620KC on 720 bare frame build

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

My hands down favorite vehicle I have ever owned was a 1974 Chevy C30 short cab dually with camper special package. It was highly optioned and had every convenience normally reserved for half ton 2wd trucks, but also had the 454, TH400 and Dana 70 HD rear diff with factory locker. I could drift that truck around on ramps like an LS swapped 240sx. Though I sold it five or six years ago, there are still two sets of dually burnout marks on the floor of my shop. Loved that truck.

 

My second favorite vehicle was a 1972 Volvo 145 wagon, which had very low miles and super clean body. I had plans of making it into a sort of desert safari/surf vehicle, but then I sold it to the kid brother of one of the guys on the Mythbusters show. He crashed it...

 

Third favorite was a 1996 Suburban 2500 with Vortec 7.4L. When Vortec finally got their hands on the Chevy big block, it all of a sudden made 100 more hp and could rev to 6500 rpms, stock. Just a beast. Even by today's standards. That thing could drift on ramps too.

 

Ironically, the Datsuns 510s I've owned aren't in the top ten of favorite vehicles. My 320 Datsun is definitely up there though.

 

But, the Jeep is growing on me rapidly.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Apologies for the thread jack.

[EDM620]

On 12/22/2021 at 11:32 AM, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Apologies for the thread jack.

No problemo, though I was going to point that out soon ... but hey not like I didn't steer it that way!

[EDM620]

Back onto topic, I finally got my ass out to the garage and got to work. I have lots to do behind the dash before I claim any progress, and it seems like any step forward requires a couple of side steps. 😒

 

The dash pad is in pretty poor condition with big deep cracks that would scare any plumber, and I was worried that if I took the pad off the metal shell it would end up in chunks forcing me into another PITA process to create a new pad. Thankfully it remained intact however I still have to consider Plan B as the foam is rotten well beyond the crack edges.

The instrument panel plastic is also very brittle, so I doubt that I can consider simply putting a tach into the left slot. More $ into gauges that wasn't in my plan nor budget. On the other hand, I'm following what datsunfreak is doing with his '67 Galaxie so I might pick off an idea or 2 there... A buddy of mine who builds full customs reminds me that I'm not married to the original dash so kind of an open subject there.

 

The throttle cable presented an odd issue, the OE cable uses a factory bend right outta the firewall and clocked to a specific position that was based on the L20 intake being on the Left side. The Z24 intake is on the R side and the clocking interfered directly with the head. I made a basic adapter to clock it where I need it and added a little bend for increased head clearance. No pics. Apparently I have the 720 throttle pedal assy on hand which doesn't fit the 620 correctly (arrrgh, why does EVERY f'n thing have to be different?), hopefully I have the other assy in my storage otherwise I gotta tweak this one to function correctly.

 

Weather has turned real cold again (-35F coming) and though my garage is heated the floor remains damn cold. Probably won't be too inclined to freeze my feet so progress is on hold for a bit.

[]2eDeYe]

All caught up, haha. 

Great work so far, nice work on the heater rebuild.

[datsunfreak]

13 hours ago, EDM620 said:

The instrument panel plastic is also very brittle, so I doubt that I can consider simply putting a tach into the left slot. More $ into gauges that wasn't in my plan nor budget. On the other hand, I'm following what datsunfreak is doing with his '67 Galaxie so I might pick off an idea or 2 there... A buddy of mine who builds full customs reminds me that I'm not married to the original dash so kind of an open subject there.

 

FYI, these share a lot of parts with 1200s, including using the same gauge cluster. I wonder how the width of the dash compares? 1200 dashes are easy to modify since they are so flat...

 

 

 

And pads are available new/used if you wanted to use the whole thing?

 

 

 

If you are keen to measure the width of yours, I can tell you if it fits? 

[EDM620]

18 hours ago, ]2eDeYe said:

Great work so far, nice work on the heater rebuild.

Thanks, even though "done" I may still screw around with it... like I got nothing better to do... 😜

[EDM620]

9 hours ago, datsunfreak said:

If you are keen to measure the width of yours, I can tell you if it fits?

I'll get it measured up though I suspect it's wider - buddy had a 1200 long ago we road raced and I'm sure it was narrower. I'll check it out by the weekend.

Thanks

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Really? 1200 parts same as 620?

[KELMO]

I have a 1200 dash out of the car I can measure later on today.

 

Cuz now I'm curious.

[datsunfreak]

3 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Really? 1200 parts same as 620?

 

From what I have witnessed...

 

Gauge cluster

Side marker lights

Heater box (some parts, not all)

Ash tray (99% sure)

Cigar lighter

Headlight and wiper switches/knobs

 

Probably a few other things I am forgetting...  😄

 

I used to hoard 620 tachs because they were relatively cheap, while 1200 tachs were fairly expensive. Seems I was the only one who knew they were the same part...  😋

[KELMO]

1200 dash is 49 inches wide. Measured the back side as it appeared to be wider. This was just the pad itself.

[EDM620]

2 hours ago, datsunfreak said:

Ash tray (99% sure)

LMAO!

 

1 hour ago, KELMO said:

1200 dash is 49 inches wide. Measured the back side as it appeared to be wider. This was just the pad itself.

I measured the 620 pad backside, got 52 1/2" - wider plus a slightly diff

[EDM620]

On 1/3/2022 at 4:43 PM, EDM620 said:

Apparently I have the 720 throttle pedal assy on hand which doesn't fit the 620 correctly (arrrgh, why does EVERY f'n thing have to be different?), hopefully I have the other assy in my storage otherwise I gotta tweak this one to function correctly.

Good thing I still had the other pedal assembly in storage, you mght not think there's much of a difference but there is enough. 620 pedal is the smaller one

 

 

The bend below the pivot was problem #1, the 620 floor has a bump in that the other pedal wouldn't clear, and problem #2 is the cable attachment is higher & different style - not much but like putting the left glove on the right hand. Anyway got that problem resolved now. Anyone know a source for replacement pedal rubber? Think with all this effort that scrappy old pad just gotta be replaced...

 

Have completely refurbished the park brake assembly and got that installed, works nice & smooth now. A few more bits to deal with in the behind-the-dash area before I move on to more visual stuff.

 

F'n weird weather, a few days ago I was dealing with extreme cold (-40F) and today it's above freezing. Break out the flip-flops n sunscreen!

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Take advantage of that nice weather!

[datsunfreak]

56 minutes ago, EDM620 said:

Anyone know a source for replacement pedal rubber?

 

Ebay?

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/161077494020

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/160920531998?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=160920531998&targetid=1262779895169&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=9027208&poi=&campaignid=14859008593&mkgroupid=130497710760&rlsatarget=pla-1262779895169&abcId=9300678&merchantid=101695407&gclid=Cj0KCQiA8vSOBhCkARIsAGdp6RSTR9dIwE8SU9dUpx8k3KrfxSyC1wo91OcktLvqHFJpFs7JjKDoM-AaAuYrEALw_wcB

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/264845394577?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1cqtoevi2SqW0oIj1unpw7g60&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=264845394577&targetid=1262376588896&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=9027208&poi=&campaignid=15275224983&mkgroupid=131097072938&rlsatarget=pla-1262376588896&abcId=9300697&merchantid=119194559&gclid=Cj0KCQiA8vSOBhCkARIsAGdp6RSKUEgtU5pTHsLAJOceBiUzvc1etBdDBsyFJFBlz61K8f0ddFSPS98aAoxVEALw_wcB

Edited January 11, 2022 by datsunfreak

[datsunfreak]

This one seems to be the only one not in Thailand, though...

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/132023578523

[EDM620]

Thanks guys, seems Thailand is the place where rubber is still made...

[datsunfreak]

5 hours ago, EDM620 said:

Thanks guys, seems Thailand is the place where rubber is still made...

 

Pretty much. 😁

[Lockleaf]

In my 510 thread, I totally redid the dash pad with blow foam, a yoga mat, and some marine vinyl.  Turned out pretty good I think.  Its been the car for 3 years now and seems to be holding up pretty well.  If you are interested in redoing your dash cap, my build might be worth a look for you.

[EDM620]

On 1/19/2022 at 12:35 PM, Lockleaf said:

a yoga mat

Well I gotta check that out...

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Yoga mat might make nice seat covers too. At least in the middle where it would be soft and cushy.

[EDM620]

On 1/21/2022 at 10:33 AM, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

At least in the middle where it would be soft and cushy

Not too soft & cushy I hope 

[EDM620]

I've been working on restoring the badly cracked dash over the past while, and watched many YouTube videos with mixed results. I've gone and notched out the cracks and removed much deteriorated foam, to end up with some damn wide/deep cracks to fill. I was concerned that the filler might need some additional support to ensure it doesn't end up working loose, so I imbedded some wire into the foam to act like rebar.

Then I applied a low-expanding foam, trimmed it up and reapplied more foam as needed.

I ended up with some remaining air bubbles after sanding, but the overall surface looked pretty good. At this point I've been trying to decide what to use to coat the foam with. Body filler or epoxy won't work as those harden and become brittle, sure to crack with any contact or even heat expansion. There are a couple products out there made for that, but either not available locally to me or too expensive. I rolled the dice and decided to gamble on a different method.

The product I've used as a seam sealer remains slightly pliable and seems to set up just hard enough that it can be sanded. I'm going to give this a few days to fully cure and see what happens. It's possible that I may have just screwed myself and end up having to strip everything and start over, but I have a good feeling about this. I'll know in a few days.

[EDM620]

So it may be said that gambles don't always work out. The PL doesn't take well to being sanded however the flexibility on the foam is great, the surrounding dash pad is pretty brittle in comparison. The PL does sand some so I'm going to give it a few more days and see if it hardens up further - presently it clogs up sandpaper pretty quick so I'm also experimenting with other methods. Fingers crossed that this will work out.

 

I'm giving more thought to having someone recover the pad with naugahyde (how many nauga's will have to be sacrified for thier hides?), the Mrs suggested a trip to Mexico and have it done in leather, but I just got back from there so no more trips for a while. I'll check with a local shop and get a quote - I'm sure to choke on the number they throw at me. I had not intended to spend so much on just a dash... the cheap bastard that I am.