Metal bed

[Datsun620ftw]

Hello everyone, I have been interested in a project car for a while, and a nice 620 just came on sale. There is only a slight problem that I'm wondering if I can get around. 620's in my country were only sold with wood beds, and I'm wondering if I'll be able to find a metal bed anywhere, if there are any datsun parts sellers that have them, or scrapyards, or if making one from scratch with minimal bodywork knowlegdge is viable.

 

Thanks in advance for any help guys

[datzenmike]

Bom dia and welcome to Ratsun. Wood beds? Is this a flat bed or does it have sides too? Can you post pictures of your truck?

 

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/54932-photobucket-ratsun/

[Datsun620ftw]

No, the bed has sides too. Haven't bought it yet, i'm just trying to inform myself as much as I can before I jump into a Ratsun truck project, since being stuck with a wood bed would be a dealbreaker

 

I'll try and get the photos up asap, although it may take a few hours, can I link the ad here?

[datzenmike]

You sure they only had wood beds? Maybe not sold with a bed and owners make them? I can't see selling a truck without a box, kind of defeats the purpose of it being a 'truck'

.

The '79... probably the '78 did come with a Cab/Chassis option. These were sold without a bed for those wishing to use a commercial flatbed or box or converting to a camper.

[Datsun620ftw]

I'm not entirely sure, there is only one 620 for sale and it has a wood box, no idea if it came factory stock or owner made it. Truck's year iant in the ad. There is another 620 for sale without a cab, from 78

[Jersey]

This is the only thing I could find, it's from my '79 Dealer Brochure. The stake bed has wood sides and possibly a wood floor...

[datzenmike]

That's a Cab/Chassis option, even says build 'em the way you want 'em. '78 and '79 gas tank was mounted on the frame so it would drive without a box. Earlier trucks the tank was on the bottom of the bed. Great if you want a motor home, camper, flatbed or a commercial box on it. Nice brochure, never seen this before. 

[Datsun620ftw]

Hmm, so unless I find a 620 with a metal bed from factory for sale, buying one of these cab options and making my own metal bed is my best bet right?

 

How hard is it to find one of these beds for sale? Can I buy and possibly import a bed like that? Since its a 70's truck I'm guessing next to impossible, yeah?

[Lockleaf]

Buying one is easy. Put up a want ad, but a decent condition used one. Shipping will be the difficult bit.

[TDCTDI]

I just found one converted into a trailer.

http://fayetteville.craigslist.org/tro/5814630825.html

Shipping would be the main factor.

[tdaaj]

Where are you located?

[Datsun620ftw]

My knowlegde in importing stuff is minimal aswell... I'm from Portugal guys

 

Edit: Nice find with the trailer! I am definitely interested in bringing a metal bed over from outside if it has to be that way, but costs could be an issue. Do any of you have any idea of the €/$ ?

[sebpv]

google it: euro in usd: 0.89. Meaning for 100$ you buy, you only pay 89€

[Datsun620ftw]

Importing can't be cheap though, even with the 11% discount from exchange rates

[sebpv]

I wouldnt expect less than double the asking price

[Datsun620ftw]

So, I haven't looked at the ad, but say, 200 bucks for the trailer and 200 to ship it with the seller, or 200 plus 400 to ship it with an import/export company?

 

Also thanks to everyone so far for the input, has been really helpful and informative

[sebpv]

if a set of wheels ships for 200 accross Canada. I would bet my ass a bed isnt goind for less than 400$ shipping only...

[Datsun620ftw]

One last question, so, I pay the seller for a bed, then he takes it to some company who can ship it over here, and I pay for the shipping when it gets here, is that it? Are there even cross atlantic shipping companies though? It's a long ass trip

[sebpv]

Normally you would pay shipping ahead. Because of the nature of the bed. The staff will likely build a box frame for it and give the dimensions of the box along the weight to the shipping company

[Datsun620ftw]

Gotcha. Ok, so what I took from all of this is that finding a box for a 620 isn't impossible, I just have to import it from abroad, the Americas most likely, so I'll be dropping some €€ there, but it's doable. God dang wood boxes..

 

Thank you Seb and thanks everyone for the help, let's hope I'll be rocking a sweet 620 in the near future, need a few more euros to go. Thanks !!

[TDCTDI]

Where are you located?

Me or the OP? I'm in NC USA & they're somewhere in Portugal.

[Mysta2]

What about adapting another bed to it? I have seen examples of stepside beds dropped onto 620s before. At the bottom of this thread is such a 620: http://community.ratsun.net/topic/2243-real-museum-620s/page-2

 

This would be a lot simpler than trying to fabricate one from scratch, and potentially simpler than importing one (certianly cheaper)

 

Just off the top of my partially informed head, to ship one you have to pay for the item, crating of the item, shipping of the item, customs fees, duty on the item, lading of the item, and storage of the item.

 

Instead, get yourself a bed off of whatever compact truck is common over there and drop it in place. I'm sure that some cutting and drilling will be needed, but these beds are relatively standard sizes and it's not as if the Datsun bed really fits the body lines of the cab anyway. Personally I think the stepsides look really good.

 

EDIT:

Upon looking into it more, the stepside bed was offered by an aftermarket company in California for some time in the 70s, so some did "come" with it. But I stand by my statement that adapting another bed to the frame is likely easier than making one from scratch or importing one.

[Charlie69]

I just found one converted into a trailer.

http://fayetteville.craigslist.org/tro/5814630825.html

Shipping would be the main factor.

That is a 521 bed.