New 320 owner, 62?

[Charlie69]

This is the right and left tie rod assembly on my 1980, 1984, 1985, & 1986 720 2wd trucks. This is why I am asking if it is too long.

 

Edited February 26, 2019 by Charlie69

[wayno]

OK, I went out and measured my 720, it appears that the photo I posted may have been of a 4wd tie rod, it likely came from that 1980 Datsun 720 4wd I parted out.

It seems like if the 2wd 720 outer tie rods would work on a 320/520521/early 620 that someone on here would have figured that out by now, they do appear to be very close to the same length though.

There must be some other reason they do not work, the reason I say this is because why would Yello620 take the time to figure out how to make a set of early 620 tie rods for his truck out of parts from a couple different vehicles when 2wd 620/720 tie rods would basically bolt right in, that guy was the king of figuring out shit like this, but maybe it was like the 320/521 wing window handles, it's right in front of us but we just didn't see it.

I have no reason to pull the tie rods out of any of my 320s to see if  the 720 2wd tie rods will fit and function properly, also I have a set of brand new 521 tie rods and another set of adjustable after market tie rods for the 521, but they all do appear to be the same length as you can see in the photos below.

 

Here are my adjustable 521 tie rods, I know this because I pulled them off a 521 myself.

 

Here is one of my adjustable 521 tie rods next to a 2wd 720 tie rod still connected to the 720 cross shaft.

 

And here is an adjustable 521 tie rod next to a stock 521 tie rod.

 

They all appear to be about the same length, if they were compatible it seems like all the parts houses would sell the 2wd 720 part as a 521 replacement, but I have never heard of that happening before, but I have never tried to buy a 521 at a auto parts store either as the only new set I have was found on craigslist for half the price, and I have parted out so many 521 trucks that I have lots of parts for them, what is really hilarious is that I do not have any 520/521 trucks on 520/521 frames/chassis anymore, the reason I have not tried selling them parts is I figured the will fit the 320 also. 

Edited February 26, 2019 by wayno

[Conner]

I ordered a set of four of those 620 bump stops on ebay.  They just arrived today from Thailand.  Total was around $25 including shipping.  They are a bit smaller than the original ones but I think they will work.  In the picture below the original one is on the right and the aftermarket 620 bump stop is on the left.  

 

[320 Newb]

Those look damn close. I bought roadster ones and they were too tall. I had to shape them down using a sanding disk on a grinder. They bolt through which I like but if I were to do it again I'd buy the ones you bought. 

 

In other suspension news, the 521 tie rod assemblies, right and left, are a direct fit for the 320. Mine just arrived from Rock Auto and they are a perfect match.

 

Front shocks on the other hand were a little bit of a pain. Monroe shocks 32113 are a good fit but the bottom is too wide to fit the bottom shock mounts on the chassis. I took a grinder to the shocks and shaved them down to fit. 

 

[difrangia]

Half way down this page is what I did for my front shocks.

 

 

 

[320 Newb]

1 hour ago, difrangia said:

Half way down this page is what I did for my front shocks.

 

 

 

 

Great fix! You're whole build is really amazing.

 

[320 Newb]

Has anyone done a rebuild on a 320 column shift transmission? I think I remember hearing that it's an MG copy and MG gaskets and seals might swap in. 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

On 3/4/2019 at 6:22 PM, 320 Newb said:

Those look damn close. I bought roadster ones and they were too tall. I had to shape them down using a sanding disk on a grinder. They bolt through which I like but if I were to do it again I'd buy the ones you bought. 

 

In other suspension news, the 521 tie rod assemblies, right and left, are a direct fit for the 320. Mine just arrived from Rock Auto and they are a perfect match.

 

Front shocks on the other hand were a little bit of a pain. Monroe shocks 32113 are a good fit but the bottom is too wide to fit the bottom shock mounts on the chassis. I took a grinder to the shocks and shaved them down to fit. 

 

Just make sure they don't bind when the suspension moves.

 

I cut the lower mounting tabs off my 320 and welded them back on to fit the new shocks, so I would always be able to get shocks that fit.

[wayno]

57 minutes ago, 320 Newb said:

Has anyone done a rebuild on a 320 column shift transmission? I think I remember hearing that it's an MG copy and MG gaskets and seals might swap in. 

I believe difrangia did, he likely posted it in one of his threads.

[difrangia]

I haven't been into a column-shift transmission, but I will share some valuable info that might be of use to someone tackling that little chore. Credit for assembling this parts reference sheet for the column-shift to use British replacement parts for maintainance/rebuild goes to Andy in Kansas. I'm almost certain that he has actually used these parts. The reference to Moss Motors and Victoria British are suppliers for MG, Austin, other British sportscar parts. Victoria British is in northeast Kansas and I have acquired other parts from them for the 320 in the past. I haven't gotten into Moss Motors, but VB is good to deal with. Take a look:

 

[320 Newb]

1 hour ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Just make sure they don't bind when the suspension moves.

 

I cut the lower mounting tabs off my 320 and welded them back on to fit the new shocks, so I would always be able to get shocks that fit.

Great advice. I think I'll go back in and take off the top mount and make sure it rotates in the bottom mount. 

[320 Newb]

16 minutes ago, difrangia said:

I haven't been into a column-shift transmission, but I will share some valuable info that might be of use to someone tackling that little chore. Credit for assembling this parts reference sheet for the column-shift to use British replacement parts for maintainance/rebuild goes to Andy in Kansas. I'm almost certain that he has actually used these parts. The reference to Moss Motors and Victoria British are suppliers for MG, Austin, other British sportscar parts. Victoria British is in northeast Kansas and I have acquired other parts from them for the 320 in the past. I haven't gotten into Moss Motors, but VB is good to deal with. Take a look:

 

 

That thing looks like a museum piece--so inspiring! 

 

Any thoughts on painting is Datsun engine blue versus leaving it raw aluminum? It wasn't painted from the factory was it?

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I think they were all unfinished, as-cast aluminum. If you want to clean it up, there are chemicals that will help brighten the aluminum without corroding it. I use a series of brass brushes, steel brushes and steel wool to get the finish looking factory new. After a good chemical bath and pressure wash.

[difrangia]

Couple coats of 'GUNK' gel and a trip to the car wash afforded me this on the floor-shifter trany.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Steve, that is one good thing about leaky old cars and trucks - The parts under the caked on oil usually look great once you clean them up.

[320 Newb]

Does anyone know if there's any internal MG or British stuff available that'll the 320 column? I'm hoping all my internal stuff is OK but if not I'll need to track some stuff down.

 

Or does anyone have an extra transmission or transmission parts like synchros, bearings, etc? 

[wayno]

I believe the 520 and 521 columns are the same as the 320, but you will have to measure them both to know for sure.

Edited March 10, 2019 by wayno

[320 Newb]

Got my trans back from the shop--squeaky clean with all new seals/gaskets. Shop said the bearings and synchros were all perfect.  Also learned there's no synchro for first gear. It has to be at a dead stop to put in gear.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

It will take some getting used to, but you can jab it into first gear while rolling or even downshifting.

 

Many older cars and trucks had un-synchronized gears. Back then you had to learn how to truly double clutch to be able to downshift, even upshift sometimes. I like big American iron, and have owned a few big trucks from the 30's, 40's and 50's. Double clutching is an art form lost to the generations.

[320 Newb]

Is double clutching literally pumping the clutch twice when shifting? Explain it and I'll keep the art form alive!

[wayno]

Double clutching is something I had to learn when I was a kid on a vehicle that had no first gear synchro, basically you push the clutch in and take it out of gear, let the clutch out so the input shaft of the transmission is engaged and then touch the gas pedal to spin up the input shaft to match the speed of first gear inside the transmission, then push the clutch in and slide it onto gear when the rpms are right, it is an art that big truckers had to learn to drive trucks and they just slid it into gear without using the clutch, some never even used the clutch except to stop.

You can destroy your transmission if you don't do it right, and since parts for these transmissions are getting hard to find I think I would just leave it in 2nd gear or stop to put it in first gear.

[datzenmike]

 

 

Exactly wayno.

 

There are idiots on you-tube double clutching on up shifts.... wtf is with that???? 

 

Double clutching on down shifts are not needed unless...

a/ you are entering a gear without or a damaged/worn synchro OR

b/ you are racing and there is a huge RPM difference between gears and using engine compression to slow.

 

 

[difrangia]

The 1961 FIAT 500D has a crashbox trany and I daily-drove it for thirteen years in 70's - 80's, so downshifting the 320 came natural. I just naturally double-clutch when downshifting into 1st & 2nd gears without even thinking about it. 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

My 1938 Ford truck had no synchros, so double clutching on upshifts did help sometimes.

[320 Newb]

Found out today the 521 tie rod ends don't fit the threaded center linkage. The 320 center linkage threads are smaller. Tomorrow I'll figure out what the thread pattern is and try to find the right tie rod ends. Maybe something British?