Mississippi 521

[Charlie69]

I hope you build the 521.  You can do it!

[TWright33]

Does anyone have a spare passenger bedside they could cut me a patch panel out of?

 

I will also be needing a windshield and possibly passenger front fender.

[TWright33]

Any body help me out on the parts I need?

[TWright33]

I'm guessing I should have left the word "Mississippi" out of the title so I could have some more lookers???  :confused:  :confused:

['70dime]

work with the 521! soo badass, I cant help with the parts but I'll keep my ears open.

[mrbigtanker]

That truck just looks like it needs a good cleaning,it is all doable look what I am working with myself,620 dime a dozen 521 is the shitttt.lol

[Charlie69]

Do not stress on the parts you will find them.  You will probably find another truck that will have some of the parts you need.  I have a 70 521 that I am not sure if I want to build it or use it for parts.

 

The parts you are looking for have been listed in the parts for sale section here on Ratsun several times over the years I have been a member.  You would do better if you placed an ad in the parts for sale/wanted section here on Ratsun.

 

I have been working on mine since 2008 and I am still looking for some of the parts.

 

DO NOT GIVE UP.  Have patience.

[TWright33]

Patience.... That's one thing I am teaching myself through this project

 

 

I have started many projects and gotten halfway through and parted out everything

 

 

I WILL be finishing this build and enjoying the truck for a long time. Somebody just hit me up with a 620 that basically looks to have no rust.... I'm still making myself stick with the 521. It's tough though.

[Charlie69]

If you have the room try to buy complete trucks for parts.  You will be able to use the best parts on your build while selling off what you do not need.  It also a good idea to keep extra parts in case one fails.

 

I buy 720, 620, 521, 520 trucks for parts.   I keep the parts I will use and sell the rest which helps me finance my hobby.

 

By the way Missiissippi has nothing to do with it.  Post lots of pictures of your progress. We like pictures.

 

That KA will be sweet in your 521.

[TWright33]

Alright, got what I am calling "a lot" done yesterday. Got the engine, tranny, and ECU picked up.

Then I got the Datsun pushed into the temporary shop

 

A little background behind the shop-

 

My Grandfather used to wrench on vehicles when he was still alive. He rebuilt a couple of cars and was basically the shade tree mechanic of this area of the county. After he passed away in 2002, the shop turned into a storage building for most of he family. I have recently gone and cleaned out and straightened the shop as much as possible for the moment. The shop has always had a dirt dobber problem and I have no idea how to stop them or have no idea how to get all of them out of the shop. 

 

That being said, the shop I'm going to be working in looks like a dirty crack house on the inside  :blush:

 

 

 

Now it was time to move the truck in the shop. I wanted to get it out of the weather pretty fast just to keep everything that was good still intact

 

 

 

This was what we used to move it  :rofl:

 

We had a chain for when we needed to pull, and a tire tied to the front of the tractor when we needed to push. This is my father on my grandfathers tractor.

 

 

And then we had it inside. The front tires were basically non existent so you can imagine how easy it was to steer. You can see the grass build up on the wheel from pushing it in :thumbup:

[mrbigtanker]

I like it it looks like a old barn with a rustic look,get er done.

[Janksun]

Build the 521! Get at it! Grab a pressure washer and wash that thing down, the patina on that looks great!

[TWright33]

Yeah definitely looks rustic! I'll take some more pictures of the shop itself when I get back out to the shop.

 

As far as paint goes, I am going to paint it back the baby blue. Not gonna do the high gloss but not gonna be matte. Gonna look like a plain ole old school paint job.

 

Does anyone have any good links to help with what to do with all of these vacuum lines on the KA? Also has anyone successfully kept Power steering and A/C after the swap? I am assuming space in the engine bays were the issue as to why people don't keep these?

 

I have access to a CNC plasma burner and can program the machine to burn whatever parts I can dream up in CAD! So I can make whatever brackets and mounts necessary

[mrbigtanker]

Check out a website McKinney motorspprts there here in California,he makes brackets for about everything except trucks,but he can maybe help you put you in the right direction.

[TWright33]

Put me in the right direction as far as PS pump and A/C?

[wayno]

Put me in the right direction as far as PS pump and A/C?

 

The 521 never came with PS, and as far as I know there was no aftermarket setup either, anyone that has PS on their 521, they fabricated it themselves.

[TWright33]

Right, I guess I worded it weird. What I was meaning is has anyone that put a KA in found a PS setup that worked?

[wayno]

Right, I guess I worded it weird. What I was meaning is has anyone that put a KA in found a PS setup that worked?

 

As far as I know, no one has figured out a setup that will work on a 520/521 that they have shared that can be bought at a wrecking yard, I have heard of someone saying that they thought a certain year of a 280Z might have a power steering gear that might work, but I have never seen a setup.

I went about it a different way, I used a 521 idler arm on the driverside after removing the 521 steering gear, it basically bolts right in, then I took a 720 power steering gear and bolted it as far forward as I could on the outside of the frame, then I used a pathfinder power steering pump and mounted it on the engine where the 521 AC mount would be, I mounted the reservoir above it on the driverside above the horns.

I then had a costom centerlink made that had a tierod end on the passenger side, and then I used the stock centerlink to connect from the 720 pitman arm to the custom centerlink.

Here are some photos of what I did, here is the 720 power steering gear mounted, notice how the tierod connects from the bottom up.

Here is a photo of the custom centerlink.

Here is a photo of the power steering pump and reservoir.

Here is the idler arm mounted on the driverside.

The tierod connection to the custom centerlink.

This is the only power steering setup I will ever do to a 521, it has issues that are hard to deal with unless you take the time to do it like the factory would do it if they had, here is one of my issues.

 

 

I did fix it, but I did it right the last time.

[TWright33]

And of you guys on the social media scene?

 

My facebook is- 

 

https://www.facebook.com/tyler.wright.7399

 

 

Instagram is "twright2933"

[TWright33]

Well I found another lead on a 620

 

I can't find any 521 parts.

 

I may hold on to the 521 and build the 620 instead.

 

The seller is saying all glass is good and the body is perfect, all for $400. It's just too good of a deal to give up. 

 

I will have pictures of it tomorrow.

[TWright33]

The fellow with the 620 sent me some pictures.

 

Tailgate seems to be in the roughest shape, the rest of the truck seems nice and straight.

 

Even the floor pans look intact

 

[mrbigtanker]

get rid of these 620 photos.lol

[TWright33]

Lol I can't man

[TWright33]

I have a little update.

 

Yesterday I hooked up the car hauler and headed out to look at the 620. I was told "there is only one bad spot on the body"

 

Upon arrival, there was rusted THROUGH spots on every body panel, and literally a dent in every one too. He wouldn't budge on his price, but I honestly didn't even want it at that point.

 

So, last Friday I had an elderly man call me about a truck. He said it was a 620, had no rust and all the glass was good. He had his grandson send me some pictures. 

 

This is what I got

 

 

At first I was upset, because I wanted a 620, but now I'm wondering if I should buy it. 

 

He is only asking $300, and if I don't buy it he will scrap it....

 

So now I am searching trying to find some pictures of 521s that are more my style. I'm not into the wheels/tires that stick out past the fenders, and I'm not too fond of fender flares. I'm wanting it raked and 18" wheels. 

 

I'm also contemplating this 620, he is wanting $250

 

[DanielC]

I am partial to 521 trucks.  just putting that out there.

 

I would say offer the guy with the second 521 a little less than the price he mentioned, and have cash in your hand to back it up.  Get the second 521, and use one for parts.   Or maybe both have potential to get running.  You never know until you get it and cah check out the whole truck.

 

You might become the "go to" guy for 521 parts in the southeast United States.