DatSun620PU Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 You still in portland? I have a 74 datsun 620 and your truck is super clean. If you have the time you should head up to the Red door meet downtown! It's on every Sunday. There's stuff all over the internet about it if you can google it and check it out! Quote Link to comment
GRpufnstuf Posted June 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2014 (edited) OK then... I have my truck back. I have been driving it. It has the Beebani UCA ball joint conversion and stock 620 disc brakes, I'm not totally happy with it...yet I had a shop do the work which pained me spiritually and financially. I'm not 100% happy with the work and not just because it would be nearly impossible for a shop to pay as much attention to my truck as I would. The front end is squeaky as if I had un-greased Urethane bushings everywhere (I don't). It makes me less excited to drive it and it's embarrassing for me when I come to a stop and there are people within ear shot. The shop forgot to put my anti-sway bar back on but I was in a rush to get it back in my possession so I'm doing it myself. And I'm not 100% happy with the locating/radius rod modifications they did and I will probably make new ones in the future. Then when the truck came back from the alignment shop it was riding nearly 1.5" higher in the front than I very specifically asked for. I was informed that my custom UCAs weren't long enough and the camber was "way" off at my ride height. Here are my main issues right now: 1. 26.5" ride height (at fender lip) not 25", I cannot and will not stand for the gap between lip and tire. This ride height vs alignment conflict could be caused by the Beebani arms, or possibly the 1980 720 Lower arms I used rather than the 78-79 620 arms (my research told me they are the same but I'll be looking for more confirmation now) This could be solved by relocating the ball joints on either the upper or the lower control arms. Probably the lowers since they are thinner stock and therefore easier to mod. This would narrow the track a little too (see number 2). Maybe switching to the 620 lower arms, or possibly using drop spindles to get the right ride height while leaving the control arms I have in the proper operational plane. 2. I'm not sure I like the extra track width that came with the new disc front end. I'm withholding judgement until I get the ride height corrected, even If I decide I like it I'll have to use spacers at the back to get the rear to match up better. If I don't like it I'll have a full Beebani front disc kit for sale and I'll be rebuilding my king pin stuff to put back on and getting one of the disc kits for that instead. 3. Wheel size, I have been trying to keep the 14" stock steelies but if I use d21 drop spindles OR the ball joint disc kits I'll have to go up to 15"+ wheels which means I'll have some steelies made and I'll get the track width/stance I'm looking for OR I'll source a set of the Konig Countersteer alloy wheels I like so much, but then they don't fit the style of my truck really. 4. All the squeaking and creaking, I'll be getting in there this weekend and lubing the shit out of everything in the hopes that the squeaks go away. I don't think there are any actual metal to metal creaks. And I'll be checking all the nuts and bolts while I re-install my sway bar and the new Energy end links I bought. Otherwise the brakes are working great. They don't have a big initial bite like big modern vented discs but they are firmer and feel more positive than the drums and they haven't given me any fade like the drums used to. I used the stock 15/16" master I'm also going to lower the truck to it's proper height and see if the camber is actually bad, I suspect I can live with it a little off and if it eats my brand new 14" tires then I'll have an easier time replacing them with 15s when the time comes. Pictures coming soon i promise! Edited August 5, 2018 by GRpufnstuf 2 Quote Link to comment
GRpufnstuf Posted July 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 EDIT: I have to re-do this post, somehow the editor messed up the code Basically I found a shop that rents workspace and tools and it's great! http://www.urdreamgarage.com/ It looked funky to me when I found the craigslist ad but I took a chance and it worked out great! My front end no longer creaks and squeaks. I'm lowered 1.5" back to my starting point before my disappointing experience with a repair shop. I swapped my driveshaft carrier for a new one did a half ass 2x4/tape measure alignment And drove home. All for $75 plus the parts I brought with me. I used a lift (luxury), parts washer (more luxury) air tools, all their hand tools, it was great. I am not affiliated but I would like them to stick around so go use their service!! Oics: Good times. Now I'm collecting parts for a rear main seal, clutch, 5speed swap (i have the trans) Anyone got a 5bolt L18 flywheel for me? 2 Quote Link to comment
GRpufnstuf Posted July 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 Oh man, looks like photobucket did something funky and a lot of my pics are gone. I'll give a little time and if it doesn't self correct I'll go back and re-link everything. Bummer. Quote Link to comment
red13 Posted July 12, 2014 Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 You got the long tail or short tail trans Quote Link to comment
GRpufnstuf Posted July 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 I have the shorty. I wouldn't mind a dogleg to bolt in there but they are rare and not as strong (or so I read). I have a regular ratio z 5spd (long) that will work fine but I need to have all the conversion bits on hand. Minimizing down time is a top priority 1 Quote Link to comment
red13 Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 I picked a dogleg 5 speed from a 280zx im using and found a short shaft from a 80 720 kc. I saw another kc 720 i believe it was an 85 that might have the same short shaft. 1 Quote Link to comment
mikeanike99 Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 Have you done anything to your truck recently? 1 Quote Link to comment
GRpufnstuf Posted August 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 He everyone! been pretty busy with work and a new baby. Plus we moved into a place with a very small shared garage. Work space is non existent, there has been little progress on Olive. Now it's time to come up for air and get back to work on the truck. I've been daily driving it approx 45mi a day for a few months. aside from regular service stuff I haven't had to touch it mechanically. However... I'm ordering a new clutch kit and rear main seal tonight. The old clutch slips pretty badly due to age and oil. While I'm in there I'll be installing a 280z 5spd trans I picked up a while back and probably the aluminum 1600 diff I modified for 620 axles last year(i think last year?) I'm debating axle seals. I don't think I'll have time in the work space I rent to properly disassemble the whole thing. I'm hoping to be able to just draw the half shafts back enough to pull the diff. and slide them back in safe and sound. I already have a new slave cyl and hose installed. Anyone have tips for either of these procedures? I'm collecting all the parts I can think of beforehand. I'll need to get in and out same day with the truck drive-able at the end. I'll be concentrating on the 5spd swap, clutch and seal. Diff can wait if i run out of time. I'm still searching for a drive shaft from a later 620. I have the short 510 style 4speed still and I'll need the shorter front half of a late model shaft. Anyone selling that? there's nothing in the classifieds right now. Other than that no new news. Never put in the blue floor mat I found, the color just doesn't feel right to me. still a black one with a big hole where my right foot rests. Still debating methods of correcting front end camber issues after installing BeeBani upper ball joint a-arms and late models front discs. Still need to re-install the front sway bar. probably other stuff I'm forgetting. back soon with news I hope... 3 Quote Link to comment
ol' 320 Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 (edited) Good luck. Hope work is busy for you. We have had a tremendous amount of film work in Tulare County this past two months. You need to do a commercial shoot up my way! Edited January 1, 2019 by ol' 320 1 Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 never really heard of using the Z 5 speeds doing this. Hope you get it together other wise just replace clutch and call it good. You got a baby now anyways you wont be using this truck all that often and baby in way might not complete it 1 Quote Link to comment
red13 Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 never really heard of using the Z 5 speeds doing this. Hope you get it together other wise just replace clutch and call it good. You got a baby now anyways you wont be using this truck all that often and baby in way might not complete it All l series trans basically bolt up. I will be using a trans out of a 79zx. What people get caught up with trans swap is were it came from. The first rule is forget were it did come from, it is part of what its going ro be used on. So use those componets. Example 5 spd to l16 use l16 clutch,arm throwiut bearing 1 Quote Link to comment
GRpufnstuf Posted August 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 never really heard of using the Z 5 speeds doing this. Hope you get it together other wise just replace clutch and call it good. You got a baby now anyways you wont be using this truck all that often and baby in way might not complete it Yeah the Z's had L series engines and the trans fits. It's just longer than the early 620 4spd. almost all the 620s had a longer transmission but the '73 is short. and copy that about the L16 clutch stuff. That's the plan UNLESS a 5bolt L18 flywheel pops up then I'll use the bigger clutch setup. because bigger. 1 Quote Link to comment
red13 Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 I was lucky to find 2 later 620 drive shafts 1 Quote Link to comment
GRpufnstuf Posted August 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 I was lucky to find 2 later 620 drive shafts GREAT! sell me one ;) OH! Or maybe measure the shorter front piece and I'll get one made? Who has a length for me? 1 Quote Link to comment
GRpufnstuf Posted August 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 I'll measure all my parts and do the math too. I'd like to check that against what anyone might come up with. 1 Quote Link to comment
red13 Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 GREAT! sell me one ;) OH! Or maybe measure the shorter front piece and I'll get one made? Who has a length for me? from weld to weld 12" I found one at a junkyard while waiting for one to ship and the Junkyard one had a nice carrier bearing. 1 Quote Link to comment
GRpufnstuf Posted November 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 movement! a new addition to my truck camper shell from a Datsun guy on CL. He's also selling a pretty straight 521 bed if anyone needs it. He had a REALLY cool 520 with built L20b and a bed cover I've never seen before (sorry no oics) Still hunting for 620 late model lower control arms ( I have a couple deals cooking) If they don't come thru I'm going to rebuild my kingpin setup and buy Beebani brackets for a z32 4pot disc conversion. That will fix my camber, track width, and brake issues for sure. probably going to do the kingpin thing anyway but I just wanted to see if the 620 arms would align better than the 720 lowers I used for the ball joint conversion. The other option would be lowering spindles. The truck was align-able at a taller ride height so the drop spindle would let me get the camber right but It wouldn't fix my track width and I'd still have to go 15"+ wheels so Kingpin is the right way for me (I think!) 4 Quote Link to comment
red13 Posted November 27, 2015 Report Share Posted November 27, 2015 movement! a new addition to my truck camper shell from a Datsun guy on CL. He's also selling a pretty straight 521 bed if anyone needs it. He had a REALLY cool 520 with built L20b and a bed cover I've never seen before (sorry no oics) Still hunting for 620 late model lower control arms ( I have a couple deals cooking) If they don't come thru I'm going to rebuild my kingpin setup and buy Beebani brackets for a z32 4pot disc conversion. That will fix my camber, track width, and brake issues for sure. probably going to do the kingpin thing anyway but I just wanted to see if the 620 arms would align better than the 720 lowers I used for the ball joint conversion. The other option would be lowering spindles. The truck was align-able at a taller ride height so the drop spindle would let me get the camber right but It wouldn't fix my track width and I'd still have to go 15"+ wheels so Kingpin is the right way for me (I think!) autozone has the kingpin sets with lifetime warranty 1 Quote Link to comment
GRpufnstuf Posted November 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2015 autozone has the kingpin sets with lifetime warranty Thanks I'll check 'em out. 1 Quote Link to comment
red13 Posted November 28, 2015 Report Share Posted November 28, 2015 did u ever get that drive shaft sorted out? 1 Quote Link to comment
Rick-rat Posted November 28, 2015 Report Share Posted November 28, 2015 I have a new set of kingpins if you need them and can't find elsewhere 1 Quote Link to comment
GRpufnstuf Posted November 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2015 I did! I picked one up from "Seeker" at the Eagle Rock swap. 2 Quote Link to comment
red13 Posted November 28, 2015 Report Share Posted November 28, 2015 Thats good, i know of a single shaft if its still there 1 Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted November 28, 2015 Report Share Posted November 28, 2015 fuck I don't know why people don't like stock rims painted white and and whitewall( Hubcaps) Fucking looks COOL!!!!!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment
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