72 620 barn find

[jacobbell69]

finally got around to putting the discs on the front, still have to do the rear. 15/16 master cylinder was an easy install.

 

i was having an overheating issue, was very random. cooling system is all new, i even installed a 160 thermostat however i am not a fan of lower than OE thermostat's as i think it's keeping the thermostat open and the radiator isn't getting a chance to actually cool the coolant off any because it got worse after the new thermostat. i am ordering a digital coolant gauge to closely monitor the actual temp and to rule out if my OE coolant gauge is faulty.

i was thinking head gasket maybe the issue so i done a leak down test, good news is head gasket is fine however the rings are ******. which i kind of expected. going to do a leak down test on my spare l18 and l20b and if they pass i'll drop one of those in when i do the 5 speed swap.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

How do you know it was overheating? Was it boiling out of the radiator? Always verify the temp first when diagnosing a temp issue, either by simply dropping a meat thermometer down into the radiator filler neck, or by swapping out to a mechanical gauge.  You are on the right path by second guessing your stock gauge, as it could be a ground or voltage issue instead.

 

When doing a leak down, it's best to have the valve cover off so you can tap the tip of the valve with a hammer to seat the valves. Your valves should also be checked to make sure the adjustment is not tight beforehand. Another trick is to rock the motor slightly back and forth from TDC to help seat the rings. These simple steps can sometimes drastically change your leakdown results.

[racerx]

finally got around to putting the discs on the front, still have to do the rear. 15/16 master cylinder was an easy install.

 

i was having an overheating issue, was very random. cooling system is all new, i even installed a 160 thermostat however i am not a fan of lower than OE thermostat's as i think it's keeping the thermostat open and the radiator isn't getting a chance to actually cool the coolant off any because it got worse after the new thermostat. i am ordering a digital coolant gauge to closely monitor the actual temp and to rule out if my OE coolant gauge is faulty.

i was thinking head gasket maybe the issue so i done a leak down test, good news is head gasket is fine however the rings are ******. which i kind of expected. going to do a leak down test on my spare l18 and l20b and if they pass i'll drop one of those in when i do the 5 speed swap.

...when u say coolant system is,new does this incl. Radiator? Also u can check your stat by boiling it to see if It opens as advertised. Ive had several issues w stant brand in the past. Also have you checked your timing, retard can cause your temp to rise and even if your carb is too lean it will cause it to rise on temp.

[Rice n Beans Garage]

Nice job

[jacobbell69]

...when u say coolant system is,new does this incl. Radiator? Also u can check your stat by boiling it to see if It opens as advertised. Ive had several issues w stant brand in the past. Also have you checked your timing, retard can cause your temp to rise and even if your carb is too lean it will cause it to rise on temp.

yes new radiator. i need the carb tuned as well, my plugs were fouled out. i'll check the timing soon

[racerx]

good luck..keep us informed.

[jacobbell69]

well i installed the gauge and discovered my coolant sensor is all out of wack!! read 147 with engine completely cooled off. plugged the gauge into another sensor i had and it read 104(the minimum to gauge can show). have another ordered at oreillys, imagine all this fuss over a faulty sensor. thought i was being smart by replacing the OE one, guess not! after i finish the brakes i will be installing the 5 speed, then i have my eyes on some one piece dually wheels off a later 620 i think will look great on this truck.

 

i really need to buy a better soldering iron for home use or bring mine from work, using the harbor freight $3 iron was like trying to solder with a hot screw driver!!

[tidmic]

Looks like a good start.  I just got a 73.  I want your mirrors.  Mine suck. Good luck 

[jacobbell69]

Looks like a good start.  I just got a 73.  I want your mirrors.  Mine suck. Good luck 

someone offered me some NOS mirrors like these for $125, can get their info if you're interested.

[jacobbell69]

havent done much about the overheating issue but thats because its been in my garage while i finished up the rear brakes and the 720 4x4 leafs. i done this instead of one piece dually rims.

[jacobbell69]

also scored a datsun1600 620 fender emblem, just need one more. also scored a used tailgate from teddy! very happy it matches pretty well.

 

also if you can see in the bed i have a new sliding glass window i picked up from an old school datsun guy a couple towns away. he has tonssss of old datsun purchase orders and pictures that he took with his dad back in the day! VERY COOL!

 

guess i should explain the rims and how i went about 'duallying' the truck.

 

1. i'm getting bigger front tires for sure.

2. they are ford eco line 350 rims, 6 wide.

3. 195 40 16 tires

 

this is not as "safe" as other dually options but this was the only set up i could run where i could use rims large enough to clear the disc brakes.

i am using 2" 6x5.5 spacers, then a 2" adapter for 6x5.5 to 8x6.5. this gives a little over a half inch clearance in the rear for the tire and leaf spring.

in the front it looks like i will clear everything however the front sway bar will need to be removed, once i do that i will report back if there are no other clearance issues.

I am only using the 2" adapters in the front, no extra spacer needed.

Before anyone sh*t's themselves, this truck does not see the highway and i am a torque nazi so I do not believe I will have any issues with the adapters/spacers coming apart during a drive.

[jacobbell69]

Fixed my overheating issue, was leaking around the temp sensor, ended up using a different thermostat housing. Also a new radiator cap. I wired a different coolant gauge but it stopped working before I started driving it again, think it's a bad ground. But apparently my original gauge was right, I was overheating. But now, all is well. Had my uncle tune the carb, runs a lot better. Could use a new exhaust, this one is loud as piss. This morning the shifter broke, haven't inspected it yet. Luckily it broke in my driveway. If anything, just means it's now time for the 5 speed swap. Getting my new rear slider and windshield seal put on next week. Also need to try and figure out the e brake set up. With these lowering leafs in the back the axle smacks the frame, which is annoying. Thinking this winter I'm going to C notch. Waiting on my fiberglass dually fenders right now, then the bed comes off and gets sent to my fiberglass guy. I'll be rolling bedless likely for the rest of the summer, which sucks cause I wanted to show off my new tailgate. I'll be at Import Alliance here in my town, Bowling Green this year. I went last year but the truck didn't make it due to the original radiator leaking awful. I also have a better condition front bumper and grille off a new parts truck I bought that I am going to install soon. I had to scrap the 74 and 79 I had at my house due to the neighbors turning me in because they are trying to sell their house. However I acquired another 79 that had an early grille in great condition. Unfortunately this truck is an automatic. If anyone needs something I should have this new parts truck to my house soon. Anyways, here are some pics I took on it's first voyage out with the new brakes, leafs, and dually set up.

[jacobbell69]

Well while the truck was down I decided to have my windshield guy put a new seal on the windshield as well as put my new rear slider in and he found some rust that needs to be addressed before he can put the rear glass in. I used seals I got off of ebay from Summit. I seemed to have bought the last set. I hear the Thai ones are hit or miss when it comes to the quality of the gasket. On a better note I have my dually fenders on the way via greyhound and I am about to pick up a d21 for a donor truck for the ka24 and trans with 118k for $500! However I think I'm going to keep my truck up and running with it's current drive train at least until this winter as I literally have 6 more vehicles that need repair/stripping before I'd have time to do the swap. Also considering just dropping the body on the d21 frame, still researching that.

[distributorguy]

Bad news on the rust, but at least its not a complex patch.  Your ride height looks identical to my race truck.  Have you modified the center cross member yet so it doesn't catch on everything you run over?  Easy to trim it off and replace the bottom with flat plate.  Stiffer leaf springs will prevent the rear axle from banging against the frame.  I had a local spring shop make up a replacement set with a higher rate, reverse spring eyes, and set up flat.  

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Bot that does look cool.

 

If it were mine, I would narrow the rear axle and tub the bed to make the rear width not so drastically different from the front.

[jacobbell69]

Well the hardbody I went to look at was MINT. So I have decided to rebuild it and make it a daily driver. Needs a whole front clip including inner fender and core support. However I found another hardbody that has a good drive train and the body is good(so I can use it to rebuild this hardbody) but has a bad frame, this is the perfect truck as it provides an engine/trans for my 620 and the body panels needed to fix my new hardbody. However not sure if I can pick it up before guy sells it, either way I'm on the look out once again for another D21.

 

On 8/7/2018 at 6:27 AM, distributorguy said:

Bad news on the rust, but at least its not a complex patch.  Your ride height looks identical to my race truck.  Have you modified the center cross member yet so it doesn't catch on everything you run over?  Easy to trim it off and replace the bottom with flat plate.  Stiffer leaf springs will prevent the rear axle from banging against the frame.  I had a local spring shop make up a replacement set with a higher rate, reverse spring eyes, and set up flat.  

I have not, I'll check it out thanks! I don't seem to scrap much but I also am cautious about where I drive it knowing how low it is. As far as the axle, I think I am going to C notch this winter to fix the issue.

 

On 8/7/2018 at 11:31 AM, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Bot that does look cool.

 

If it were mine, I would narrow the rear axle and tub the bed to make the rear width not so drastically different from the front.

I agree it sticks out further than I'd like but being the only 16" dually option, I had to run it if I wanted to do it with disc brakes. I think it'll look better once I put the dually fenders on, they should be here any day! Greyhound is slow.

[wayno]

The issue here is that he only clears the leafs a half inch, and he had to use adapters and spacers to get to where he is now.

The only way I know of to narrow the rear track width is to narrow the rear frame/chassis by a frame width at least like Fast720 did, then the 2 inch spacers could be removed, if that didn't narrow it enough a narrower rear axle could be used also, possibly a 520 axle, or maybe a 320 axle, a lot of measuring would have to be done.

I am curious, what are the fiberglass dually fenders from?

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Yes, can of worms to narrow the rear.

[jacobbell69]

On 8/11/2018 at 1:02 PM, wayno said:

The issue here is that he only clears the leafs a half inch, and he had to use adapters and spacers to get to where he is now.

The only way I know of to narrow the rear track width is to narrow the rear frame/chassis by a frame width at least like Fast720 did, then the 2 inch spacers could be removed, if that didn't narrow it enough a narrower rear axle could be used also, possibly a 520 axle, or maybe a 320 axle, a lot of measuring would have to be done.

I am curious, what are the fiberglass dually fenders from?

they are from the cali step side bed conversions of like the 80s i think? i will have pics when they arrive, however I am getting nervous as tracking hasn't updated since the 2nd. it was shipped greyhound so i'm not sure if that's usual for them. Going from WA to KY. We will see what they have to say tomorrow when I call.

 

Getting the truck moved into the garage tomorrow to address shifter and rust.

 

Side note, I finally got my new 79 parts truck home last week. Has a pretty darn good condition dash in it! No cracks and only one small place where it seems someone hit the dash with something around the glove box.

 

 

I also found one in a local pick and jerk so I went and got some goodies including a mint bench seat! It was a 75' 4 speed.

Scored all you see for right at $100.

[jacobbell69]

Got the dually fenders in from Teddy!

 

Getting started on the rust repair finally.

 

Got the headliner out in one piece, going to try and get an upholstery shop to make me a new one using the old as a template. May as well have them do the sun visors in the same fabric.

Then I can tackle the fiberglass fenders and paint them up. May end up going with a fuel cell as there is no opening for the gas door on the fenders. Afterwards I need to swap in my five speed and new bench seat to clear the shifter on the new trans. I see the trans cross member is welded on 72-74. How should I go about using a later cross member for the new 5 speed? I have one, just not sure if I should cut the old one out or what exactly?

[Anonymous Waffle]

Those dually fenders are exciting! I've always wanted to see a dually short bed. Keep up the awesome work!

[jacobbell69]

Good news, rust repair is done. No pics though, because It’s  not pretty but it’s sturdy and will not leak. I’m a novice at welding and this my first experience with mig. I used a spare 79 fender I had for the metal, don’t worry it was dented in really bad so not a waste of a good fender. I used a HF 180 on 220 with gas. I tried the fluxcore first, and that was awful. Hopefully my window guy will be around this week to install my slider finally. Onto my next question.

 

my trans crossmember is welded in, as I have read most early trucks are. I’m doing a 5 speed swap. Does everyone just cut it out and drill holes for the bolts for the later year cross member? I think that’s my best option since I don’t think the trans can drop out without jacking up the engine and I do not plan on doing that because I do not have a cherry picker handy. and if the crossmember has to be cut out anyways that’d be a waste of time. Ordering a clutch tomorrow and hoping to have the new trans in by end of next week. Then onto the dually fenders and other small things.

[jacobbell69]

I had some left over white paint from an old jeep I had, matched perfectly so you can't tell where I done the rust repair. I almost have my transmission out, can't seem to get to the top two bell housing bolts. going to give it another go tonight. i was having a brain fart before, my trans cross member wasn't welded in. when i glanced under it a couple weeks ago i looked at the wrong cross member. however my 74 did have a welded in trans cross member, weird. Also noticed some damage to my exhaust I am going to need to get repaired, seems the exhaust has met the concrete a few times and it's all busted open and mangled. here's some pics of my new rear sliding window.

 

 

next week i'll be fixing my brake lights and putting on the dually fenders.

[jacobbell69]

Well I got the transmission out, was a huge pain to fit between the exhaust and passenger side torsion bar. So to reinstall, I am going to pull the engine as I think this new long tail is going to be even more difficult to fit from underneath. Wish me luck! Any suggestions for what kind of trans fluid I should run in my new 5 speed?

[eon]

great build! Where did you find that rear window, is it new?