Newbie 74' 620

[Soundline]

Hey y'all

 

I'm an ex-mil guy who ended up in the desert of the evergreen state. I've been wanting to do a 520 or 620 for a while now and finally got the chance.

 

She's yellow over black and nothing special. I don't have any good pictures because it's dark, but I'll see what I can do about that after sunrise. Great forum and I look forward to the reading.

[Soundline]

Here are the Craigslist pics I got.

 

 

 

 

And here's to hoping I didn't screw that up.

 

Here's what I've learned from using the handy google search: that chrome bumper needs to find a dumpster to live in, that's probably an L20B engine, I found out my tires/wheels are probably crap (I'll do more digging before asking the same questions every other newbie asks), I found lots of places that sell the parts I need, and... I don't have to paint it. But... I do need to get my seat reupholstered.

 

I think this forum will be a good fit since I'll stick to my own crap. I'll slowly learn the terminology and eventually I might make a couple local or regional meets. Of which... I'll never take a ribbon... but I will bring the bourbon.

[G-Duax]

Welcome to Ratsun.

 

LoL, yea that' a '58 chevy bumper all right.....

But I PMed you on it's possible demise.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Yeah, that rear bumper looks like a saggy diaper.

 

Otherwise, it looks like a solid candidate for some fun.

[Soundline]

Thanks guys. Should be fun. I'd like to do a brake swap and a few little things. I need to find a place that sells actual Datsun parts though. So that's my next mission.

 

Right now though my tach and speedo worthless. The tach is dead and the speedometer jumps up to 50 mph when the truck starts moving and goes up after it reaches, my best guess of 50mph. And... the carb is fine at low speeds and then when you start to get up to speed it's has a slight surging, so it needs some tuning or a rebuild.

 

Thanks again and I'll be flipping through working this stuff out. Any comments or suggestions on stuff are welcome.

[G-Duax]

Rock auto, and eBay have been my friends for finding parts, but I also find a lot of hidden deals just googling 620 parts.

[banzai510(hainz)]

partsgeek.com also

partstrain.com

[Soundline]

Yep, yep. Rock Auto and I go back like 12 years when I was trying to make a 240SX slide. It was fun, very time and $ consuming, but I liked it. I was constantly breaking something...

 

But, it's cool. This is a long game project, I'll start a build thread, you know... when I start building it. Lol.

 

Currently I'm reorganizing my house, tossing out a lot of stuff and creating garage space for crossfit gym... AAAAAND... Datsun work.

[Soundline]

Here's some better pictures.

 

 

[Soundline]

Ok, so... here's my "plan":

 

Ordered 3" lowering blocks and new shocks struts. I went with KYB because they're not complete pieces of shit, but they're nothing fancy. The ones on it have definitely seen better days... decades.... whatever.

 

I'm going to do the "c-clip removal torsion bar drop" method on the front. I watched a YouTube video and read various threads on this and... I'm 99% sure I can't f*** it up.

 

I drove it in our whisp of snow here in the desert and found that the tires are splitting... I think they're a few years past their "sell by" date, perhaps a few decades.

 

Now for the hard part. It looks like American Racing 15x8, 6x5.5" bolt pattern, -19mm offset wheels and Falken Ziex 205/60r15's will work. I have f***** up on this math before, if I did... I'm a big boy and can take constructive criticism from people on the internet.

 

Once these parts come in and I start "building" my truck... I'll start a "build thread".... until then it actually seems like basically everything I need is right here in previous topics. I'm not really trying to reinvent the wheel here. Despite the fact I'd really like to stuff an RX-7 turbo in it... it's not really my style. I think the only thing I haven't seen on here is an FWD or AWD conversion. I'm positive those are both outside my skill set.

 

Thanks again for the hospitality and I look forward to actually seeing some of your trucks at meets or Formula D in 2017.

[datzenmike]

'74 should be an L18 but over time engines do get swapped. You can check engine ID by looking on the top edge of the block just below the aluminum head directly behind the dip stick handle. You may need a wire brush but the L18 (or L16 or L20B) will be stamped there.

 

Clean and inspect the outer sheath for damage. If it's been kinked or stretched dirt and water will get in again and rust it.... just replace. Otherwise.... Disconnect the speedometer cable at the transmission and pull the flexible inner cable out. It is very flexible and (hopefully slippery). Clean it and lube with a dry powder graphite or molybdenum di-sulphide powder and put back in. The transmission end has a ferule that locks it in place.  A jumping speedometer is caused by the cable catching on the outer sheath. The inner cable is just a tightly wound spring that stores energy. When it snaps loose the speedo jumps.

[Soundline]

'74 should be an L18 but over time engines do get swapped. You can check engine ID by looking on the top edge of the block just below the aluminum head directly behind the dip stick handle. You may need a wire brush but the L18 (or L16 or L20B) will be stamped there.

 

Clean and inspect the outer sheath for damage. If it's been kinked or stretched dirt and water will get in again and rust it.... just replace. Otherwise.... Disconnect the speedometer cable at the transmission and pull the flexible inner cable out. It is very flexible and (hopefully slippery). Clean it and lube with a dry powder graphite or molybdenum di-sulphide powder and put back in. The transmission end has a ferule that locks it in place.  A jumping speedometer is caused by the cable catching on the outer sheath. The inner cable is just a tightly wound spring that stores energy. When it snaps loose the speedo jumps.

Seriously, thank you. You guys have all been cool as f*** with me, and I appreciate it.

 

Parts are in, and the build thread is going to be up shorty.