New 620 owner - Best place to start for a daily driver build?

[FishyLemons]

3 hours ago, FishyLemons said:

I'll have to snap more pics when I get home. The valve cover vent hose may just be floppin and not connected to anything.

Here's a better picture of the hoses. Looks like they are hooked up wrong in some places, and not at all in others.

 

 

 

 

[FishyLemons]

39 minutes ago, Crashtd420 said:

Probably from trying to remove the drums.... looks like they tried prying them off....

That makes a lot of sense. I'm planning on watching ChrisFix's drum brake walkthrough on YouTube before attacking it with any tools, because I'd likely have as successful an attempt as the former owner if I tried now. I've worked on brakes on my Corollas and Rav 4, but never drum brakes.

[banzai510(hainz)]

the hose in your hand comes from the crank case and goes to the PVC valve on intake. What you have there is a L 16 set up and they might still have that at Nissan. Or junk yard a 71 510 or 521 would be the part. as it is 2 sizes. one for the PVC and the other the crankcase tube size.

 

the valve cover I would just open vent that or put a hose on there and route it down under. Most hook it up to the aircleaner or if Weber there is a L bracket port one can hook up the the  bottom of the supplied aircleaner.

 

your fuel line look like right on the Exhaust manifold (DANGEROUS!!!!!!!!!) going by this photo but ealier photo it looks okay

 

that carb is not a stock carb for a Datsun. Hook up is Hooky example throttle cable

 

 

your brake back shield is banged up but so is mine.  If getting new drums I woul get the one with jack screw holes or make some so you can use bolt. I use a intake metric size. and put antiseize on the mating surface so it don't rust on there later.(DO IT) it helps for later. antiseize is your friend on a old Datsun.

 

Be honest the motor looks pretty clean

Edited March 21, 2019 by banzai510(hainz)

[datzenmike]

On 3/20/2019 at 7:50 AM, FishyLemons said:

Here's a look at the engine. The previous owner got the truck from someone who used it as a ranch truck in Idaho. Supposedly, the odometer hasn't rolled over yet, and it reads 82,000 right now. I know that the truck didn't run when the previous owner purchased it, and he pulled the engine out, replaced a head gasket, went through it front to back, and got it up and running (he has some Facebook videos of himself working on it too, which is nice).

 

Engine:

 

Not sure what the carb on there is, but it's definitely newer. I do have the air filter housing from both trucks (may or may not fit on top of this carb)

 

 

 

The orange hose on the valve cover should go to the fitting on the bottom of the air filter above. The hose coming out of the side of the block under the carb should go where the orange hose is going now.

[Figbuck]

...for a daily driver?  Fuck the drum brakes! I been driving my truck for 46 years... best single modification I ever made was change to Hitachi calipers. 

 

 

Edited March 30, 2019 by Figbuck

[Figbuck]

 

 

Did I say fuck drum brakes. It boils down to money. You probably could do fronts and back for $1000 to $1200. $1500 is more realistic. If you scoured craigslist, E-bay or Junk Yards for the calipers... you can buy new calipers and not get ripped on the core charge. The cost to buy calipers new without a core is crazy. New quality rotors and pads are cheap enough to get them new.

 

 

Edited March 30, 2019 by Figbuck

[Figbuck]

Rebuilding the drums is a fucked job.  

Having to adjust the fronts all the time is a pain in the ass.

Having shitty stock Datsun drum brakes just sucks.

It SUX realizing that the new aftermarket drums you cheaped-out on, are warped to fock, from overheating driving down a long mountain road.  

Having drum brakes hunt wildly side to side in heavy braking on the freeway sucks... and trying to figure out which side is going to grab, and what way the truck will pitch sideways... that sucks.

Having to pump the brakes a little bit all the time to make sure there is feeling... and to get an idea which way the steering is going to jerk... that sucks.

 

 

Edited March 30, 2019 by Figbuck

[Figbuck]

My front discs have been on there for  years, the pads are barely worn, and I tow trailers all the time. The only thing now is change and bleed the hydraulic fluid. I did Beebani brackets on the back and didn't have to change the brake booster and master. Even towing a loaded trailer the brakes haul you down so fast it makes your eyeballs flat. Disc brakes absolutely saved my ass a bunch of times in the rain... you know that feeling of "OH Shit... I'm just a passenger!!" when your foot's on the floor.Good Luck...

 

 

Edited March 30, 2019 by Figbuck

[Figbuck]

 

Loose the ugly wheels... I saw a set of 5 Pathfinder alloys with 50% good tires on my neighborhood OfferUp.com. It had the matching spare for $200. Saw another set of five Pathy wheels for $100. 

Edited March 30, 2019 by Figbuck

[FishyLemons]

16 minutes ago, Figbuck said:

 

Loose the ugly wheels... I saw a set of 5 Pathfinder alloys with 50% good tires on my neighborhood OfferUp.com. It had the matching spare for $200. Saw another set of five Pathy wheels for $100. 

For Pathfinder wheels do you need to add spacers or will they mount as is?

[Figbuck]

It depends on how wide your tires are. I used 1/4" spacers on the rear because it looked like the sidewalls might hit the leaf springs. But when I mounted them up there was what seemed like plenty of room, maybe an inch. I thought maybe I didn't need to add the spacer after all, but I'm not looking at the side wall when it under load going around a clover leaf at 55mph and hitting a pot hole. The cool thing that I noticed right away was that the steering became quicker. The front wheels take a set in corners without having to tug on the wheel to rotate through the apex... no "push". The steering seems very neutral when I'm out in the hills blasting through through the twistys, like the rear wheels want to follow the front without feeling a loose condition.

 

1974 is exempt from Smog inspections in California?  My friend live over in West Davis. He is alway telling me about all the Datsun he sees in Excramento. haha You are in a great place to hit the junk yards, craigslit, OfferUp.com etc. Both those trucks look worth working on.  Prolly wouldn't have thought that ten years ago... both donor trucks!!! What's funny is I have seen in the last two weeks... nice clean,  running well when pulled, with some nice parts on them,... are L16s with transmissions... even one with a 5speed already on it! $500!! Each guy was doing a KA swap!! Gimme five hundred bucks and git this thing outta my garage! hahaha

 

Here is a link to download that might help; http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/FSM-Datsun-Pick-Up-1977.pdf

 

Look at the stickies in General Discussion, there are a bunch of links to Service Manuals and your wiring diagram. This is good stuff if you haven't seen it; http://www.davidcmurphy.com/olddat/620tech.htm

 

Also;  https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Your-Datsun-Nissan-Alive/dp/0912528656  

 

I thought the '74 model year started L18s and had the bump-out radiator support? This truck has the L16? Straight radiator support? Is it a late '73 model... like in the 1972 year I bought a Desert Tan 521 with L16 and all kinds of California emissions pump garbage. Then '72 and a half was the first Bullet-side 620s with L16. 

 

I bought my truck through a California dealer who registered it for me because I lived in California, but took delivery of in Virginia, so it is a 49 State version with Dual Points and other stock carb related emissions stuff... but no air pump and evap-canisters. It was all original and passed the sniffer with flying colors, so I never had any problems before the exemption rules. It's still pretty stock except converted to matchbox distributer & eliminated the voltage regulator, cleaned up the wiring looms. Items very high on the list of 620 upgrades for a reliable daily driver... and not that hard to do.

 

In hindsight, when I banged all the dents out of my truck and painted it, I should have cut the later bump-out out of my '77 donor truck, ... then welded it into my '73.

 

I just bought a new aluminum and ABS radiator from the Mac's Radiator, it was listed as replacement for L20B engines. Really nice, very light but sturdy. I had to relocate all 4 mounting holes on the steel radiator flange, to reuse the existing bolt holes. I tried to slide it as much to the passenger side as possible for that lower pretzel hose to  clear my alternator pulley/fan. I run the internally regulated stock Hitachi 60amp listed for L20/720s. It is a larger unit and even with the very smallest fan belt, it's really tight. Lower radiator hose is zip tied to the frame for 1/2" clearance! With the bump-out I wouldn't have these issues.

 

I have been thinking about modifying an existing bracket or fabricating a new one, so that I can run a 110 amp alternator off the driver's side of the engine. Plenty of space it looks like. Why isn't isn't this a common Ratsun hack? Anybody ever do it... seen it done... seen blurry dark phone OICS of an alt on the other side?

 

 

[FishyLemons]

2 hours ago, Figbuck said:

It depends on how wide your tires are. I used 1/4" spacers on the rear because it looked like the sidewalls might hit the leaf springs. But when I mounted them up there was what seemed like plenty of room, maybe an inch. I thought maybe I didn't need to add the spacer after all, but I'm not looking at the side wall when it under load going around a clover leaf at 55mph and hitting a pot hole. The cool thing that I noticed right away was that the steering became quicker. The front wheels take a set in corners without having to tug on the wheel to rotate through the apex... no "push". The steering seems very neutral when I'm out in the hills blasting through through the twistys, like the rear wheels want to follow the front without feeling a loose condition.

 

1974 is exempt from Smog inspections in California?  My friend live over in West Davis. He is alway telling me about all the Datsun he sees in Excramento. haha You are in a great place to hit the junk yards, craigslit, OfferUp.com etc. Both those trucks look worth working on.  Prolly wouldn't have thought that ten years ago... both donor trucks!!! What's funny is I have seen in the last two weeks... nice clean,  running well when pulled, with some nice parts on them,... are L16s with transmissions... even one with a 5speed already on it! $500!! Each guy was doing a KA swap!! Gimme five hundred bucks and git this thing outta my garage! hahaha

 

Here is a link to download that might help; http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/FSM-Datsun-Pick-Up-1977.pdf

 

Look at the stickies in General Discussion, there are a bunch of links to Service Manuals and your wiring diagram. This is good stuff if you haven't seen it; http://www.davidcmurphy.com/olddat/620tech.htm

 

Also;  https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Your-Datsun-Nissan-Alive/dp/0912528656  

 

I thought the '74 model year started L18s and had the bump-out radiator support? This truck has the L16? Straight radiator support? Is it a late '73 model... like in the 1972 year I bought a Desert Tan 521 with L16 and all kinds of California emissions pump garbage. Then '72 and a half was the first Bullet-side 620s with L16. 

 

I bought my truck through a California dealer who registered it for me because I lived in California, but took delivery of in Virginia, so it is a 49 State version with Dual Points and other stock carb related emissions stuff... but no air pump and evap-canisters. It was all original and passed the sniffer with flying colors, so I never had any problems before the exemption rules. It's still pretty stock except converted to matchbox distributer & eliminated the voltage regulator, cleaned up the wiring looms. Items very high on the list of 620 upgrades for a reliable daily driver... and not that hard to do.

 

In hindsight, when I banged all the dents out of my truck and painted it, I should have cut the later bump-out out of my '77 donor truck, ... then welded it into my '73.

 

I just bought a new aluminum and ABS radiator from the Mac's Radiator, it was listed as replacement for L20B engines. Really nice, very light but sturdy. I had to relocate all 4 mounting holes on the steel radiator flange, to reuse the existing bolt holes. I tried to slide it as much to the passenger side as possible for that lower pretzel hose to  clear my alternator pulley/fan. I run the internally regulated stock Hitachi 60amp listed for L20/720s. It is a larger unit and even with the very smallest fan belt, it's really tight. Lower radiator hose is zip tied to the frame for 1/2" clearance! With the bump-out I wouldn't have these issues.

 

I have been thinking about modifying an existing bracket or fabricating a new one, so that I can run a 110 amp alternator off the driver's side of the engine. Plenty of space it looks like. Why isn't isn't this a common Ratsun hack? Anybody ever do it... seen it done... seen blurry dark phone OICS of an alt on the other side?

 

 

Thank you for the info and resources! Turns out the black truck is a '73, which explains the L16. The previous owner mis-advertised it, but the registration history checks out.

[banzai510(hainz)]

if your cheap. Drum brakes are fine. just got to keep them adjusted.

[Anonymous Waffle]

This is an awesome start to a thread! I also live in Sacramento, close to elk grove, and I daily drive my 620 everyday, and use it for work! I've been daily driving for almost 2 1/2 years, and put about 25000 miles on it. I've also done two trips up to Canby Oregon with no issues. If you ever see a orange long bed in sac, its probably me. If you're relatively close to the rancho area, I would recommend looking up Sacramento Datsun Owners club on facebook, and this friday we'll have a meeting at Round table pizza at 2234 Sunrise Blvd. We've got plenty of people who'll have parts and plenty of knowledge!

 

Just as a fyi, I am still running 4 way drums on my truck, and they work okay, if you have them adjusted right. Going to discs in the front are definetly worth it if you have the time and money, but drums are more than doable. In fact, I changed out all of my brake cylinders and brake master, and drove with 30+ year old brake shoes.. I was short on money, so I rocked them for a short period of time, I wouldn't recommend it though. 

 

If you ever need help, just message me on here, I have a surprising amount of free time so I don't mind a little drive to help out!

[Figbuck]

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