Santiago13 Posted September 17, 2019 Report Share Posted September 17, 2019 Hey all! After some time considering making the plunge, and pushing from my buddy (260z Owner) i've finally purchased my first Datsun! It is a 1973 620 4spd 1.6L. 😄 Upon picking it up, it was pretty much all there besides needing a battery and the brakes bled. It has some shotty body work from the previous owner, but I've found ways to make it look more pleasing to the eye for now lol. With in a week it was running, braking and registered and on the lawn at the Larz Anderson Museum for Cars and Coffee! 😄 The only real issue I'm working on is the night mare of wires under the dash and frame to the rear tail lights. One issue is my dash instrument panel light switch, its got a 7.5A fuse wired and hanging from it, and the other end is wrapped around a terminal on my fuse box. The original wiring diagram hasn't been much help as the wires aren't all the original colors and so forth. Maybe one of ya'll can bring light to what I can or should do. Any help would be great. see below for pic of the switch. My gas tank is also rusted out, so it leaks if filled past 4 gallons. I ordered an 83' 720 13 gallon tank, and plan on retrofitting it to the frame. I'll post more pics of the truck when I get a chance. 2 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted September 17, 2019 Report Share Posted September 17, 2019 Welcome to the forum..... Theres a couple of us ratsun members up here in mass..... Where are you? I'm over in leominster with a 521..... You just reminded me I have to see when Lars Anderson is having there Japanese car day... Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted September 17, 2019 Report Share Posted September 17, 2019 The dash lights are connected to the parking and side lamps as well as the license plate lamps.... and all these are powered from the headlight switch but separate from the headlights. If tail lights, front parking lamps, side marker lamps and license lights are working then the dash lights should be too. Quote Link to comment
Santiago13 Posted September 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 5 hours ago, Crashtd420 said: Welcome to the forum..... Theres a couple of us ratsun members up here in mass..... Where are you? I'm over in leominster with a 521..... You just reminded me I have to see when Lars Anderson is having there Japanese car day... Thanks for the welcome I’m from the Haverhill area! I was hoping to bump into some locals here. Larz Anderson is always good for a pop in, didn’t know they had a Japanese day 😁 going to look into it myself 1 Quote Link to comment
Santiago13 Posted September 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 2 hours ago, datzenmike said: The dash lights are connected to the parking and side lamps as well as the license plate lamps.... and all these are powered from the headlight switch but separate from the headlights. If tail lights, front parking lamps, side marker lamps and license lights are working then the dash lights should be too. Should the dash switch in the picture be wired to an individual 7.5A fuse though? That’s my biggest confusion, I don’t know where the original leads from the switch connected to, and the fuse being looped in makes no sense 😅 I’ll post pics of the fuse and more under the dash soon, may clear it up. Thanks for the info, the last things I need to rewire in is the rear license plate light, and the reverse lights from the switch on the transmission. 🥴 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted September 18, 2019 Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 That picture didn't look anything like a switch or anything from a 620. Do you mean the headlight switch? There is no dash light switch, as such, it's built into the headlight switch. Quote Link to comment
Santiago13 Posted September 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 37 minutes ago, datzenmike said: That picture didn't look anything like a switch or anything from a 620. Do you mean the headlight switch? There is no dash light switch, as such, it's built into the headlight switch. Interesting, it’s a toggle switch to the right of the steering wheel. It’s in the same place as the instrument panel dimmer switch that I’ve seen on later models.. is the dimmer switch supposed to be on mine as well? Quote Link to comment
demo243 Posted September 18, 2019 Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 Welcome! As Crashtest said there are a few of us around. I'm down in Topsfield putting a 620 back together as we speak. Looks like your pretty close. Where did that truck come from? Don't remember seeing it for sale ~ locally ~ I believe the Larz Anderson Japanese day is Oct 13th. Hoping to have the 620 ready by then... if not I'll take the 510. 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted September 18, 2019 Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 One of the biggest 'in' jokes is the Datsun dimmer switch. All Datsun dash lights are too dim to begin with but by law they must have dimming capability. Yes there should be a dimmer switch. The dash lights could just as well be wired on at full brightness. Quote Link to comment
Santiago13 Posted September 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 7 hours ago, demo243 said: Welcome! As Crashtest said there are a few of us around. I'm down in Topsfield putting a 620 back together as we speak. Looks like your pretty close. Where did that truck come from? Don't remember seeing it for sale ~ locally ~ I believe the Larz Anderson Japanese day is Oct 13th. Hoping to have the 620 ready by then... if not I'll take the 510. Sweet! That’s not too far, this is getting exciting lol 👌🏽 I was looking for one for some time now, and I coincidentally met a guy in NH who had one personally, and way too many other projects going on, so he offloaded it to me 🙌🏽 Nice, how far are you from having it “ready” for then? If you need any help let me know! Either way the 510 is always a nice option to have. Oct 13th gives me some time to sort out my issues as well, hopefully we make it! 1 Quote Link to comment
Santiago13 Posted September 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 7 hours ago, datzenmike said: One of the biggest 'in' jokes is the Datsun dimmer switch. All Datsun dash lights are too dim to begin with but by law they must have dimming capability. Yes there should be a dimmer switch. The dash lights could just as well be wired on at full brightness. Ive noticed! Lol Before I joined I scoured the forums here, then realized I just need to be a part of the conversation already. I was thinking about upgrading my dash lights eventually with the info posted in the other topics. thanks for the heads up, looks like I’ve got to look for a dimmer switch now 🤔 this toggle switch is JANK. Quote Link to comment
demo243 Posted September 18, 2019 Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 4 hours ago, Santiago13 said: Sweet! That’s not too far, this is getting exciting lol 👌🏽 I was looking for one for some time now, and I coincidentally met a guy in NH who had one personally, and way too many other projects going on, so he offloaded it to me 🙌🏽 Nice, how far are you from having it “ready” for then? If you need any help let me know! Either way the 510 is always a nice option to have. Oct 13th gives me some time to sort out my issues as well, hopefully we make it! Lucky find! I missed out on a couple good ones, and passed on a few rough ones. Ended up picking up a '78 down in CT with a KA in the bed... working on putting it back together now as I said. Its a NE truck with some rust... but should be fun to cruise around in. Engine and trans is in, calling driveshaft shops now... will need exhaust work and I need to finalize all the wiring... so close... but far... its still a toss up hahaha. The wiring on these cars/trucks can be tough.... my 510 was pretty messy so I ended up doing a swap to a modern fuse box and rewiring everything. It was alot of work... 2-3 weekends... but I don't regret it... The truck seams to be in pretty good shape. Need to tap in to it for my new gauges/dash but shouldn't be too terrible... the KA harness is more what I am having trouble with, just making sure I have everything plugged into the right spots. A good wiring diagram will do a lot and remembering that most everything is constant power to the accessory with the switch turning activating the ground/relay (I think I got this right? - been a couple years since I did the rewire) DatsunMike can probably chime in better on that... Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted September 19, 2019 Report Share Posted September 19, 2019 On 9/17/2019 at 11:34 PM, demo243 said: I believe the Larz Anderson Japanese day is Oct 13th. It looks to me like it's on October 6th.... The lars Anderson sight says the 6th but if you click it it goes to the vw show on the 13th... I searched " lars Anderson Japanese car day " Facebook shows the correct info and a link to register.... https://www.facebook.com/events/larz-anderson-auto-museum/japanese-cars-motorcycle-day/2272010089489128/ I'll be signing up to go tomorrow ..... Also if you guys are going and interested we should try to meet somewhere before the show so we can park a few datsuns together..... I hate how they just randomly park everyone.... we might be able to mainer311 to join us to... And demo and Santiago if either of you need help with the electrical let me know.... I'm pretty good with that stuff... Quote Link to comment
demo243 Posted September 19, 2019 Report Share Posted September 19, 2019 20 minutes ago, Crashtd420 said: It looks to me like it's on October 6th.... The lars Anderson sight says the 6th but if you click it it goes to the vw show on the 13th... I searched " lars Anderson Japanese car day " Facebook shows the correct info and a link to register.... https://www.facebook.com/events/larz-anderson-auto-museum/japanese-cars-motorcycle-day/2272010089489128/ I'll be signing up to go tomorrow ..... Also if you guys are going and interested we should try to meet somewhere before the show so we can park a few datsuns together..... I hate how they just randomly park everyone.... we might be able to mainer311 to join us to... And demo and Santiago if either of you need help with the electrical let me know.... I'm pretty good with that stuff... Damn... not sure how I got that date wrong--- I think they changed it on me ---- but I'm free that weekend too. I might hold out a little longer before registering.... the 510 does not like driving in the rain... hustling on the truck though so that might be an option, but time is getting tight. Definitely down to meet up ahead of time and try to get a few dattos parked together. 1 Quote Link to comment
Santiago13 Posted September 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2019 23 hours ago, demo243 said: Lucky find! I missed out on a couple good ones, and passed on a few rough ones. Ended up picking up a '78 down in CT with a KA in the bed... working on putting it back together now as I said. Its a NE truck with some rust... but should be fun to cruise around in. Engine and trans is in, calling driveshaft shops now... will need exhaust work and I need to finalize all the wiring... so close... but far... its still a toss up hahaha. The wiring on these cars/trucks can be tough.... my 510 was pretty messy so I ended up doing a swap to a modern fuse box and rewiring everything. It was alot of work... 2-3 weekends... but I don't regret it... The truck seams to be in pretty good shape. Need to tap in to it for my new gauges/dash but shouldn't be too terrible... the KA harness is more what I am having trouble with, just making sure I have everything plugged into the right spots. A good wiring diagram will do a lot and remembering that most everything is constant power to the accessory with the switch turning activating the ground/relay (I think I got this right? - been a couple years since I did the rewire) DatsunMike can probably chime in better on that... The wiring is nuisance, but a fun problem to solve... I guess 😅 a KA swap will be worth it though, if I had the opportunity to throw one in mine I prob would go the same route! I’ve gotta check yours out for sure! Quote Link to comment
Santiago13 Posted September 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2019 3 hours ago, demo243 said: Damn... not sure how I got that date wrong--- I think they changed it on me ---- but I'm free that weekend too. I might hold out a little longer before registering.... the 510 does not like driving in the rain... hustling on the truck though so that might be an option, but time is getting tight. Definitely down to meet up ahead of time and try to get a few dattos parked together. I’m down to meet up before hand most definitely! I agree that there is no structure to how they park people on the lawn, so showing up together would make sense 👌🏽👌🏽 As as far as wiring, I’m waiting on my reverse switch to come in the mail, and a few other things and I’ll be tapping those back in and hopefully completing the circuit so I have no loose ends. If something comes up I’ll be shooting you questions for sure 😁🙌🏽 Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment
demo243 Posted September 19, 2019 Report Share Posted September 19, 2019 9 minutes ago, Santiago13 said: The wiring is nuisance, but a fun problem to solve... I guess 😅 a KA swap will be worth it though, if I had the opportunity to throw one in mine I prob would go the same route! I’ve gotta check yours out for sure! Once I get in the groove I do enjoy wiring... its just getting over the hump. Its also much easier to do when you have a lot of time and can finish a whole project, its hard to start, stop and pick up again- at least for me. I've got a Carb'ed KA in my 510 that is super fun - you can check out the link in my signature for the build thread on that. A big reason for buying the truck I did was it came with the KA and 2 transmissions. The truck will be stock fuel injection... I'd love to throw some carbs on it, but Mikunis kinda blow the budget. Maybe someday... 1 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted September 19, 2019 Report Share Posted September 19, 2019 (edited) 32 minutes ago, Santiago13 said: I’m down to meet up before hand most definitely! I agree that there is no structure to how they park people on the lawn, so showing up together would make sense 👌🏽👌🏽 As as far as wiring, I’m waiting on my reverse switch to come in the mail, and a few other things and I’ll be tapping those back in and hopefully completing the circuit so I have no loose ends. If something comes up I’ll be shooting you questions for sure 😁🙌🏽 Thanks! I'll try to figure out a place and time that works for all of us to meet.... open to ideas ..... Edited September 19, 2019 by Crashtd420 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted September 29, 2019 Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 Just checking in.... hoping you'll be able to meet up with us before the show.... I think we have the spot to meet figure out.... cant remember if I told you to check out the event section or not.... Quote Link to comment
Santiago13 Posted September 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 18 hours ago, Crashtd420 said: Just checking in.... hoping you'll be able to meet up with us before the show.... I think we have the spot to meet figure out.... cant remember if I told you to check out the event section or not.... Hey Crash! I’ll do my best to be there alongside the 260z, I’ve got most things sorted out besides an overheating issue and my lower rad hose blowing, I’ll have all the parts I need in the middle of this week, so fingers crossed 😅🤞🏽 3 Quote Link to comment
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