320 Restoration Questions

[geenweb]

Hi, I just came back from looking at a 1965 320. I'm trying to fully understand what I'd be getting myself into with this restoration. I love looks of the model, and it's so simple that I'm not worried about doing the work. I have a 1978 Triumph Spitfire restoration project currently disassembled in my garage, so this is the wrong time to be buying this truck. But opportunities only come along every so often.

 

Current owned says he bought this in Washington state 24 years ago to restore and its been in his garage ever since. Very little rust I could find except for a few inch long by 1/4" wide rust through holes in both rocker panels. Truck cab and bed have numerous smallish to medium dents. :( Owner claims paint is original. The rubber is all dry rotted. Seals around windows, rubber around the windshield, etc. etc. Can replacements for this stuff be found?

 

The truck has 40K on the odometer, but the owner said the engine made a "funny noise" so they swapped the engine and transmission with one from a B210. This part of the story is a bit odd. He and his mechanic friend didn't know the model of the engine, displacement, or how many miles. The mechanic guessed over 100K. Mechanic thought maybe it was the water pump on the old engine making the noise. He put a new water pump on the replacement engine. The replacement engine fits perfectly. THey didn't mention any difficulties fitting the replacement engine. The old engine and transmission were sitting near the truck. The valve cover on the engine in the truck says "Datsun", the valve cover on the engine removed from the truck says "Nissan". I asked if the valve covers were swapped and they said no. Wouldn't the original engine have a "Datsun" valve cover? They swapped the engines/transmissions ~5 years ago, but never finished the job. Never hooked up hoses, electrical, etc. Basically just bolted in the engine and the transmission.  Even the driveshaft was never reconnected. The clutch pedal drops to the floor, so the clutch is obviously not hooked up. The brake pedal drops right to the floor as well. Owner said he had no idea what condition the brakes are in. I know all the hydraulic cylinders in my 78 Spitfire that also sat in a garage for 25 years are shot due to internal rust due to the hygroscopic nature of brake fluid. How hard are brake parts to get?

 

Neither door closes. It's not just that the latches don't catch, it was really hard to push the doors all the way closed. The owner said they probably just needed adjustment. but I'm concerned something might be twisted or bent? What is the experience of people who have owned these. Are the doors hard to close? These wanted to pop open an inch or so.

 

I pushed on the side of the truck and and it very easily deflected. I imagine this thing would lean way over in a turn, especially if there was any weight in it. The shocks may be shot, or maybe not even there (I didn't think to look or ask). What is the norm with the 320's suspension? This thing felt like a mush bucket.

 

Thanks for any input you have. Will probably help me to make a decision. If this was two years down the road and my Spitfire was done I'd probably go for it without worry. Just don't want to dig myself too deep hole.

 

[wayno]

4 hours ago, geenweb said:

Hi, I just came back from looking at a 1965 320. I'm trying to fully understand what I'd be getting myself into with this restoration. I love looks of the model, and it's so simple that I'm not worried about doing the work. I have a 1978 Triumph Spitfire restoration project currently disassembled in my garage, so this is the wrong time to be buying this truck. But opportunities only come along every so often.

 

Current owned says he bought this in Washington state 24 years ago to restore and its been in his garage ever since. Very little rust I could find except for a few inch long by 1/4" wide rust through holes in both rocker panels. Truck cab and bed have numerous smallish to medium dents. :( Owner claims paint is original. The rubber is all dry rotted. Seals around windows, rubber around the windshield, etc. etc. Can replacements for this stuff be found?

 

The truck has 40K on the odometer, but the owner said the engine made a "funny noise" so they swapped the engine and transmission with one from a B210. This part of the story is a bit odd. He and his mechanic friend didn't know the model of the engine, displacement, or how many miles. The mechanic guessed over 100K. Mechanic thought maybe it was the water pump on the old engine making the noise. He put a new water pump on the replacement engine. The replacement engine fits perfectly. THey didn't mention any difficulties fitting the replacement engine. The old engine and transmission were sitting near the truck. The valve cover on the engine in the truck says "Datsun", the valve cover on the engine removed from the truck says "Nissan". I asked if the valve covers were swapped and they said no. Wouldn't the original engine have a "Datsun" valve cover? They swapped the engines/transmissions ~5 years ago, but never finished the job. Never hooked up hoses, electrical, etc. Basically just bolted in the engine and the transmission.  Even the driveshaft was never reconnected. The clutch pedal drops to the floor, so the clutch is obviously not hooked up. The brake pedal drops right to the floor as well. Owner said he had no idea what condition the brakes are in. I know all the hydraulic cylinders in my 78 Spitfire that also sat in a garage for 25 years are shot due to internal rust due to the hygroscopic nature of brake fluid. How hard are brake parts to get?

 

Neither door closes. It's not just that the latches don't catch, it was really hard to push the doors all the way closed. The owner said they probably just needed adjustment. but I'm concerned something might be twisted or bent? What is the experience of people who have owned these. Are the doors hard to close? These wanted to pop open an inch or so.

 

I pushed on the side of the truck and and it very easily deflected. I imagine this thing would lean way over in a turn, especially if there was any weight in it. The shocks may be shot, or maybe not even there (I didn't think to look or ask). What is the norm with the 320's suspension? This thing felt like a mush bucket.

 

Thanks for any input you have. Will probably help me to make a decision. If this was two years down the road and my Spitfire was done I'd probably go for it without worry. Just don't want to dig myself too deep hole.

 

 

I would be scared of a vehicle that the doors are hard to open and close, the only one I ever looked at that had the same issue had been outside in the elements for years.

 

Rust holes are only the tip of the iceberg(what you can see), if there are holes it is likely safe to say there is much more rust you cannot see.

 

There are a lot of questions about the truck you described above, I personally would have to see it to make any suggestions, half done engine swaps normally are not good, they were not finished for a reason, something like that I would not want for any price unless I was getting it for parts, but I am older now, keep in mind that I have parted out so many 521 and 720 trucks I have lost count on how many I have towed home, and I got them for cheap or free.

 

 

Edited May 4 by wayno

[geenweb]

Thanks. I think I'd really enjoy a 320, and they're pretty rare on the east coast. So, I was hoping this would work out. But my gray beard says listen to the man with experience.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Nissan was a home market name and Datsun is what they used when they came to North America. So an early engine would say Nissan.

 

Door alignment should be easy, especially if the doors have never been off the cab. Try squirting the latch mechanism with WD40 and working it back and forth by hand.