an_orange_s2k 521

[an_orange_s2k]

So recently I decided I wanted to purchase a pick up. Mainly due to the fact that I want to get back into motorcycles and will need something to tow it back and forth from the track but I also enjoy the idea of throwing a bunch of stuff into the bed without a care and driving off. I love the idea of owning a classic pick up and knew that is something that I want (also did not want to deal with smog...California :rolleyes:).

 

I searched for a few weeks and made a ton of calls looking as far as Washington until eventually found this.

 

Funny this is I called about this truck a week earlier and was told that it had already sold. I was super bummed and was just about to purchase one out of state until I decided to give it one more search and this popped back up. So I called them, set up a time, and brought it home! Purchase price $1020!

 

The 521 was owned by an older couple (Kymberly and Manuel) who purchased it from a priest (the original owner) back in the '90's. They lent it to their uncle to commute from Elk Grove to Sacramento for a couple years but recently decided to let it go. They were THE nicest couple I have ever met. Talked about cars, baseball, and a bunch of other random stuff as we waited for the tow truck to arrive.

 

Loading her up! Gotta love AAA. I ran out of service calls but added my sister to my plan so I can use her tows, only cost me $15 and dinner!

 

 

Here is our driver Doug. Apparently he was on the phone with his wife and got a ton of shit for something. Maybe because he has to drive from Sacramento to San Francisco and back at 9pm?

 

Home and ready to unload! The truck runs strong and starts up no problems whatsoever but the brakes need to be bleed and the brake light stays on at the moment. Manuel pulled it up to the flat bed and used the ebrake to slow down/stop then he had to disconnect that battery so the brake lights would not drain it.

 

I have a lot more to post but I have to wake up and head over to Auburn (2.5hrs away) with a couple buddies to pick up a STI in the morning so I'll leave it here for now.

[an_orange_s2k]

Meh, I'll stay up a bit longer. Here are a few more pictures of the 521. It is rough around the edges (especially the bed) but it runs and is pretty much complete.

 

Front:

Interior:

 

Dash:

 

Driver side floor board:

 

Passenger side floor board:

 

Bed:

 

Tailgate:

 

Side:

 

Here are a few pics of some of my previous cars.

'93 Mazda Rx-7 (current)

 

'72 Datsun 240z

 

'06 Yamaha R6 50th Anniversary Edition

 

'95 Nissan 240sx

 

'01 Honda s2000

[an_orange_s2k]

First things first, I have to figure out what is keeping the brake light on since I don't want to keep disconnecting and reconnecting the battery every time. The previous owner told me it might possibly be a sensor but I search the net and found an issue that is common with the z31. Lo and behold.

 

 

Basically the plastic "spacer" that is suppose to be on the pedal to press into the sensor when the brake is not engaged was missing. I grabbed some material I had left over that I purchased from target to go underneath furniture, cut a small piece out, cleaned the area, and stuck it on. Wish everything was this simple.

 

 

Next on the agenda was to bleed the drum brakes and give the car a tune up. I went to Kragen/O'Reily's to purchase everything but had to go to NAPA to get distributor cap and rotor. The cap and rotor had to be special ordered and the cap alone would've cost $12 from O'Reily but I was about to pick up both for $8.50 from NAPA. Saving a few dollars here and there will definitely add up to more stuff for the 521.

 

Oil, oil filter, spark plugs, spark plug wires, brake fluid (went over board on that):

 

Little sister helping me bleed the brakes:

 

Really glad I decided to give it the engine a tune up, here is how the spark plugs looked when I pulled them:

 

Datsun L16 next to Mazda Rx-7 oil filter....it's huge!!! (that's what she said....)

 

Few extra pics:

 

96hp @ 5600rpm off the line back in '71:

 

Kangaroo Pouch:

 

Original equipment?:

[Dawa]

daaamn, youve had some nice cars! diggin that kouki and the 7.

most of the photos didnt work for me, btw

[Skib]

 

[DatWifey]

Not a bad score for just over a grand! Just give her a little TLC and she'll be solid! :thumbup:

[skyblue]

First things first, I have to figure out what is keeping the brake light on since I don't want to keep disconnecting and reconnecting the battery every time. The previous owner told me it might possibly be a sensor but I search the net and found an issue that is common with the z31. Lo and behold.

 

 

Basically the plastic "spacer" that is suppose to be on the pedal to press into the sensor when the brake is not engaged was missing. I grabbed some material I had left over that I purchased from target to go underneath furniture, cut a small piece out, cleaned the area, and stuck it on. Wish everything was this simple.

 

 

 

i had the same problem when i got mine. luckily the part is still available from Nissan.

number 27 on the diagram. part # 46512-H0101. just give the parts dept at your local Nissan dealership a call. If you care that is.

http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun520/Datsun520521Index/PowerTrain/BrakeClutchPedal/tabid/1443/Default.aspx

[an_orange_s2k]

daaamn, youve had some nice cars! diggin that kouki and the 7.

most of the photos didnt work for me, btw

Thanks, I really miss my s2000 which I have tracked a lot but if I haven't got rid of that I wouldn't be in my FD now. The FD is starting to become a money pit though...5th gear syncro just went out and it needs to be tuned. Does anyone else have a problem with the photos? I uploaded everything on photobucket but maybe I missed something?

 

Not a bad score for just over a grand! Just give her a little TLC and she'll be solid! :thumbup:

Yeah time is the difficult part. I'm trying to take advantage of every chance I get.

 

i had the same problem when i got mine. luckily the part is still available from Nissan.

number 27 on the diagram. part # 46512-H0101. just give the parts dept at your local Nissan dealership a call. If you care that is.

http://www.carpartsm...43/Default.aspx

Thanks, I'll probably end up ordering it sooner or later.

[Dawa]

photos work fine now, werent workin this mornin at work.

[an_orange_s2k]

I've had the truck for a week so far and have already spent the same amount in parts as I did for the truck! Started with $1000 in my paypal account that I transferred in from my bank and now I'm down to $52. I should include my debit and credit card reports too....*sigh*

 

I stopped by Home Depot the other day up a couple wire wheels, mask, and goggles so I can start working on the bed.

 

Had to pick something up for Mom when I walked by the gardening section

 

When I got home I dug up a drill, took a small seat, and just went to town on the bed

 

You can see a small difference but still needs work. Didn't get to finish the entire bed though since it was about 10:30pm and I was only a third of the way through

 

Didn't notice this till I pulled it into the garage, o well

 

The following night I headed south to pick up a 32/36 Weber from a guy on craigslist and found out he knew a few people that I did. He had this sick TE27 Corolla with a 4AGZE swap he races in SCCA that I just had to snap a picture of. I must say the Filipinos really do love the classic Toyotas.

[an_orange_s2k]

Had the day off yesterday but didn't do any work on the 521. Instead I headed up to Auburn with a couple of my best buddies to pick this up:

 

'05 Subaru STI w/ 52k

 

The seller was a great guy. Found out he grew up in SoCal and took over his family business but got bored so he sold the business moved up north and now grows and distributes marijuana! :thumbup:

[DatWifey]

I've said it before, and will say it again, no matter what, these things are always money pits! But, to keep them alive and well, they kind of need to be. The work and money will pay off when you don't have a complete rust bucket / enormous lawn ornament in 5 years. We bought ours running and driving for $1,000 as well, and have put in probably at least double that to get the brakes upgraded and some of the 40 years of shit taken care of before it got out of control.

 

At least you're doing the necessary shit before the desirable :thumbup:

[an_orange_s2k]

I've said it before, and will say it again, no matter what, these things are always money pits! But, to keep them alive and well, they kind of need to be. The work and money will pay off when you don't have a complete rust bucket / enormous lawn ornament in 5 years. We bought ours running and driving for $1,000 as well, and have put in probably at least double that to get the brakes upgraded and some of the 40 years of shit taken care of before it got out of control.

 

At least you're doing the necessary shit before the desirable :thumbup:

 

Yeah I purchased this knowing I'll probably end up throwing a good amount of money into it to get it to where I want. I'm definitely enjoying it though and since it's a truck it'll be functional for a long time

[banzai510(hainz)]

I just JB welded a Penny over the hole to keep the brake light from comming ON.

 

dont run the Autolitel plugs. The thread pitch is slightly different. They get hard to get out. Buy NGK or Nippondenso plugs. TRUST ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I see they sell that FLEX Seal at Walmart now.

The one where they cut the hole out of the boat and put in a screen door and use the FLEX SEAL.

 

 

was thinking of doing my 510 floor boords.

 

Now you got me thinking maybe I should do my 521 bed.

 

 

your missing the long sheeps hook rod for the orang crank handle.

 

the yahama was the same set up as my 84 KennyRoberts RZ 350 2 stroker I had

 

 

also swap out the anti freeze(50/50). Alot of Datsun owners including my self never learn that this helps the front timming cover from cavitsation!!!!!!!

[an_orange_s2k]

I just JB welded a Penny over the hole to keep the brake light from comming ON.

 

dont run the Autolitel plugs. The thread pitch is slightly different. They get hard to get out. Buy NGK or Nippondenso plugs. TRUST ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I see they sell that FLEX Seal at Walmart now.

The one where they cut the hole out of the boat and put in a screen door and use the FLEX SEAL.

 

 

was thinking of doing my 510 floor boords.

 

Now you got me thinking maybe I should do my 521 bed.

 

 

your missing the long sheeps hook rod for the orang crank handle.

 

the yahama was the same set up as my 84 KennyRoberts RZ 350 2 stroker I had

 

 

also swap out the anti freeze(50/50). Alot of Datsun owners including my self never learn that this helps the front timming cover from cavitsation!!!!!!!

Darn, the only reason I decided to go with the Autolite plugs was because I didn't want to wait for the NGK and plan to swap the motor eventually.

 

I was planning to do a spray liner for the bed and havent even thought about Flex Seal. I just ran a quick search "Flex Seal trucks" and did not find many favorable reviews. I did come across "Line-X" which is a protective spray on coating that seems promising.

[an_orange_s2k]

Been pretty busy these past couple days and I helped my sister move into her new apartment in Davis today so I haven't gotten a chance to work on but 521 but I'm off tomorrow and have the entire day to do so. In the mean time here are a few photos of items I've picked up/arrived this past week.

 

Weber 32/36, adapter plate, air horn, and hardware

 

Solex locks, hood badge, window wings, cab light, fender side markers, shifter bushing, window handles, clutch/brake pedal

 

Datsun keychain (my favorite item so far)

 

Can't wait to get a bit of work done tomorrow!

[Willdatsun]

nice. watching your build.

[Z chopper]

Solex locks, hood badge, window wings, cab light, fender side markers, shifter bushing, window handles, clutch/brake pedal

 

 

Wrong side markers for your year of 521. Forget about useing those solex locks search the threads out and you will find out why. but seriously cool truck so far

[an_orange_s2k]

sadly im forced to sell this so if anyone is interested let me know. here is a link to the f/s thread: http://community.ratsun.net/topic/47161-71-datsun-521-pickup-in-norcal-1175/

[bonvo]

x2 that fd is sick

[Draker]

THEN WHAT HAPPENED?

[Charlie69]

Thanks, I really miss my s2000 which I have tracked a lot but if I haven't got rid of that I wouldn't be in my FD now. The FD is starting to become a money pit though...5th gear syncro just went out and it needs to be tuned. Does anyone else have a problem with the photos? I uploaded everything on photobucket but maybe I missed something?

 

 

Yeah time is the difficult part. I'm trying to take advantage of every chance I get.

 

 

Thanks, I'll probably end up ordering it sooner or later.

Best to order it sooner than later as there is No telling when it will be obsolete.

 

Nice truck congrats and enjoy the ride!