Already making some progress on the old Datsun pickup :)

Post by **nsrZ32** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:16 pm

We've done a lot of work to the 1971 Datsun 521 Pickup considering I've only had it a couple days.

Under load it had a miss and since it hadn't been driven much in quite awhile we did some basic maintence (coolant, radiator cap, oil, filter, plugs, bled the brakes and put in some fresh fluid, cleaned the carb, put some fresh fuel in it).

There was a lot of bubbling in the paint on the wheels so we sanded them down and laid down a few coats of rustoleum gloss grey paint to clean them up. Also the rear bumper, some farmers diamond plate deal with a hitch, had a lot of surface rust so we sanded and prepped it and painted it silver to clean up the look some. Replaced a lot of bolts and fasteners to ensure everything was secure and good to go.

On the inside I did some serious vacuuming and cleaned out what looked like a couple ancient nests from under the bench seat. Also found the factory tool kit and a bunch of random odds and ends stuff inside.

In the engine bay I cleaned up all the wiring and fixed a lot of the connections and then rerouted and rewraped the harness. Also did some general cleaning and once again got rid of a couple animal nests and a ton of cob webs. The highlight of the engine bay was discovering it has a Weber Redline carb on it

Outside I gave it a good bath, cleaned years of gunk out of the bed, went over the whole truck with a brillo pad to remove any oxidation and surface rust build up, then tossed a quick coat of wax on it to protect everything.

Amazingly it purs like a kitten and runs, stops, and shifts good Enough rambling though....on to the pics!

When I went to look at it....

Tossed the Optima redtop out of my Z32 in there for some good cranking power. Look at that nasty mess!

How ancient were these bad boys? Replaced them with some NGK's

Coolant wasn't near as bad as the oil

Old radiator cap vs. new radiator cap. We also fixed some leakage from some old coolant hoses.

A little bit of rust on the steelies

Mother Trucker

Its like new! (I'm going to register a 1971 plate to the truck )

Interior needs a little work

Oh snap batman....there's a halfway decent engine bay under all that crap

Actually a little shine

Definitely a badass truck for $500

Post by **scotttak** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:20 pm

should swap in a titan motor. then you can haul really big things in a little truck.

Post by **srpowered240sx** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:31 pm

pretty sweet daily parts hauler. i approve.

Post by **Black on Gold** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:50 pm

Looks good Jerry. The rear bumper is the shinniest thing on there

Post by **Logan76** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 9:19 pm

I LOVE IT!!! you need to fix some things yet, but im sure you already have that planned, this is my favorite vehicle out of all of NSR.

Post by **AZhitman** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 9:54 pm

Logan76 wrote:this is my favorite vehicle out of all of NSR.

This man speaks big truth.

I approve.

Post by **Dano** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 9:54 pm

scotttak wrote:should swap in a titan motor. then you can haul really big things in a little truck.

x2

-Dan

Post by **SayNoToPistons** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 11:40 pm

Wow, you're already working on it. Sweet!

Post by **nsrZ32** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 4:01 am

Thanks guys

Its a fun project and I love the little truck. Going to tinker with it some more today.

Post by **HashiriyaS14** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 4:41 am

I see no 11 inch wide SSR Mk2's.......

Fender mirrors or fail!

Post by **Mr1der** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 5:03 am

does the little L series burn or leak anything?

Post by **iwantans13** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 9:53 am

Who's Versa?

Post by **oldschoolsilvia** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:24 am

HashiriyaS14 wrote:I see no 11 inch wide SSR Mk2's.......

Fender mirrors or fail!

Haha its gotta have those

Awesome truck

Post by **bobotech** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:30 am

Looks good but please get to a tire shop and flip those white walls around so that its blackwall showing.

It would really help.

Also you should put this truck as your siggy.

Post by **JimmyMethod** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:54 am

Plans to replace the diamond plate?

I'm glad Jerry has this truck and no one else in NICO.

I trust him to do this thing right.

Post by **AZhitman** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 11:10 am

Not even....me?

I'm actually looking for an older one (64-65), with the "Cameo" bed.

Post by **sbird1** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 11:16 am

Very nice job so far, Jerry. That thing needs some major TLC.

Post by **Florida240sx** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 11:34 am

Not bad at all. I'd pick up for that.

Post by **EvoRay** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 11:43 am

nice truck! those wheels have a nice lookin dish to them too...hehe

Post by **HashiriyaS14** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 2:58 pm

bobotech wrote:Looks good but please get to a tire shop and flip those white walls around so that its blackwall showing.

Nonsense! The whitewalls are the hotness, they visually expand the size of the wheel relative to the tire.

Keep 'em.

Post by **nsrZ32** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 4:25 pm

Mr1der wrote:does the little L series burn or leak anything?

Nope, it runs awesome and doesn't leak at all.

iwantans13 wrote:Who's Versa?

We got it as a daily driver for my Mom

JimmyMethod wrote:Plans to replace the diamond plate?I'm glad Jerry has this truck and no one else in NICO.I trust him to do this thing right.

I think I'm going to repaint it grey. Its a little too flashy in the silver color but for now its better than rusty brown I think I might keep it. Flows with the whole Missouri work truck history bit.

craziazzmofo66 wrote:nice truck! those wheels have a nice lookin dish to them too...hehe

When I eventually finish the wheels, i'm going to do the centers the same color as the truck and the lip in black. Will give it a clean old school look.

Post by **nsrZ32** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 4:29 pm

So today I had planned to really tackle the interior but after looking at the truck, I just couldn't handle the dull, faded, heavily oxidized paint on it. So I broke out the buffer, some rubbing/polishing compounds, and hoped for the best. I mean what's the worst that would happen right?

So here's the results....

Hood buffed and rubbed on one side

The other side untreated

Side by side, top of fender and half of hood vs. other side untreated

Not bad for 37 year old paint

Looking good

The pictures don't do the difference nearly enough justice. In person it looks like the truck was repainted.

Post by **iwantans13** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 5:09 pm

This gets my seal of approval. ON WITH THE ORANGE!

Post by **NSR_s30** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 5:13 pm

Looks good man. I love that truck.

Post by **maxhopper** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 5:26 pm

That is kickass Jerry! I absolutely love that truck. You should bring it to Nashville.

Post by **Bwana** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 5:32 pm

Where the heck do you get the time to do all this????

Post by **bobotech** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 5:38 pm

HashiriyaS14 wrote:
Nonsense! The whitewalls are the hotness, they visually expand the size of the wheel relative to the tire.

Keep 'em.

WTH? They what?

Screw you, they make it look like some old man tires.

The only cars that should have whitewalls should be cars from the 50's, Indian motorcycles, Harley full dress cruisers and Caddys with Vogues.

The little Datsun is really cool, but the whitewalls look like some cheap Kmart tires. I have always equaled whitewalls with old man tires.

I am quite surprised at how well its cleaning up with nothing more than cleaning up!

Post by **Logan76** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 6:24 pm

well now all you have left to do is a new front bumper and an LS1.

Post by **SeVa-S13** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 6:30 pm

I like the way this thread is going, and I know there have been some decently quick L16/18/20's in dimes and such. I vote for research into that next.

Post by **nsrZ32** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 12:49 am

bobotech wrote:WTH? They what?

Screw you, they make it look like some old man tires.

The only cars that should have whitewalls should be cars from the 50's, Indian motorcycles, Harley full dress cruisers and Caddys with Vogues.

The little Datsun is really cool, but the whitewalls look like some cheap Kmart tires. I have always equaled whitewalls with old man tires.

I am quite surprised at how well its cleaning up with nothing more than cleaning up!

Not exactly a tactful way to say you disagree lol

Anyway, its needs new tires soon as there is some dry rotting and cracking present. I'm not sure what kind of tires I'll go with as this is a budget project. Most likely it will be four used tires with decent tread that I can snag from the tire pile at work

Bwana wrote:Where the heck do you get the time to do all this????

I gave up sleep as my new years resolution

Already making some progress on the old Datsun pickup :)

Already making some progress on the old Datsun pickup :)

Re: Already making some progress on the old Datsun pickup :) (nsrZ32)

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