hitch Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 I picked up a 76 620 from 521lvr on New Years day. The surprise was that it was exactly as 521lvr described it and although it needed a little work I thought it would be perfect for my son. We had some bonding time and got things sorted out in a couple of days and he's now practicing driving with a clutch for the 1st time. The time spent together was well worth the investment (he is 17 and just got his license in Dec.). He is quite proud of his yellow truck and thinks dad will always fill the tank, Ha Ha. I was referred to ratsun.net by 521lvr so the new member credit goes to him. If any of you ever get to meet 521lvr you may be surprised at his projects, he's quite the fabricator. My former datsuns 72 510 (79-98) two door with L20 many suspension mods (I sure wish I would have kept it. The kid I sold it to left it along I-85 in Atlanta a few months after he bought it from me and it got stripped. He said it dropped the driveshaft. I was called by a friend who new the car and did the drive by, I felt like I should put up one of those little roadside flower memorials along the highway in memory of our good times, it was towed and never seen again. 71 240, (77-78) dumped it when the ac quit, stooped huh 86 hardbody, got it from my father in law (in 95) who lived by the beach in FL. It was a total rust bucket but continued to be a great daily driver until I moved to ATL and thought the front end was going to collapse if I kept driving it. and a couple of others, that were mostly used for parts. I look forward to being a member of ratsun :) Quote Link to comment
Cow-Chained Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Welcome, Hitch! ;) Quote Link to comment
fisch Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Welcome Hitch! So great that you are bonding with your son this way. My daughter is only 5, but I am already dreaming of daddy/daughter time wrenching in the garage. In exchange for all the pink unicorn tea parties we have! Yeah I know, wishful thinking that she will be into a car hobby, but you never know! Quote Link to comment
vindats1 Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 welcome...you will really enjoy this forum...great folks, lots of good ideas, lots of help...can't be beat anywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Welcome :D Quote Link to comment
Green Bastard Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 Welcome to the forum. Thanks for the interesting stories. Sad to hear of the demise of your former 510 :( Quote Link to comment
phatdave Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 Whats up Hitch? Quote Link to comment
Cruzn620 Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 yeah hitch, i was gonna buy that truck and things fell through for me...glad it went to a good home, looked like a super truck! your kid has one cool ride for a first car!!! good luck with it!!! 521 said that the truck needed brakes, look for my posts, i have been sussing out the brakes on my 620 and maybe you can learn something from all the mistakes that i have made! im on the right track now though. welcome!!! Quote Link to comment
OL YELLER Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 Welcome Hitch!You have no idea how much that "Father/Son" time will mean in the future...My son Ray (Ray's 74) and I have been "joined at the hip" (his wifes explanation!!LOL) since he was old enuff to hold a wrench...and he is now 41 yrs old...we are the very best of friends and it all stems from the childhood stuff we did together( ask anyone that has been around us specially at the JCCS shows here in SO Cal).........congratulations on the good lookin truck and keep those ????? coming... Quote Link to comment
dat620 Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 that father son time is priceless, just remind your son, that u r building a classic truck, and do not pay attention to his friends comments, that truck can be a wonderful experiance for u both..my son decided to listen to his friends, now he regrets it, he notices how much attention my 620 gets where ever i take it..:D i guess some times as they get older, FATHER KNOWS BEST.. :cool: Quote Link to comment
hitch Posted January 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 Its funny about fathers and sons. My childhood was spent next to my father and grandfather wrenching on all of the Farm equipment 1st and the family transport 2nd. I'm probably wrong, but it seems like every winter for years I was laying on a cold concrete floor handing wrenches to someone. My dad & I even did some occasional go kart racing back in the 70's in our down time. I was always a back of the pack runner with a wore out chain saw engine, but those were good times. I picked it up again through the 90's and still dream about doing some roadracing once in awhile. As for my son, he's got the gift for school work and I'm willing to support that in anyway I can. He's never had much interest in motorsports or in wrenching on cars. I told him from the time he was born that the 510 was his car. When he was 8-10 I bought and prepped a race kart for him and thought that would be the ticket. Needless to say, speed and him did not get along, he would go racing with me, but did not want to drive. He never wanted to do the prep work to race, so I lost interest. I did not see a connection between him and the 510 so when I needed some cash it was sold. I'd have kept it if I sensed at all he was interested. Now that he needs wheels, he's quite interested in helping to get the 620 done:) The 620, The brakes were shot and I've got it mostly apart, 30 years of rusty parts does not help. Since the axel showed some signs of seal leakage I decided to order berings and seals, Since there is an inner and outer seal, I'm guessing the berings need some lube, anyone done this job? Tomorrow will be the day for that. The right front brake cylinder does not match the mounting hole correctly, so NAPA is getting another in the AM and I'll see if it fits better. I'm attempting to go completly stock with the brakes (gotta keep costs down for now) or I'd gladly go with one of the front disc conversions I've been reading about. The truck is stock and non modified and He'll be required to keep it that way until he is capable of accepting all of the costs of ownership. BTY: I'll likely make some enemy's, but I'm rather particular about Import modifications. 1=grocery kart wings are ugly 2=fart can mufflers are annoying 3=slushbox imports with a fart can muffler should be blown up 4=imports with the econo engine and rear drum brakes (and don't paint drums, it just enhances the cheap appearance!) should never be given custom paint, wings, body kits, body color painted interior pieces, sound systems that rattle my house windows, and FARTCAN MUFFLERS, until they can get out of their own way and still stop. Quote Link to comment
datrod Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 BTY: I'll likely make some enemy's, but I'm rather particular about Import modifications. 1=grocery kart wings are ugly 2=fart can mufflers are annoying 3=slushbox imports with a fart can muffler should be blown up 4=imports with the econo engine and rear drum brakes (and don't paint drums, it just enhances the cheap appearance!) should never be given custom paint, wings, body kits, body color painted interior pieces, sound systems that rattle my house windows, and FARTCAN MUFFLERS, until they can get out of their own way and still stop. Hitch, You'll fit right in here. I think most of us feel the same way. Quote Link to comment
Cruzn620 Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 hey hey now...its ok to paint the drums...if you paint them BLACK!! Quote Link to comment
hitch Posted February 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Update: The yellow 620 now has new brakes, working manual choke, new headlight switch, and a rewired parking lamp, everything is working great. Strange that I had to swap the drums around to get it to stop straight after new cylinders shoes and turned drums. My son is quite the man around the HS campus sporting the Antique tag on his yellow truck, the cute checker at the Publix (grocery store) said the other day how much she liked my sons truck. So even dad is getting the attention he needs :). He's been there during all of the wrench turning and I think he could actually do a minor repair without dad now. He has even mastered the manual transmission and I can shotgun without whiplash! Next up is a replacement fuel filler hose. The really nice thing about this truck, is it is so simple to work on and maintain, thus allowing my to pass on some mechanical knoledge to the young man. Quote Link to comment
tnip Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 hello hitch, welcome... what part of atlanta are you in? you'll make it 5 (i think, sorry if i'm counting wrong). Quote Link to comment
hitch Posted February 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Just North of Dallas, GA, my friend. Quote Link to comment
77Datsun620 Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Nice to meet you Hitch, I'm new here also, and glad to see some more east coast guys, I'm 60 miles north of georgia in tennessee. Maybe one day we can have east coast meetings :D Quote Link to comment
Pacific coast Datsun Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Hitch welcome to THE Datsun car/truck forum! Kool father son stories too, my oldest girl [12] helps me from time to time & it's awesome! BTW we need pix of the truck :D Quote Link to comment
CharlieBucket Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 welcome hitch- i am glad to see more GA peaple popping up. i'm in mableton , ga. but i go to dallas/hirim all the time to visit with my in-laws. i almost moved to dallas just last year but the land deal fell though for my current property. my 620 is orange so we need to get them together for some pictures someday, they would good together. Quote Link to comment
LeDevil Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Welcome aboard hitch Quote Link to comment
hitch Posted February 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 My son left for school and came back home the other day and said "something is grinding on the truck". I went out and took a look and attempted to start it, the starter ran but did not engage the flywheel, sure was making noise. I pulled the starter and the gear was completely stripped, even the flywheel was showing some scaring. The oe ignition switch was long ago replaced with a generic switch. I had to wait for a day to get a replacement starter, so Friday AM I went out and installed the new one. Hit the switch and the new starter continued to run and was grinding on the flywheel even though the engine was running. I realized then that the return spring in the ignition switch was not letting the key return to the run spot. At that point I took back what I was thinking about the boy holding the key to long. Fortunately the starter and the flywheel survived the 2nd ignition stay on failure. I went to the local NAPA and ended up with what looked like a farm tractor ignition, but it fit the hole in the dash. This morning #1 son and I installed the driveshaft with new carrier bearing and the ignition switch. The yellow truck is running fine and back on the road again. Oh, he did his own oil change also. Life is good! Quote Link to comment
650savag Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Welcome Hitch! You will certainly enjoy reading all the great posts here. I have enjoyed this forum very much in just a few short days. It's great that your son is interested in working with you on the 620. My sig. pic is my '78, 620 and my 15 yr. old grandaughter who loves this old truck and actually learned to drive in "old blue" out in the field behind my house. We have spent some great times working and driving in "old Blue". Dan Quote Link to comment
tnip Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 farm tractor ignition works great in my 521 as well. have you got pics to post up for everybody to ooh and ahh over yet? Quote Link to comment
djlotus Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Howdy Hitch! Nice to meet you Hitch, I'm new here also, and glad to see some more east coast guys, I'm 60 miles north of georgia in tennessee. Maybe one day we can have east coast meetings :D There is an East Coast 510 meet, and I'm pretty sure they'd be cool with other Datsun vehicles, at least I'd assume so. It's supposed to be at Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia this year. Quote Link to comment
Phlebmaster Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Welcome Hitch!!:D Quote Link to comment
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