1971 PL521

[nevada]

Hi all,

 

A friend of mine has offered me her 1971 PL521. the motor needs a rebuild. its also a 4x4. i have had a few Z's but never one of the older trucks. what are you thoughts on the model, how hard is it to get parts, what size motor would it have (1.3?). im looking for general info on it. its been sitting for 14 years here in nevada and is rust free.

 

thanks!

[wayno]

Hi there nevada, it is hard to say what you have there, the 1971 datsun 521 pickup never came as a 4X4, pictures would help a lot. Is it a strait axle under the front? When you lift the hood is the carb on the drivers side or pass. side? Pictures would help a lot. A rust free 521 is desirable, and hard to find in my neck of the woods. Did I mention that we like pictures. :lol: Welcome to ratsun. wayno

[Zeusimo]

So Where's The Pics? :poke:

[jefe de jefes]

4x4 521?

Hhmmmmmm........

[nevada]

i have seen it in the garage but it was buried. i cold have sworn it was a 4x4 but you guys would know better than i would. i will check it out. the offer was made today so i do not have any pics of it. she gave me the model number from the title. so no 4x4 version of that model eh?

[jefe de jefes]

Not stock but I have seen converted 521's before. I think they look cool.

[Jayden71]

A '71 521 stock will have the 1.6 L16 engine.

 

 

 

My eyes must be goin bad for the life of me I can't see those darn OICS!

[nevada]

ok i spent some time on the net looking at pictures of the model. i think what i mistook for manual locking hubs might just be a straight axle on the front end. at the time i was checking it out, months ago, i just did some cursory looking so i probably have mistaken it for being a 4x4.

[nevada]

is the 1.6 motor in that model the same as the roadsters?

[wayno]

The roadster 1600(R16) is a totally differant animal than the L16 OHC(over head cam) engine, it is a pushrod engine. wayno

[wayno]

It is not worth it, he doesn't have any Oics at the moment. What if he promises to post some soon, you can wait a little while. Here's a couple of interesting ones to carry you threw this hard time.

 

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[Zeusimo]

I'm Lovin' That Grille ^^:wub:

[nevada]

thank you for the info. i wont make it over for pics until saturday or sunday at the soonest. I have let her know i will take it. im just trying to learn about the model and such at this point. i know the motor is bad and will need a rebuild. its been sitting for 14 years so my guess is the whole truck will need to be gone through. from what i could tell its all pretty much there. so please bare with me on the questions and the lack of pictures lol. what should i expect a total engine overhaul to run?

 

thanks!

[420n620]

I don't know if we can wait for pic's that long so I'll just add these along with wayno's pic's.

AAHH, much better.... :P

[nevada]

those are pretty sweet pictures! is the one with the big tires a 4x4? if so what did you do to convert it?

[420n620]

those are pretty sweet pictures! is the one with the big tires a 4x4? if so what did you do to convert it?

it's not mine, I wished it was.

 

as for converted, yep, the 521's never came from the factory 4X4, not until 80 I believe. Sorry I can't help you more on the 4X4.

[wayno]

thank you for the info. i wont make it over for pics until saturday or sunday at the soonest. I have let her know i will take it. im just trying to learn about the model and such at this point. i know the motor is bad and will need a rebuild. its been sitting for 14 years so my guess is the whole truck will need to be gone through. from what i could tell its all pretty much there. so please bare with me on the questions and the lack of pictures lol. what should i expect a total engine overhaul to run?

 

thanks!

Hi there Nevada, do not assume that the engine needs overhauled, see if it will move(the engine) by turning it by hand, I have one that has sat for many years, the carb is shot but it holds fuel(the float don't float no more), I worked on the distibuter till I had spark, put the rotor and cap back on, poured a little gas down the carb(the bowl was full of gas also), jumped the starter and it ran, I didn't beleave it was running at first, till I felt the exhaust manifold warming up. There is a reason it has sat for 14 years though, usually because it doesn't run properly. If you go the modern KA type engine or any of the other modern fuel injected types, expect to open your wallet wide, the more you spend, the better the result. The easy way to go is rebuild your J block if it needs done, I hear it is hard to find parts for, though everyone seems to find them eventually. The L block series is easy to find parts for, they put it in many datsuns over a ten+ year period, performance parts can still be found also. I don't know a lot about the next generations, except people are usaully very happy when it is done. WARNING, do not get over your head or wallet. wayno

[wayno]

Here some more interesting Oics. of trucks to hold us over. Here's another 521 dually with a SD22 diesel engine in it.

 

Heres one that I just had to post since it is such an awesome truck.

We definitely need Oics. of your truck on this/your thread nevada.:lol:

[nevada]

Hi all,

 

thanks for the great info and pics! here is a little background on the truck. my friend was divorced about a year and half ago and got the truck in the divorce (the guy failed to follow the decree and lost the interest in it). she has no use for it so decided to sell it so i said i was interested. i thought the truck looked like it would be a fun project but due to funds it will take awhile to complete. im interested in rebuilding the stock motor and using it for fun and light duty chores. Doing some modern things to make it run better, etc is what i wold like to do but im not looking to do a motor swap. The engine needing a rebuild is based on what she has told me but she is no mechanic. its just what she was told.

 

its my understanding it was acquired 14 years ago from people who told them it had seized and they did not want to deal with it so they gave it away. the head has been taken off so its possible it just the head gasket had gone and the rest is good to go. i wont know more until i get it out of there and find a place to work on it.

 

i am kind of in flux at the moment so at this point im trying to get some info, knowledge, and get involved in the site so i can pick the brains of those in the know lol. the only datsun/nissan pick up i have owned was a '95 extra-cab. i have had a few Z' and a 1.6l '67 roadster (i wish i had kept that one) and an 04 supercharged (factory) Xterra.

 

i will take some pics of it when i can get to it. when i say its buried in the garage i mean its buried lol. I would say its the Las Vegas version of a barn find lol.

 

thanks!

[DISLEXICDIME]

I don't know if we can wait for pic's that long so I'll just add these along with wayno's pic's.

AAHH, much better.... :P

 

 

That's bob's truck it has suzuki axles under it

[nevada]

OK i got pics! i went over today and looked it over closer and got some pics. I looked at the front hubs again and there is indeed manual hubs on it. it apears that there is a transfer case up front as well. there is no 4x4 shifter or anything like that in the cab that i can see. i am not sure how the manual setup works? i am not sure if there should be a lever inside or not. the title says its a 1971. i took a pic of the data plate but its pretty well worn. im not sure where i can look on the truck for any other indications of the year. so if they did not make a 4x4 version of it until later then what do i have? is it a conversion possibly or maybe a newer model with an older body dropped onto it? its hard to be sure but it does seem to be original to me. so what do you guys think?

 

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[hobbes_the_cat]

Hard to tell if it's a body swap or a conversion to me but my guess is a body swap... doesn't that shifter look pretty close to the seat? probably nissan running geat tho cause that is a L motor. did the 1980 4x4 still have the L motor? maybe a early 720 frame and running gear under it.

[wayno]

It looks like a jeep front axle to me, but I don't know a lot about front strait axles. the transfer case also looks jeep. I think it is the stock 521 frame, I also think it has a long shaft 4 or 5 speed(620-720) transmission in it, that would put the shifter back farther as it looks in the Oic. I could not see enough of the steering shaft in the engine compartment, but in the interior shot, it looks stock. I can tell you it is not a 1980 datsun 4X4 frame, as they had front independent suspension with a solid mounted front 3rd member. The truck probably has some kind of 4X4 conversion kit on it, they made them back then. It also looks to have some kind of aftermarket air conditioning kit on it, I don't think the 521 ever came with air conditioning from the factory, but I could be wrong, wouldn't be the first time. If you want to sell that air conditioning setup I would be interested in buying it. Looks like a great find.:thumbup: wayno

[wayno]

BTW, does it have front disc or drum brakes? If disc take the tire off and get a picture of the caliper. wayno

[nevada]

not sure on the brakes. from the pictures it looks like drums?