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Wife thinks I'm nuts..I love it!

55K views 274 replies 27 participants last post by  Gen1Trooper 
#1 ·
Yes she really thinks I have lost my mind..but seriously I have wanted to buy an early Datsun or Luv truck for quite some time..I sold my Rambler wagon project and started looking more seriously..Found this 71 Datsun 521 about 10 minutes away. 1 owner and very original..Actually the paint is all original..the owner removed the tailgate and had a camper installed in 71..sadly the tailgate is long gone (WHY!!!) Overall the bones of the truck are very good. No rust at all anywhere on the body or undercarriage..they had some rubber mats in the truck and so there was some surface rust in the foot board aread..thats it..totally nothing bad. The owner had Sears bucket seats which were made for this Datsun installed in 71 as well..They are acutally kinda nice and since they were made for the truck they are mounted like factory in the factory brackets..no mods so if I find a bench for cheap I may go back but since this is how its been since 71 I figure leave it alone....I found the sales order and receipt in the glovebox for the Sears seats lol. I removed the smokey and the Bandit antenna already and the rear glass is flat (missing now) and I am already scoping out a nice sliding rear window setup. I found a tailgate and its on its way already..Still has the Datsun AM radio..never cut or modified..no teenagers have screwed this one up..just a couple old man issues..lol..Everything works and it actually started right up but had a pin hole leak in a coolant heater hose..then the original owners daughter tells me the gas is 3 years old!...Yikes! shut her down and towed her home. So the plan is for me and my son (9) to get it cleaned up and sorted 100% mechanically (shouldnt be much)..then we will strip it down and have it painted inside and out. New upholstery on the seats and door panels as well as carpet or preferably vinyl flooring if possible?? I plan to remove the original Datsun large mirrors and box them up and save them..I was going to have it sprayed a factory color which is a light pistachio green but my son is really loving the "Nissan Blue" color which is a bright turquoise'ish blue..I think it will end up being blue..lol. Its still an available color that year..My vintage car brain says to respray it back to original white with the black stripe but to me the white looks too blah..
I will post up pics as it comes along..Should get cranking on it in January..
 

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#104 ·
I'm impressed with your ability to multitask on these projects. Both look outstanding and are coming along nicely.
 
#105 ·
Well did a small amount today…Amazing how the Bug looks like it has a blue tint when theres no blue in it at all..lol
 

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#107 ·
Pops new ride.....348 stroker with tripower and a 4 speed...all stock body and interior..I love these sleeper sedans!
Time to see if a built Chevy W engine can handle a built big block wedge..lol
 

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#108 ·
Oh that is sweet!

The bug and the wee pickup are looking great!
 
#109 ·
SWEET!!!!! Oh to have my 1960 Impala ragtop (348) back. Dennis
 
#110 ·
Yeah Dennis...a convert 60 has got to be rare and a 348 powered one! Thats the way it goes though...I watched my dad sell a 1964 Plymouth Savoy lightweight 426 stage 3 car..it was beautiful...for like 35k and a 68 Biscayne 427/425 COPO 4 speed car out of Baldwin Motion for 25k...My mother used the money to fix up our house lol...He still gets teary eyed over that one..
This is a pic of the car...the RareRat plates were originally on his 62 Belair 409 car and moved them to the Biscayne when he sold the 62..
 

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#111 ·
Wow!!! I've seen some rare "factory" sleepers over the years, but never anything that "new (mostly early '60s). Dennis
 
#112 ·
Back on the Datsun…..Picking out interior color and materials this week….Getting closer! Had to find a new painter as my original one disappeared :shock:
I also want to figure out a surfboard rack for the bed that will go in without jacking anything up…I sooooo want a Lightning Bolt board for this truck!~
 

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#113 ·
Can"t wait to see the little Dastsoon put back together. It's gonna be great.

There's one about the same year up the street from me. A Chevy Luv down the street... and a 78 Pinto lives behind me. And an M38A1 hiding somewhere in the neighborhood. The guy stopped to visit while I was working on my truck but I haven't seen it on the road yet. Said he's had it for 40 years.
 
#114 ·
Glad to hear you are back on this project. I was thinking about it the other day and wondered what became of the bug. Give us an update on it too!
 
#115 ·
Well Bug is on hold for now..I have been busy and had to find a new painter. my original painter just disappeared lol..So looking at the truck the new guy and I decided it would be best to do a sand and respray the whole truck. The original painter never finished the doors, tailgate and some important small stuff…so rather than match and so forth we figured best to just do a nice respray. It wasn't laid on too thick the first time..too thin a coat for my liking too. The truck should move quickly now..and once I have it done I can restart on the Bug.
 
#116 ·
The dash cap I am making for the 521…I think ALL 521 dash caps are toast..This is a new cover to install over the top of the ugly cracked dash pad..So far I am liking it..




Fenders off and resprayed..


The plan was to finish this truck up and enjoy it awhile then sell it and move to something else but the more it comes together the more I am thinking it may just hang around longer..a lot longer..lol
Of course I spotted a Chevy Luv today and it would be a 4x4….Pretty sure I will be talking to that owner this week…it was just sitting but looked fine…I wouldn't mind doing a 4x4 Luv truck..My guess is they were converted by a third party here in the States? Dont know if Isuzu made any that way..probably not..Would make a cool truck all restored 70's style :wink:
 
#117 ·
Nope isuzu built them, and they even built them /that/ way. Isuzu is dirty like that, they like to play in the much.
 
#118 ·
Didn't the LUV not go 4x4 until late 70s? If it was an early one (4 headlights) then it most likely didn't come with 4x4 originally. I'm not sure of the years, but I did look it up a few years ago when I went to look at one.
 
#119 ·
76 saw disc brakes, 78 or 79 was the arrival of 4x4....I believe after the headlights dropped from 4 to 2 yes....

I think the 4wd suspension & drivetrain is easily moved back the years? So it could be a pre 78 truck, but with the 4wd of a 78/79 bolted underneath? These are just maybes......
 
#120 ·
Both projects are looking sweet !!

This is crazy my first truck was a 72 pick up and durning the build up on it a got a 64 bug from a buddy :)

Of course the pickup I had was turned into a 4x with a jeep axle haha (it was my first)

What's your plan for the engine , going to build up a later model 1800 or stick with the 1600 ?
 
#121 ·
The motor is the original 1600 (L16). It's in good shape so I pulled it out and cleaned it up. Painted the block Alpine green and had the valve cover polished. I found a Canon single sidedraft intake and Weber DCOE on Craigslist for $100 with linkage. I had the intake polished and I am rebuilding the carb. Stock exhaust. I also found all the original air conditioning components so I plan to install them and run a Vintage air Mark IV under the dash and a solenoid to speed up the carb when its ran..The truck has its stock monkey arm 4 speed..its all good so I am sticking with it..
 
#124 ·
Do you have a set of tires and wheels picked out for it already ?

I happen to see a semi go by me today that had that color on the lower half , didn't look to bad at all on the big truck either ..

How long till you start assembling ?
 
#125 ·
Yes the wheels are what is on there now lol.. I am going by tomorrow to remove the wheels and get the old tires yanked. The painter is painting them to match the truck and I will run the stock size 14" tire with the 1" whitewall out and factory dog dish hubcaps. I have adapters to run disc brakes on the truck but thought about it and since I am leaving it stock I will hold off on installing them. The discs require at least 15" wheels and tires plus roughly another $400-$500 in parts and the time to install. If I had swapped the motor to something modern with some HP I would have certainly swapped the brakes but with the stock stuff it just doesn't seem a priority. If I keep the truck for awhile I may swap them later. I also have all the A/C stuff so I could drop a grand or more in a brake upgrade for my approx. 90hp truck or use the money to install A/C. I went with the A/C and already went through the stock brakes.
 
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