1980 720 2WD (AZJones' Build Thread)

[arizonajones]

So here's an unrelated post:

 

The plastic logos on the side of the truck were all sunburned and the paint had faded, so I repainted them. I sanded the lettering with some 220grit, and mixed up a smoke grey color with some acrylic enamel and rolled it on with an ink brayer (http://www.dickblick.com/products/speedball-soft-rubber-brayers/?clickTracking=true&wmcp=pla&wmcid=items&wmckw=40104-1015&gclid=CPOuoZ-sj8MCFYlcMgodl2oA4Q). After it dried, I sprayed it with a clear coat.

 

Here's the result (pardon the rain...)

[Lockleaf]

Nicely done. Edges of the letters look like they came out crisp and smooth

[arizonajones]

Nicely done. Edges of the letters look like they came out crisp and smooth

Thanks! I'm pretty happy with it. If you're considering doing yours, I would just put some painter's tape on the edges where there are large gaps between letters, and you're good to go. It was way quicker than making a stencil or trying to hand paint those edges.

[wayno]

It looks good, sometimes I wish they had left off the "By Nissan" like on the earlier trucks, it would just look cleaner.

[arizonajones]

It looks good, sometimes I wish they had left off the "By Nissan" like on the earlier trucks, it would just look cleaner.

It's funny you mention it. I almost sawed off that part because it bugs me a little, too. Then I talked myself out of it. Maybe I'll snag a couple more at the yard and try that out.

[Gradyfest]

It looks good, sometimes I wish they had left off the "By Nissan" like on the earlier trucks, it would just look cleaner.

It's funny you mention it. I almost sawed off that part because it bugs me a little, too. Then I talked myself out of it. Maybe I'll snag a couple more at the yard and try that out.

I not only like it, I love it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the first time you'll see NISSAN badged on a DATSUN truck? That makes it unique alone. As every truck will forever have NISSAN and this may be the only badge with DATSUN and NISSAN together ever again. It's very settle and makes sense as they are transitioning to NISSAN in the states. I surely wouldn't cut it off. I actually tell people with pride that this is the first badge on the outside saying NISSAN when people ask about it. It's kool.

[arizonajones]

Here's a mini-update:

 

My grill and marker light housings were looking shabby so I cleaned em, sanded with 220, and painted them with gloss-black plastic paint. I also clear coated the Datsun logo.

 

[arizonajones]

So I have a bunch of pictures I will be posting soon... but I'm encountering some new frustrations these days...

 

I just changed the head gasket (and front cover gasket, timing chain etc... that was an adventure... pics to come)

 

BUT I've put it all back together and I no longer have a leaking head gasket, but I think I have an exhaust leak and a ticking sound that seams to get louder as it gets warmer. I don't think it's a knock - I sure hope not! It sounds more like a loud tap that is higher on the motor as opposed to a lower clunk. And the exhaust leak sounds like a puffing noise that gets more noticable at higher RPMS.

 

Today I checked timing, valve lash, and re-torqued manifold bolts working from center out - but no change.

 

Just an FYI, when I put the oil pump back on I filled it with oil first, and then put in 4 qts in through the oil pressure sender hole and poured a 1/2 qt on top of the valves, so I'm assuming it's all lubed up properly. Tomorrow, I'm going to look under the valve cover one more time and make sure I haven't missed anything. I've changed the intake/exhaust gasket before with no trouble, so I'm puzzled about what the trouble is this time.

 

Anyway, any advice is much appreciated. I'll post process photos soon.

[Charlie69]

This part of the reason I like automatics.

[arizonajones]

Progress!

 

I found and fixed my clicky valve. It was an exhaust valve that was waayy out of adjustment. I think I forgot to tighten the nut down after I adjusted it and it got all loose and wonky.  :blush:  Also, I think the exhaust putter sound might be coming from where my egr tube meets the exhaust pipe. I'm gonna get that sealed up and see what happens.

 

Picture dump is coming soon...

[arizonajones]

Head Gasket Picture dump:

 

Cylinder 1 should not be so clean!

 

under the head

 

The culprit!   Coolant jet leaking into cylinder 1. Thankfully it was minor. The pressure from cylinder 1 was blowing coolant out of the reservoir. No cafe au lait in my oil! 

 

So I checked for wear on the head and block and both were under the max amount allowed so I just cleaned them and prepped for a fresh gasket. 

 

I did, however learn a hard lesson about the block for the timing chain...  :(

[arizonajones]

So I hadn't planned to do the front cover but... this happened:

 

 

So she got re-timed and a load of new gaskets - front cover, oil pan, distributor, oil pump, water pump, and coolant inlet/oulet.

 

Also, getting that big bolt off was a bear and a half so I ended up getting the help of my trusty ratchet strap:

 

 

Turns out the block of wood that I cut to fit the Chilton instructions was not the right shape at all and the chain tensioner popped right off. So I ended up using the plastic handle of a very long screw driver. Next time, I will either buy the plastic tool or I will print out Mike Klotz's template and cut a proper one. The picture in the Chilton manual looks nothing like what you need.

[Brohemius]

Lookin good jones! Keep it up.

[arizonajones]

Sooooooo...... this morning was interesting... 

I took the carb off yesterday to clean it and found that its bolts were a bit loose, so I fixed it and put it back together. Fired up idled ok.

 

Drove it to work this morning - drove fine for about 4 minutes and then died for no reason.

Starter turns, battery works, won't start.

 

I saw the fuel-cut solenoid fuse was burnt so I replaced it and reconnected the wires, thinking it was a little loose.

 

Drove okay for about 5 miles, but the choke wasn't opnening.

 

Then it shuddered, lost power and died again. Switched out another blown fuse, pushed the choke open, leaned out the carb and got a little further down the road until it shuddered really bad - to the point where I had to floor it to keep going, but then it died anyway.

 

After that, there was no getting her going again. Towed her home.

 

So I'm trying to diagnose now - 

-No leaking oil or coolant

-Good battery

-Running normal temps below 1/2 way mark

-no sludge in oil

-no gas smell in coolant

-very recent valve lash & timing

-I can spin the crank with a wrench

-pretty new spark plugs & wires & coil

-I can see fuel in the bowl

-fuel filter is clean

-new, properly routed vacuum lines

-small amount of smoke on start-up, but really small for her age

 

I need to do some diagnostics, but at this point, my guess is bad matchbox... or something big

 

Weigh in if you think I'm missing something. I'd really appreciate the advice..... I'm biking and bus-ing until I fix it... :confused:

[arizonajones]

So, long story short, I did diagnostics on all the parts that could have been going wrong and everything checks out. I think it was a wiring short that screwed up my fuel cut solenoid and auto choke, leading to some carbon-fouled plugs that wouldn't spark. I re-connected everything, put in some fresh plugs and it was good to go.

 

It still is running a little weaker than I'd like, so I've been trying to plug anything that could be a vacuum leak (found a couple really small ones), but it still is getting me around without troubles.

 

I'm going to post some project stuff...

[arizonajones]

When I did the HG I did a little engine cleanup and paint. Here is before:

 

Here is after:

 

 

I painted the valve cover smoke grey and repainted the air filter housing with peacock blue (not a match, but close)

[Charlie69]

Looking good AZ!  Keep up the good work.

[ericsb210]

I didn't see a mention of a recent or new air filter. They can rob power if dirty enough.

 

Nice work though, glad to see your hanging in there. My 80 l20b runs amazing, keep it up and you will have it dialed in.

 

Running smog equipment, what kind of shape is the Catalytic Converter in?

 

Note: I am currently running a Weber 32/36.

[arizonajones]

So I did put in a new air filter and it helped quite a bit. I also found leaks in the choke pull-off valve and the boost control valve, so I plugged those hoses for now -also a big help.  I still hope to get it even more dialed, but so far so good. It's getting me to and fro without troubles.

 

Cat seems ok, but I'm thinking I might plan on a full engine re-build and new cat before I have to smog it again in 2 years. I got time to plan for a while (and.. hopefully by then I will have convinced my wife we need 2 Datsuns so I can drive one while I re-build the other. ;)

[arizonajones]

So... now that its running alright, I can focus on some aesthetic stuff... Wheels:

 

 

This is a pic from a few of months ago when I was running the wheels I bought with it. I had repainted them gloss black and put on some smoke-gray painted beauty rings:

 

But... then I got some Chevy Rallies circa 1980 and I decided I wanted to go with off-white wheels kind of like the white steelies it would have been sold with (and my Dad had an '80 720 with white steelies, so I'm kind of doing the Ratsun-style version of my Dad's old truck.)

 

Here's the rally wheel pre-paint:

 

I decided to go with 'almond' instead of pure white. (BTW these are 15 x 8 rallies)

 

So here's a picture of them all mounted up from the last Datslocos meet:

 

I went with 205/60/15 tires.

 

One more pic for good measure:

[arizonajones]

I got to make it out to Canby this year. Such an awesome event!

I forgot to take any pictures of my truck, but thanks to Indy510, i got one!

 

The hat on the dash clues you to whose truck it is...

[arizonajones]

Alright Ratsun, this update is more of a question:

 

I just had a coolant leak from the hose right above the alt that got coolant all over the alt. I dried it up best I could after I swapped hoses and let it sit before I drove it.

 

When I do drive, my tach needle passes about 2500 RPM it gets all squirrelly and shoots all the way over to the redline. While this is happening, the engine stumbles and sputters. It mainly only does this in first and second, and after driving for a few minutes it happens less and less extreme. This only happens on acceleration. 

 

Today I and tightened all of the alt connections, made sure grounds are tight, and checked plug wires/coil wire. nothing obviously wrong. 

 

Where else do you think I should check. This didn't happen before the coolant leak, so I'm making a connection, but I could be wrong. It definitely seems electrical though, because the crazy tach jumps always correspond to what feels like misfires.

 

Opinions?

[Lockleaf]

If tach freaks out at the same time the engine is stumbling, the first place I would look for an issue would be the distributor. That's the only place those two issues would be directly connected that I can think of.

[arizonajones]

If tach freaks out at the same time the engine is stumbling, the first place I would look for an issue would be the distributor. That's the only place those two issues would be directly connected that I can think of.

hmm. good call. I'll see if i Can do some diagnostics on it.

 

Wondering... if the voltage regulator in my alternator starts to go (I'm hearing whistle from it that could be the internal voltage reg) if it could send too much or too little voltage to the distro and mess up the matchbox?

[arizonajones]

Update:

 

Cleaned some glazing from the distributor cap and swapped to a newer, tighter-fitting wire from the coil. Tach is still jumpy/stumbly at high RPMS (although maybe not as much?)

I also checked the valve on my vacuum advance and it holds a vacuum fine.

 

2 other notable things :

 

1.  at about 2000 rpms in 1st, 2nd & 3rd, it stumbles occasionally - sort of feels like somebody is lightly tapping the brakes. I've already checked for brake drag, and that's not it.

 

2.  When my headlights are on, the whistling noise from my alt gets a bit louder, and while idling, the battery light comes on dimply (goes off when RPMs go up)

 

I've been looking for voltage reg info without a lot of success on Ratsun, but I stumbled across this on non-Datsun forum: http://www.studebaker-info.org/text3/tachy.txt

--Its basically a bunch of Studebaker drivers blaming their bad voltage regulators for tach problems.

 

Anyway, I don't want to throw money at parts I'm not sure that I need, so I'm still looking for input. I've tested the alternator with my multimeter and the voltage reg test always shows it to be functioning properly. I think whatever is wrong, is being just intermittent enough so that I can't pinpoint it. 

 

Idunno, any thoughts?