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Noob buying first 620.....What to look for?


deejaid

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Hi all. I have been lurking on the board here reading posts and trying to get as much info I can on 620's. I am now ready to purchase my first 620 and would love to get any buying advice I can get. What should I look for when buying a 620? What are the common problems to look out for?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks

 

DJ

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look for rust issues in the rockers, floor board, around the window seals and the bed, front fenders rear lower sections.

 

Make sure ALL the headlights ~dim and brights work, side markers, brake lights, turn signals, dash lights, heater motor works on low and high speed.

does the motor smoke when it's cold, drive it around and make sure the clutch is working proper, does it shift smooth, check the fluids like anti-freeze, see if the rearend and tranny fluids are up.

 

that should keep up busy for awhile. GL on your search for the 620 and when you find one, make sure you get lots of pic's. ;)

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what they said, but I would also look for stuff that was removed from the engine and crimped over or blocked up. That means they removed the emissions stuff.

 

The hood is known to crack at the front latch and the supports will separate from the top sheetmetal over time but not as big a deal as the cracking. It will make the hood wobble and flop around.

 

If you peak under the dash and all the wiring looks tucked away and doesn't have crap hanging all over then chances are the wiring hasen't been tampered with.

 

With any car/truck make sure the doors line up with the body. If it doens't, chances are there has been body work. The body lines shouldn't have any obvious changes. For example the front of the door sits out farther then the fender or visa/versa. Tap on the body with your fingers... you can hear when there is a shit ton of bondo vs sheetmetal.

 

My biggest thing was all the rust though.

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Thanks for all the replies guys. It seem the biggest problems are body related. I plan on finding something with the least amount of body work needed as possible. My 1960 F100 had too much body work needed so I've learned to look for good bodies first. The mechanicals are much easier for me to deal with than body work.

 

Any common mechanical problems to look out for?

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Have patience and don't jump at the first one.I ended up with SEVEN 620's and wouldn't you know the 7th one was the best candidate for the restore.I would concentrate on later years 78-79.They are the most likely to have disc brakes & A/C.King cabs are another reason.No matter what year you get,you still are NOT emissions exempt.

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with anything, check the oil, rub it on your fingers and smell it for burnt smell (more with automatic trans fluid) and look for metal flakes or shavings. If the oil looks new, they may have changed it to sell it.

 

I've had people tell me to start it and check for blow back with the oil cap off... but I've never done that because my comon sense tells me it would fly out. But if that top hose has blow back then there may be issues with the head/valves

 

Radiators go bad, just check for patch jobs in the radiator... just regular wear items, these trucks are old :)

I'm not expert by any means, I just know what went tits up in my truck.

The dash plastic is hard to find so hopefully you can find one that is clean on the inside with no rust (pull up the carpet)

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Get one in a close to stock as you can. This would be one that has not been molested my well meaning but idiot previous owners that have...

 

Cut into the wiring for stereo, radio, trailer hitch. Includes swapping the ignition, push button ignition (how retarded is that?) shaving marker lights (illegal at best and unsafe) modified headlights, relays and electrical parts poorly replaced or jury rigged. All signals marker lights, parking lights headlights should be there and working.

 

Removed and or modified the smog equipment. Most don't know what they are doing or how the systems work and cause problems or potential problems down the road.

 

Look for obvious parts that have been added that won't work the same as the stock units and won't be easy to trouble shoot with a stock manual such as a Weber carb.

 

Old, worn, modified or non existent mufflers and exhaust pipes.

 

Emergency brake should work.

 

Look for uneven front tire wear indicating a suspension or steering problem. Drive the truck and see how it steers.

 

Look for oil leaks on transmission and rear differential. If leaking, what's left in there???

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On the '78(Jan'78)& '79 620' pay close attention to the area between the bed and the cab. Due to the cross member that holds the fuel tank, sometimes this area accumulates with debris(leaves,etc...), which if left unchecked will cause cancer to the back of the cab as well as the cross member itself...I found this out the hard way. So just do a visual between the bed and the cab and investigate if you find anything of concern. Other than that, I always like to bring a friend with me as he might see something I may have missed. Good luck with your search! Jersey.

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This goes for any car especially "classics"

 

Don't just jump on the first one you find, don't be in a rush and look everything over several times. It's always better to spend a little more money that you initially wanted to on something that has a fairly straight body and runs. Itll save money in the long run buying a nicer truck in the first place. This way you can still enjoy driving it and not get overwhelmed with so many problems you don't know where to start. Just make sure to drive and inspect as many as you can! Good luck!

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  • 3 years later...

This is an old thread but I thought it should be said:  DO NOT BUY A 1974 - it is a transition year with many unique parts.  (It is the only year for the L18.)

 

The electrical system is unique.  All connectors are the round black rubber (barrel) connectors which means everything from lights, regulators, and windshield washers do not interchange with any other 620!  (Of course I'm assuming you do not want to butcher wiring to use wrong year parts.)

 

The EGR is unique and unobtanium.  It was the first year for EGR and if you get the L20 in the 1975 and later, you will have lots of nice cheap parts available on RockAuto.

 

I would either find a L16 and go for simplicity and economy or get the L20 which has extra shields and protectors to contain wheel road spray reducing the rate of rust out.

 

Oh, and CHECK THE COWL FOR RUST OUT!  This is bad news if you have to fix it.  If you find yourself in this position, think roofing rather than body work.  There are high tech polyurethane sealants that have tremendous adhesion such as SikaFlex 1a.

 

And the Core Support.  It is almost impossible to visually inspect it since it is tucked behind the grille and bumper but is prone to rot.

 

In fact, a list of cab rot areas to check:

  • Core Support
  • Firewall/kick panels in foot box region
  • Cowl
  • Frame mounts (can look good but can be rusted out and hidden by rubber mounts)
  • Rockers (obvious)
  • Cab floor rear edge.  This can completely rot away.  The spot weld flange is a horizontal ledge on the back of the cab and is a ledge to collect wet debris.
  • Door corners and bottom

The bed can have a major issue along the aft edge of the deck.  There is a trapezoidal box section there that can massively rot out.

 

I have a "rescue" project for a 1974 620 and am all too familiar with these problems.  My bed was replaced by the previous owner by literally 50% of the aft edge was completely gone.  And while the frame is 100% rock solid (and the body mounts too), the cab has over 6# of MIG wire in it.  And this truck looked amazingly good up close.  The cab problems are basically everything except the exterior sheet metal.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Further thoughts...

 

Molested, butchered, cobbled, worked on by Monkeys - oh how I've had a belly full of that with my project - a real rescue!

 

If you see any evidence of that - WALK AWAY because there will be 10x more problems that you will not see.  And that goes ESPECIALLY FOR RUST. 

 

When I bot my 1974, I was trusting an old Studebaker "friend" whom I really don't know if he was telling the truth or selling me a load.  But if I had seen just one more problem area (I did see one rusted body cab body mount and didn't realize if one's bad, they're all bad) I would have walked away and SHOULD HAVE.

 

But this project has precipitated my losing 70 pounds (235 down from 305) AND I'm a pretty damn good MIG welder now.  What what would you pay to lose 70 pounds?  So for me, its a unique situation and and although an lousy car decision, it was a good life decision.

 

So now I'm compelled to remove the evil done to this poor Datsun - a true rescue.

 

My one friend is teasing me because I am being totally anal about putting the correct parts back - even fasteners... But, I'm not interested in "cherrying it out."  I have no problem putting a good used correct OE part back that without "restoring it."  And let me tell you, the transition 1974 model is the absolute worst to deal with.

 

And frankly, I've never run across a vehicle cobbled so vastly - its like this was the life's work of previous owners:  to completely FUBAR this poor Datsun.

 

But I must say, the frame and body supports are 100% absolute perfect - but have surface rust of course.  Who knows, its possible they POR15'd it like they did every rust spot weld seam. 

 

If you want to see this nightmare in progress, check out these pics.

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