crispo Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 Hello, newbie to RATSUN here. I have been scoping out your site for a while now, and have recently been interested in getting an old friend back into shape. Kudos to the effort put into this forum by all. It has been a major part in my decision to get this truck going again after 15 years in storage. I got this 1971 PL521 from a good friend back in the early-mid 90's. His dad bought it new here in Maine in 1971. When I got it, it had been sitting for several years under a tree in his yard. I got it running, did a half-assed resto on it to make it look presentable and RAN IT!!! It served me well for the better part of 5 years before its rust could no longer be ignored, and a carb that started leaking more gas than it put into the intake made it a non-runner. Truck went in storage & has basically been ignored since, due to other life BS. The plan is to get it running (within the week!), start removing EVERYTHING from the truck, separate cab & bed from frame to asses/repair all metal issues (which there are PLENTY). So, rather than talk about it any more, check it out....the good, the bad, and the UGLY!!! Some under hood pics. Working on and checking things out to get this old girl RUNNIN'!!! Thats what I have for now. Hoping I did my first post correctly....I'd like to think I did my homework for you guys though. I will be following up soon with my Hitachi carb rebuild post....Enjoy!!! Quote Link to comment
crispo Posted August 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Damn, no RATSUN love for my ol' rust monster. She is kinda rough. Regardless, here is the carb work I mentioned previously.... I took it all apart Nice... Stripped out hole... That hole got drilled & tapped (without drilling into the float chamber!). Its a 1/4-28 bolt with its corners rounded & a slot put in to make it user friendly in these tight quarters. Secondary vac.. Bummer...gotta remember to contact the seller Cleaned every part up, jets pulled & cleaned, carb cleaner & compressed air through all passages.... And it went back together Parts that got replaced Carb will be on & truck will be running this weekend...Later! Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Welcome :) I hate road salt. Quote Link to comment
DanielC Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Good first post! Your introduction, lots of picts, and already offering stuff others can use. This might be of some help to you. http://community.ratsun.net/topic/51593-floor-repair/?p=845730 But if you were on this side of the States, I would say look for another cab. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 I'm a former '71 owner and have a soft spot in my heart for them. Nice truck. Quote Link to comment
Steve521 Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 Welcome and good luck with your project ... great pics!Maybe you've said this before Mike but why in the world would you NOT have a 521?? ... lol Quote Link to comment
crispo Posted August 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 Thanks for the welcome guys....yes the rust is frustrating...but I'm hoping slow & steady will get things done....funny that DanielC should post his link...it is his post that made me think "my truck COULD be fixed"....I plan to employ many of the ideas in his post....I'll know more as I start removing stuff & grinding things down....but I will admit to being jealous of some of the sweet rust free rides you guys have out west!!! I'll keep things updated as they happen.... Quote Link to comment
crispo Posted September 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2014 Carb is back on... And full of gas... Ready to go... She actually runs!!! http://s473.photobucket.com/user/crispo51/media/2014-09-01000200.mp4.html?sort=3&o=0 Pics of a few other things I forgot to include originally.... That's this weeks entry....I'll check back soon Quote Link to comment
DanielC Posted September 2, 2014 Report Share Posted September 2, 2014 Good job on the carb! The two barrel carb on Datsuns is more sophisticated (complicated) that most four barrel carbs used on V-8 engines. Quote Link to comment
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