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1971 Datsun PL521 Barn Find Project


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Hey everyone,  

 

(If you want to skip the story leading up to the barn find skip the first paragraph to see project overview and pictures Barn Fresh pics.)

 

Have been following the community for a few months now getting an idea of how much work, time, and cash I would be looking at getting myself into by starting a project. Spent hours on Craigslist looking at 240z cars, 510 coupes, and 521 pickups in the southern states. Finally came up with a plan to go across the border and head south next summer with a car trailer and find a toy. That plan got almost immediately thrown out when a friend told me he remembers as a kid seeing his father's friend's barn being stuffed with their old toys from growing up on the farm, one of them being a early Datsun pickup. I was lucky enough to get my hands on it as the family was (and still is) very fond of it. It was last on the road in 1982, has been kept dry and out of the sun in the hay loft of a barn here in Northern-Central Ontario for 32 years. It is extremely solid, all original and nearly rust free, only having 1 or 2 dime sized holes in the driver's rocker panel. It came with the original owners manual, original owners service manual, and a full shop manual. Correct me if I'm wrong but this has to be one of the few original documented Canadian market Datsun 521's left in one piece in Canada (compared to the amount of other collectible vehicles out there of course). The engine and transmission are not original, as it was 4 brothers on the farm, I am sure it has seen its fair shape of "Dukes of Hazard" recreations on northern back roads so it is by no means in any shape to be put back into a concourse winner. It now sits awaiting a "restomod" in a shop I have obtained with 2 friends who also have projects for the winter (1991 BMW E30 wagon track car/daily driver, and a 1995 Mazda Miata with a rotary conversion track car/daily driver).

 

Please PM me if you have any questions, I am new to this forum and doing a project like this but am experienced mechanically, and open for discussion on this topic and sharing whatever knowledge I obtain during my build.

 

Plans at the moment:

 

Body off frame teardown, and tidy

Full frame restore (bushings, bearings, shocks, wiring, nuts and bolts, paint)

Rear axle assessment (keep or replace)

KA24 DOHC swap with matching 5 spd trans (stock tune.... for now)

Custom built aluminum rad and electric fan conversion

BEEBANI full disc brake kit

Lowering blocks on rear axle

Coil over retrofit and torsion beam delete on front suspension.

Diamond Racing custom 16" steelies, (actually sizing, backspacing, and rubber to be used TBD)

Interior and dashboard tidy, driver's side Corbeau Forza seat, 3 point (driver and passenger) seat belt mod

Full frame and engine rewire with custom relay/fuse harness.

Custom carved wooden front bumper (you'll understand when you see the current bumper)

Custom rear rollpan (wood or sheet metal, have not yet decided)

 

That should cover it...

 

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Thanks for looking!!!!!

 

Any ideas and comments you have would be greatly appreciated!!

 

NEWB....

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Welcome :)

 

What makes you thing the engine has been changed?

I cannot see how many bolts are on the top of the timing chain cover that would tell me if it was an L16/18, or an L20b, but from looking at it, I say it's an L16, or possibly an L18, definitely not an L20b.

Did they say why it was retired from the road?

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The engine in it is still an L16 but it isnt the original, the original was scrapped, and it came with 2 L16 blocks for parts. I have a pretty thorough history on it as it was purchased from the original owner. It was retired from the road solely because they moved onto bigger and "better" things. It was stored with the intention of bringing it back to life later on, they just never got to it.

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