Finally got my self a 620!

[Gensaiken]

Well I finally own a 1978 Datsun 620. I've looked for a pretty long time and finally found one that was running and pretty clean for a good price.

 

 

 

 

 

BODY

 

So the body is in pretty good shape, graphics are mostly there. Going to try and pull out that front end damage and adjust the damaged grill which you can't see since the grill is black but its cracked in half a slightly off-set. Maybe ditch the shell for another one or none. Its kind of broken and the glass is gone (or as some would call it.. Invisible glass).

 

 

INTERIOR

 

Interior is pretty beat. Needs some cleaning and work. I'll likely have the seat recovered. Maybe an aftermarket steering wheel since this one feels like I'm driving a tractor. :rolleyes: Toss in a wink mirror I have sitting around. Find a few small interior pieces. Etc. See if I can't get a radio in it... maybe CB radio?

 

 

 

 

MECHANICAL

 

As you can see its pretty stock here. At the moment it runs fine but it needs a missing piece on the automatic choke so it'll stay running when cold. Right now it'll die unless you give it some gas. It also sounds like the idle is a bit off so I'll have to check that too. Other wise it stops good (front disc). Steering a little loose but I imagine that bushings are pretty worn out after this many years but suspension is pretty tight and rolls over bumps good.

 

One area of concern is the trans. The PO seemed to have bad luck with 620 5 speeds (figured they were pretty reliable). Anyways his first 5speed lost 5th gear so he just kept running it with out 5th and then said the rest of the trans eventually went out since he didn't address 5th gear going out. So he got a parts truck for the 5speed (which was sold to my friend as part of the deal) and this trans works good BUT it pops out of 5th gear (only 5th no other gears) if you let off the gas for a bit.. seems if you keep on the gas it'll stay in gear. The PO said it might be a bad syncro? I've had a bad syncro on another trans and it made a horrible buzz when you went in to the gear with the bad syncro... Anyways, its not a huge deal as I expect this truck to mostly stick to slower streets or limited over 55 speeds.

 

 

I'm kind of up in the air regarding mods. What do you guys usually do past the standard lowering? This truck is pretty darn stock.. is it worth keeping it that way? Not many stockers left... :huh:

[Sid Vicious]

Nice find!! I say ditch the "truck mirrors" and bumper/shell,lower 2-3" slap a weber on,Figure out the 5 spd issue buff out the stock paint and done!!!

[MicroMachinery]

Dude, those decals are the SHIT.

[ariascarlos1990]

Congratulations

[Sid Vicious]

Dude, those decals are the SHIT.

 

 

+1 on that!!!

[Dat620guy]

Sweet truck there...The graphics are cool. Don't get rid of them or if you repaint the truck get another set made for it. :thumbup:

[Skib]

See if I can't get a radio in it... maybe CB radio?

 

 

 

:rofl: you can go play Dukes of Hazard with that guy that hes a General Lee replica in his front yard over in Medford lol

[Gensaiken]

Dude, those decals are the SHIT.

 

I figured the graphics were pretty common, theres actually another 620 that the guy renting my dad's shop has and it has the same graphics on it cept his is a "HEAVY DUTY" edition one. Guy wouldn't sell it. :angry:

 

Sweet truck there...The graphics are cool. Don't get rid of them or if you repaint the truck get another set made for it. :thumbup:

 

You know my dad was mentioning that some one out there likely makes new graphics for it... I was pretty sure no one is making new graphics for 620's. I found a site of a guy who's doing toyota but nothing datsun.

 

:rofl: you can go play Dukes of Hazard with that guy that hes a General Lee replica in his front yard over in Medford lol

 

I've never heard of this guy.

[datzenmike]

My '78 'lost' 5th and a week later it started popping out of second unless you held it in. I threw my spare 280z in and junked it. How many times later I wished I had kept it and found out what was really wrong with it.

[Roadracer Al]

If you trace the shapes of the factory vinyl, and bring a color sample, a sign shop should be able to replicate that graphic pretty easily. If they can't get the colors just right, you can still have them cut the vinyl, and use it for a mask when you're painting the truck, and recreate the graphic look with paint.

[Gensaiken]

My '78 'lost' 5th and a week later it started popping out of second unless you held it in. I threw my spare 280z in and junked it. How many times later I wished I had kept it and found out what was really wrong with it.

 

Hm, you'll have to let me know what the process was to swap in the Z 5speed. I've done it on a 510 but 620's have the frame and such in the way.

 

I guess the 620 5speeds aren't as durable. Seems like they have issues with that 5th gear.

[Farmer]

Nice. Glad you found one that will work. I got a 78 grill that you can have. Came off my kingcab. PM ME

 

Larry

[Gensaiken]

Can any one provide me with some photos of a Stock 620 interior?

[izzo]

Clean it, lower it, get rid of bumper and retarded canopy/camper thing. Leave paint alone and just rock it!. Later on, remove emissions, put on a sidedraft weber carb and haul some ass....

[Slixon]

Lower it freshen the paint up and take that god awful bumper off...oh and a weber!

[DatDoug]

Nice truck! Congrats.

 

#1 Lose the CanoPee!

 

#2 Lose the Bumper (put up 4 sale as a lot of people like them)

 

#3 Lose the big mirrors.

 

#4 Lose the stock carb & smog crap

 

#5 Get Weber DownDraft Kit

 

#6 Buff out paint.

 

#7 Lower it

 

#8 Exhaust.

 

#9 Stereo

 

#10 Drive the shit out of it!

[bonvo]

Nice truck! Congrats.

 

#1 Lose the CanoPee!

 

#2 Lose the Bumper (put up 4 sale as a lot of people like them)

 

#3 Lose the big mirrors.

 

#4 Lose the stock carb & smog crap

 

#5 Get Weber DownDraft Kit

 

#6 Buff out paint.

 

#7 Lower it

 

#8 Exhaust.

 

#9 Stereo

 

#10 Drive the shit out of it!

 

that sums it up rather well :D nice truck man will be cool when all is said and done

[Gensaiken]

hah, we'll see what happens with the truck. Might keep it kind of stockish for a while. Ditch the camper and bumper for sure. Going to redo the seat since its in pretty bad shape, clean up the interior a bit.

 

For the moment I need to get it idling correctly and check that 5speed. ;)

[Gensaiken]

Yesterday I got some time to get in to the truck and start addressing some issues. First was to check out the carb and see what was up with this auto choke. A friend pointed out the piece that was hanging and where it was supposed to sit. I really should have removed the carb and did it that way but I just tried to wedge my hands in their to find the spot this thing was supposed to go (thankfully I have kind of small hands). So once I got all that in place I noticed another piece was loose and then noticed that the arm for the auto choke would fall when pulled on and couldn't turn the valve. So I took the extra piece of the cotter pin and wrapped it around it so it would stay in place.

 

After all this it seems to be idling correctly. Not perfect but as good as i'd expect some super old auto choke to work. :rolleyes:

 

 

After addressing the idle issue it was off to address the camper shell. It's likely the reason the bed is in pretty good shape but it looks kind of dated and needs to come off. Four simple bolts later it was off and in a shed for storage. It was pretty darn heavy too, definitely made those campers to last. One bonus for taking off the shell was my sliding rear window now works. :P

 

 

 

 

The next part to quickly address was the seat belts. While they are nice and retractable the driver's side one appears to have shredded and look about as unsafe as not having one at all. So I would swap for the passenger side till I could find another one. Although when taking them off I noticed how dirty it was behind the seat. So I think a good cleaning of the floor is in order. Not to mention the surface rust starting under the factory floor mat. It was getting late so I decided to just call it a day and return when I have more time to clean out the interior. The plan calls for some Ospho to neutralize the rust then some zero rust to coat the floors and make sure there is no more rust. Maybe some sound proofing in select areas and then possibly a coat of blue to make it all match.. although I'll have to check if zero rust comes in a blue color. :lol:

 

 

[datzenmike]

Hm, you'll have to let me know what the process was to swap in the Z 5speed. I've done it on a 510 but 620's have the frame and such in the way.

 

I guess the 620 5speeds aren't as durable. Seems like they have issues with that 5th gear.

 

Drain tranny!!!! very important!! Basically remove the two piece drive shaft. Remove C clip and pull cross pin and lift shifter up and out. Unbolt the tranny from the motor. Unbolt the starter and slide forward out of way ZZzap! Oh yeah take the battery cable off the battery. Remove slave from bell and tie out of way. Unplug the reverse lights and top gear switch harness. There is a removable cross member that the rear tranny mount bolts too... remove it and the tranny is ready yo remove.

 

Slide tranny to the rear until the front will drop and clear the clutch pressure plate then down and out. Add appropriate cursing while twisting and lifting it to remove. A hydraulic jack under the oil pan can help lift/lower the motor position.

 

Install is the reverse of removal.

 

 

The FS5W71B used in the '77 and '78 is identical (dimensions and gear ratios) to the '77-'79 year 280z car. Well, it didn't have a top gear switch but they were no stronger or weaker. The biggest cause of 5th gear failure is maintainance: not checking oil lever regularly or replacing the oil every 30K miles, and abuse: using 5th to pass on the highway, climbing hills or towing. 4th gear should be used for this to remove the severe side loading on the counter gear bearings. It's likely the rear counter bearing, (beside the 5th gear) that fails and causes 5th to disappear or jump out of gear.

 

The '79-'83 non turbo 280zx 5 speeds will also fit but have different ratios and can be identified from the earlier 280z/620 truck trannys.

 

The '81-'84 Maxima 5 spd. has the same ratios as the 620 and 280z but in the later zx case.

 

 

So lots of 5 speed ratios and years to choose from or get mixed up.

[Theghost]

+1 on that!!!

 

+2!!

[mike]

If youre any good with a body hammer you can knock that fender damn near straight pretty easy, or you could pay a paintless dent repair shop a few bucks to do it. Polish it up and youll have the same "patina" and stripes as the rest. If you do it yourself, pull the side marker and front turn signal before you start, itll make it loads easier.

 

If the carb is complete and the throttle shaft isnt loose get a rebuild kit and clean the piss out of it and dont adjust anything that looks factory (float and linkage and stuff) untill you put it back on and try it out. On the auto choke arms and the fast idle linkages look to see if the arms are rubbing/binding on anything, if they are you can shim them out with tiny washers... just grab a good assortment next time youre at the wrecking yard.

 

Overall it looks like a decent little 620, nice score :cool:

[Gensaiken]

Well, I've been slowly working on the truck when I've had time. I've pulled the bench seat out and took out the stock floor mats. Its pretty nasty on the floor. TONS of dirt and dog hair and some of it is caked pretty hard. Took a wire brush to some of it and not all of it is coming up. There's also a lot of caked dirt on the driver's floor. So I think I'm going to break out the soap water and degreaser to get this floor clean.

 

After the floor is clean I'll use some ospho to neutralize any rust then throw down some blue zero rust and then a little bit of sound proofing. :cool:

[Gensaiken]

Thought I should update you guys on some progress on getting the interior of my truck.

 

So when I got the truck the interior looked pretty rough

 

 

I noticed surface rust under the floor mats and decided I needed to get it cleaned up. So I pulled the seats and found a pretty nasty mess!

 

 

Really gross stuff and some was very thick and wouldn't simply wash away. I got a hose with some warm water, degreaser and a wire brush and went at it.

 

 

 

 

Finally got it all clean and now its ready for the Ospho to neutralize the rust

 

 

 

Here's how it looked after the Ospho was applied and went to work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the rust treated it was time to spray down the Zero Rust to make sure that floor stays blue and won't rust again!

 

 

 

 

Now that the floor was clean and I had a clean surface to apply to I put down some light sound proofing. I'm a little surprised that the trucks got no sound proofing from the factory.

 

 

 

Also took a little time to clean up the trans hole cover and picked up some nice shiny screws at the home depot. :P

 

 

The next step will be some carpet that will sit under the bench. The front floor will just be the stock floor mats with no carpet. I'll be getting to the carpet this week

 

 

I guess from here I want to clean up the dash a bit but there isn't a whole lot I can do the dash is pretty cracked and I don't think there is really a whole lot that could be done. I need to get the bench upholstered but I haven't figured out a design I want to do yet. So it might be a little while I get everything buttoned back up.

 

 

On a side note I found some trim rings in my parts shed I pulled on some old rims that came on a 510. My truck's steelies just happened to be the same size and with a little rubber hammering they fit. What do you guys think? Keep the trim rings or leave em off?

 

BEFORE:

 

AFTER:

 

 

:cool:

[moparvwfreak]

leave em. they look great! oh and i hate you. my floors are full of holes. yours are still in one piece. can i has your floors??? :)