My 1971 Datsun 521

[Terry_williams]

 Just got this today have a long way to go and a lot of hard work ahead. Probably will be asking a lot of questions as me and my son start to work on this. 

 

Photos in link below.

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/L7hcQ7dhwrF9uro5A

 

[datzenmike]

 

Pretty straight with great patina. Run it as is but loose the rear bumper.

[reza]

You can scrub it down with a green brillow and CLR. It will dissolve most of the surface rust stains and bring back the original paint.  
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/whats-the-story-on-using-clr.990241/

Edited March 27, 2019 by reza

[thisismatt]

Nice.  Decent looking tailgate and tail lights.  You've won half the battle.  Also, looks like it maybe has shoulder belts?  If so, it's a 72.

[green9333]

Terry,

I also started the same project. my kid is 14 1/2 just bought this. We both are total beginners.

 

I  cant fireguard out how to add photos of our 521?

[Terry_williams]

It may be having trouble with the title. Tag says it was built 10/71

[DanielC]

After September, it's a 1972 model year, although the title could say 1971.

 

[thisismatt]

It's not a big deal, but only the 72 model had shoulder belts. I can't think of any other differences from 71

[Terry_williams]

Daniel and Matt Thanks for the info.

[datzenmike]

The '72 also had electric choke I believe. I had a '71 and it was manual.

[Terry_williams]

@green9333 yeah i couldn't either thats why mine is a link to google photos.

[banzai510(hainz)]

I would just get it running but not spend to much money on it as a better one can be found for around 2K. Otherwise youll put 6K into a 1200$ truck

 

Mine is the same green.and when I'm done with it its going up for 1200$

[BrothersGarage]

8 hours ago, green9333 said:

I  cant fireguard out how to add photos of our 521?

If you have the pictures on your computer, you can visit www.imgur.com and upload them for free. Once the images are uploaded you can right click on them and 'copy image url'. Once you have the URL or location of where the images are hosted, you can come to ratsun (or another webforum) and paste the link to the image into your comment area.

Some forums require more work to get the image to display but ratsun is smart enough to do it for you. 

 

1 hour ago, banzai510(hainz) said:

I would just get it running but not spend to much money on it as a better one can be found for around 2K. Otherwise youll put 6K into a 1200$ truck

 

What if your plan is to put 6k into a $1200 truck? ;D

Edited March 27, 2019 by BrothersGarage

[banzai510(hainz)]

I was offered a better green truck. But I cant save them all I'm out of room.

I love my 521 but I never get another King pin truck again.Im on the 3rd set. I actually drive mine everyday.for the last 19years.It was a 700$ truck.

 

But Terry is in a spot where there is not a lot of Datsun.(N Carolina) so it will be harder for him to source parts. But if he saves it it would be great

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

First step, get it running and driving. The let the decision of what to do with it come to you. Don't approach the job with a restoration mentality.

 

One approach is to attack the project in terms of systems.

 

Brake system - check

Fuel system - check

Cooling system - check

Suspension system - check

 

You get the idea...

[Terry_williams]

@banzai510(hainz) you are correct not a lot of these vehicles around here. So getting parts is ginna be hard.

[d.p]

You'd be surprised, obviously we don't have the the plethora of parts as the west coast but its still doable over here on the east coast.  

[mainer311]

I agree. Nothing I haven’t been able to find to successfully fix my truck. Most mechanical stuff can be found online quite easily. Body panels and stuff are the hard part.

[gene knight]

Terry_williams:  welcome to ratsun

Edited April 1, 2019 by gene knight