520 4x4?

[Rephil]

I just acquired a ‘67 520 With a bad engine (it overheated, I’ll check it out). I’m wondering  if anyone has chassis swapped with a 4x4?  I was looking at an exterra frame at my local junkyard. Thoughts?

[datzenmike]

The wheels and tires will stick out too far. The 620 is wider, 720 even wider and the D-21 Hardbody wider still. Get a tape measure and compare the 521 to the Xterra. You want to also compare the wheelbase or distance between the front and rear tires. If they are not a close match the wheels won't fit the 521 wheel wells.

[hobospyder]

Do it, make it a wide body or widen the body while you're doing it. Anything is possible with enough time money and skills

[wayno]

I put a 1966 Datsun 520 cab onto a 1980 Datsun 720 4wd frame/chassis, but I changed my mind and switched it over to a 1986 Nissan 720 2wd frame/chassis.

Here it is on the 1980 4X4 frame/chassis.

 

I had to do a body lift to clear the transfer case.

Edited October 14, 2019 by wayno

[Rephil]

That looks pretty awesome!  

[Rephil]

5 hours ago, hobospyder said:

Do it, make it a wide body or widen the body while you're doing it. Anything is possible with enough time money and skills

I think it would look good with the wide body. I have some thinking to do!

[Rephil]

7 hours ago, datzenmike said:

The wheels and tires will stick out too far. The 620 is wider, 720 even wider and the D-21 Hardbody wider still. Get a tape measure and compare the 521 to the Xterra. You want to also compare the wheelbase or distance between the front and rear tires. If they are not a close match the wheels won't fit the 521 wheel wells.

So, I only measured the wheel base and not the width. Didn’t even occur to me the width. I better check that out. Thanks!

[hobospyder]

20 minutes ago, Rephil said:

I think it would look good with the wide body. I have some thinking to do!

Dont think just do

 

Or save some money and then do. 

[hobospyder]

And make sure you share video or pictures and document the whole process. 

[nl320what]

Think of how to get it back on the road safely, fast, and cheaper.

Best to stay away from something needing a new extensive ECU rewire and tune.

Similar  Toyota trucks match the wheel base and backspacing with 6 lug axles for 4x4 versions.

Otherwise wait for a 620 4x4 factory conversion to pop up, or a 720 4x4 for simplicity.

Only way to find out is to drop the body on the donor drivetrain and cut/weld to fit.

 

[Rephil]

Yeah, our local junkyard doesn’t have any Datsun and not many nissans. I’ll figure this out 😜

[BrothersGarage]

17 hours ago, wayno said:

I put a 1966 Datsun 520 cab onto a 1980 Datsun 720 4wd frame/chassis, but I changed my mind and switched it over to a 1986 Nissan 720 2wd frame/chassis.

Here it is on the 1980 4X4 frame/chassis.

 

I had to do a body lift to clear the transfer case.

 

Oooof course you did. Jesus, is there anything you haven't created with a Datsun truck :D?

[nl320what]

Any progress on the truck?

 

Another idea is the short wheelbase of the International Scout late 70s-80s to swap under.

[Rephil]

Heck no.... I’m  not sure what to do yet. It’s just sitting there lol. I picked up a 411 and the engine was in the seat and trunk so I’ve been messing with that. 

[Rephil]

So, I just located a cj6 frame. Looks like that might be the way to go. 

[mike]

Have you looked into samurai axles? Theyre not as strong as toyota but theyll take some abuse, theres decent aftermarket support and if youre not in a hurry you can find them on wheeling forums already built/upgraded cheaper than a stock set of yota axles that need rebuilt. Use your stock frame and start measuring... most of the time its way easier to fabricate suspension mounts on a stock frame than mess around with all the extra little stuff youd have to do with a frame swap, easier to license too. 

 

I had a hairbrained idea to build a 4x4 510 wagon... Sami axles, trans and transfer case and a 1.9 vw tdi. Leafs out back and a 3 link up front. 

[Rephil]

15 minutes ago, mike said:

Have you looked into samurai axles? Theyre not as strong as toyota but theyll take some abuse, theres decent aftermarket support and if youre not in a hurry you can find them on wheeling forums already built/upgraded cheaper than a stock set of yota axles that need rebuilt. Use your stock frame and start measuring... most of the time its way easier to fabricate suspension mounts on a stock frame than mess around with all the extra little stuff youd have to do with a frame swap, easier to license too. 

 

I had a hairbrained idea to build a 4x4 510 wagon... Sami axles, trans and transfer case and a 1.9 vw tdi. Leafs out back and a 3 link up front. 

That sounds like a pretty good idea. I’ll look around for some axles. Thanks!  

[mike]

Ha ha, no problem, take lots of pics.

 

When youre looking for the sami axles, deeper gears arent necessarily a selling point. The higher numerical gears have more meat on the pinion and you can get your gear reduction through the transfer case(s). 

[Master-O-Turbonics]

I did it once. Wish I would have finished it as it was but I got stupid with the project and undid all this lol. 

71 521 on an 81 720 4x4 using the 4x4 body mounts that are essentially a body lift compared to a 521. 

 

 

 

only thing I changed on the rear suspension was I went to 2x4 leaf springs which is like 1.5" of lift. 

size comparison

[Rephil]

8 minutes ago, Master-O-Turbonics said:

I did it once. Wish I would have finished it as it was but I got stupid with the project and undid all this lol. 

71 521 on an 81 720 4x4 using the 4x4 body mounts that are essentially a body lift compared to a 521. 

 

 

 

only thing I changed on the rear suspension was I went to 2x4 leaf springs which is like 1.5" of lift. 

size comparison

So, I just located a cj6 frame. Looks like that might be the way to go. 

 

9 minutes ago, Master-O-Turbonics said:

I did it once. Wish I would have finished it as it was but I got stupid with the project and undid all this lol. 

71 521 on an 81 720 4x4 using the 4x4 body mounts that are essentially a body lift compared to a 521. 

 

 

 

only thing I changed on the rear suspension was I went to 2x4 leaf springs which is like 1.5" of lift. 

size comparison

That’s freaking awesome!

[Master-O-Turbonics]

I would recommend going with a 720 4x4 chassis. Makes the project much easier plus its all proportional. the mounts at the radiator support bolt up and with a little work the 4 cab mounts can be made to work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

😞