1973 620 find

[craZee]

According to the hood, the truck was pinstriped in 1973 by "Corky". I googled his name and the geographic area the truck was from. I came up with his obituary from 2006 and this funny story written by a friend of his. Sounds like he was a cool guy.

[]2eDeYe]

What a great find. Love that you are just cleaning it up. 

[craZee]

Spent some time cleaning up the underside and lowering the stance this week. With 2" lowering blocks in the rear and adjusting the front torsion arm bolts out, I was able to drop it 2.75". Looks way better in my opinion. Before and after photos attached.

Sent some hardware from the engine bay in for yellow zink plating. Hoping to have it back next week.

Had the valve cover polished. I know this is not the way they came, but I would bet the truck had this done for show purposes.

 

[thisismatt]

On 2/20/2023 at 10:43 AM, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

The disco interior is so ugly that it's cool.

 

I've always felt that if ugly is done to a high standard, then it's ok.

It gave me an epileptic seizure, but it's cool

[craZee]

Just about done cleaning this project up so it's time to get it running. Drained the fuel tank and the contents were very clean. Pulled the spark plugs and 2 look great and 2 look awful. Pulled the SU's (SV's according to the show sign LOL) and found the choke on the front carb stuck open. Makes sense...

Does anyone recognize these SU's? They don't look familiar to me. I've never seen a banjo bolt on vent pipes before. British perhaps? They have Volvo air cleaners on them, but they had to be modified to fit.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Datsun Roadster SUs had banjos.

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by Stoffregen Motorsports

[yenpit]

Some carb parts are still available from Nissan, but not worth the time.  Send a few pics to ZTherapy.com for identification & buy rebuild kits from them OR send the carbs to them for rebuilding!

[craZee]

Is the fitting circled below hooked to a return line to the tank? The one on mine is capped off. I took it apart and it has a reed valve type apparatus inside. I figured maybe it opened under pressure once the two float valves closed.

 

[datzenmike]

Very likely a return line. It encourages a small flow of fuel back to the tank which keeps cooler fresh fuel available for the SUs. SUs are notorious for being exposed to heat from the exhaust even with a heat shield. Without the return line flow on hot days the gas can boil in the lines or the carburetors.

 

All L20Bs had a return. It was much simpler and is just a sealed pipe with a small orifice...

 

[MikeRL411]

23 hours ago, craZee said:

Just about done cleaning this project up so it's time to get it running. Drained the fuel tank and the contents were very clean. Pulled the spark plugs and 2 look great and 2 look awful. Pulled the SU's (SV's according to the show sign LOL) and found the choke on the front carb stuck open. Makes sense...

Does anyone recognize these SU's? They don't look familiar to me. I've never seen a banjo bolt on vent pipes before. British perhaps? They have Volvo air cleaners on them, but they had to be modified to fit.

 

Hitachi version of the SU [and better].

[craZee]

The front grill area was showing it's 50-year age, so I took it apart today and cleaned it up. I love seeing parts with old writing on them. Grill is getting a fresh coat of paint as well. Will reassemble everything tomorrow once stuff dries.

 

[craZee]

This truck has not been registered since the 90's. Part of the process of getting it in the CA DMV system is a vin verification. I have door and engine bay plates, but I am not seeing a vin stamped in the firewall like I see on Z cars and 510's. Is the vin stamped somewhere else on 620's? Does anyone know what the number stamped on the radiator support is? Thanks for all of the help.

[]2eDeYe]

No number on the cab other than the attached plate. 
There is another one on the inside of the frame on the drivers side where it starts to curve down in the back. 

[datzenmike]

Until '81 all car manufactures had their own 'VINs' and it was not standardized and very basic. The DMV is going to expect some 18? digit code and are going to be very disappointed.  

 

Driver's door tag will have date of manufacture and likely the car number. My info. shows the '74 model year starting car number 324,001 and up. I don't have the production numbers for '74 but the previous year there was 225,000 620s made. So...

 

The tag on the inner driver's side fender will have the engine number and the car number*.

 

On the top of the block behind the dip stick handle is the engine size and the engine number. (can't see this absolutely having to match as engines do get replaced)

 

On the top of the frame just forward of the right side engine mount and just below or behind the alternator is the car number*. Use wire brush. This likely has to match the engine tag. Or anyone could swap the tag to avoid emissions testing.

 

 

[Satisaii]

I paid a person to come out and verify mine since it doesn't run.  All he cared about was the VIN plate, and had no problem with it not being an 18 digit VIN. 

 

I think AAA offers that service for free if you are a member.

 

You may have to get it weighed since CA truck taxes are based on weight.  But that may already be in the system.  I was bringing mine in from out of state, so I took it to a public scale.

 

Once all of that was done, AAA put it into the DMV system and handed me plates.

[craZee]

Yes, planning on taking it to AAA once it's running. This sticker should answer the question about weight.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Wouldn't this be the VIN? - PL620280414

 

 

What does the title say?

[craZee]

Yes, that is the vin number. In the past I have been questioned about ID tags that are "mechanically fastened". All the Datsuns I have had, which include 510s, 240-280Zs, 710 have all had the vin number stamped in the firewall. I guess they didn't do that on these.

I have no title. Former owner passed away and it was not found.

I think I will be fine with the info I have.

[craZee]

Bought some new air filters from Pierce Manifolds. Couldn't find any with the right bolt spacing for these Hitachi's, but re-driling the backing plates was easy. Got to thinking last night that I need to check and see if the vent holes (circled in red) are clear. The old filters were a Volvo part LOL

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Yeah, at least one of those vent holes in each carb needs to be open to atmosphere.

 

I've never had a problem with mechanically fastened VIN tags, but the question has come up a few times. I remove them during restoration, and some guys freak out about that, but it's never caused an actual problem.

 

FWIW - I have a registration service do my title transfers now. He knows all the tricks to push it through without hassles.

[Satisaii]

No title in California may be tricky.  You might look into a service for that.  I bought mine from Arizona without a title, got it titled in Utah (where no shits are given), and then brought it into California.  But then I have family in Utah.  I had to have the local Utah PD do a VIN verification for theft and then a trip to the local DMV for the paperwork.  I had a new title in the mail a couple of weeks later.  This was easier than trying to get a new title issued in CA (from what I remember.)

[iceman510]

5 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

I've never had a problem with mechanically fastened VIN tags, but the question has come up a few times. I remove them during restoration, and some guys freak out about that, but it's never caused an actual problem.

 

Did you hear the story of the guy in Kansas who had his Vette impounded because he had used the incorrect rivets when reattaching the VIN plate (maybe chassis number is correct, because I think it was a 60's or 70's model year).  He finally got it back last year after 7 years or something.  It was ridiculous too, because it was never considered stolen or anything.  

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

4 hours ago, iceman510 said:

 

Did you hear the story of the guy in Kansas who had his Vette impounded because he had used the incorrect rivets when reattaching the VIN plate (maybe chassis number is correct, because I think it was a 60's or 70's model year).  He finally got it back last year after 7 years or something.  It was ridiculous too, because it was never considered stolen or anything.  

I am willing to put money down that he made some other blunder during the process, like pissing off the state trooper that was doing the VIN verification. Yes, I've heard horror stories like that, like the guy in New Jersey who had his Dodge "crushed" by the feds, or the grey market Land Rovers that were seized by the govt, but there's always a back story that we don't hear until later.

 

Registering a vehicle in CA. I've learned two important lessons. 1 - speak when spoken to, and 2 - offer as little information as possible.  Too much information and past paperwork confuses them. Anything can get through the CA DMV. You just have to know how to do it. I'm going on two years of work to get my grey market Land Cruiser through the CA DMV, and there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel.

[craZee]

She's ALIVE! After cleaning out the carbs, installing a fresh set of plugs, a new radiator fan, flushing the fuel system and adding a new battery, I turned the key and she instantly came to life. Header gasket is leaking, but all else sounds good. Will test drive tomorrow after I bolt the seats back in.

All lights, horn, turn signals etc seem fully functional as well. Maybe this isn't really a Datsun after all! LOL

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Nice.

 

Consider swapping the bolts that clamp the intake and exhaust to studs instead. The threads in the aluminum head are notorious for stripping.