jetattblue Posted April 25, 2019 Report Share Posted April 25, 2019 I have been following the 320 forum for a while because I recently purchased a '63 320. I have already received tons of great help from Ted Heaton, Mike Klotz, difrangia, Stoffregen Motorsports, emceefarlane; I thought that I'd pay it forward by starting a new thread about my truck and, selfishly, I know that I'll have questions for you, too! At any rate, I purchased my 320 several months ago, but I'm just now starting to actually put some time into it. I spent the first couple of months studying up, formulating a plan, purchasing some of the parts that I'll need, and finishing a Kubota tractor that I needed to finish before the grass started growing. Now, I've got a little bit of knowledge, a plan, some parts, and mowed grass; I'm ready to start on the 320!. Attached are some pictures of my truck before any work is started on it. Overall, the body is really straight and relatively rust free; there is rust in the floor pans and on the inner front fenders, so I'll need to tackle that at some point. Interestingly, it is a dually! I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. Also, it is currently a column shift, but I want to convert it to the correct floor shift. So far, I have the correct floor shift transmission and starter, a transmission tunnel that needs a little work, and some various clutch parts, etc. I feel very fortunate to have found these things. I actually spotted the corner of the floor shift transmission sitting in the back of a truck that was listed for sale as a parts truck. The seller is super cool and has hooked me up with lots of goodies. Part of my plan includes rebuilding the engine. I really don't know the truck's history, and I think it makes a lot of sense to get a fresh rebuild on it. So, I have started slowly disconnecting the various lines from it and the manifolds. And, this is where I made my first - of what will probably be many - surprises. I had assumed this was an E1, but the engine block is stamped J 1300, and the serial number on the block is J 151129. Is the block from a J13? The manifolds were E1; I could tell by their shape and they had the band versus the flange that connects the exhaust manifold to the exhaust pipe. Further, I believe the rocker cover is from an early E1 as it connects with 2 bolts in the middle rather than the series of smaller bolts around its perimeter. Here are some pics. I'd love to know your thoughts. 3 Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted April 25, 2019 Report Share Posted April 25, 2019 (edited) I expect it is a J13 block, that is a common thing to do, but I have seen more J15 engines in 320s than J13 engines. I am curious how they did the dually, does it have a dually adapter between the 2 rims? I believe I have seen this truck before but could not find it in a search. Edited April 26, 2019 by wayno 1 Quote Link to comment
difrangia Posted April 26, 2019 Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 Looks like maybe at least one original hubcap. They're usually long gone on these 320's. A previous owner probably replaced the original sick/dead E1 with the J13 from a later pickup/car and kept the original head and peripheral goodies (manifolds, etc.). 1 Quote Link to comment
jetattblue Posted April 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 Steve, I think you’re right. I wonder if there’s a way to identify whether the head is from an E1 or J13; not that it matters to me. I’m more curious than anything. The back wheels are dished inward. In other words, they sort of nest together. I’ll shoot some pictures tomorrow and post them. I’m still not sure if I’ll keep it like that or not. This is likely going to take a long time to get going, so I’ve got a little time to figure it out! 1 Quote Link to comment
difrangia Posted April 26, 2019 Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 (edited) I'm kinda thinking that the two-stud rocker cover head was used in earlier production and replaced by the six-peripheral-screw head sometime in the middle of 320 production. My 64 320 (1963 build characteristics) with original E1 engine has the two-stud head. Finned alloy rocker cover from a 1962 MGA fit right on and looks good to me. Edited April 26, 2019 by difrangia 1 Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted April 26, 2019 Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 No head bolts, I wonder how that engine runs. 1 Quote Link to comment
320 Newb Posted April 26, 2019 Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 Great looking truck. I'd love to see more pics. I see the 1300 on the block but the engine tag reads J15. Isn't a J15 just a bored J13? If you're ditching the column shift have a nice shift lever with a working spring I might be interested. I might have some stuff to trade. I for sure have a bunch of brand new J engine seals. 1 Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted April 26, 2019 Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 This is what my J15 mark looks like, there is no "1500" on the side of the block. 1 Quote Link to comment
zed1 Posted April 26, 2019 Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 Very cool! Another J13 in North Texas. Keith 1 Quote Link to comment
difrangia Posted April 26, 2019 Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 8 hours ago, wayno said: No head bolts, I wonder how that engine runs. Quieter than a Tesla. 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted April 26, 2019 Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 No. That's Mrbigtanker's 521. 1 Quote Link to comment
jetattblue Posted April 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 Steve, I like your approach to holding down the rocker cover! That's the best tasting solution I've seen yet. 320Newb, send me a PM with what you have, and we can try to work something out. Wayno, attached are the pictures of the dual wheels. Again, I'm not sure if I want to keep that set up or not. It's unique, but I don't know ... Any thoughts? 1 Quote Link to comment
jetattblue Posted April 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 As I'm working through the mechanicals, I'm also tackling smaller projects that are easy to handle at night - and less messy. I was lucky enough to source a parcel shelf that I'm redoing for my 320. My 320 was originally white and has a mediocre green paint job on it. I want to paint the dash with VHT Wrinkle Paint, which Emceefarlane used on his build; I think it looks fantastic for the dash and seems like a very durable finish. I'm going to match the parcel shelf to the dash. I stripped the remaining paint and removed as much rust as I could with wire brushes, sandpaper, and an abrasive disc; then, I sprayed it with some Rustoleum Rust Reformer, which I've had some really good results with. As you can see, the metal is pitted from the rust, but it's still solid, and the wrinkle paint should conceal the pitting. 1 Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted April 26, 2019 Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 (edited) I have a set of them aftermarket dually wheels on my 720 right now. I would say run them but I do not care for the dually wheel fenders you have on that truck, I would either find a set of small truck dually fenders or remove the dually wheels myself,. If you need it for hauling stuff all the time you could make a flatbed, at least then it would look like a normal dually truck. Are them extension fenders bolted onto the fender lip? Here is my 720 box, these are aftermarket Toyota dually fenders that I cut to fit the 720 box, it was easy to do but takes a little time and fiberglass supplies, it really wasn't that hard to do. Edited April 26, 2019 by wayno 1 Quote Link to comment
jetattblue Posted April 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 The fenders are - fortunately - just screwed on. I’m leaning towards just going back to the single wheels in back because I don’t really plan on hauling anything. 1 Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted April 26, 2019 Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 There are people that want them rear dually wheels, Ted has sold them in the past, more than one set as I recall, but fenders are hard to find, I have a few sets of fenders but it is not easy to find the folks to sell them to, they are out there but it takes a special type to want a classic dually truck. 1 Quote Link to comment
Rat-a-tat-Dat Posted April 26, 2019 Report Share Posted April 26, 2019 Nice looking truck and in decent shape too. 1 Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted May 1, 2019 Report Share Posted May 1, 2019 Love the dually, but it may get old quick. If the fenders are simply screwed on, I would be inclined to bring it back to stock. If you can't find 320 wheels, the 620 wheels are very close in style, but just a tad wider. I used a set on my 320. Quote Link to comment
320 Newb Posted May 2, 2019 Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 10 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said: Love the dually, but it may get old quick. If the fenders are simply screwed on, I would be inclined to bring it back to stock. If you can't find 320 wheels, the 620 wheels are very close in style, but just a tad wider. I used a set on my 320. Do you know if 620 wheels will take a 320 hubcap? Really I'd like to find a 15" wheel that'll accept the stock 320 hubcaps. 1 Quote Link to comment
Charlie69 Posted May 2, 2019 Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 620 wheels are 14". Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted May 2, 2019 Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 Yes 320 hubcaps will fit on Datsun truck rims all the way to the 1979 Datsun 620 disc brake rims. All Datsun trucks had 14" rims as far as I know, there are 15" rims out there that sorta look like early Datsun rims, but you would have to put the nubs on the rims yourself, I did it with 720 rims once, but they just didn't look right. 1 Quote Link to comment
mklotz70 Posted May 2, 2019 Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 14" rims carried on into the HB years too.....at least for the 2wd 4cyl. 1 Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted May 2, 2019 Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 Early Toyota 4x4s (pickups) used a 15" un-styled wheel that can accept hubcaps. Early FJ40 wheels (in both 15" and 16") had hub cap nubs. If you have the nubs off of your 320, or even a set off of 620 wheels, applying them to the Toyota wheels would be a snap. Drill, insert, tack weld, done. I have a few sets of 15" Toyota wheels that I use on projects that need that vintage look. I even almost installed a set on my own 320, but never got around to it. I did mock them up though, and they looked good. 1 Quote Link to comment
mklotz70 Posted May 2, 2019 Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 .....and if you don't have caps already, the 10" baby moons snap on the factory Datsun rims.....at least the one I tested fit nicely. :) 2 Quote Link to comment
320 Newb Posted May 2, 2019 Report Share Posted May 2, 2019 Great info everyone thank you 2 Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.