Severance Day: NOT what You think!

[Roadracer Al]

Man, that is crazy cool! I'm a bit over 6'2 and my standard-cab 620 is a bit too small for me to use for more than short trips around town. That dual cab would be just the ticket! That is pretty amazing.

[denveratsun]

Sweet! The grill looks soooooooooo coooooool!!!!!!!!!!! :cool: Never actually seen one before!

 

I would have to agree with the guys that are suggesting a mild window chop. Thats a lot of glass just stickin out up there. Dropping it down would make the truck look even longer (which I seem to recall was the point of this truck right? :D )

 

The rubber lip on the dam will be nice too.

 

It looks good. You have put in a lot of hours and tons of hard work. Great job on making a really cool looking one-off Datsun!

[makya]

yeah, I definitely like the grill, it gives it a true "phantom" look.

 

Mike, one of these days you'll have to show us what you did to make the grill.

[Steroid]

Well, here are shots of the dually's intended purpose!! This was a LONG time coming!! I had no idea when I started it that there were ever Datsun boats made. I had planned to only trailer a waverunner or two. But this has become now the ultimate Colorado River cruiser!! Yes, the dually will be painted yellow. The boat will remain the original gelcoated light yellow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1lo620]

that is so cool, Mark texted me a picture of it while I was working in the rain....ya makes you want to jump ship and head to the desert...sweet set up Mike...Enjoy!!!

 

 

[wayno]

I like it.:cool: It's just the kind of thing that I like doing, making something differant and functional, not just to look at.:thumbup:

[Logikoone]

man that is so sick , loving the grill and 2 headlights , never seen that before

[Wide14u]

this is just the coolest you have to love it

[herculesinwyoming]

ok im gonna get flamed, still awesome work! you have nice fabrication skills. Yet that is the ugliest 620 i have ever seen.

 

sorry just my opinion

[gene knight]

hey steroid, i am jealous of your work and truck. u wanna come and do my my 521 make i a removable hard top just like the red 720 that dat620 did back in the dayz?

[burrito213]

Nice running into you steroid. Great looking truck.

[Steroid]

Well, with the help of the Bullhead City SWDP crew, this is what the engine compartment looks like now!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

You can see at the time these pics were taken that a few things were unfinished. Hopefully by Tuesday it will all be done. We did take it on a 9 mile test break-in run with no problems. This is an L20 that replaced the L16 that was origionally in Gman's white truck. I had blown the head gasket so the dually got a total rebuild. Also now a HUGE clutch to pull the boat up out of the water at launch ramps.

[makya]

Hey mike, how's the outside look now?

[]2eDeYe]

Ya, that looks great. More pics! :D

[Z chopper]

ya how does it look now?? did you get it painted yet??

[Steroid]

My paint and bodywork is for now on hold. Maybe it will be ready for West Coast Nationals (Parker, AZ.) next April.

[Pacific coast Datsun]

Wow

[Pacific coast Datsun]

The "dually /river truck" has been getting alot of attention lately. Nevtony got some pix today of the progress & Ill let Steroid explain his plans for the truck....SWDP !

[Steroid]

I spent quite a few hours the last 3 weeks finishing up the added on rear cab. When these conversions were done long ago by RV Specialties what they did was to build a rear floor out of plywood that was bolted to the extended frame. Then they cut out the rear cab, like a walkthru conversion, and pounded down about 4" over to the plywood to "connect" the rear of the cab. Next they took a fiberglass cab extension and set it onto the plywood. The only thing connecting the new cab to the Datsun sheetmetal cab was about 5 screws into the rear (between the new cab and the bed) into the plywood, a bunch of rubberized "goop" and poprivets behind the side doors. Basicily all this time since I cut off the roof, the extension was just barely hanging on by the poprivets. The screws had long ago worked loose and the "goop" was not doing much to hold it on. So what I had to do was to fiberglass it all together to a steel tubing inside frame that was built just inside the area. I always fiberglass in very hot weather so that it will cure well so You can imagine wearing long sleeves and a respirator in 108 degree heat. Lots of grinding to roughen up the fiberglass cab extension for the new glassing to adhere. Do about one or two thicknesses, let it harden overnight and repeat process the next day or so. This was done 7 times to build it up for strength before the side caps could be welded on. I totally fiberglassed the cab onto the plywood floor now. Tony took some pics yesterday as Mark was welding and I'll explain more about what they show. Thats about it for now. Stay tuned

[]2eDeYe]

Dang, that sounds like a lot of work. Looking forward to the pictures :D

[wayno]

This kind of thing interests me immensely, I have been totally amazed about how little has been done on the conversions made back then, they look like fails, but seem to stay together anyway, like the 620/720 frame extensions, what a joke, I suspect the only reason they don't fail is because the motorhome body/shell holds it together by being bolted to the frame to add support to it.

This is a frame extension from a 720 motorhome, it is the whole piece from one side, it is 42 inches long, and it is about a 33 inch frame extension, and yes, only about 4 1/2 inches of frame is inserted into the extension on each end.

This is the otherside with half the inside cut away for inspection.

This is how much was inserted into the extension with the inside piece of the extension cut away by me.

I tried to show how much welding was done to this, basicly it was welded on 3 sides, side, top, and bottom where it was inserted into the channel, and then a little was welded on the inside towards the end of the extension.

 

And then the inside of the frame extension side was welded into place.

[Steroid]

Hi Wayno !

 

Yes, I changed the total integrity of the design when I made the truck a roadster. The popriviting went all across the top of the cab from the bottom of each side up and around. With that being done I had to design a way to strengthen it with metal and fiberglassing. When the rear inside sheetmetal is in place the total design will actually be much stronger than stock. It is hard to describe without pics but the minds of a bunch of people collectively have gone into this project. I really should add some progress pics I guess to show what has been done.

[wayno]

It would be nice to have some photos of the work, where do you think I get all my ideas, I have done nothing original except maybe my 520 project.

I have a hard time imagining a sheet metal front cab, and a fiberglass back cab being combined into one solid cab, it seems strange as fiberglass is so flexible, but there are a lot of things I just can't see being done till someone does it, and then I realize that it can be done if it is done that way.

Looking forward to some photos. :D

[Steroid]

Here are the requested pics. What Rich Boyett did was to weld a flat plate on the end of a pipe which was worked on each side into the cab corner. The plate was then drilled for a longer corner cab to frame bolt then gusseted. You can see this under the seatbelt rectractor device. This pipe adds strength when the doors are closed, etc. Welding on both sides was done into the cab corner then nuts welded in place to install the seat belts. You can see that horizontal pipe in these two views:

 

 

 

 

Also notice the top flat plate that was welded to form the top and to match up to the capped doors in these two views:

 

 

 

 

Next, see how a tubular inner frame was built. This caps the top with sheetmetal and fiberglassing, of which there are at least 5 sheets on top of each other under the framing connecting to the extension. Finally the gap between the stock fiberglass extension was filled with resin and chunks of cloth shoved inside. This naturally was all done after the metal was vigerously ground with a cutting wheel and wire wheels so the fiberglass would adher. Gravity is hard to work against on a project like this. For this reason I mix the hardner "hotter" into the resin so it will quickly set up. Also, this is why I pick the hottest months of the year to do all of this, never in winter. What You are looking at here has taken 3 weeks to do. I only apply one or two of the total 5 minimum sheets of glass at a time and stop for the day, let the temperature cure it, come back the next day and grind then apply more sheets. In some areas there are more than 5 sheets overlapped total. The more sheets, the less it may crack later.

 

 

 

 

 

What is now left to do is to rubberized undercoat the plywood floor, build and curve the rear sheetmetal and weld in place, detail, more fiberglass and bondo, primer and paint. Stay tuned ! ! !

[Farmer Joe]

dude, thats heavy!

 

i should have gotten ahold of you when i was in nevada..

 

the wife and i were at the Avi resort for 2 days..