My new to me 64 NL 320 Pickup

[Zippy67roadster]

So I picked this little NL3420 up a couple weeks ago and have started replacing things like the ignition system parts, coolant system parts and hydraulic parts.  I will start on the brakes in a week or so.  I am looking to have it running in the next couple days.  It cranks over but I am still trying to get the correct size belt on it.  I will try to fire it off a jar of fuel.  I am not sure of the fuel pump is working but if it doesn't I will replace it with an electric one and move forward.  I have already purchased the brake parts needed short of new drums.  I found an replacement passengers outside door handle and bought some aftermarket headlight surrounds.  The fuel tank had a rats nest in it so I cleaned it out and flushed it with acetone.  i have a cleaning/sealing kit on the way to finish it off right.  Once running and stopping I will focus on getting the title and then drive it until my new shop is up and ready.  Once the shop is complete I will do a frame off restoration and spray it white over red.  You can follow the restoration on my site here https://sincitydatsuns.com/restorations.html

 

[stevecar]

It looks like a big project.

I see in your write-up that you say "It came stock with an A12 series motor but this one had it replaced with an A14."

Stock would have been an E1 motor. A14 is a good replacement though.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

That's neither an A12 or an A14.

 

Running and driving - no problem

Safe and reliable - couple grand

Restored - years of sourcing hard to find parts

 

Have fun!

[Zippy67roadster]

So upon further inspection the motor is not an A14 but a J13 with a Weber 32/36 carb.  The fuel pump isn't working so I sprayed some starting fluid in the carb and it fired up and ran for a couple seconds.  That is promising so I ordered a new fuel pump and a rebuild kit for the carb.  I will be gone the next 10 days but when I get back I should have the motor running!!

[Zippy67roadster]

6 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

That's neither an A12 or an A14.

 

Running and driving - no problem

Safe and reliable - couple grand

Restored - years of sourcing hard to find parts

 

Have fun!

The only things I am missing are the front turn signals and a bench seat.  I plan on doing a full frame off restoration of it once my new shop is up.  I have done numerous frame off restorations on Datsun SPL311 Roadsters and they take me about 10 months to finish.  Once the shop is up I figure this little truck should take about the same.  As for a couple grand to make it safe and reliable I figure it will take $4K to $5K as I plan on converting the drum brakes to disc front and back.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

On 5/30/2023 at 2:26 PM, Zippy67roadster said:

The only things I am missing are the front turn signals and a bench seat.  I plan on doing a full frame off restoration of it once my new shop is up.  I have done numerous frame off restorations on Datsun SPL311 Roadsters and they take me about 10 months to finish.  Once the shop is up I figure this little truck should take about the same.  As for a couple grand to make it safe and reliable I figure it will take $4K to $5K as I plan on converting the drum brakes to disc front and back.

Cool. SOunds like you know what you're doing.

 

I might reconsider the rear disc conversion though. Unless you get a kit using parts from a vehicle that was designed to use rear disc brakes )on a semi floating axle), you will run into the same issues that other's find out the hard way.

 

That's a long way of saying, I have only seen one rear disc conversion for Datsuns that I would consider. Guys here have done it using Isuzu Trooper parts (I think).

[Zippy67roadster]

1 hour ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Cool. SOunds like you know what you're doing.

 

I might reconsider the rear disc conversion though. Unless you get a kit using parts from a vehicle that was designed to use rear disc brakes )on a semi floating axle), you will run into the same issues that other's find out the hard way.

 

That's a long way of saying, I have only seen one rear disc conversion for Datsuns that I would consider. Guys here have done it using Isuzu Trooper parts (I think).

I appreciate the warning.  I only converted the front on my 67 411 wagon so I wouldn't be opposed to just the front converted on the truck.

[320 Newb]

I feel like front disks are more than adequate.  J13 isn't that peppy and 320s are geared like tractors. 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Yes, the stock Datsun drum brakes are huge by comparison to other vehicles of the era. Not just huge, but pretty good components too. Rears are easy to keep adjusted which makes them less of a hassle than drum front brakes.

 

Discs on the front dramatically improve the stopping distance, but be sure to upgrade to a dual circuit master cylinder. Use one from a 620 pickup. You'll have to slightly enlarge the hole in the firewall, but only a few thousandths.

[difrangia]

Also might need a proportioning valve. I have the 'BlueHands' front disc convert and 620 master and I need to put a portioning valve; I have to be careful about agressive braking. With the stock suspension, I don't want to be doing much in the way of extreme motoring anyway. I plan to change the rear axle ratio from stock 4:88 to 4:11 at some point as I really don't want to cruise much more than 55-65 mph with the quirky-choppy ride the pickup has. 

[Zippy67roadster]

So I have her running and driving but the stopping part, not so much.  I replaced all of the brake cylinders front and rear along with the adjusters and even had stainless brake hoses made.  I put new shoes and a new master cylinder on it as well.  The only thing not replaced were the drums themselves.  I took a test drive after I got the clutch slave cylinder on and bled to see if she would shift gears.  The good news is she shifts into all gears.  The bad news was when I hit the brakes she wouldn't stop.  I bled the system 2 more times around and then today I was trying to test the brakes and when I hit the pedal the rear passenger side brake cylinder popped the cylinder out!  I have never seen this happen on drum brakes.  The retaining pin and all the hardware is installed correctly so I am not sure what happened.  Any insight to why the brakes aren't working or why the brake cylinder would push the piston out would be appreciated.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Sounds like they may not be adjusted all the way.

[difrangia]

Does the pedal (master cylinder) build and retain solidly, or does it loose fluid while your foot is kept on it or loose pedal after it's let up? What I'm asking is when your foot is off the pedal for half a minute or so, does it go to floor, fully or part way, or does it stay up when your foot is reapplied for the next stop?

[thisismatt]

Shouldn't be able to push the piston out unless way out of adjustment 

[Zippy67roadster]

8 hours ago, difrangia said:

Does the pedal (master cylinder) build and retain solidly, or does it loose fluid while your foot is kept on it or loose pedal after it's let up? What I'm asking is when your foot is off the pedal for half a minute or so, does it go to floor, fully or part way, or does it stay up when your foot is reapplied for the next stop?

It stays up with good pedal.  When I bled it all I got was fluid no air and I took the front drums off and verified the brake cylinders were working, they just weren't holding the drum from rotating.  The only thing I can think of is that the drums are so worn that the shoes won't apply enough pressure on them?

[Zippy67roadster]

3 hours ago, thisismatt said:

Shouldn't be able to push the piston out unless way out of adjustment 

When you say way out of adjustment what do you mean?  When I put the new adjusters on was I to manually adjust them until the shoes dragged a little bit without applying the brake pedal?  I did that and still have no brakes!

[Zippy67roadster]

9 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Sounds like they may not be adjusted all the way.

You mean adjust the adjuster manually until the shoes drag a bit without applying the brake pedal?  If so I have done that.

[thisismatt]

I usually adjust until I pretty much can't move the drum by hand, then backed off.  FSM says back off 12 ratches after tightening to "considerable drag".

[thisismatt]

Oh, and hand brake should be OFF/RELEASED

Edited August 22, 2023 by thisismatt

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

But if the wheel cylinder fell out, there must have been a ton of adjustment left.

[wayno]

The way center pull e-brake systems work on the 320, 520, 521, and early 620 I believe is you need to disconnect the e-brake, adjust the brake shoes, then connect the e-brake cable back up and adjust it.

 

I had this issue on my 520, it turned out it had the wrong brake cylinder on one side that was too short, when the e-brake was pulled the wheel cylinder piston slid out too far sometimes and it would not go back into position when the e-brake was released, especially if I did not drive it for a long time, I got tired of it leaking while sitting so I figured out what the issue was.

[Zippy67roadster]

On 8/22/2023 at 7:04 PM, wayno said:

The way center pull e-brake systems work on the 320, 520, 521, and early 620 I believe is you need to disconnect the e-brake, adjust the brake shoes, then connect the e-brake cable back up and adjust it.

 

I had this issue on my 520, it turned out it had the wrong brake cylinder on one side that was too short, when the e-brake was pulled the wheel cylinder piston slid out too far sometimes and it would not go back into position when the e-brake was released, especially if I did not drive it for a long time, I got tired of it leaking while sitting so I figured out what the issue was.

Ah!  The parking brake cable was broken when I got the truck.  I will replace it and adjust them again then set the parking break and see how that works.  Thanks!!!

[Zippy67roadster]

Does anyone know if the parking brake cable for a 520/521 works on the 320?

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

[Crashtd420]

On 8/23/2023 at 8:14 PM, Zippy67roadster said:

Does anyone know if the parking brake cable for a 520/521 works on the 320?

Do you have the old ones?

I believe my 521 cables are in my basement.... I could measure for comparison if you'd like....