Thepspack Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Hi, my name is Pete, I live in the San Diego area. I recently bought my first Datsun and I love it. It's a 1970 521 that I found on Craigslist. It ran like shit and stank like unburnt fuel, but no knocks or ticks or smoke or excessive crankcase pressure so I thought it was a simple tune up problem. Turned out to be non existent valve seats, after a rebuilt head, new webber and 2" exhaust it runs like a top and is a blast to drive. The rear end also growled badly, after consulting the forums here I got my hands on a rear end from a 510 wagon and switched out the 3rd member. Worked perfectly and added a few more mph on the freeway at the same time. I also managed to piece together and modify enough steering wheel adapters to get a slightly more attractive steering wheel in there and have it not sitting in my lap (I'm 6'2). Plus I got tired of not being able to see my gauges at night so I upgraded to red LED, love the red backlit look. It's going in for a new interior next week, black vinyl and plaid fabric, can't wait. The first thing I'd like to get done soon is track down a replacement dash pad, I'd also like a new dash for that matter. The PO did a shitty job hacking the living shit out of the dash, then decided to cover it by riveting some diamond plate to it. Afterwards sprayed it flat black without masking anything. Bugs the hell out of me every time I look at it. I have a dogleg 5 speed, that will be going in soon. After that I'd like to get some disc brakes up front, then drop the truck 2.5" front and rear. I like the patina that it has, but I kind of want it to pop and not look like it needs a lawnmower and a collection of rakes in the back. I'm thinking about spraying the old chrome and trim black, along with the wheels and adding a black stripe down the side, just thoughts. My dog Nolie going for a ride. I'm not new to projects here's some of the other things I have laying around. My '67 Bug that I sold to buy my truck. My '71 El Camino I also build vintage Hondas. My '78 CB750 Cafe My '61 CA95 Benly The other projects patiently waiting. 3 Quote Link to comment
DatDoug Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Welcome to Ratsun! Nice post. Nice truck. Nice bikes. Nice El Camino. Nice Bug. Looking forward to seeing more B) 2 Quote Link to comment
filthy forever Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 welcome my friend :thumbup: you seriously have a radical classic bike collection. good luck with your build I hope all the best. Quote Link to comment
mrbigtanker Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Very nice,i would of kept the bug though,other then those so called tail lights nice rig.Drop i would do at least 3",you got a great start right there.If i can help you out let me know. :thumbup: Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Score on the truck. Meh about the cars. Those bikes are the business. Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Very nice,i would of kept the bug though,other then those so called tail lights nice rig.Drop i would do at least 3",you got a great start right there.If i can help you out let me know. :thumbup: I had to go back and look at those tail lights. They're not bad. That section is more filled in than the stockers do. Almost roll pan-ish. I think they look OK. Maybe needs some splits for me to tell, really. Quote Link to comment
mrbigtanker Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Well they work just not my cup of tea,but he just got it and they are hard to come by so rock um until you get stockers or hell its your truck keep them if you want. Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Painted white you probably couldn't tell would barely notice. 1 Quote Link to comment
Thepspack Posted October 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 The PO put the lights on the back, I try to ignore it. I've seen the lights on ebay from Thailand, the price is right but I'm afraid they're total crap like alot of other things on ebay from there. I plan to get a set of split bumpers as well. I noticed after I got this truck that anything cool I want to do requires some expensive hard to find stuff. Quote Link to comment
DanielC Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Looks good, but the red line pointer on the tach needs to be moved up to 7. I had this dash in my project, Ratsun, Thread starts here, http://community.ratsun.net/topic/30606-my-ratsun-datsun-521/ Now that dash top looks like this. Here is a closer picture to one side of it. I took the rusty defrost vents, and ashtray holder out of the dash. The vents, and ashtray were soaked in a molasses solution, in a crock pot, for a few days, to remove the rust. Then the metal parts were primed with epoxy primer, and Dupont Centari, 99A black. The dash top was taken to a auto upholsterer and they redid the dash board. 1 Quote Link to comment
Thepspack Posted October 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Wow that turned out nice! every shop I went to with my dash said that they'ed just glue a carpet dash cover to it. Seeing that lets me know there is hope for my old cracked crap. Quote Link to comment
mrbigtanker Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Bro i got mine covered in leather,with a very nice french stitch going down it.I have another dash that i might be parting with,it has 1 crack in it. Quote Link to comment
mrbigtanker Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 That is redone in leather.It is smooth and the stitch sets it off just nice. 1 Quote Link to comment
mrbigtanker Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 This is a 3" drop on 16x8 wheels just so you know what it looks like. 1 Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Reach under your dashboard to feel the underside of it. Some 521's have large square cut outs and some are solid. If your is solid, remove it then take all of that cracked foam off. Viola! Instant metal topped dash. And your taillights. I think they look good. Don't stress on them. Quote Link to comment
Thepspack Posted October 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 That is redone in leather.It is smooth and the stitch sets it off just nice. That looks awsome! Did they just recover the old pad, Or was the foam pulled of and recovered on the metal? This is a 3" drop on 16x8 wheels just so you know what it looks like. I think you're right with 3". That has a great look to it. Reach under your dashboard to feel the underside of it. Some 521's have large square cut outs and some are solid. If your is solid, remove it then take all of that cracked foam off. Viola! Instant metal topped dash. And your taillights. I think they look good. Don't stress on them. I've heard that people just pull the foam off these. Does the ashtray and vents fit properly once the foam is removed? I've also heard that 520 dash pads work aswell, if one can be found. Quote Link to comment
4perrev Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 Nice pick up, welcome to the house!! Like the pug riding with ya! Quote Link to comment
thisismatt Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 Nice truck. I think the tail lights look fairly good, actually. The stock lights aren't really anything special. Quote Link to comment
mrbigtanker Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 That looks awsome! Did they just recover the old pad, Or was the foam pulled of and recovered on the metal? I think you're right with 3". That has a great look to it. I've heard that people just pull the foam off these. Does the ashtray and vents fit properly once the foam is removed? I've also heard that 520 dash pads work aswell, if one can be found. Recovered the old pad. Quote Link to comment
armycook Posted July 7, 2014 Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 I'm in San Diego too and I just bought my first 521. Maybe you can help me if you have time. Thanks! Dennis Quote Link to comment
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