.So I imagine that is just the brakes being poorly adjusted.All of my previous vehicles have had self adjusting brakes, so forgive me but I don't actually know to to adjust the brakes on this truck so it stops straight with better modulation ability.Right now I barely touch the brakes and the rears lock up.The truck pulls to the right when braking if it makes a difference. The second issue is one of safety.As I said in my intro post I would "rally the ever-living piss out of it". With my driving style there is a fair chance I may wind up on its lid.I know the key to successful motorsports driving is keep the shiny side up,but sometimes skit happens. Driving around in the truck you get the feeling that the roof would collapse if put on its lid, So I was looking into a functional roll bar in the bed to help correct that issue.Functional being actually made of decent,thick steel and firmly attached to the frame. While searching I found lots of 510 rollcages/bars but nothing functional for a truck.So I was wondering if someone has a functional roll bar for their truck? Issue number 2.5 deals with the 620 steering column I am just wondering if there is some what of an "easy" retrofit that puts a collapsible steering column in the truck?Easy meaning not changing out the front subframe. Cut/bolt on with minimal welding. the final issue is with seatbelts, My truck just has a shoulder belt but no lap belt.I don't know if it was supposed to come like that or its missing something, either way it does a piss poor job of holding me in front of the steering wheel/pedals.So I was wondering if someone has swapped in a "modern" retractable 3 point seatbelt from a different car?Again searching found a couple results for people upgrading the seatbelts in 510s but nothing really for the old trucks. I know its a truck but driving slow and sane wont help me when one of the retards on the road talking on a cell phone and eating their hamburger and "extra big-ass fries" crashes into me.Besides its more fun to drive a slow car/truck fast then it is to drive a fast car/truck slow.. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment
Dat Lurka Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 On the bottom rear of the brake drums is a slot the might have a rubber boot over it. In that slot is the gear that adjust the brakes. Find the right flat head screwdriver, or a proper brake adjuster tool. with the truck jacked up try to spin the wheel your working with and it should rub slightly at a point in rotation. That's how mine are adjusted, not gonna say it's correct. Turn the gear one of two ways to achieve this. There's tons of 620s with rollbars. 720 and D21 rollbars fit. Yota, ranger, mazda, etc. rollbars probably fit too. You can put a 720 column int he 620 with some work. I've been considering it myself for the sake of safety. Rockauto.com Jcwhitney.com Partstrain.com sell replacement seatbelts with shoulder straps. The 620 came with should straps. The earlier ones had a shoulder strap bolted to the cab that hooked into the lap belt. Later 620's have retractable seatbelts. I drive the piss out of my 620 every day. Watch out for idiots and be wary of understeer. Quote Link to comment
DatsunHooked Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Hey gearhead. I'm in lewiston right now, and will be here tomorrow if you want any help with those breaks. Its pretty self explanatory like dat lurker said. My 620 did that when I got it, had to bled it forever and ever- turned out it wasn't the adjustment. And if you really want to liven that motor up, I got some parts and suggestions. Nick. Quote Link to comment
gearhead Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 There's tons of 620s with rollbars. 720 and D21 rollbars fit. Yota, ranger, mazda, etc. rollbars probably fit too. All of those are fake though.They use thin tubing and bolt together with slip joints and then mount to the bed sheetmetal. I'm looking for a setup that actually attaches to the frame with stout bolts or is welded to frame,and with tubing like what a proper rollcage would be made out of.I'm not interested in those "rollbars" that are only good for mounting lights to. Quote Link to comment
Dat Lurka Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 They're imaginary? Well you take a real one, such as many of the ones found on 720s, and bolt/weld it to the frame. The roof isn't as a weak as you believe it is. The roof panel itself can be bent with a good thump but the top of the cab is well made. My father rolled his 620 and was able to push it over and kick the roof out enough to get in and drive home. Quote Link to comment
gearhead Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 the "roll bars" are decorative fake.They look nice but wont do anything in a crash. Quote Link to comment
Dat Lurka Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Then make your own. I lied Quote Link to comment
gearhead Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 They're imaginary?Well you take a real one, such as many of the ones found on 720s, and bolt/weld it to the frame. The roof isn't as a weak as you believe it is. The roof panel itself can be bent with a good thump but the top of the cab is well made. My father rolled his 620 and was able to push it over and kick the roof out enough to get in and drive home. what sort of roll are we talking about here? a slow flop or a tumble from rallying/autocross? Quote Link to comment
Dat Lurka Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Multiple rolls from road-ditch at high speed. The front of the cab around the windshield was crushed pretty bad but the rear over his head held together and kept him alive. The pillars are double walled and quite strong. Before I scrapped by 79' we took turns taking a sledgehammer and splitting maul to the cab. It took a good beating and I'd say that the rear of the cab held up quite well. Not that that compares to multiple high speed rolls. I didn't know people made non supportive decorative rollbars. If it's bolted to the bed it may simply tear away from the metal. Weld it to the frame and it's going to add support in the event of a rollover as well as side impacts. Only Datsuns I've seen with rollbars were 720 st's and one was steel pipe welded in the front and bolted to the wheel wells. The other was one of these It's made of aluminum and would still save your neck... Quote Link to comment
gearhead Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Ok so its probally fine, I was just concerned because I managed to do this to a car known for having a really strong roof. top gear dropped a similar one 8 feet onto its roof and it didnt do a thing to the car. The car was a saab 900.It was FWD, and it got sideways past the point of no return and went into a ditch and hit a guy wire for a powerpole and launched the car 10-15 ft into the air and the car landed on the left edge of the pillars/roof. Quote Link to comment
Dat Lurka Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Looks like it held up well. A 620 isn't the truck to drive if you want to be "safe". A full cage, winged buckets, 5 point harness, collapsing steering column, helmet and proper apparel might make it safer. I've wanted to at least put nerf bars and a roll bar on mine. The collapsing steering column is a good mod to add some safety. Good strong racing seats can safe your life, I've seen it firsthand. I believe most datsuns are designed with crumple technology. Worst wrekced datsuns I've seen were both 610's. One on here and the other my dads. Quote Link to comment
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