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1962-1965 Datsun L320 and NL320 forums - The truck that started it all in the US. All 320-specific topics and discussion can be found here.
Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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[font=Arial]Hello everybody,[/font]

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[font=Arial]My name is Leroy Kyger and I live in Las Vegas, Nevada.[/font]

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[font=Arial]I have been lurking for awhile and have finally registered. I’m not huge on posting on the web, and when I bought my 320, there was nothing about them (on the web). Low and behold, I wait a few years and there seems to be an explosion of interest in classic Japanese cars. I think this is a great site for fans of these old vehicles. [/font]

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[font=Arial]I want to bring my over 30 years of motorcycle and automotive experience to the table to share with everyone.[/font]

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[font=Arial]I’m posting some pictures of my 1964 Datsun L320 which I have had for almost 20 years. I purchased it for $300.00 from a parking lot here in Vegas. It had a rod out of the engine, but everything else was there. The biggest thing for me was there was not a spot of rust anywhere on it. The truck originally was purchased in Phoenix, Arizona and spent 25 years of its life down there until the original owner drug it up here to Vegas. For those of you living near the coast or in damp areas it’s hard to believe that vehicles don’t rust out here in the desert. Not having any rust was the clincher for me. I have no problem with fabrication and mechanical stuff, but am not fond of trying to repair rust. I applaud all of you guys out there that have restored rusty Datsuns.[/font]

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[font=Arial]My 320 had been painted once (exterior only) and was a brick red color. I went back with the factory red color (in Du Pont Imron) which is now 19 years old. I painted the dash and doors, but the paint inside of the cab was so good, I decided to leave it the original red.[/font]

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[font=Arial]I obtained another E1 engine and figured I could build one from two, but the other engine was worse than the one that was in my truck to begin with. I purchased a JDM J15 which was in great shape. I freshened it up with new main and rod bearings, seals & gaskets and it worked out perfectly.[/font]

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[font=Arial]My truck had (and still does) have the original Kyaba (KYB) shocks on it. When I restored it, I found the shocks had the proper part numbers and date codes, didn’t leak a drop of oil and dampened properly and after restoration with new bushings they went back on the truck. I completely rebuilt the front end with a new link pin kit and upper and lower bushings. The tie rods were in good shape so I cleaned them, and installed new rubber boots (seals) (available from Nissan at the time).[/font]

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[font=Arial]I changed the gearing to a set of 4.39’s from the later model trucks and now have 3.89’s from a roadster which I plan to change out in the near future.[/font]

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[font=Arial]I have tried to leave it as stock as I could with a few exceptions. [/font]

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[font=Arial]Having a huge Delco Remy generator on it when I got it, I got a stock Hitachi generator but didn’t have the heart to put in on. I found a very small 42 amp Nippon Denso alternator from A Daihatsu  Hi Jet and made my own bracket from the original. The double capacity over the stock generator and very small size has worked perfect for the last 19 years.[/font]

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[font=Arial]This truck is tight, runs and drives so well, I would drive it anywhere.[/font]

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[font=Arial]Over the years, I have collected factory owner manuals, service and parts manuals. [/font]

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[font=Arial]After winning several trophies early on, I haven’t entered a show in 16 years. Last weekend, I entered a show and came away with a plaque for one of the top 60 vehicles (out of 330). Now I have a renewed interest in my 320 and plan to attend more shows. I was beat up last weekend to post my truck on the web so, here it is. [/font]

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[font=Arial]Anything I can do to help with keeping these trucks and cars running, just ask and I will do my best to help out.[/font]

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[font=Arial]Oh yeah, sorry for the long post![/font]


Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
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Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
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Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Vega$ 320
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Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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mklotz70
Posts: 323
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Holy Cow!!! Your 320 is completely awesome!!!!  Thanks for joining up and sharing...LOVE THE PICS!!!!  Makes me want to go work on my NL right now!!

....drive it anywhere???  Cool...drive it up to Canby, OR June 14-15 for the Datsun event there!! :)   http://www.datsunsnw.org/

Welcome...you've come to the right place for 320 info!!

..okay...I guess maybe I'd better go get working on it or I won't make it to Canby.....and I'm only 20 miles away! :)

Oh....I'd like to hear more about the alt conversion....more specifically, the neg ground conversion.  Or, does that alt work with the pos ground?  I'm wondering just what you did for the gauges and the radio.  Thanks!

LilDat
Posts: 152
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm
Car: Datsun NL 320, Datsun U320 (the runchwagon) 1972 Datsun 510 wagon
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Beautiful!

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IMH
Posts: 350
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Beautiful truck!  I've done some similar things to my truck though your's has a more original look.   I have a J16 w/a single side draft Weber and a header and the 3.889 SPL311 differential but mine has a dogleg 5 speed and 280Z clutch.   I went with a Ford alternator.  I also have the factory red Du Pont paint.  You appear to also have later model Nissan wheels though mine are the aluminum alloys.  Did you have to use spacers to get your wheels to work?  I did.  I've owned mine for nealy 28 years.  I've also entered and won a few shows but really don't have the interest in that sort of thing now.  I'd just rather get together with people and talk Datsuns and cars in general.  



datsunexcells
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Vega$ 320, I can't say that I've seen a cleaner restoration; is the 520/521 steering wheel and column, an easy replacement for the original? It's nice to see a truck with all the original items on it. John

odpl_jukeizm
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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BEAUTIFUL TRUCK.. AWESOME

Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Hey Mike,

Thank you for the complement.

I've seen pics of your NL, it's really a nice truck to restore and I'm sure you'll have it dialed in and looking good in no time. I'll be watching....

 

As for the ground conversion on my truck, I'm afraid I can't take that credit. When I bought my truck 20 years ago, I didn't have any manuals or technical information and had no idea they were positive ground. My truck shows no indication it was ever positive ground. During restoration, I had all the harnesses out of it and not anywhere did I see any modifications. It had a huge Delco Remy generator when I got it and one of the large rectangle regulators to go with it. After removing the regulator, there were 3-4 ground wires that were connected to one of the regulator mounting screws that had factory screw connectors on the harness that I just reconnected with one screw (see pic). As for the ND alternator, it has an internal regulator and I just made a small harness for the exciter and idiot (ign) light that I hid behind the factory harness. I used the factory 10 gauge white / red output wire and just soldered and shrink tubed it up where the regulator was. That wire now runs from the alternator to the fuse box.

Another thing I though was kind of weird is that my tranny does not have that large black cap to cover that long centrifugal starter pinion. Just a casting bump. Hence, I have a regular starter with the solenoid mounted on it.

The radio is an "almost" period correct Panasonic AM/FM stereo unit that I paid $7.00 (+ shipping) on Ebay and it is negative ground. I caught some static for having an Alpine cassette in it years ago, so I switched to a radio. I at least wanted FM stereo and "kind of" period correct so it half way looks the part.

I have never had any issues with the gauges or electrical. All work status quo.

It's funny, but all the manuals that I have, some of the diagrams show electrical in positive ground and some in negative ground. This may just be early Japanese typos. Who knows.


As for my truck, It's still a mystery to me, but it's all good as long as it works!

 

BTW, I apologize for the fat, bold type in my first post. I did it in Microsoft Word and didn't realize it would be huge...





mklotz70
Posts: 323
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Thanks.  It will be years before it's "dialed" in :)  Looking forward to being able to at least drive it!  I have no intentions or hope of making it as nice as yours! 

Interesting about the wiring.  The generator could have been re-polarized to work with the neg ground so maybe the rest of the rig was "correctly" switched before you got it.  I'm pretty sure the pos ground carried through the 320's into '65.  I know  the '64 and both '65's I've had were pos ground originally.  The radio is the one really big hang up with the conversion. The antenna makes a direct short from positve to ground when it's switched to a neg ground.  So.....since you don't have a stock radio, I would guess someone did the conversion before you got it. :)

Thanks for the info!




Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Hey Stephen,

Thank you. I've been viewing your posts and looking at your truck for some time now because it looks great and I don't know, for some reason, that color on a 320 just kinda catches my eye.... :D

I gotta tell ya that I'm really jealous of that 5 speed. If I didn't want to keep the original trans in mine (for originality) and the unique column shift I would be looking to do the same. I went through a lot of hassle to keep that 4 speed. I guess because the oil dipstick and fill was under the mat, people didn't want to check the fluid. I actually had two trannys that I used to make one. Both had run low on fluid. I couldn't get a 3-4 shift fork and since it was brass, I had a local machine shop braze and re-machine it. I'm sure the fluid in mine had not been checked in years because when I got it, it had orange shag carpeting that looked like it had been laying out in the desert. I also have the old style clutch with the exception of my own modified throw out bearing (which is now a real bearing).

I do use 1/4" spacers on the wheels and they clear and work fine. I have to tell ya, I hate spacers and have been kinda / sorta looking for some after market alloys. I really like the look of your truck with the alloys.

I agree with you on the shows. I haven't entered on for 16 years although I did have a lot of fun last week, I'd still rather sit around at an impromptu gathering and bench race.


Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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John,

Thank you for your comment.

If memory serves me right, the 520 / 521 steering wheel is a real easy replacement for the 320 wheel. I think all I had to do was remove some of the center hub on the inside of the wheel (basically grind it down). Thats all it took to make it work.

Now, if you want the turn signals to cancel properly, you need to re-index the canceling paw. The paw mounts inside the wheel and is a metal plate with two arms sticking up that is held in place with two screws. Looking at the wheel from the bottom, the two screw holes need to be at a 7:00 and 1:00 placement. A porting tool or 1/4 inch drill is needed to clearance (re-slot) inside of the hub to re-locate the canceling paw. The hub is aluminum so it's easy to slot. The wheel has two slots the paw slides into. Sorry, I did this so long ago, I don't have pictures. Once you take a look at it and the canceling arms on the switch, it's really self explanatory. It's very easy. Horn and turn signal canceling work perfect.



 

mklotz70
Posts: 323
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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For 1/4" spacers.....you can cut the center out of a worn out set of brake drums.  They're steel and the holes index to the studs very nicely.  Sure helps if you have a lathe :)

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IMH
Posts: 350
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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[font=Arial][font=arial]I hate spacers too.  That's why I sought a bullet proof solution to the problem of the difference in the offset between my Nissan Hardbody alloys and the stock wheels.  My spacers were cutsom made from 6061-T6 billet aluminum.  They are balanced and are hub-centric to vehicle and to the wheel.  The studs are machine pressed.  Cost me a bit but I didn't want "Autozone" spacers.  Just don't trust that over the counter stuff.  Mine were made by an old drag racer friend of mine, Fred Goeske who has a shop in Canoga Park, Ca. and does custom fabrication in his retirement years.[/font]  Are any of you out there old enough to remember 'Fearless Fred' Goeske?[/font]

Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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WOW! Those spacers sound great. I might have to look into a set. Thanks.

And BTW, I'm old enough to remember, but we might be in select company....

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phlebmaster
Posts: 912
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm
Car: 1973 240z L26 4spd rip roar and ready to go!

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That is awsome!!:D

I bet those trucks didn't look that good off of the showroom floor. Keep us posted

jcheezee
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Leroy my name is josh, i have recently came across two 1965 320's. They need quite a bit of work. I have many parts to replace and lots of work to do. I don't know where to find any parts for these trucks. Any ideas on where to find parts? i do have the engines but need other parts. Please help.

Vega$ 320
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

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Hi Josh,

The best advice I can give you as far as searching for parts is to be diligent. There are several people on this site that sells parts from time to time. One of my best resources for parts is Ebay. It seems that there's always somebody that's parting out a 320. One thing you have to remember is be patient and on top of it (look all the time). Ratsun is another web site to look at for parts too.

Depending on what you need, many of the later model parts will work on the 320. For example, the brake and clutch master cylinders off the 520 & 521 will work on the 320 if you exchange the rods. Wheel cylinders from a 520-521 will bolt right on and work too.

To be able to keep these trucks on the road sometimes toy have to be creative and make parts or modify them to work.

Also Josh, whatever parts you need, post them on the "parts wanted" section in this site.

Good Luck,

Leroy


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