my new 521

[dat521gatherer]

Well I wanted to get a stock 521 and this is what I bought. It was hit real bad in the front at one time but looks decent except the bent hood and the rippled roof. The car lot that had it got it from a little old lady who's husband bought it new in 71. I have most of the receipts since the first 8k dealer oil change. Gotta love the provenance. receipts are missing for the wreck repair. I didn't relize it was hit that bad til after I bought it. The left fender has different paint under it. The hood is bent as in twisted. The A arm was new with the part number sticker on it where is the other side is greasy. Oh and the left front hubcap was new with the part number stamp on the inside. The other 3 were so rusty I gave up on them and swapped them out. It's been repainted back to the doors. I'm still pissed its been hit but its better than my red 521 and more original than my blue 521. I'm still happy enough with it. The engine was replaced around 85 with a lazorlite? crate L16.

 

On to the PICS!!!

 

I liked the wood idea until I looked under it.

 

wrinkled roof. dont know what to do about that. Original headliners are nla and they dont just pull out to reuse.

 

Someone rivited a bracket inside the hood where they always crack.

 

bay

 

interior

[dat521gatherer]

the cleaning starts

 

I love these floor mats does anyone know if they were A dealer option or after market period. Cause they fit perfect.

 

A peek under the mat. I cleaned it up as much as I could but it still needs some work.

 

under dash.

 

installed a 520 package tray. they look much better.

 

Ok the wood is coming out.

 

always nice to have a pic to know where the wires go.

[dat521gatherer]

more interior cleaning

 

bead blast before and after

 

it cleaned up real nice so far

[datsunrides]

Really nice work so far. It's cleaning up real nice! Especially jealous of the dash pad.

 

Mark

[skunk]

i like, man i really want a 521.

looks like a great truck.

[Guest DatsuNoob]

Lookin good Dan! :thumbup:

[banzai510(hainz)]

That Mother Fucker looks GOOD

 

Im going to paint my stock wheels white and get some thin white walls maybe over X mas break for my 521

[Xander_42]

Awesome 521, it's cleaning up great. Can't wait to see it once you've finished it.

[freekwonder]

Looks really good surprised the bed was that good figured it was hiding something. Is that a fairly common color for 521s? Seems like every other I see is that color. Great stock color though.

[wayno]

I suspect that the floor covering is stock, did it have snaps holding up on the firewall also?

 

The dash cover looks perfect, thats rare. Does the radio work?

 

This truck was a score, it looks totally stock, you rarely find them this way anymore. Whatever you paid, it was cheap, a deal. As for the roof, I hate it when people put ladders and boards on a truck like this, I mean drop the tailgate, or get a rack! You will have to either fill the dents in or remove the headliner and have the dents beaten out I suspect, I doubt that the paintless dent removal guys can fix it, but it might be worth a try. You can still get headliner material that looks similar to stock from an upholsterer I have been told by an upholsterer. Nice find. :thumbup: wayno

[dat521gatherer]

Thanks guys. I have A list of stuff to do to it but I got no garage and its raining all the time. To do list includes-

 

front brakes

check king pins

inspect and repack wheel bearings

paint rims

adjust valves

swap bed from red 521 (have it painted)

heater r&r (stuck valve)

tighten shift fork

tighten blinker shaft

carb rebuild

 

wayno the radio does work. All 3 of my 521 radios work. The noguchi green light is burnt on my 72.

 

The green mat is original and does have the snaps. The black mats are what I'm wondering if they were a dealer or after market thing.

[lachbeth1125]

The truck looks great.

Love it when someone finds something that original (too nice to rat):lol:

 

What the hell, RAT IT!!!!!!!

 

Cheers Jase

[Wide14u]

wow its in great shape

[Jayden71]

Cool find man!!

 

What do you know bout the engine?? I noticed it has a NISSAN OHC cam cover instead of stock Datsun OHC one? Just curious :blink:

[tdaaj]

Dan that is a really nice 521. Good score and it's in great hands now too.

[myfairlady]

really enjoyed the pics and see all the hard work you put into your truck.

[gene knight]

nice ride... i hope my project datto will be as good looking as yours. PM sent..

[DanielC]

Nice 521. I hope you do not mind, I copied pics of your fusebox, and relay location for others that will ask about headlight problems.

For a really nice bright white paint, ask for 1982 Chevy truck Frost White, Chevy OEM code (no kidding) 521. Dupont calls this white 817.

[DanielC]

Here is a picture of some tools to help you get the dents out of the roof.

The top dolly, you hold inside, against the dent. Right on the headliner.

The bottom thing, that looks like a narrow spatula, is called a spoon. You hold it on the outside, on the dent, on high spots, and hit it with a hammer. Do not hold the dolly directly under the spoon, but slightly off of each other. You might need to have someone else hold the dolly, or remove the rear window. If you remove the rear window, make sure the rubber is in good shape, and you also risk breaking the glass.

Using these tools, you should be able to work the dents down far enough to only need a very slight amount of body filler to cover the dent. You might even be able to work it down far enough to only need some high build primer to fill the dents that are left in the metal.

 

The middle item is just a piece of leaf spring. You can use it in place of the spoon, but the handle on the spoon makes it easier to hold.

[skyblue]

damn. super clean. very nice.

[620green]

Dan you car look great more than my 521.See photo.I will try change another parts to original 521.

[blackdeth666]

Hey I saw this truck! Way too clean....

[mrbigtanker]

looks good i like it alot keep up the good work.

[dat521gatherer]

Thanks guys! I just painted one of my rims white. chipped the hell out of it putting the hub cap back on. Damn it. 3 more to go. I was looking at the wheel well and decided to make a couple test scrapes to see if I wanted to clean it. So I spent 20 minutes cleaning it. It came out better then I thought it would.

 

before

 

after

 

why do 3 of my valve stems look different? Is this an old style or something? Any advantages or disadvantages to them?

[skyblue]

Thanks guys! I just painted one of my rims white. chipped the hell out of it putting the hub cap back on. Damn it. 3 more to go. I was looking at the wheel well and decided to make a couple test scrapes to see if I wanted to clean it. So I spent 20 minutes cleaning it. It came out better then I thought it would.

 

before

 

after

 

 

wow cleaned up really nice. what did you use to clean it?