Pope's Project: 521 RST

[pope_face]

Alright, this is build version 1.1... I'd appreciate if one of the mods could delete my old one... :o

 

Here's the deal: Take one '70 521, add a Wankel rotary from an '85 Mazda RX-7 and four-speed auto transmission, and redo the interior to end up with a 521 RST (Rotary Sport Truck).

 

The Truck:

 

1970 Datsun 521 (North American Market)

 

 

The Drivetrain:

 

(No pics yet, will add them as soon as I pick up the engine)

 

Engine: 1985 Mazda Rotary 12A

Displacement: 573cc x 2 rotors (1146cc total)

Horsepower: 101 @ 6,000 RPM

Torque: 107 ft/lbs @ 4,000 RPM

Max RPM: ~8,500 RPM

 

Transmission: 1986 Mazda RX-7 Four-Speed Auto

 

Final Drive Ratio: 4.88:1 (Stock 521 w/ J13)

 

 

The Interior:

 

Nardi wood steering wheel on Momo hub

Old-style Recaro racing seat

Wood dash w/ plain round gauges (Styled after 70's British cars)

Dash air vents

Stock switches

Four-speaker audio system w/ sub and hidden headunit.

 

The Exterior:

 

Flat black paint w/ red & white scallops

Red stockers w/ stock chrome hubcaps

Custom grille

Eurolite 5.75" round H4 single-headlight conversion in stock low-beam position

Mercedes or Bosch fog lamps in stock high-beam position

Bosch or Hella bumper mount driving lamps

Bumper mounted motorcycle turn signals

Rear roll pan w/ integrated taillights

Exhaust dumped in front of rear wheel

 

 

Interior sneak peek:

 

 

I know, it's kinda dirty inside, but that's what I've got so far. Nothing's changed on the outside yet (as I can't get damn rusty screws out). The Recaro will stay if I can shorten the steering column and get a quick-release hub. Anybody know of any steering columns w/ telescopic steering that'll fit? If all else fails, I'll use a '69 four-door 510 seat like on the passenger's side.

 

Questions, comments, concerns? :D

Edited October 14, 2008 by pope_face

[bonvo]

if your gonna go rotory why not a newer one from the last generation of rx7 mmmmmm twin turbo :D

[pope_face]

I was considering that, but I wanted to stay carbed... I'd like to keep the electronics to a minimum. The other thing is availability... I managed to find a recently rebuilt 12A at a reputable shop up here. A turbo would be nice, but if I was going to go all out with this I'd get one of the Renesis engines from an RX-8. Besides, I thought it'd be cool to show that it's not all about having the biggest engine you can find, even though this is the equivilent to a 2.3L V6... ^_^

[DatDoug]

The Truck:

 

Please Dont change the exterior! I love this look:D Definitely needs to be dumped tho:D

[pope_face]

Hahaha, thanks Doug. :D I'm keeping the paint job for sure... Back when I was still looking for a truck to modify (originally I was going to use a 60's/70's domestic) I reaaaaally wanted to go with a kinda ratty street-rod/beach truck look: lowered suspension, whitewalls on red smoothies with chrome baby moons, and flat black paint job with scallops. When I found this truck online, there was no picture and not much of a description, other than year and type. It took me about four hours and $50 to get out to see it (driving and ferry trip), and when I pulled into the guy's driveway I fell in love... it was exactly like I'd wanted to build it. So...

 

The paint's staying the same... the only thing that's changing is red stockers and chrome hubcaps all around, dumping the exhaust, putting a rollpan in the rear to give it a cleaner look, and giving it a more aggressive grille/light combo in front. Oh, and dropping it down a bit more... or maybe dropping the front and bringing the rear to stock height to give it some rake... :D

[Farmer]

pics are not working for me. I can only imagen. Looks good

 

Larry

[pope_face]

Alright, I haven't gotten anything done yet, although I did manage to pick up a few bits... I got the metal to make the roll pan, a mirror for my fender, and a couple bits for the interior... I'm putting in an automatic transmission, but I don't want it to be super obvious. Besides, what's a sport-truck without a stick shift? So... I'm planning on modifying the stock shifter to work with my new transmission. It'll have a nice stock look (probably the only stock bit inside the truck) but still work.

 

In other news, it looks like the Recaro might not be going in after all... I'm starting to run into too many issues with getting in and out of the truck with a seat that high, especially once I swap the steering wheel out. If anyone's interested, I may eventually sell it...

 

The other issue is seatbelts. I really want a four-point harness, but I've gotta be careful with how I mount the shoulder straps. They've gotta be at least at shoulder height, if not higher. So, I've gotta find some way to run a bar behind the seat to be able to loop them over, without interfering with the seat or my head...

 

Edit: Anyone know if it would be alright to mount the shoulder straps above the rear window? My head just barely clears the roof, and my shoulders come about halfway up the rear window. Or, what about bolting a bar across the inside of the rear window, about halfway up? The only issue is that I don't have stock shoulder belt mounts, so the bolts would have to go through the metal to the outside... unless I welded a nut to the inside of the pillar... I don't know if I trust my welding skills enough for something as important as seatbelt mounts though.

Edited October 17, 2008 by pope_face

[dat521kid]

damn i love your truck

[bonvo]

for the harness issue have you mounted the seat as low as possible? that seems awful high if you ask me

[thegreencar]

I love the paint. I'm jealous.

[SHADY280]

hey the seat has my real name on it, does that mean i can come out and drive it?

Edited October 17, 2008 by SHADY280

[pope_face]

Lol, Shady, I haven't even driven it yet... =P I've still got a long way to go to finish it, but you don't live too far from me, so we should meet up one of these days.

 

Bonvo: In the pic the seat is actually a little lower than it'll be. That's the problem with a truck so small... if I mount it any lower, my feet will be too close to the pedals and I won't be able to drive comfortably. Any higher, and my legs will hit the steering wheel and my head will hit the roof. I think any seat I put in I'll have issues with. The 510 seats I've got are fairly comfortable, and would work for me, but they need some work, at least the driver's side. The base is sagging, the cover is ripped, and there's no lateral support. The Recaro is great... Good condition, nice and firm, great lateral support... the only issue is, I can't get in and out of it with the steering wheel in place. So, I either have to put in a quick release kit for the wheel (which apparently may not be legal) or I have to hack out the left side of the seat and either mount it to the door or with some sort of hinge and lock. Either one of those options would work well, but it's a matter of commiting to one and doing it. I just bought the seat too, so it's a matter of either cutting into it and hoping it works, or selling this seat and trying to find a new, adjustable sport seat that'll work.

 

As far as racing/sport seats and harnesses, if I find one with the slots cut out for the shoulder straps, can I just run the belts directly from the mount up and through the slots, or do I still have to wrap them over a bar or something behind the seat?

 

Edit: Alright, looks like a shoulder harness can be wrapped right over the slot in a racing seat, so that might be what I'm going to look into. Sucks that all the decent seats are so damn expensive though...

Edited October 17, 2008 by pope_face

[pope_face]

Updates!

 

I know, I posted this morning, but I've got pictures.

 

The steering wheel that's going in the truck:

 

 

 

And the turn signals:

 

 

 

I apologize for the quality... I only had my cell phone on me. The lights are pretty much brand new Harley signals... no scratches or anything on the chrome or lenses. They're only single filament bulbs though, so I might try to change them over to a dual filament so I can use them as parking lights as well. Ignore the tripod in the second pic... I was trying to figure out the placement of a fender mirror. I also ordered a set of vents for the dash... they should arrive in about a week or so.

 

I also tried the Recaro out again... I'm being indecisive with it, but I realized that the fit isn't as bad as I originally though. I'm going to temporarily mount it and see how hard it is to get in and out of it. I think I'm also going to bolt a couple bars across the inside of the rear window so I can use shoulder belts.

[bonvo]

kreagan sells a cool sport seat that is rather supportive and cheap its only like $130 and its comfortable easier to get out of and has the holes for the sholder harneses

[pope_face]

I don't think I could find a Kragen on this side of the border... I was looking at Sparco seats, and the Sparco Steel seat looks like it would work. It's small, low sides, and holes for the shoulder harnesses, and it's under $300. But... if I order it in, will it fit? I'll try to work off this seat for now. The truck originally came with just lap belts, so anything I do is an upgrade...

[SHADY280]

you can use scat seats from lordco, not too expensive, and they are thin and comfy. they also come in tons of colors. they have all the holes and an adjustable back. in my truck i have those plastic highback drag seats, and am getting covers made to make them comfy, cause plastic sucks. the seats are 35 bux, and really thin up top, 1" so they give lots of leg room, well as much as possible for a 6' guy.

[pope_face]

You've got a regular cab right, not a KC? I'll look at Lordco and see what I can find. Who are they made by? And can I just walk into Lordco and pick them up, or are they like a special order?

 

On a side note, I've started on my roll pan... Maybe I'll finish it today.

[SHADY280]

i think they are rci seats, and yeah most lordcos have them. not really a special order thing. maybe just the wharehouse. thy make a cover for them too, so there is some foam, im getting more put in mine for a better feel at the end of a ride. and yeah im regular cab. here ya go! there is a part number on the top of the seat, i think it says 8000s, but cant quite read it. and its dark out and the truck is locked in the crap garage.

 

[Duke]

If you end up going with a different seat, I would defineatly take that old Recaro off your hands, especially if you have the head rest to go alon with it...let me know.

[pope_face]

Duke: I'll keep that in mind, but I don't have the headrest... closest thing I've got is the headrests from the '69 510. It might fit, but I haven't checked yet. But, you're pretty far away from me, so that might be an issue.

 

Shady: Thanks for the info... The seats look good, but I'll look for an adjustable seat. I took a look at the Scat seats and they look good, and some of them are pretty cheap too. They've also got the holes for 5-point harnesses, which is nice. I'll look into actual costs soon, and maybe I'll pick one up for a test fit.

 

What if I used a bar to wrap the shoulder belts over, but attached it to the back of the Recaro instead? Like, bolt two bars up along the back of the seat so they come up past the top, then another small bar between them? If I used something like 1/4" flat bar for the vertical parts and a tube at the top between them it might work. 1/4" should be big enough not bend from the force of the belts pulling on it, and only a few inches would be sticking out over the top of the seat anyway.

[pope_face]

Ok, I managed to track down the elusive Momo #3503 hub today, so I can mount my new wheel as soon as I get the adapter for it. I've also managed to figure out what to do with my speakers, and gotten most of my rollpan made... I just need to figure out taillights and mount them.

Edited October 21, 2008 by pope_face

[mklotz70]

....an option...

 

You can get new 520 tri-colored tail light assemblies on ebay. You just have to move the iniside bracket over a bit since they're a lot shorter than the 521 lights.

[SHADY280]

you could always mount the seatbelts to the factory cross rib behind the seat, the more you put behind it the less legroom you have. the belt should be attached to a point directly behind the belt holes, if you go downward it will hurt you incase of an accident. make a thin braket off the back rib, then mount low down

[pope_face]

Mike: Thanks for the suggestion, but I've got a set of stock tails for the 521. I just really like the smooth look of a rollpan, so my aim is to build the lights into the pan. I suppose I could just put the lights on and fill in the area around them though... That's an option.

 

Shady: I think I'll do something like that... I'll probably keep the Recaro unless I really can't get in and out of the car with the new wheel mounted. Hopefully the steering wheel won't stick too far out, otherwise I'll have to relocate the steering box to move the column forward...

[mklotz70]

or do like tdaaj said in another thread...put the 620 column in.