My first Datsun! 78 620 with some latin flair

[perattzi]

Well, I've been wanting a Datsun for a few years now... a Z of course, but living in Ohio they just don't really exist. I don't think most people back there under the age of 40 have seen a Datsun lol. So, a year ago I moved to Portland, Or and these old cars are just everywhere! Dreams of 240Z's still fill my head but motorcycles are my main thing and I'm always needing to haul a bike around so a pickup seemed more functional. Looked at some Hilux's etc. but they just didn't seem to have the personality of a Datsun. This truck may have been posted on here before, I'm not sure. But it's mine now! The previous owner bought it from the original owner 3 years ago in Salem. Oregon. So that makes me the 3rd owner. I wasn't even considering the truck from the pics in the cl ad but I was nearby so I figured I would look at it. Immediately I could tell the overall condition was much higher than trucks only a few hundred dollars less. The lack of rust and interior is what really grabbed me, so I made a deal and drove it home with a bed full of spare parts. So much 70s/80's flair! The polaroid at the bottom is from 1982.

 

 

I'll post up some more pics soon, as well as of the spares I got along with it. Hopefully you guys can let me know if I got a few good parts too, bc I'm new to Datsun's and don't yet know what I'm looking at. The truck runs well, but needs some attention here and there. One question: do all of these things sound like a city bus?! It has a brand new exhaust system which is nice and quiet but there is so much wooshing, whirring, air sound going on it's insane lol! I definitely have plans for this little guy, and I'm thankful what a great resource this site is. More pics/info to come.

 

[datzenmike]

It looks better now than in '82. Tailgate is real Carlos Castaneda, I like.

 

Most L series have a slight 'whoosh' sound... it's the 5 or 7 blade clutch fan. The plastic blades are driven by a fluid coupling and should slip at speeds above 1,500 RPMs but they can seize and run at water pump speed. Then they sound like an F18 at take off. See if you can turn the blades by hand with the engine off. It should turn but have a firm feel to it. If extremely stiff or you cant move it them it's seized.

 

A clutch fan will look like one of these...

 

[denmarkboy]

I saw this truck at blue lake , cool score , now it's time to make it your own , by saving what is already so cool and adding your own touches.

 

Winning !

[hobospyder]

Dude that tailgate is badass. The whole thing is nice but Damn that tailgate

 

Good score dude. Keep her running and make her truly yours. If you want to paint the tailgate I got two I could trade you just to keep that artwork intact.

[perattzi]

...

[perattzi]

It looks better now than in '82. Tailgate is real Carlos Castaneda, I like.

 

Most L series have a slight 'whoosh' sound... it's the 5 or 7 blade clutch fan. The plastic blades are driven by a fluid coupling and should slip at speeds above 1,500 RPMs but they can seize and run at water pump speed. Then they sound like an F18 at take off. See if you can turn the blades by hand with the engine off. It should turn but have a firm feel to it. If extremely stiff or you cant move it them it's seized.

 

A clutch fan will look like one of these...

 

 

Thanks for the reply. The clutch turns like it should, with some resistance. It looks new actually, as does the thermostat housing. I noticed some kind of compressor looking guy that runs to a blue air cleaner type part on the right hand side of the engine bay, not sure what it is, perhaps that's a noisy item? Emission related? After I get it through the ridiculous emissions testing here I plan to remove a lot of that stuff and upgrade to a weber perhaps. It runs pretty damn well, no smoke or anything. Hopefully I pass without too much trouble. The exhaust from the header back is brand new. No cat though. However, a few issues I have noticed: 1) On sunday when it was pretty warm around 85* out the temp gauge was creeping up towards the 3/4 area, not in the 'H' zone but definitely leaning that way. It didn't really come back down when I took it out on an open road cruising about 50 mph like I thought it would. It has the original radiator, which I just noticed is wet a bit on top where the top meets the cooling rows. Doesn't seem to be coming from the cap, but could be. Perhaps it's plugged up AND leaking, thus not cooling properly. I may just replace the rad as a matter of security. I have a brand new water pump in a box that was included, so just do it all once. Cooling system parts are just too important and simple to replace to let go IMHO. I also unplugged the wire from the temp sender and grounded it to see what happened and the gauge rose all the way to the hot zone, definitely further right than it was when I was driving. 2) It rides horribly LOL, the previous owner has 4" lowering blocks on the rear and I assume the front has been by just as much. The shocks look brand, but I am not sure if they are stock length/dampening etc. I will try and get a pic of them, see what you guys think. The low-pro tires don't help either. Don't get me wrong I 'm conflicted bc I love the lowered look, but I'm probably going to raise it back up a bit and get some meatier rubber to retain the utility aspect of having a pickup. I also dig a slightly forward raked look. 3) I get a noticeable deep rattle when accelerating hard, no clue where to even start, sounds like it's coming from the front. The fueling could use help for sure at the 3/4-full throttle positions. Perhaps too lean in that circuit. Im no stranger at all to carbs, but I am to car carbs! Rebuilt/tuned/modified countless motorcycle carbs, but not a single car carb so I'm excited about learning new things. 4) A belt will squeal like crazy when I first take off from a stop. I'm guessing not tensioned correctly. I have two new belts in a box, hopefully all the pulley bearings are good. Alas Ill shut up.... and post a few more pics of parts that were included... lemme know if anything jumps out as desirable. Sorry for crappy quality.

 

 

I saw this truck at blue lake , cool score , now it's time to make it your own , by saving what is already so cool and adding your own touches.

 

Winning !

 

That's the plan, thanks!

Dude that tailgate is badass. The whole thing is nice but Damn that tailgate

 

Good score dude. Keep her running and make her truly yours. If you want to paint the tailgate I got two I could trade you just to keep that artwork intact.

I plan to repaint the truck at some point, but I would never ruin that tailgate, it's just too cool of a relic!

[perattzi]

more pics:

 

[hobospyder]

That's the plan, thanks!

I plan to repaint the truck at some point, but I would never ruin that tailgate, it's just too cool of a relic!

ok that's good to hear. Just actually read what I wrote and it sounds like I meant a 2 for 1 exchange... Durr

[perattzi]

Any ideas what's up with the manifold and header pictured? I can go read the castings if that helps.

[hobospyder]

Square port exhaust manifold looks stock, from what I understand if you have round exhaust ports on your head it won't work (just whet I heard I really don't know)

 

L motor intake manifold. Looks just like the two I have sitting in my garage with webers attached. If you have an extra and you're thinking about swapping for a Weber I would suggest taking the two hole in side and making it one big hole so you don't have the thing in the middle. I don't know if it makes a difference but I've seen it done on here. After that you may be able to straight bolt on the Weber carb, dunno if bolt pattern is different but the adapter plates have a tendency to come loose causing a vacuum leak.

[hobospyder]

And looking at the pictures you have a gasket for a square port head so you should be good with that extra exhaust mani. Should all be direct bolt on with the intake mani and exhaust if you use them

 

I could be talking out my ads thinking you have a L motor and you have something in there. Haven't checked you location to really know what I'm talking about. King rat can confirm or deny everything I'm saying as I tend to be wrong a lot

[banzai510(hainz)]

clean engine bay

[perattzi]

After looking at the header that is on my motor it seems different than the spare I have pictured, the current one has a hose running up to the intake. Smog b.s.? 

 

Also looked into my running hot issue, at a stop light the temp gauge will climb wayyy up and go down a bit when I start moving. The weird thing is when I pulled over the temp gauge went back down to the middle area. Strange. So I bought an infrared temp gun and ran the truck around to get it up to full temp, even though the gauge is reading hot, if I take a reading of the thermostat housing it reads around 180*. I then uplugged the wire to the temp sending unit and grounded it and the needle immediately went all the way hot. I assume this means my gauge is ok? So should I look towards the sending unit itself? Thanks for any insight.

[teagueauto21]

Also looked into my running hot issue, at a stop light the temp gauge will climb wayyy up and go down a bit when I start moving. The weird thing is when I pulled over the temp gauge went back down to the middle area. Strange. So I bought an infrared temp gun and ran the truck around to get it up to full temp, even though the gauge is reading hot, if I take a reading of the thermostat housing it reads around 180*. I then uplugged the wire to the temp sending unit and grounded it and the needle immediately went all the way hot. I assume this means my gauge is ok? So should I look towards the sending unit itself? Thanks for any insight.

Mine did the same thing, replace the sending unit that should fix your problem.

[831Sunny]

really nice find

[perattzi]

Mine did the same thing, replace the sending unit that should fix your problem.

Update on my 'overheat' issue: so I replaced the thermostat, sending unit, hoses, and radiator/rad cap with new parts. I flushed and bled the system. The rad was super crusty..some of the rows were totally disconnected from the tanks and the small hose that connects right under the sending unit was split, so I figured that mustve been the main problem. The fan clutch has some resistance when you turn it by hand but not excessive, so I assume it is fine. I also adjusted the belt , although it's deflection was in spec at 12mm which is on the loose end, i still tightened it up a bit to around 9mm. After I buttoned it all up I took it for a test drive and everything was fine, the temp gauge would creep high and low a bit but mostly stayed in the middle. Double checked for leaks etc...everything looked good. Then I drove it home and again the temp gauge would shoot up to almost the overheat mark when driving across town. Turning the heater on (which works great) made no difference. When I got home I let the truck idle for a while, the temp gauge was back down again! I think my gauge is possessed lol! I grabbed my Harbor Freight infrared thermometer and took readings all over the cooling system/engine, the highest reading I got was 192* right near the thermostat housing.. So would it seem that my truck is not in fact running hot or is for some reason running hot while at higher revs? The one component that is still left is the water pump. I really wish I would've replaced that while I was in there but the only one I have or could find locally were the crappy stamped impeller type. I plan to order a refurbed one with the cast impeller and chuck it on for good measure. Thanks for any help! 

[RATX5]

That tailgate art is utterly stunning!