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The Redskunk '73 620


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So I'm new to this forum. I've been meaning to join awhile back. I picked up a '73 620 back in Fall 2013. And have been slowly trying to fix and bring the truck back to life. The truck just recently died and didnt want to start back in March 2014. And I've been running back and forth trying to fix things that lead me to believe was the starting up issue. But so far, i believe its a ground or wiring issue. The more i ripped apart and the deeper i got into this project, the more crap I find that is just wrong.Theres a whole bunch of mickey mouse work and shitty half ass mods that the previous owners tried doing to the truck... Been slowly replacing parts and fixing the wiring issue; but so far, so good. Just lacking time and money, but I cant give up now.


 


I named my truck the RedSkunk after driving it one day behind my coworker. The exhaust was falling apart and smoking pretty bad. Everywhere I went it smelled horribly. I give my coworker credit for the nickname. I kinda like the RedSkunk.


 


Pic:


 


When I first picked it up.


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Dirty as s*#t. Just dirt, rust, and mickey mouse wiring. These idiots just taped and hacked the wires.


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Replaced the side mirrors. I might remove them soon and mount them on the fenders. What you guys think.


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Radiator I picked up, but waiting for the right time to install it.


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The bed is dirty and needs a new coat of bed liner repaint.


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It snowed but the truck is staying strong


 


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Getting some exhaust work done.


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And this is when the truck died. The the tear down begins...(sigh):


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Replaced the fuel pump and filter:


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And....Redoing the engine harnes:


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Fixing the headlights and the rings:


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The L shaped brackets fell off. I didnt have a welder to fix the brackets. So i driiled holes on the existing weld spots. While using rivets to retain them back together. Saved money on repairing them.


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One side done:


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No more rust (I did sand the brackets down before i primer them. I used sand paper, wire brush wheel, and wire brushes) This is just a pic of the second set primered before getting painted black.:








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Building a custom harness with a cheaper alternative mil spec circular connector:
 
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I got my diagrams and labled my wires carefully. Having a wiring schematic is so much helpful. I have two different wiring diagrams I'm referencing to. Hopefully all works out well. And it will look clean.
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Grill Painted:

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Me attempting to restore the emblem...I used Rustoleum chrome paint. I turned out great...til i screwed it up by clear coating it. Here is the pic before i clear coated it.

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However, it looks good from far away.....but it turned out horrible. Looks bad upclose.

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Cleaning up the harness inside the dashboard. And fixing the wires behind the cluster.

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So I went to the junk yard yesterday. And spotted a Nissan 280z. I saw the dash had a tachometer, and was wondering it would be a great idea to add it into the truck. When i brought it home and cleaned it up, i began seeing how i could mount it on to the existing cluster. I did some research and some are saying the gears and reading will be off. So.....now I'm questioning whether to even bother modifying it on anymore. Can anyone confirm? Can i make the 280z tach work or not? Any help would be great. If anything I might just sell the tach and buy an aftermarket tach later.

 

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Me trying to mock it up:

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It looks really good.... but will read quite a bit low I'm afraid. Like 1/3 the actual RPMs.

So I should just scrap it. I was hoping maybe I could hack it and make it work. Or if anyone has been able to figure it out, like by adding a resistor or something to the signal wire to correct the reading. But oh well I tired.

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So I've been busy with work and school etc. I haven't had time to work on the wiring. I gave up on the 280z tachometer for now. Might just modify a block plate in place of the clock on the cluster. I did manage to clean up the wiring harness from the cluster and dash. I bought a new fuse block. And labeled the wires, cross referencing it with the wire diagram. But eventually I will start looming the wires and putting everything back together.

 

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I heat shrinked the wires to the plug behind the speedometer gauge. The wire began rubbing on the plastic adapter and exposing bare wire. So i de-pinned each wire to heat shrink and protect them.

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More labeling, and deleted the wiring to the blower motor/heater/ac controls.

 

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My guide:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got motivated last night and started working on the dash harness again. I just finished up my new fuse block holder, in place of the old one.

 

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The old fuse block just had to go!

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How it sits for the end of the night. I might make some future changes on the location of the fuse block later down the road.

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Nice work on the wiring. I would love to tear through the wiring on my B210 but that stuff scares me. I could see lots of frustration and a datsun dying in a large blaze of gasoline soaked glory if I attempted a full rewire.

 

Just wondering, what exactly made you go through all of the wiring? I'm sure it is probably for the best, but I have just been focusing on replacing what I could tell needed to be replaced (like the brake light wires on my 620). I used to install stereos and speakers, but the wiring was the one head ache that made me stop...

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From what you said in an earlier post, it sounds like you have the clock that was originally in your truck...... you could probably sell that off to fund your tach. Although most guys are wanting the tach for that hole, there are those that are obsessed with time....

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Nice work on the wiring. I would love to tear through the wiring on my B210 but that stuff scares me. I could see lots of frustration and a datsun dying in a large blaze of gasoline soaked glory if I attempted a full rewire.

 

Just wondering, what exactly made you go through all of the wiring? I'm sure it is probably for the best, but I have just been focusing on replacing what I could tell needed to be replaced (like the brake light wires on my 620). I used to install stereos and speakers, but the wiring was the one head ache that made me stop...

Kirden, its not that much of a headache once you jump into the wiring and follow the wire schematic. I decided to redo the wire harness because there was alot corrosion and cracked exposed wire. Another reason was to eliminate unnecessary components and to fix a grounding issue.

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From what you said in an earlier post, it sounds like you have the clock that was originally in your truck...... you could probably sell that off to fund your tach. Although most guys are wanting the tach for that hole, there are those that are obsessed with time....

I didnt think the clock was much of a desired part. But I might try that and post it on the classifieds

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Morning update!

 

Just got done mapping out the wires to the fuse block. Zip-tied the wires how I want it. Then afterwards loom it. But pretty much how i have it for now. I just installed a relay for the keyless ignition. Hopefully i got the relay wired correctly. Been doing a lot of research on how to wire up relays.

 

No more loose wires or mickey mouse work! Just trying to keep it clean and simple.

 

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AND.......to top my day off. I found a new windshield for the truck!!! Called around just for fun. I wasn't expecting to even find one for under 100 dollars. But located a new windshield for the '73 620 pickup at Safelite AutoGlass for 86 dollars. :thumbup:

 

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