1971 PL521

[dat521gatherer]

sweet you got the ac under dash unit and locking glove box lock. does it have the locking fuel door too?

 

if you want to know if it is a 521 frame look under the firewall on the right hand passenger side top of the frame rail. you have to look deep under the battery for it. it will look like this. sorry for who's ever pics these are.

[wayno]

Hi there, Good eye dat521gather, I missed the glove box. Did datsun have a stock airconditioning package also? I looked a little closer and realized after you told me that it does have drum brakes in the front, they also had a coversion kit for disc brakes on the jeep front axles, they used an adapter plate and early toyota truck calipers, but it was a iffy setup at best. That is a rare find, I have only seen one other truck with the locking glovebox, and I wouldn't be suprized if it has the locking gas door also.:thumbup:

[nevada]

Hi all,

 

thanks for the great info and pics. the gas door itself did not have a lock on it. i did not pop it open to see if there was a locking gas cap. i assume when you say locking gas door you mean the actual door however. i will see if i can get over and check out the frame number soon and let you know what i find out. i was told that the head gasket had gone and that the head was sent out to be redone at some point. i guess it was decided to do the whole engine and that is why it is torn down to the state it is in now. some of the parts are in the bed and others in the drawers of an old work bench. i did not locate the actual head to check it out. she is sure its around somewhere but as you can see the garage is packed. she is trying to weed out the stuff she does not want and need but might be a bit before i can find it. i am thinking that since it is torn down pretty much already that i might as well just rebuild it anyways. do the make a rebuild kit for it? if so where is a good place to find one? since it appears its not a stock truck now would it be cheaper to just drop in a motor that has already been rebuilt? are there other motor options available that could be dropped in without to much hassle that might be better power wise, etc?

 

thanks again!

[wayno]

I would find a L20b longblock because it is easy, it may have one in it though, it is hard to say what is in there, do you see the flat plate by the oil dipstick hole that is broken into two flat surfaces by the groove, the left surface will have the block designation(L16, L18, or L20b), just wire brush it, or lightly sand it with fine sandpaper, sometimes you can use your finger to clean it enough to see what block it is. The right surface will have the block serial number. Sometimes it's just better to buy a running L20b from a wrecking yard and drop it in the vehicle, that's what I did, and I have been beating the shit out of it for over 10 years, I paid $400.00 for the engine and tranny I beleave, with a 30 day guarantee of course.

:lol: If it had a locking gas cap door you would see the key hole, it would probably look like the door lock. You can put almost anything engine wise in the truck, you will only be limited by how much money you want to spend or have. Easy is the type that is in it. wayno

 

[nevada]

will the L20b drop right in and mate up the transmission? when i was looking in the cab it appeared to have a shifter knob marked with 5 gears. so you guys are probably right that it is a later model transmission. i have not had a chance to go back over and check the block for its type yet. i will try this week. what carb setup would you run on it? if it is an l20b where would i find a complete rebuild kit? any suggestions on where i would buy the motor or a shop who would build it right? i would think that if i rebuild the one its got now i might as well do something to give more hp. thoughts on that?

[nevada]

More pics. does the dash look like that or has someone messed up the hole where the radio would go? where can you find a replacement?

 

 

[izzo]

i see a second shifter for xfer case...

[nevada]

i must be blind? where do you see it?

[izzo]

just to the right of the brown center console, kind of down, that black knob, looks like a xfer case arm. looks like it might have some padding on it too?

either that or its just something on the floor that looks like one from that pic :rofl:

 

 

 

--==edit==--

 

 

Looks to be in the 2H position too, then 4H, then would be N then 4L

[nevada]

here is a better shot of the stick i think you are talking about. i would have to go to the truck and see for sure but i think its just stuff piled on the floor? im not sure where it would be on a modded truck. i just assumed near the main shifter lol

 

 

 

[izzo]

its in an odd position for it to be just sitting on the floor like that, id bet its for the xfer case, with some foam padding on it like they used to do back in the day.

 

think chevy/dodge used to have theirs in that area, fords were up on the trans hump iirc

 

could be wrong, but looks like it

[nevada]

well that would answer my question on the high / lo range. i have never dealt with manual hubs so i was not sure if they came with just one range or what back in the day. i just assumed it would be next to the main shifter for some reason. i will get over to check it out and get back to you guys.

 

thanks!

[izzo]

lol yup

 

2h

4h

n

2l

 

all depends on the vehicle, hard to say what thats from until we see the axle a bit better

[bananahamuck]

The hubs are stamped with International Harvester ,,symbol in dead center of hub,, Internationals used the divorced type transfer cases ,does it have very short driveline between the trans and transfer case? Also is there even a front driveline for the truck cause by the look of the mud on front yolks it doesn`t look like they were ever running one.

 

 

(( DISCLAIMER ))

 

OK, i only know what my friend with Internationals tells me ,while im trying to ignore him

[nevada]

Hi all,

 

there is a drive line for the transfer case. i saw it sitting in the bed. i am not sure why it was removed but its been 14 years. i was told that her ex was going to rebuild the motor so maybe he was pulling for some reason. good catch on the stamp on the hub. i did not really look at it. i need to get it out of there and clean it up so i can what is really going on with it. at the moment i have not place to put it.

[wayno]

Somebody butchered the radio hole in the dash, if you want to replace it, you will have to find another one out of a 520 or 521 datsun PU. The 520s had an all metal dash, I would find one of them if possible. You never know about that knob sticking up, h2theizzo could be right, it could be the transfer case shifter arm sticking up there in the other Oic. To me it looks like that AC unit is aftermarket, you can't even control the heater controls with it there, even though it has a cutout for the e-brake and the flasher knob is in the ac unit housing. What is that knob where the choke knob is supposed to be? Maybe it is a aftermarket choke knob.

 

[izzo]

Looks like a dealer install ac for standard datsun? maybe one out of a courier?

[wayno]

Hey h2theizzo, there is no way a dealer would have put that in there without modifying the heater control levers, they are pinned permanently in them positions, you can't defrost the windshield in that position. wayno

[izzo]

Hey h2theizzo, there is no way a dealer would have put that in there without modifying the heater control levers, they are pinned permanently in them positions, you can't defrost the windshield in that position. wayno

 

Oh i see what you are referring to. Guess it was just 510s/620s that had those underdash units? thought i had seen a 521 with one before but guess not.

[nevada]

hey guys,

 

i am not sure what knobs you are referring too? the two round black knobs at the center bottom that look the same controlled the temp stuff if i recall correctly. i have no clue if they work. i did not see a compressor, etc. anywhere in the truck but it could be in the chest with the timing, stuff, head bolts, etc.

[izzo]

the two metal things below the radio hole, not exactly knobs tho lol

[wayno]

There are two levers below the radio hole on the bottom of the dash that are silver in color, The one right below the headlight switch says"room/def" and the other below that T handle choke says"heat/shut", they are both pinned in the forward position because that air conditioning unit is bolted to the bottom of the dash, these levers have probably been disconnected from the heater box, otherwise you would have no heat or no defroster, I can't remember which way is which, or maybe the former owner never drove it in anything but good weather. Hey h2theizzo, maybe you have seen a stock 521 AC unit before, just not this style. wayno

[nevada]

ah ok i see where you are looking now. interesting. i will see if i can get at it this weekend and check these things closer. would be cool (pun intended) if it had AC. its kind of nice here in Las Vegas lol

[nevada]

how hard is it to rebuild an engine? I am mechanically inclined but I have never built up an engine before. one of the books she had with the truck is a Datsun service manual for the 1976 model. from what i can tell it had the L20B in it. i have not checked yet but i think there is a pretty good chance the one i have here might have that motor in it as well. I am not sure if the manual applies to the earlier models? what would be a good source for a complete engine rebuild kit? If i had it professionally rebuilt what would you recommend i have done to it? what is the typical cost for having one rebuilt with enhancements to better performance?

 

thanks!

[Jayden71]

Its not that difficult to rebuild the L engine. Just gotta take your time and have a little bit of know how. The most expensive thing is going to be having the head rebuilt. Mine cost like $250 but, that all depends on the shop you go to. A good place for rebuild kit would be rockauto.com. They usually have everything. I went to my local Carquest for rings and bearings and gaskets. Rings were like $13 and the rod bearings were $8 I do beleive. Mine is an L16. Oh ya, timing chain kit too complete with tensioner would be recomoended.