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From France to USA : help please!


oukippy

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  • 5 weeks later...

Hello,

 

A little update : my 620's ship is near Spain and its next stop will be Barcelona. I was hoping to have it at the beginning of August but someone, somewhere, made a mistake in the shipping documents. Consequently it will currently arrive in Belgium instead of South of France !

I was supposed to take it in a port 50 km away from my town and now it's more 1000 km...

Hopefully they told me that they will pay for the road shipping but I will need to wait again!

 

oukippy

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  • 1 month later...

I recieved it  7 hours ago !

The battery was dead and fuel had difficulties to flow into the pump. I helped it a little bit with the old good mouth method. First time I drink US unleaded fuel. I prefer IPAs !!!

 

I drove it home (5 km) and it was hard because of the lack of brakes (purge and new liquid needed) and moreover it's too low (as expected). I touched the ground several times, including when I arrived at my home's gate. I twisted the piece of metal stopping the gates when closing (sorry, I don't know the correct wording) and I don't know if there is any damaged under the car. I was too exhausted to give a closer look. I don't know how I will get out next time ! Wood will help I think.

 

I also noticed a lack of oil but I don't know if it's related.

 

I'm somewhere between happyness of finally recieving it and fear of the things I need to do now to correct the issues.

 

I will open a new thread for the pictures and evolution of the car.

 

oukippy

 

PS: I spent 1h30 waiting for a friend with a battery charger on a very little country road. 3 people out of 10 stopped to talk about the car, it's a new thing for me ?

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After you evaluate and no where you stand with your little 620 you will be able to relax a little and prioritize the things that need to be done.  Congrats man you did it.  You purchased a 620 in the US and had it shipped to your home land and then drove it home.  That in its self is a milestone and all of that is behind you.  Congrats man now you can tinker and put your signature on it.

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Any damage under the truck was likely caused by the previous owner, it takes a lot of effort to lower a truck and have it be safe and reliable.

I hope for your sake that it was lowered properly at the torsion bars(re-indexed), otherwise you will likely need new torsion bars if the adjustment ends were just hanging down and dragging on the ground.

I cannot see the photos as my browser is out of date, maybe someone can copy and paste a couple of them on here.

Edited by wayno
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Thank you very much for your support!

 

Here are the first pics of my 620 !

 

In the truck :

 

1537095860-inthetruck.jpg

 

The first meters in France :

 

1537095891-first-meters-in-france.jpg

 

First breakdown in France :

 

1537096285-first-breakdown.jpg

 

I changed the battery, the car is starting well (with a brand new key made to replace the twisted one). I noticed I don't have any turnsignal working (they were tested in the USA so they should be working).

 

The minus cable on the battery have a problem, it's disconnected as you can see on the picture :

 

1537095335-battery2.jpg

 

As it was connected on a former picture in the US, could it be the reason for the turnsignal problem ?

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That looks like it should be connected. It should just be a ground and could be part of the turn signal issue. 

 

That said, it is best to get yourself a shop manual with good wiring diagrams to make sure you are fixing things correctly. 

 

That is a good looking truck from the pics  :)

 

Is it factory black? 

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Hello,

 

it's not factory black. It was green and the previous color can be seen under the black, in several points. I was very anxious about that but finally the paint is in very nice condition and I think I will only but some black paint on the green spots. 

 

frank88, sorry but I think I'll keep the bench seat ?

If you are interested in the full size interior mirror, I think I will remove it. It's very nice and efficient but I can't see half of the road with it ?

 

Concerning the wire, I checked the wiring diagram, it's a ground wire. I'm sure it should be connected there because it was connected on a picture taken before shipment. 

It's kind of funny to see that the shipping company didn't disconnect the battery for a 3 months trip around the world but had probably pulled out that wire...

 

Yesterday I bought an hydraulic jack and candles to start working on the torsion bars. Obviously I didn't buy the most important thing : time to spend on the truck...

 

Stay tuned...

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Hi,

I plan to work on the lowering problem during the week-end.

For the front, I think torsion bars won't be a problem. For the rear, is it possible to only remove the blocks and change (or cut) the U-bolts ?

I'm worried because the leaf springs are very flat. They were modified with only 3 left (out of 7?). I'm not sure if I'll need to replace them. I don't plan to have an heavy load on the truck in the near future but it will be the case at some point.

Any idea ?

 

1537339865-4.jpeg

 

1537339865-5.jpeg

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Hello,

 

I hope I'll be able to work on the truck during the week-end. I plan to remove the rear blocks but I think I'll have to change the u-bolts as the current ones won't probably work without the block.

Can someone give me the size of the original ones ?

Will it work with my 3 leaf springs or do I need something shorter ?

 

Thank you,

 

oukippy

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Hi Okippy

The 620 didn't come with blocks in the rear.  The rear end rested on top of the spring pack. Are those 4 inch (102 mm) lowering blocks?  You could cut them shorter to get the ride height you are looking for.  With a shorter lowering block, I think you can keep the u-bolts you have.  I did this on my 620 and cut the extra length off the u-bolts.

3" lowering blocks and air shocks

hpWw5Af.jpg

 

The best arrangement for me was the 720 4x4 springs (3-leafs).  I suspect that they may be expensive to ship due to the weight and length.  Ted (tdaaj on the forum) did have a set for sale not too long ago. You can check with him if interested.

720 4x4 Spring Install

pYnxVMD.jpg

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Ok according to my measurements, i have :

Axle = 3,5 inches

bolt thread = 0,5 inch

total height = 12 inches

 

Does it sound classical to you guys ?

 

If I remove the block, do I need to take something like a 8 inches u-bolt ? Is it standard length anyway ?

 

Off topic : I passed the 100 posts. I didn't think that buying an old car will make me improve my written english that much !

Edited by oukippy
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Take them stupid clamps off that are holding the 2 upper leafs to the straight bottom leaf, the ride quality will likely dramatically improve and the rear of the truck will likely raise a little, them clamps do not belong there and are there for only one reason, to lower the truck.

I did that to my 520 several years ago because others were saying it was a great way to lower the back of a truck, well it did lower the truck a little but it made it feel like I had no suspension at all.

If you want to keep it semi low buy some Datsun/Nissan 4X4 leafs, they lower the truck, but more importantly they are firmer and help to keep the axle from hitting the frame to a point, there is a point where there isn't enough room between the frame and the axle and nothing is going to stop it from hitting other than a frame notch.

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17 hours ago, wayno said:

Take them stupid clamps off that are holding the 2 upper leafs to the straight bottom leaf, the ride quality will likely dramatically improve and the rear of the truck will likely raise a little, them clamps do not belong there and are there for only one reason, to lower the truck.

 

It could be my first thing to do. Is it possible to remove the clamps without removing the full leaf springs ? A coworker had a little problem when removing leaf spring and I don't want to follow his example (basically: bang, in your head buddy).

 

I noticed that I miss 2 leafs but I will keep it like this for now (not urgent I think and it'll save my money for the rest of the tasks to do).

 

I will measure the bolts again to see if I can really keep them. Thread could be too short (I don't have the car with me right know). But it will be the cheaper solution clearly.

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Fewer leaves will allow more travel of the body going over bumps. This is ok on a higher riding vehicle but increases the chance of bottoming out on a lowered one. 

Trucks are designed for carrying heavy loads so they tend to be slightly stiff if all you do is drive. In moderation, slightly softer may be better.

The leaf spring packs help hold the axle laterally. They prevent to axle shifting side to side when hard turning. Remove too many leaves and you'll find out.

Fewer leaves can cause or increase wheel hop from spring wrap. It's easier for the leaf to deform under acceleration and the wheel loose traction and begin hopping up and down. 

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The clamps I was saying to remove are the ones that are clamping the main leafs to the flat one below them near the end of the flat ones, they are flattening the main leafs out and basically I expect that the suspension is now so stiff that it bounces over bumps rather than the leafs giving to make the ride smooth.

 

OK, I do not know what the 1977 Datsun 620 came with leaf pack wise, but the ball joint 720 only had 2 leafs and one straight one on the bottom, I have see some packs with 2 straight ones on the bottom, I wonder what the 78/79 Datsun 620 leaf packs came with.

I have a set of 1979 Datsun 620 mobile home leafs, they have 4 main leafs which all 4 go all the way to the eye on one end and 2 all the way to the eye on the other end and no straight ones on the bottom, they also appear to be much flatter than a stock set of leaf springs.

That photo with only 1 main leaf that Ron1200 posted is of his vehicle I think, I believe he also converted over to 4X4 leafs like in the photo he published in the same post.

 

 

Edited by wayno
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