My Datsun 521 project

[Lucas]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. Short introduction: Lucas, 31, Dutch.

I am no native english speaker, so please bear with me, I'll try my best.

 

I recently bought a Datsun 1300 from april 1970 with a nice story. 

These trucks were never available for purchase in the Netherlands.

At the time there were 4 Datsun dealers in the entire country and in 1970 each one of them got a Datsun 1300 as a present to use as a service vehicle for the dealership.

Only four Datsun 1300 pickups were ever registered here, and this is supposedly the only one still on the road. So it's the only remaining Datsun 521 that was originally delivered in the country.

Possible the only one here at all.

 

The climate for a classic car here is terrible, so the whole thing was completely rusted through with a blown engine and there was little left of the bed.

The original owner took ik apart to rebuild the thing but never got to it. The owner before took the entie puzzle en started it as his own project.

 

He put a VG30E in the car from a z31 non turbo with the z31 gearbox. He fabricated mounts to connect the Z31 rear subframe tot the car.

So the 521 has independent rear suspension now. The brake booster from the Z31 was used and I have Z31 disc brakes (5 lug as european cars had 5 lug on non turbo cars as well) on all 4 corners.

The Z31 steering column is used with a S130 power steering unit (which needs rebuilding). So in short: 3.0 V6, power steering, power brakes, disc brakes.

 

Here are some pics:

 

The entire floor of the cabin is new, most of the front is a placeholder plate because the grill wasn't there anymore.

A lot of the bodywork is new steel. It's not perfect, but a good enough base to start from.

 

The rear suspension is complete shit. The previous owner had and enormously heavy wooden bed on it which necessitated heavy duty air suspension.

But it doens't do the car any justice. Because the subframe of the z31 was used it looks like it can be converted to coilovers quite easily, so that's the road I'm going to take.

 

I really hate the look of the custom bed, because the proportions are way off. If I lower the rear to make the car level, the rear wheels will probably not fit in the fenders anyway.

Because the cars were never sold here, it's impossible to find replacement parts nearby. So everything has to be imported. I don't think buying a pickup bed overseas is possible, so I'll probably have to custom fabricate something myself.

 

In my opinion this will never be a collector truck and it was too far gone to keep it original. It's gonna be my third project for this year.

 

Plans:

1) fix the steering play and power steering issues

2) Put in soms seats that don't wreck my back in 20 mins

3) Put in a different steering wheels (material is disintegrating) 

4) Put different wheels and tires on

5) Take bed off and put in coilovers

6) Customize bed to fit new wheel position

7) Paint it (thinking about two tone red/cremewhite)

8 Make entire dashboard using ETB gauges

9) Drive

 

Ideas, tips and comments are greatly appreciated. I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I hope to get some positive connections going on this forum.

Have a great day!

[mainer311]

First off, your English is pretty good! In fact, it's better than most of the people on here from Canada. 😆

 

Your truck is certainly unique. It's like a 300zx with a truck body. I agree that the dash would look better if it was redone with aftermarket gauges.

[Lucas]

3 hours ago, mainer311 said:

First off, your English is pretty good! In fact, it's better than most of the people on here from Canada. 😆

 

Your truck is certainly unique. It's like a 300zx with a truck body. I agree that the dash would look better if it was redone with aftermarket gauges.

Thanks! I ordered two new seats for the car and a steering wheel + hub (used) to make it a little more comfortable.

The couple of hours it took to drive home after buying it was enough to make my back hurt for a week so this was the number one priority.

I'm 6'5", so the choice in seats is quite limited if I still want to be able to drive it. I will install them the 28th of this month so I'll post pictures when done.

The only reason I can drive it is because it's an automatic and I don't need to shift. It would have been impossible.

[Lucas]

My seats were delivered yesterday. I hope these will look nice in the 521.

I don't really like the autostyle brand, but they were an ideal combination of size, looks and affordability.

[bilzbobaggins]

I am curious to see those seats in the truck.  Welcome to the forum.

 

[vicdat]

I'm pretty sure we're gonna need some pics (oics)under the hood (bonnet).

Those stock rear bumperetts used on the front are sooo wrong....I luv them!

 

Vicdat in SoCal

[mainer311]

8 minutes ago, vicdat said:

Those stock rear bumperetts used on the front are sooo wrong....I luv them!

 

It actually looks good splitting the license plate!

[yenpit]

Welcome.....again!  Now I see why you need the bed!  Keep in touch, hope to have the parts truck sooner than later, we will talk about possibly getting the bed over to you!

 

TJ

[wayno]

I think a stock bed will look weird on that truck now, the rockers installed on the cab will make it look strange with a stock box.

Personally I would search for a stock front bumper/mount brackets and grill/headlight trim pieces, as for the box it will be tough to deal with, if it were mine I would likely shape the upper bed sides to match the cab above the level of the door handle, I did this to my 520 when I made it a Ranchreo type truck, other wise the bed is what it is, it will likely look goofy with a stock bed and them cab rockers, can anyone photo shop a stock bed onto the side photo?

This is what I am talking about on shaping the box to the cab, I am not talking about doing what I did, just the curved bed top rail rather than a 90 degree top like it has, I would also do the tailgate.

 

If you actually wanted it to look stock you would have to remove them rockers on the cab, in the end it really doesn't look that bad, I think it would look a lot better with a proper grill/headlight trim pieces and front bumper, but again it really doesn't look that bad the way it is.

[Crashtd420]

Wayno take a closer look to the front ... 

The fenders look modified too..... 

I feel like there is a lot more going on here....

 

Lucas , I would have to agree with wayno going to a stock box would look wierd.... the truck is unique and we haven't even seen under the hood yet...

 

If I pick this up as a project I would just refine what I had.....  

Make sure its mechanically sound, and slowly work on the body and interior..

Make it your own....

 

Make the bed sides flow to the cab.... knock some of the square off....

Same at the front edge of the fenders, round that off to match the hood....

And yes build a better grill, I'm guessing all that's been cut up inside there....

 

I do like the truck thought...

Good luck with it...

[wayno]

A few liberties have been taken with this 521, with the photos supplied it appears that the left front fender has been re-formed for lack of a better word, but it may just be the photos and the gloss paint.

I personally don't like the grill and headlight surround areas although it may be one piece, it also has no headlight/fender/hood surround trim pieces, the front sheet metal looks strange, but it may be because of the grill not being sunk in like the stock truck grills are, it may not be possible to mount a stock grill/headlight/surround pieces, but someone has put a serious amount of time/effort into this truck and it really doesn't look that bad, it just looks strange/different to us.

A VG30E in the truck will certainly make it move, I would be interested in seeing the engine compartment, I wonder if it has inner renders?

[Lucas]

15 hours ago, bilzbobaggins said:

I am curious to see those seats in the truck.  Welcome to the forum.

 

 

Thank you very much. I'll post pictures when I've fitted them.

 

15 hours ago, vicdat said:

I'm pretty sure we're gonna need some pics (oics)under the hood (bonnet).

Those stock rear bumperetts used on the front are sooo wrong....I luv them!

 

Vicdat in SoCal

The truck is in storage at the moment. I will probably post under hood pictures at the end of the month.

The bumperettes are kind of a love/hate thing for most people who give their feedback. 

They were purely used because the front bumper didn't come with the truck (damaged) and getting a replacement is expensive because shipping overseas is difficult with weirdly shaped boxes over a standard size.

 

15 hours ago, mainer311 said:

 

It actually looks good splitting the license plate!

 

Thanks! I hope to get an original bumper in the future though. I am glad this car is from pre 1978 and can use the blue license plate. 

The normal yellow ones in the Netherland can really screw up the look of a car in my opinion.

13 hours ago, yenpit said:

Welcome.....again!  Now I see why you need the bed!  Keep in touch, hope to have the parts truck sooner than later, we will talk about possibly getting the bed over to you!

 

TJ

 

I'm looking forward to that. Let me know once you know more 🙂

 

10 hours ago, wayno said:

I think a stock bed will look weird on that truck now, the rockers installed on the cab will make it look strange with a stock box.

Personally I would search for a stock front bumper/mount brackets and grill/headlight trim pieces, as for the box it will be tough to deal with, if it were mine I would likely shape the upper bed sides to match the cab above the level of the door handle, I did this to my 520 when I made it a Ranchreo type truck, other wise the bed is what it is, it will likely look goofy with a stock bed and them cab rockers, can anyone photo shop a stock bed onto the side photo?

This is what I am talking about on shaping the box to the cab, I am not talking about doing what I did, just the curved bed top rail rather than a 90 degree top like it has, I would also do the tailgate.

 

If you actually wanted it to look stock you would have to remove them rockers on the cab, in the end it really doesn't look that bad, I think it would look a lot better with a proper grill/headlight trim pieces and front bumper, but again it really doesn't look that bad the way it is.

 

I think you might be right. Especially because I don't know if a standard bed will look strange and shipping + purchase is expensive from here.

Additional problems might arise as I don't yet know if the previous owner changed mounting points on the frame. If I can customise an original bed it might be an easier starting point as the rounded sides wil match the overall cab shape (besides the rockers).

 

9 hours ago, Crashtd420 said:

Wayno take a closer look to the front ... 

The fenders look modified too..... 

I feel like there is a lot more going on here....

 

Lucas , I would have to agree with wayno going to a stock box would look wierd.... the truck is unique and we haven't even seen under the hood yet...

 

If I pick this up as a project I would just refine what I had.....  

Make sure its mechanically sound, and slowly work on the body and interior..

Make it your own....

 

Make the bed sides flow to the cab.... knock some of the square off....

Same at the front edge of the fenders, round that off to match the hood....

And yes build a better grill, I'm guessing all that's been cut up inside there....

 

I do like the truck thought...

Good luck with it...

 

Again you might be right. A lot of fabrication has gone into this truck. The entire bottom of the cab is new, the transmission tunnel, the inner fender (to allow the brake booster to be fitted) and there is a lot of new sheet metal in the front as wel. I would really like to use the original trim pieces for the front because that really makes the look of the car in my opninion. Problem is that the headlight surrounds consists of new sheet metal as wel, so I don't know if it'll fit. It might be an expensive experiment.

 

7 hours ago, wayno said:

A few liberties have been taken with this 521, with the photos supplied it appears that the left front fender has been re-formed for lack of a better word, but it may just be the photos and the gloss paint.

I personally don't like the grill and headlight surround areas although it may be one piece, it also has no headlight/fender/hood surround trim pieces, the front sheet metal looks strange, but it may be because of the grill not being sunk in like the stock truck grills are, it may not be possible to mount a stock grill/headlight/surround pieces, but someone has put a serious amount of time/effort into this truck and it really doesn't look that bad, it just looks strange/different to us.

A VG30E in the truck will certainly make it move, I would be interested in seeing the engine compartment, I wonder if it has inner renders?

 

You're totally right. If you look at it from a purists standpoint this truck is weird and probably not done wel.

Personally I like the quirkyness of it, but there is a lot of room for improvement. Especially in the looks department.

 

The previous owner took a lot of picturen in the process of building this truck.

He gave them to me on a usb drive. If you guys are interested I can select a few good ones to post in this thread.

A VG conversion isn't done often in a 521 so it might be fun. Let me know.

 

[wayno]

We are all interested in photos, it's one of the best parts about this forum, if you had not posted photos of your truck none of us would have had a clue of what your truck really looked like.

Fact is you could modify that bed to the original curves of the cab instead of straight up and down, but basically you would almost be starting over, you would have to cut the sides off the bed floor, make a form the shape of the side of the cab and bend/shape the sides to fit the form, then weld them back onto the bed you cut them off of, it would be an extreme amount of work, and it would only be worth it if you could do it yourself.

I went another route with my 521 kingcab, I put a stepside box on my truck, not everyone likes it but I do, some think my truck looks goofy with that box.

 

My truck is what it is, and yours is what it is, I don't know if you have automobile wrecking yards on you country that you can buy parts off the vehicles, if you do I am pretty sure you could find a grill on something that would look better than your grill that you could modify to fit your truck, I think your truck looks fine except for that grill, but it may look fine in a straight on front photo, I don't know, it just doesn't look like a lot of thought was put into that part.

[yenpit]

........just buy the whole parts truck from me, not just the bed!! 😅

[Lucas]

So, as I promised I uploaded a couple of pictures to show the extent of fabrication that went into the truck.

Some things might look a little sketchy, but bear with me. 

These picturen were given to me by the previous owner. 

 

In this picture you can see how the z31 rear subframe is mounted to the truck frame. 

 

In the next you can see how the engine is mounted to the frame

 

Here you can see the tunnel necessary for the transmission

 

Here you can see that the entire floor is missing because of rust (taken out entirely).

 

And here it is completely redone

 

So he basically built a new car. Considering how much really is original, I think he might be proud of his work.

 

This is the reason why I assume a standard grille won't fit. But might try it anyway if I can find one for a decent price.

 

Here you can see how much fender space is given up to fit the brake booster

 

Here you can see the engine in the engine compartment

 

Engine bay picture

 

The log-type custom manifold 

 

The wiring

 

I have almost 300 pictures of this build. If you guys have any questions or things you want to see, let me know.

 

In the first picture you can see how the suspension is mounted. I think it will be fairly easy to put coilovers in.

I just need to do some calculations and fabricate brackets on the frame rails.

[Crashtd420]

That's definitely some interesting fab work..... 

 

I'm not sure what the top of those springs are mounted to but I would say adding some coilovers to the rear would probably be a smart idea..... you might even think about coilovers up front too.... the motor is much heavier than the stock L series and everything up front, suspension wise, looks stock.... 

 

I would definitely go through the truck and make sure it's safe for you and your passengers... mostly the rear subframe area, and maybe have a look at the frame to make sure that's solid front to back.... 

 

One thing I saw which may or may not have been addressed is under the motor you are missing a crossmember...

I think that's an important piece but I could be wrong......

 

[wayno]

It appears they made a left front fender, at least the top half if not the whole thing.

It's likely a stock grill would fit because it is mounted between the headlights, maybe even the headlight covers/trim also, but the surround pieces might not fit, I have seen 521 owners without the surround pieces over here, it looks a little strange, mostly because when parked next to other 521 trucks it looks incomplete/unfinished, but you are not going to be parking your 521 next to another 521 either, this below is what my 1969 grill/surround pieces look like.

 

You can see there is a gap between the grill/headlight pieces and the surround pieces that attach to the hood/fenders/lower front sheet metal, your grill is even all the way around without any gap with the hood/fenders/lower sheet metal, but you also need to keep in mind that I am the only one talking about the grill, that is just a thing with me, I don't like that grill because it looks home made to me, that doesn't mean you don't like it, it's your truck and what you like is what counts, that truck will never be stock or original again, mine will not be stock/original again either, I made what I wanted, you should make yours into what you want, I would not mind having a VG30E in my work truck, but it will likely never happen, as I have way too many Datsuns to keep on the road, and my work truck is still being used as a work truck, so it could never be down long enough to do that kind of conversion even though I have a VG30E engine in storage.

[greenthumb]

Where in NL are you located Lucas?

[Lucas]

20 hours ago, Crashtd420 said:

That's definitely some interesting fab work..... 

 

I'm not sure what the top of those springs are mounted to but I would say adding some coilovers to the rear would probably be a smart idea..... you might even think about coilovers up front too.... the motor is much heavier than the stock L series and everything up front, suspension wise, looks stock.... 

 

I would definitely go through the truck and make sure it's safe for you and your passengers... mostly the rear subframe area, and maybe have a look at the frame to make sure that's solid front to back.... 

 

One thing I saw which may or may not have been addressed is under the motor you are missing a crossmember...

I think that's an important piece but I could be wrong......

 

I forgot to say that the springs were there purely in the starting phase of the built. There are airbags mounted there now and it's safely mounted top and bottom. 

Most of the sketchy stuff was dealt with at a later stage. Biggest problem with the rear suspension is that it feels 'a little vague' while driving. But I agree that safety comes first.

That's why I only drove it home after I purchased it to get a feel for it and it's in storage until I can get a qualified mechanic to go over the entire car.

The engine is mounted to the frame left and right and the transmission in the rear. It seemed impossible to use the front subframe from the z31 in the frame, do you have a picture of the crossmember that should be there? Is it original to the 521?

 

Regarding the suspension: I understand the stock suspension works relatively well when it's maintained well. So I was thinking of putting heavy duty shocks in the front and adjusting the stock suspension accordingly. Do you know of any write up about converting the front suspension to coilovers? It probably isn't as simple as taking the shocks out and, removing the stock torsion bars (is that what it's called in english? I'm really struggling with translating the technical terms.), and fitting the coilovers in the same spot as where the original stocks were, right? Any info or link to information is greatly appreciated.

11 hours ago, greenthumb said:

Where in NL are you located Lucas?

 

I'm from the northern part (Friesland).

 

19 hours ago, wayno said:

It appears they made a left front fender, at least the top half if not the whole thing.

It's likely a stock grill would fit because it is mounted between the headlights, maybe even the headlight covers/trim also, but the surround pieces might not fit, I have seen 521 owners without the surround pieces over here, it looks a little strange, mostly because when parked next to other 521 trucks it looks incomplete/unfinished, but you are not going to be parking your 521 next to another 521 either, this below is what my 1969 grill/surround pieces look like.

 

You can see there is a gap between the grill/headlight pieces and the surround pieces that attach to the hood/fenders/lower front sheet metal, your grill is even all the way around without any gap with the hood/fenders/lower sheet metal, but you also need to keep in mind that I am the only one talking about the grill, that is just a thing with me, I don't like that grill because it looks home made to me, that doesn't mean you don't like it, it's your truck and what you like is what counts, that truck will never be stock or original again, mine will not be stock/original again either, I made what I wanted, you should make yours into what you want, I would not mind having a VG30E in my work truck, but it will likely never happen, as I have way too many Datsuns to keep on the road, and my work truck is still being used as a work truck, so it could never be down long enough to do that kind of conversion even though I have a VG30E engine in storage.

 

I really love the grill in your car. I might try to use an original grill and surrounds in the future, or at least try to make them fit.

Or I might try to fabricate something myself. I agree on the unfinished look. A full bumper might do a lot too. The original mounting points aren't there anymore, so in the end it might not make a lot of difference when fabricating.

 

Are there any obvious things to do to improve the VG30E or automatic gearbox? Every thread I read just gets a 'put in a turbo motor' reaction.

My engine is completely rebuild so I'm definitely not swapping it out again. I'm thinking a 1.5 way LSD might improve the ride, but only after upgrading the suspension.

[Crashtd420]

As far as coilovers yes you kind of put them where the stock shock is and then just remove the torsion bar.... I think you also have to cut the upper bump stops off for clearance....

But you have to strengthen the mounting points and have the proper mount spacing.... I'm not sure of write ups,  I know there are a few here who have done it..... I actually have the parts on the way to do my truck, plus a few other things.....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/193195050022

 

[Crashtd420]

As far as the crossmember I just took a picture....

You can see the 2 bolt points to the left and right of the oil pan....

And yes it is original to the trucks...

Edited March 8, 2020 by Crashtd420

[wayno]

This is the most complete grill and associated parts I found in a simple ebay search, it is missing the lower surround piece.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DATSUN-67-72-521-OEM-Complete-Grille-w-Light-Surrounds-Eyebrows-and-Hood-Trim/142974176815?hash=item2149ecce2f:g:5CYAAOSwv5xbwmh-:sc:FedExHomeDelivery!98683!US!-1

 

I think this is the lower piece but is described as the upper piece in the ad, but the photos supplied show a red square around the lower piece.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-GENUINE-1968-1972-DATSUN-521-Pickup-Truck-Surround-Radiator-Grille-Upper/183786304941?hash=item2aca8475ad:g:8OIAAOSwfeZcwGfo

 

I am not saying buy these particular parts, but they are what you need if you want to go this route, I have no idea if they will fit, to even make a educated guess we would have to have a photo of your trucks front with the grill you have removed to see what is there. 

Edited March 8, 2020 by wayno

[Lucas]

On 3/8/2020 at 5:08 PM, Crashtd420 said:

As far as coilovers yes you kind of put them where the stock shock is and then just remove the torsion bar.... I think you also have to cut the upper bump stops off for clearance....

But you have to strengthen the mounting points and have the proper mount spacing.... I'm not sure of write ups,  I know there are a few here who have done it..... I actually have the parts on the way to do my truck, plus a few other things.....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/193195050022

 

That's very interesting. I assume it's difficult to get the standard front suspension to adapt to the greater weight of the engine. If I use QA1 coilovers in the back, I might as well do the front at the same time. I guess it's time to weigh the the car and weigh the front and rear separately to be able to calculate the right spring rates. I guess it's better to do it right the first time. Especially if I do the front first to determine the location of the bracket for the rear.

 

 

Edited March 11, 2020 by Lucas
forgot to reply to multiple posts

[Lucas]

On 3/8/2020 at 5:09 PM, Crashtd420 said:

As far as the crossmember I just took a picture....

You can see the 2 bolt points to the left and right of the oil pan....

And yes it is original to the trucks...

I haven't been able to look under the car yet, so I can't answer if the crossmember is actually there. 

I assume the bottom of the engine block might be in the way, but I'll have to check.

 

On 3/8/2020 at 7:41 PM, wayno said:

This is the most complete grill and associated parts I found in a simple ebay search, it is missing the lower surround piece.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DATSUN-67-72-521-OEM-Complete-Grille-w-Light-Surrounds-Eyebrows-and-Hood-Trim/142974176815?hash=item2149ecce2f:g:5CYAAOSwv5xbwmh-:sc:FedExHomeDelivery!98683!US!-1

 

I think this is the lower piece but is described as the upper piece in the ad, but the photos supplied show a red square around the lower piece.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-GENUINE-1968-1972-DATSUN-521-Pickup-Truck-Surround-Radiator-Grille-Upper/183786304941?hash=item2aca8475ad:g:8OIAAOSwfeZcwGfo

 

I am not saying buy these particular parts, but they are what you need if you want to go this route, I have no idea if they will fit, to even make a educated guess we would have to have a photo of your trucks front with the grill you have removed to see what is there. 

Thanks for the links. To be completely honest, I don't have the funds to do everything at once, so this will be a 'step by step' project. 

Compared to the other things on the to-do list in my original post, this will have a lower priority for now.

I really appreciated the time you took to show me those items, as I really know what I'm looking for now. Thanks!

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Crazy truck! I bet it scoots with that V6.

 

I would have kept the solid rear axle and swapped out the front suspension instead.