Charlie69's 66 520 Build

[mklotz70]

Wow! That looks awesome Charlie!!! Great job!!!

[Charlie69]

Thanks guys. The 2 holes you see in the passenger side firewall are for the the AC lines I still need to locate and drill for the 2 heater hoses. Yes I am going to be able to squeeze a 1980 720 heater & AC into the 520!!! It is a squeeze to.

 

This tunnel & firewall has been almost 2 years in the making. Wow am I glad it is in & on the down hill slope to being finished.

 

I will be mocking up the AC & heater in the next week. so more pictures to come.

 

Also I found a 1980 Datsun 310 power booster that is the same diameter & mounting as the stock 620 one except this booster has the horizontal studs to mount the 300ZX master cylinder to and the 300ZX master cylinder bolts up with no mods. The only mod I will have to do is swap out the push rod that is clevised to the pedal for the longer 620 one.

 

Happy Days are here again for me!!!

[Bob3]

Great work Charlie! Keep on pushing there is light at the end of the tunnel! ;)

[wayno]

Hi there Charlie, that transmission tunnel/cover looks real good, I would venture to say professional, good job. :thumbup: I have a freind that put the 720 heater box in his 521, i'll see if he took any Oics. It might have been in the way, pas. leg room, he took it out and put a modified 521 heater box in later, bigger fan motor. I'll ask him why he took it out. Good job. wayno

[deadmonkey]

Looks great, though somebody needs to wear some gloves while welding! :)

[Charlie69]

Looks great, though somebody needs to wear some gloves while welding! :)

 

He welds like this all day every day.

 

Thanks guys for the encouragement

[sick620]

Looking good! I sure like the progress keep it up!

[Charlie69]

Thanks Sick620.

 

Well I have been grinding down welds. I got bored grinding welds so I have been working on the heater AC assembly. I have also fit the brake pedal assembly, emergency brake handle assembly & throttle pedal & kick down switch.

 

Here are pictures of the heater & AC assemblies. The heater & AC are from a 1980 720 and the controls are centered with the radio hole in the dash. I still have the duct work to do. I need to install my wiper assembly to besure the new ducting clears the mechanism.

 

I received my power window hardware from PEZi720. I already have the power locks. All Datsun/Nissan parts except radiator & fans. I installed the radiator will order 2 12" fans tomorrow.

 

I have the pedals emergency brake handle apart waiting for paint to dry before reassembly.

 

Here are a couple of pictures of the progress.

 

 

[wayno]

Hi there Charlie, It's looking good, are you going to use the stock 720 console under the heater/AC control assembly, if you are, make sure you find an early one that says, "DATSUN" :lol: I am going to try to fab something up with the 720 console and see if I can get it to blend in, I think you have a better chance to achieve it than I do with the heater controls where they are. wayno

 

 

[Charlie69]

Hi Wayno,

 

 

I plan on using these controls. These do not have Datsun or Nissan on them.

 

I am planning on making a custom console that flows up into the dash. I will probably not use the black plastic bezel that is pictured on the controls. The radio cutout is where I will have my center heat/AC vent. I plan on doing the driver & passenger side vents that if I can will be placed centered where the ignition switch hole is and matching that position on the passenger side also. I will probably extend the dash down just enough to hide all the ducting. I am considering making a panel to hide the AC & Blower assembly. I have been looking at the way some of the Altima consoles flow into the dash.

Edited January 24, 2020 by Charlie69

[wayno]

Hey Charlie, I installed both the 1984 mazda door seals today, I was worried about it at first, because the drivers side around the window frame didn't touch very much if at all, but the pass. side fits perfect, so I am assuming that my drivers window frame might be slightly bent, otherwise I think there the same seal, there not to short or to long, there just right. I looked at the 84 ranger seals and there differant?? I was of the opinion that it was the same truck, but there are differances.

[Charlie69]

These look like they fit perfect. Do they seal good? I wonder if they are available new from the dealer? Thank you Wayno for taking the time to document this & also for posting it where I could find it! LOL

[hacked521]

Hey Charlie, that transmission tunnel came out awesome. Looks like its starting to really come together!

[kezark31]

looks awesome make me want to play with my 521

[Wide14u]

keep it coming

[Charlie69]

Thanks guys i appreciate it.

 

Hacked that means a lot coming from a fabricator of your caliber.

[Charlie69]

I have the AC/Heater mounted. Made the adapters for the defroster ducts 720 to 520. Working on the AC/heater duct work now. Pictures to follow as soon as I figure out why my camera is taking blured pictures.

 

Does any one know what a safe operating temperature range for 3N71B automatic transmission is?

 

Has any one had any experience with this type of cooler?

 

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DER-13262/

 

I am thinking of installing one of these on the front of my frame rail under the radiator behind the apron.

[burrito213]

im glad there is progress on this truck. Charlie, awsome build! :D

[Charlie69]

I did this a while back but I forgot to include it. Modded radiator support frame toget more room for radiator & AC condenser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wayno]

Hey there Charlie, since you moved the firewall back are you going to run the stock fan? Or are you going to run an electric fan? Sorry if you already talked about this, but I have forgotten. wayno

[the510keeper]

This thing looks like it will be a great daily driver. I hate my truck payment, it nice to build something and use it without having to spend the money every month.

[Charlie69]

510keeper my plan is a daily driver.

 

Wayno I will run electric still do not have enough room for stock fan.

[BlondesN521s]

Hey I'm liking this a lot!

 

I'm about to pick up a 69 521 for 200 :)

[Charlie69]

BlondesN521s If that is you in the avatar the seller should have sold it to you for $50 just because you are willing to try to put the 521 back on the road. Good luck with your project & congrats.

 

My most challenging metal fab is still a head. Replacing the fresh air intake, I had to cut it out to get the heater defroster plumbed. It will have several opposing angles whatever that means. LOL

 

In the process of customizing a 1980 720 column, turn signal switch, wiper switch, ignition switch, & plastic clam shell to work with my stock 66 520 steering wheel & horn button not to mention the all ready modified steering gear box. I have to have intermittent wipers. Pictures to follow.

[wayno]

Hi there Charlie, what wiring harness are you using? Sorry if I asked this before, I forget already. If you are using a 720 harness which works well with the 720 column electrics such as the lights, four ways, turn signals, wipers and delay, and windscreen washer I can show/tell you how to use a 521 wiper motor to have all 3 of the 720 modes. I did it, but wasted 2 wiper delays figuring it out. I was unable to get the delay to work using the 521 wiring harness. I was also unble to get the 4 ways on the column to work with the 521 harness, so i used the stock 521 4 way switch. I found the hardest thing to wire with the 720 harness is the dash, everything else is easy for me now. I will try to explain the problem with the dash with a 720 harness. I will use the headlight system for an example. Let me say now that round headlights have the ground in a differant position than square headlights, and it is a easy fix. OK, the headlight system in the 720 wiring harness is a stand alone system, that is ok till you try to use the dash high beam light, if you try to use that dash light it supplys a ground that the 720 harness is NOT supposed to have, there are two wires that make that light come on, one is yellow and red line, the other is yellow and blue line, what you do to make the high beam indicator work is go to radio shack and buy a light(same size as the dash light hole) with two wires coming out with no ground and connect the wires to the colored wires mentioned(YR & YL) and put it in the high beam indicator hole, that way the light is still isolated and keeps the circut uncompromised. I was never able to make the dash lights adjustable, and I tried for hours. That is one of the circuts.