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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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#2 ·
Wow, brings back old memories. Staying stock by the book only makes sense if you are going to sell it for $50,000. I bought one new in 74, few years later it was my only vehicle after a divorce so traded it off, 2 passenger only. Should have kept the Datsun and bought a beater like a 396 Chevelle SS. You have to adjust the solid lifters once in a while but it will haul a big load suspension wise. Enjoy and drive 60 MPH. Oh yeah, mine was sorta Robin egg blue.
 
#4 ·
Yes I just might make it down there..my old man bought a Nissan pathfinder the same day I got my Datsun...An absolutely beautiful original 88 Pathfinder 2 door 4wd and a 5 speed. This thing is ridiculously clean...blue with blue interior..He could totally take it down there its so nice..
I love the blue 80's interior. :p
 

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#7 ·
Ok..Here is my question....

Paint the whole truck...everything and do a color change..that means under the hood as well...thats a lot of parts and lines etc to clear away first...and I am sure more money..

or...

Paint the whole truck back to factory white except under the hood (firewall and inner fenders) Just clean it up as best as possible..Nice and fresh looking everywhere but original paint under hood...Now I would absolutely love to change the color..not fond of white on this truck..looks nice on my Trooper but just blah on this Datsun (to me)..What if I painted it white and then did the D-A-T-S-U-N letters on tailgate in a nice blue and the side stripe in same blue as well...then do the interior in a nice matching blue....so a white on blue truck...Do you think that would look good? It would jazz up the boring white and still look era correct I would think?...I dont like the black stripe either..so thats a no way...

I just know I dont want to go crazy on this truck and going white would be way easier than a color change..and cheaper by probably several hundred dollars...I have a budget and if I save a few hundred on paint that means more for things like new suspension and exhaust etc..
I never try to get upside down in a vehicle and so far I have always made money when selling off one of my old rides..(except Trooper..its a money sucker and unless people really start smoking more crack i will lose on that).. :wink:

See I am trying to convince myself! lol..

Whats your opinions?.....
 
#8 ·
Color change to blue....White stripe, white DATSUN, white engine bay cleaned as best as possible. Blue interior with white accents....or white interior with blue accents.

If you keep/use white as an accent color it'll work out okay still being in white in the engine bay....
 
#9 ·
A suggestion that I would make, if you are serious about putting something easy to clean and comfortable in the floor board, is tuff coat. They sale a tuffcoat product at Cabelas for boats, but it has the granuals for traction. If you go to tuff coat.net, you will see that they also sale a formula that is smooth, like orange peel textured. It's a sealer, so you wouldn't have moisture problems, it's a noise reducer, it's easy to clean, and if applied right, it will last for a very long time. Also, they have various colors available.

I really like this stuff. You should at least look at it to see if it fits your need.
 
#10 ·
I actually think it looks fantastic exactly the way it is. Chrome bumper, big mirrors, black stripe and all. It makes a great combination. I do agree the that bench would be cool. Got any more pics of it a little better light from different angles? Is the paint good enough that you could just polish it up?

I see lots of older mini-trucks around here and have even considered getting one a couple of times, but I think my next vehicle is going to be a 60s or 70s 1 ton or bigger.
 
#11 ·
ramzoom said:
Yes I just might make it down there..my old man bought a Nissan pathfinder the same day I got my Datsun...An absolutely beautiful original 88 Pathfinder 2 door 4wd and a 5 speed. This thing is ridiculously clean...blue with blue interior..He could totally take it down there its so nice..
I love the blue 80's interior. :p
Wow, that brings back memories...my first SUV was a blue 88 Pathfinder! Auto, though, not stick, and by the time I sold mine it had rust issues. It was a great truck for me, 167K miles and the only repair needed was a rear pinion seal.
 
#12 ·
ramzoom said:
Whats your opinions?.....
What are you going for? Factory resto and baby it to keep it pristine? Or are you gonna use it?
 
#13 ·
Going for a stock resto. Will be for fun..drive occasionally..will not be a work truck..I am not concerned with it being "correct"..just stock and factory looking...but very nice..my gut says just keep it the factory colors but what I wanted was either the light green or blue...I guess I will just have to see what the cost is to paint...
 
#14 ·
That is a great find, I am envious!

Love those old Datsun trucks. Up here the only ones I see are succumbing to the elements and use. If it were me I would keep it as unmolested and close to stock as possible. If I were to paint it I would change to a different color but would spare no expense. I think the old girl deserves the best. Keep us posted!
 
#16 ·
I keep looking at this post and thinking about your question of color change or to keep it original.

Honestly, I think you could go either way. If you're going to change color, I think you need to yank the motor and doors, and trim, and wet sand and paint it. Not dry sand, but really give this thing a nice paint job. At the same time though, I really dig the classic colors it's currently running.
 
#18 ·
man that thing is kick *** i absolutely love it i used to know where a few old datsun trucks were weather they are still there or not i dont know.....none the less i am extremely jeilous congrats. on a really nice little truck
 
#19 ·
Just purchased the original bench seat for the truck :D

So far the gas tank has been dropped and cleaned. All lines blown out. New soft lines and clamps with new filter. Carburetor is getting rebuilt Monday. New intake/exhaust gasket, Smog junk removed, New belt, thermostat and gaskets for the housing. New brake lines at all 4 wheels, new wheel cylinder and shoes at drivers front (had a leaking cylinder)..All new bushing on the front end, Valves adjusted and new gasket, New air filter....Building up inventory for a front end rebuild..

I have decided I really want this color for my truck...that is the plan for now anyways..I want it exactly as in the cover truck..
Less the plants..lol
 

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#21 ·
Blue cars. That's funny because the other night I was thinking about the cars I've owned (over 70 of them) and it seems like almost every other one was some kind of blue. My current Trooper is blue (over the LS gray), and by accident, the paint that went on my Spacer is blue. For a "street" car, I lean more towards reds or bright yellow (depending on the sportiness of the body style), but for 4x4s, I prefer a non-conspicuous color...like blue Dennis
 
#23 ·
Yeah, it's a personal thing for me. I just don't like blue, in general, as a color. And on cars, it just bugs me that much more. Black is always the best looking color on cars. But I have grown out of black to an extent. It's just so hard to take care of and keep looking good, and concerning heat, forget it. It's miserable in the summer. I like white because it always looks good, just very simple and classic, and it hides everything and doesn't get hot. It's easy. For whatever reason, red looks good on most older vehicles. I don't like red on boring cars, but on SUVs, classics and sports cars, red is always a nice choice. Funny though, my friend Justin hates red on cars, as much as I hate blue. :)

But like I said, blue can work for me, in the right situation. But it's not something I would pic. Here is blue working for me:

For whatever reason, this looks "correct".


Here is blue ruining three otherwise cool cars (that would look SICK in black or red or white, hell, anything but this weird Playdough looking blue)


This is completely and totally and 100% a matter of personal opinion though. :)

Bart

PS - I also think orange is horrid, and any shade of it, like burnt orange, copper, orangy-brown, pukish, etc.
 
#24 ·
ramzoom said:
For me almost all my old cars have been a form of green...So blue would be a nice change...
Green is my favorite color, under normal circumstances, but I honestly don't like green for whatever reason, when it comes to car colors. It doesn't bug me like blue and orange does, but it just doesn't work on vehicles....UNLESS you are talking military OD Green or camo. Then, when done correctly, can be cool looking. But I just like the look of military vehicles anyhow. So it kinda doesn't count.

Bart
 
#25 ·
IsuzuGeek said:
ramzoom said:
UNLESS you are talking military OD Green or camo. Then, when done correctly, can be cool looking. But I just like the look of military vehicles anyhow. So it kinda doesn't count.Bart
I'm with ya on that one. I could shoot OD, "desert sand", and gray all day long. The paint I need to have on my DD has to be something other than camo though. Just saw a '91 Troop on CL that was going for 500.00 (Sarasota-Bradenton CL). It would be a great candidate for a "bush beater" and a good coat of OD, but I'm over my head in projects, and way down low on the wife's patience reservoir. Dennis
 
#26 ·
IsuzuGeek said:
Here is blue ruining three otherwise cool cars (that would look SICK in black or red or white, hell, anything but this weird Playdough looking blue)
Fords just dont look right painted Polestar blue. Polestar is the performance and racing division of Volvo and anything to do with them is painted that color.



I prefer dark blue or bright red myself.
 
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