L320 in NC

[65L320]

Hey guys. Long time lurker, newer member. I've had my 1965 L320 since 2007. I bought it off of eBay in Maryland. I have been trying to sell it for the last 4 months. I had a baby boy last July and was looking for a 510 so he could cruise with me. After a ton of low ballers and people who just have no idea what it is, I've decided to keep it and fix it up. Every time I drive it I remember why I can't part with it. It's just a blast to drive and is the only one at any classic car show I take it to.

 

Ok now with all that out of the way, I do want to start making it a little more drivable. By that I mean rebuild the front end, it's super sloppy. I need a passenger side tail light, mine has melted. I have to get some sort of windshield wipers, they are all screwed up. And the bed floor and tailgate are beat up pretty bad. I'm going to paint it in the near future as well. I have a million questions but I'll try to make sure they haven't been answered before I ask. I would really like to change the rear end so I could run 50 mph without screaming the poor engine. I'm going to attempt to post pics.

[flatcat19]

Most long time lurkers know that we're picture whores. 

 

 

 

Load your images into a photobucket account. 

C/P the IMG code into the text box. 

Win. 

[65L320]

Haha thanks! I just read up on how to post them. Here are a few.

 

I've got a ton on photobucket. I'll be posting them a few at a time.

[wayno]

Welcome  :)

 

Nice looking 320, it has a 64 grill, but I have seen 65s with the 64 grill before, is it column shift, or floor shift?

Looks like you also have the 320 bumperettes.  :thumbup:

You are also sporting 521 hubcaps.

[65L320]

More of the body, good and bad

 

 

Some minor rust but nothing serious. Also in some of the pics it looks super shiny. It's just wet lol

[wayno]

Take care of the minor rust before it gets out of hand, it's not that bad yet.

I still cannot tell if it is a floor shift or column shift, my guess would be column.

[65L320]

Interior shots

 

 

The heater core has been rebuilt and I painted everything underneath the dash while it was all out. I sprayed the kick and door panels with gray vinyl paint, young and dumb. Now I wish it was all back to pink and original.

[65L320]

Sorry wayno, I didn't see your post I was uploading lol. It's a floor shift early 65 as far as I know. I'm still learning about them.

[flatcat19]

That thing is sweet!

 

 

I'm with Wayno. 

Get that rust before it gets the best of you and your truck. 

[wayno]

WOW, that is a nice looking 320, that interior is nice.  :thumbup:

That you have a floor shift with that grill is kinda rare, it's an in between truck, most floor shifts have the 65 grill.

[65L320]

Thanks flatcat! Yeah I'm finishing up a project now that was a rusty bodywork nightmare. The truck is next in line for sure.

[wayno]

It looks like you don't actually have that much work to do, fix a few rust spots, try to match the paint, and your good to go.

Look around for some flexable tubing the correct size to get your defrosters working, and you will be done.

[65L320]

Thanks wayno! It's a fun truck. I'm ready to put a good paint job on it. Do you know what the red color code is? Is the color available? I'd like to keep from taking the interior out to spray it if possible. Thanks guys

[wayno]

Before 67 there were no codes on the vehicles according to this link.

 http://www.311s.org/pmwiki-311/pmwiki.php?n=TechSection.PaintCodes

Here's another one.

http://www.ratdat.com/?p=340

[65L320]

Wow that good to know. Thanks for the info! I'll probably just take a piece that hasn't been faded by the sun and have the paint store match something close.

[wayno]

Wow that good to know. Thanks for the info! I'll probably just take a piece that hasn't been faded by the sun and have the paint store match something close.

 

That is what I did for my NL320, I used the inside of the glove compartment door.  :)

[65L320]

Engine

 

 

I know it's the wrong color but it needed something and I had that can laying around. I think it's Chrysler motor blue if I remember right.

[65L320]

The bed floor and tailgate have seen better days

 

[wayno]

No wiper motor  :(

Also, don't buy fram oil filters, they are crap, and if an oil filter is going to fail, it will likely be a fram.

I have a weber on my NL also, more power.  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

A true ratsuner, bungee cord holding the battery in, that is what holds my 521 work truck battery also, but I have to remove my battery once every couple weeks for my 12V sprayer, kinda a hassle any other way than a bungee cord for me.

Your 320 looks good, hard to find them back east. :thumbup:

[wayno]

When they sold these trucks, they were used as trucks, so the beds/tailgates get beat up after 45 years, I have seen worse than yours.

[65L320]

It really just need some TLC and I've been slacking on that. It's time to get motivated and make it a nice truck. It won't take that much work compared to projects I've done in the past. I think that might be why it's been overlooked for 6 years lol.

 

I'm in desperate need of a wiper motor and passenger taillight. Other than that I think I can come up with a solution for the rest. For a while I thought about putting different taillights on it but I would like to keep it stock appearing if possible.

 

I'm going to find a new oil filter. I actually think the engine may be a J13 but I haven't run numbers on it yet. It's definitely got a 1200 head on it though. I cracked the head that was on it and that head is off a 64.

[65L320]

Other photos

 

[Conner]

Very nice truck.  I've seen it listed on Craigslist. 

I can't believe you bought it in Maryland.  I bought mine in Kansas City and brought it back here. 

I've got young kids too.  Makes it really hard to find time to make any progress. 

 

In my engine bay the inner fenders were in pretty rough shape, so I cleaned them up and sanded and treated the surface rust and masked and repainted them.  I later plan to do the same on the interior floorboards where there is some surface rust (thankfully the sheet metal is really solid). 

 

There is a company called Tower Paint that will mix up custom colors of single stage paint in rattle cans.  Not cheap, but paint is pretty expensive.  http://www.apstowerpaint.com/product/our-popular-acrylic-enamel-aerosol-spray-can/7

 

There is some information on Datsun roadster paint colors, including some paint codes, here:  http://www.datsunroadster.com/MISC_PAGES/what_color.htm

 

The color I chose was #524 Hustler Red, which was formerly known as Pagoda Red (color #410) and has a PPG paint code of 79913 according to the Rallye page.  Pagoda Red is a Datsun color that was used in the earlier roadsters and some other Datsuns produced at the same time as our trucks.  I'm not sure if it is an exact match to the paint on my truck, but I think it is close enough to the paint on the exterior, which is in good shape. 

 

 

 

Here is a shot where you can see the newly painted inner fender and the exterior fender, and I think it is a pretty good match.  When I clean up my firewall I think the firewall will match the new paint pretty well, too. 

 

 

[K_trip]

- removed -
 

[65L320]

Conner, thanks for the info! I think a can of that would do the engine bay. I'll look into it.

 

Ktrip, I bought some 41-48 Chevy taillights that I was going to use but I'd like to find a stock one instead. I do want to restore it but it'll always be a driver.