Need advice on 521 body

[Matthew M]

I have a 521 that has some body issues. Most are minor dents, but one is a bit of a wart on the right front (see pic). Someone did some bad work here at one point. I would like to get it straight as possible before I open the wallet for a nice paint job next year. I've looked for a replacement panel, but they are almost impossible to find or ridiculously expensive. Evidently no one makes them anymore for the 521. My question to the guys here is this: can this be sanded down or something and fixed? Or do I need to get a new body panel?

 

[Rustbin]

Yes it can be fixed, it will require removal of the old body filler and hammer and dolly work, the bumper and valance probably need to be straightened as well. If you want to tackle this job yourself I recommend watching YouTube videos and finding a bent up piece of metal to practice on, other wise find a body shop that is willing to straighten it for you. I find these days shops focus on panel replacement but many of the older guys still can massage metal.

[banzai510(hainz)]

 Find a fender is best.  Smooth out yourself match paint krylon just that section and put a jdm sticker over it.can paint fades over time blends in. My 521 got hit hard. A buddy pound it out and put a big sticker over it. Its a daily driver worn paint same color people still love truck

[ggzilla]

18 hours ago, Matthew M said:

do I need to get a new body panel?

I would get a used body panel. National wrecking yard hotline will find one

 

An elderly guy helped me with my fender, he made it looks nearly brand new just using a hammer and dolly

[wayno]

I will try to remember to look at what I have, your close to me.

 

I had a person not wait their turn at a 4 way stop and I slammed on the brakes just in time to keep from being slammed on the passenger side on my 521 work truck, I took a hammer and dolly(hunk of metal with different curves) and it does not look that bad, but it is just a work truck, the damage was between the top of the fender and the outside headlight on the same side, the insurance wanted to total it out and I was not having that, I told them I would not file a claim if that was going to happen, they were not having that either, my truck was not branded as a totaled truck, I have had it for 30 years.

 

 

[datzenmike]

Ahhhg. Forgot to hit Submit Reply!

 

The round amber reflector is wrong on a '70 PL521. Front amber and rear red marker lightsshould be  rectangular and light up with parking and headlights. The 1600 emblem is also missing. Is the left side the same? This would be a '69 or older fender. If you have the over head valve J13 engine this is not a '70 PL521 but an earlier L521. If you have the over head cam 1600 then the fender is miss matched.

 

Find a better example of a fender. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bilzbobaggins]

On 8/23/2025 at 5:45 PM, datzenmike said:

Ahhhg. Forgot to hit Submit Reply!

 

The round amber reflector is wrong on a '70 PL521. Front amber and rear red marker lightsshould be  rectangular and light up with parking and headlights. The 1600 emblem is also missing. Is the left side the same? This would be a '69 or older fender. If you have the over head valve J13 engine this is not a '70 PL521 but an earlier L521. If you have the over head cam 1600 then the fender is miss matched.

 

Find a better example of a fender. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Huh.  Some of the early L series 521s had round reflectors.  

[datzenmike]

The L521 was the J13 powered truck and they had round reflectors through '69. The '70 PL521 L16 powered trucks had the mandated rectangular front and rear amber and red lights.

[ggzilla]

USA federal standard FMVSS 108

* After January 1, 1970 cars had to have lamps for both front and rear Side Lamps. Required a red rear and amber front side marker

 

L521 was the J13-powered truck

PL521 was the L16-powered truck (P is the power engine)

[Matthew M]

On 8/23/2025 at 2:45 PM, datzenmike said:

The round amber reflector is wrong on a '70 PL521. Front amber and rear red marker lightsshould be  rectangular and light up with parking and headlights. The 1600 emblem is also missing. Is the left side the same? This would be a '69 or older fender. If you have the over head valve J13 engine this is not a '70 PL521 but an earlier L521. If you have the over head cam 1600 then the fender is miss matched.

 

Find a better example of a fender. 

 

Here are pics of the left side as well as under the hood. So if my assumption is correct, this might be a '70 with older fenders? 

 

In any case, finding a decent right fender for this thing has been difficult. 

 

 

[banzai510(hainz)]

mot looks good

 

[datzenmike]

The front amber marker light should resemble the rear red rectangular marker light on the '70. After all these years a lot of stuff get swapped around. 

 

The car number for the '70 PL521 starts 180071 to 255904 from July to September of '69. This is normal for the '70 production year as they start the summer before. Your number, 238398 falls right in the middle. Is there a build date stamped on the driver's door jam? Does it agree?? 

[Matthew M]

1 hour ago, datzenmike said:

The front amber marker light should resemble the rear red rectangular marker light on the '70. After all these years a lot of stuff get swapped around. 

 

The car number for the '70 PL521 starts 180071 to 255904 from July to September of '69. This is normal for the '70 production year as they start the summer before. Your number, 238398 falls right in the middle. Is there a build date stamped on the driver's door jam? Does it agree?? 

Thank you for your reply. The red markers towards the rear are circular on both sides of the car, if that is to what you are referring. I didn't ever notice the build date plaque, but it is still there and matches. It is October '69.  I'm just curious now if these were the fenders that went on this thing originally as a PL521. It seems like it, but any insight is appreciated. 

 

Edit: Oh, and would a later 521 fender align correctly with this model (in terms of grooves, etc.) or were there changes in the early '70s other than rectangular markers?

[Rustbin]

55 years on it gets hard to find some parts, I would suggest rethinking the replacement panel and fix or get fixed what you have. The left side looks like it has a little filler on it too. Keep checking the Ratsun classifieds.

[datzenmike]

Ahh I saw what I wanted to see. Got it, round rear. The '69 L521 had round rear reflectors but J13 engine. The last L521 was June '69 and 180000 car number. Definitely a '70 and perhaps the bed and the fenders were swapped. The May '68 and '69 L521, and '70-'72 PL521 were basically all the same body style. 

[ggzilla]

The Datsun factory parts catalog shows round marker lights "To Sep.-69" and rectangle "From Oct.-69"

 

Yes, L521 and PL521 are both 521s, although the engine is different. But with every model year something changes. For example, if you find a new front fender, you may have to get a different marker light to match that year of fender