Hooligan Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Start by saying my name is Bryan. Quick little story about this 521. A neighborhood friend that I grew up with, his father bought this truck new in 1971. I used to see this truck daily as a kid growing up. Few years back he had a local shop drop in a new motor. Fast forward a couple of years and then he parks the truck and there it sits. I had been asking about the truck for a while. I get a text Saturday saying good news... my dad says he will sell you the truck. Next question, how much? Well.. he says the tires are worth $50, so bring him $50 and its yours. One owner As she arrived home today Quick bath Engine pic Interior needs some love 1 Quote Link to comment
konig209 Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Great intro clean truck what are the plans!!!! Quote Link to comment
Ranman72 Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 That is a great starting point awesome deal for 50 bucks Welcome to Ratsun Quote Link to comment
Draker Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Damn dude.. $50? S C O R E Welcome to Ratsun. Quote Link to comment
Hooligan Posted July 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Thanks guys... first things first. Remove the canopy and finish getting her cleaned up. Plans are to drop her down, grab some wheels... L20 swap in the very near future. Would really like to clean the dash up too. Dash pad is badly cracked but I know finding one is probably near impossible Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 WOW! That thing is clean. I need to find a deal like that. I'll give you $200 now. Profit! :rofl: Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Wow, what a deal, just keep cleaning it, it's amazing how much better it looks after a good cleaning. Make a dash pad for now, just get by till you get it running and driving safely, then start making it your own. If it has a fresh engine, that would be low on my list of changing things, just drive it a while, fix any rust issues, lower it a little if that is the direction you want to go, but I would drive the shit out of it for a while, get everything working(wipers/heater/lights/brakes/ect.), work everything out, make it dependable. What I mean is that when you open that door and get in, you will know exactly what's going to happen. When I get in mine, I know it will hit when I hit the starter, but I know it won't start till the second try. Have fun with your acquisition, datsuns can be very aggravating sometimes, but they can be great fun also. Were you able to drive it home? Quote Link to comment
Hooligan Posted July 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 To be honest I didn't even try to drive it. Threw it on a tow dolly and headed out. I do know that the engine turns over, she has new points, plugs, and wires. Tomorrow I am going to put it in the air and tear into the brakes and see what it needs. Also have plans to check all of the wiring and make sure all lights and such work. The motor is high on the list as long as the L16 is a good runner. I want to get her reliable first, like you said... drive the hell out of it. Gonna start hitting the local junk yards too and see what I can dig up 1 Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 See if you can dig up a Matchbox distributor. Best mod you can do to your Datsun. Look on any 1979 620 or 1980 720. Grab the coil and wiring too. Quote Link to comment
Tristin Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Welcome to the site. Im just up the road in Bremerton. The motor is high on the list as long as the L16 is a good runner. I want to get her reliable first, like you said... drive the hell out of it. Gonna start hitting the local junk yards too and see what I can dig up There is a red 521 in the Horseshoe Autowrecking yard... I think I took most things, but there could be some parts that you can use. Love the truck. Ive been on the hunt for something exactly like this... green and full of patina. Very jealous. Looking for something to compliment my other vehicle. Anyway, once again welcome to the forum. Make sure you utilize the search function and read a lot. Im sure most questions you have will already be well documented. Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Have you stepped on the brakes? Matchbox distributors are a good upgrade as mentioned above, no more points is a great thing, I timed my engine once, never had to do that again, tune up is a cap, rotor and plugs, it's great, but in my opinion, everyone should have to install and adjust points at least once in their life, just so you know how to do it. Drive the shit out of it, L16s like to rev compared to the L20b, so don't be afraid to rev it up. Quote Link to comment
Hooligan Posted July 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 flatcat - thanks for the info. I did some searching here last night and found some info on this. I appreciate the year info though, makes things a little easier. tristan - I appreciate it. Cool having another member close by. I drive past Horseshoe every day .... I work in Gorst in Kitsap Muffler wayno - I have yet to actually step on the brakes. I will give this a shot today Quote Link to comment
dave71 Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 well here's a tetiment to the power of the li'l L16.. yesterday i picked up a cab over camper built for mini pickup and she pulled the hills pretty good held 50mph up hill... so i wouldn't change it if it runs welcome to the house of rust.. lol Quote Link to comment
iCruZ Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 any idea what those rims / hub caps are wouldn't mind having a set of those on my truck ! :thumbup: Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 any idea what those rims / hub caps are wouldn't mind having a set of those on my truck ! :thumbup: Those are the stockers. 1 Quote Link to comment
Hooligan Posted July 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Yep, they are stock. Well, spent the morning removing the mirrors and the canopy.... lets just say the canopy did not come off in one piece Quote Link to comment
Hooligan Posted July 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Does someone have a pic of the knob that is supposed to be on the heater box below the dash? Or know where I could find one? Quote Link to comment
Jdm720 Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Welcome to the forum, and that's one helluva come up. Enjoy :thumbup: Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Does someone have a pic of the knob that is supposed to be on the heater box below the dash? Or know where I could find one? This guy sells them, you will have to PM him to see if he has any at the moment. http://community.ratsun.net/user/251-jefe-de-jefes/ Quote Link to comment
Hooligan Posted July 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Thank you much wayno Quote Link to comment
Steve521 Posted July 18, 2013 Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 Welcome to the forum! Nice truck, can't wait to see what you do with it. B) Quote Link to comment
Hooligan Posted July 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 Been doing quite a bit of work. Checked all the lights, everything seems to work except the headlights so I am going to work on that tomorrow. Wipers work, heater works... everything seems to be good. I went and bought a battery, dropped her in, pulled the choke, and she fired right up. The brakes have been the big task... finally was able to strip the front brakes. Adjusters are completely seized, going to take them to work tomorrow and work on getting them free. Still have to dig into the rears but the fronts are a complete rebuild. Lastly, I did manage to drop some 3" blocks in the rear and cranked on the torsion bars. Wasn't what I was looking for so today I reindexed the bars. Now I need to bring her up a bit in the front and down some more in the back. I have seen posts on the 720 4x4 rear springs.... is there a certain year that I need to look for? Quote Link to comment
bananahamuck Posted July 18, 2013 Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 I would replace all the rubber under hood before you go worring about stance and all ,, those old hoses are going to disappoint you man. That may sound dickish but i have been into really old cars for a very long time and i can say i have seen it alot with cars that sit for long periods of time... Head gaskets don`t like sitting either.Welcome to the monkey house ,, hope ta see you out cruising that rig. 3 Quote Link to comment
Hooligan Posted July 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 No worries, I completely understand. I shall take that advice and grab all new hoses. I love this truck so I want to make sure everything is done right 2 Quote Link to comment
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