CollinMB's RestoMod 521

[mrbigtanker]

4 hours ago, CollinMB said:

On a side note, anyone know what a good listing price would be for a running L16 and 4-speed trans?

About 500.00. The 4 speed will be hard to move and L16 here in Cali would be a gender neutral person just looking for an engine quick.

[Crashtd420]

13 hours ago, CollinMB said:

On a side note, anyone know what a good listing price would be for a running L16 and 4-speed trans?

Theres a guy in the classifieds that need the motor..... 

He's in SoCal too....

[CollinMB]

13 hours ago, mrbigtanker said:

About 500.00. The 4 speed will be hard to move and L16 here in Cali would be a gender neutral person just looking for an engine quick.

 

That's about what I figured

 

3 hours ago, Crashtd420 said:

Theres a guy in the classifieds that need the motor..... 

He's in SoCal too....

 

Thanks, I'll take a look

[chicosauce]

Hey! I have been following your build. Your truck looks sweet. I was wondering if you could share details/Part #s on the NRG hub and quick release you used. The site doesn't list anything for 521, but I do have one off my old 620. Not sure if they are the same. Also, does the hub/QR push the wheels out towards you a lot? Saw someone on youtube use a different brand system and it look uncomfortably close lol. Thanks 

[CollinMB]

The hub is the same as a 240z hub. PN: SRK-142H

 

It does sit pretty close with the quick release. For non-powered rack it actually helps to turn the wheel. 

[mainer311]

Pretty sure most Datsun steering hubs are the same. My ‘68 roadster hub fits my ‘71 hub no problem.

[chicosauce]

On 3/2/2021 at 2:04 PM, CollinMB said:

The hub is the same as a 240z hub. PN: SRK-142H

 

It does sit pretty close with the quick release. For non-powered rack it actually helps to turn the wheel. 

I 

Nice I have the same hub. I think ill hold off on the QR for now. 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Hub spacers are common.

[CollinMB]

This weekend was very much a clean, scotchbrite, tape, clean again, then paint type of weekend:

 

Have most of the surface rust on the front handled at this point with the exception of the two rust spots that need to be filled.

 

After that, I decided to push forward and start to get the truck prepped to pull the engine.

 

 

Coolant has been drained, the radiator has been binned, and all the wiring harnesses have been pulled.  The las step is just to drain the oil and trans oil. I have a buddy dropping off an engine hoist and we should be good to pull this old heap.

[CollinMB]

Quick question, my truck came with this rear bumper that I've never seen on any other 521's

 

Does anyone know how much this might be worth? It's been sitting on my balcony for about a year now and I'd rather see it go to someone that actually wants it.

[mrbigtanker]

7 hours ago, CollinMB said:

Quick question, my truck came with this rear bumper that I've never seen on any other 521's

 

Does anyone know how much this might be worth? It's been sitting on my balcony for about a year now and I'd rather see it go to someone that actually wants it.

Its worth 100.00. And that's if any one wants it. Those style bumpers are ugly on these trucks but yes I know they're functional. 

[datzenmike]

Better looking than those diamond plate ones. Well slightly better. Black might be better than chrome

[CollinMB]

11 hours ago, datzenmike said:

Better looking than those diamond plate ones. Well slightly better. Black might be better than chrome

There's always paint or powder coat

[Charlie69]

12 hours ago, mrbigtanker said:

Its worth 100.00. And that's if any one wants it. Those style bumpers are ugly on these trucks but yes I know they're functional. 

 

 

This looks like the bumper that was on several of my 1980 720s and also some of the 78/79 620s I have owned over the years.

Edited March 23, 2021 by Charlie69

[CollinMB]

Anndd... it's out:

 

 

[Charlie69]

Engine bay clean up time!  LOL

[CollinMB]

Pretty much. Going to start removing all the accessories and remaining mounts tomorrow morning.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Why did so many people paint their engine bays black? I would much rather have 50 year old original color than 30 year old crappy rattle can black.

 

Purple power, a big brush and a pressure washer may get that nasty black paint off.

[Charlie69]

Leave the Purple power on for a long time and re-coat then wait an hour or so and pressure wash.  Hot water pressure wash helps also.

[CollinMB]

4 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Why did so many people paint their engine bays black? I would much rather have 50 year old original color than 30 year old crappy rattle can black.

 

Purple power, a big brush and a pressure washer may get that nasty black paint off.

I'll be painting it a light grey once I get to that point. My guess was they were trying to hide the surface rust

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

19 hours ago, CollinMB said:

I'll be painting it a light grey once I get to that point. My guess was they were trying to hide the surface rust

Oh, good. Just do a nice job, or in 30 more years someone else will be complaining about a crappy job.

 

My views on paint are that original paint is always better. I see so many cars and trucks that have were painted when they were only a few years old, and now many years later, the respray has failed, while the original paint underneath would have outlasted it three times over.

 

To give a bit of context, there was a time when people just repainted their cars every so often. The paint would get shabby, and cars were just cars, so off to the painter they would go. My father in law was like that. No matter how hard I tried, I could never convince him that while you can restore a car a thousand times over, it's only original once.

 

That's my rant for the day. Apologies for the thread jack.

[CollinMB]

Lol, no worries. Unfortunately the truck has already been repainted previously. Not the worst, but also not the best repaint. There's also a few spots of hidden rust that will need to addressed as well.

[CollinMB]

the L16 and trans has been sold. Lately I've just been brushing up on my welding. To say I'm a bit rusty might be an understatement. Going to keep practicing and trying different techniques to get more consistent before I attempt any of the bigger jobs (I.E. welding in the subframe).

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Hotter welds penetrate more, so get as much heat as you can into the weld and then try backing it down to the point that it has a nice bead to it. The theory is that the width of the weld should be as thick as the two pieces of metal you are joining. So if you're welding two 1/8" thick pieces, the weld should be 1/4" wide. You can do this with a combination of heat and making circles with the welding torch. I actually don't make circles, but more of an elliptical shape as I go, and this depends on whether you're welding on a flat surface, upside down, in a 90 degree joint or around a piece of tubing. On tubing, I change direction of the circles as I go to account for the sag of the molten metal.

 

I was not professionally trained, so pardon me if this advice goes against what a teacher may have taught you. These are just methods I have adopted over the years.

[CollinMB]

A lot of what I was running into was the machine's suggested settings weren't anywhere close to a good configuration for making a good pool without burning through. Also, my auto dimming helmet decided to go on the fritz. 

Most of the things I was taught for welding is make sure to have enough heat to penetrate and then get a consistent pool going so once the weld is done, the pieces should more or less be a single piece and not two pieces held together with a "glue".