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Santa's Little Helper. My 521 project.


Suplexilicious

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I guess I should finally start a project thread.

 

I bought this '71 from fellow member, beezebeau (great guy btw and has the type of garage that we all wish for) a few months back. It was beat, old, leaking and in need of some love (it needs the standard stuff; windsheild, rockers and floorboards). The price was right so we shook hands and I went to pick it up a week later.

 

Before anyone asks, the wife said it reminded her of "The Simpson's dumb dog" so I figured Santa's Little Helper was as good a moniker as any.

 

The day it came to me.

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Here's a couple before and after of the CLR treatment that I recently "finished".

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There is one huge perk of having a truck and not a coupe/sedan/wagon. I can get killer wheels from Japan for a fraction of the price of you 4 and 5 stud wheel guys.

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I was able to snag an L20b camshaft at the local PNP and picked these other goodies up just for fun.

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I've done a few other things but nothing that merits pics.

 

I'll update this as things get done in the quest to get it on the road again. Just as a warning, SLH will be nowhere near the quality of some of the other builds on here but it has its place and hopefully can be enjoyed as well.

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Excellent truck!

Not the stock air cleaner.  Get, or make a tie down for the battery.

Body bolts are all American SAE.  You will need 5/16-24 bolts to mount the horns.

Here is your 521 wiring diagram.

Thank you sir.

 

I purchased a new battery tray/tie down not pictured. That pic is a few months old.

Horns were removed to begin on a new harness...or at least parts of it.

I actually took that exact diagram to kinkos and had them make it a big laminated poster to hang in the garage. Makes it a little easier to trace (I use highlighters to show where I've been. Haha.)

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Now that I've tracked down the fuel delivery (or lack thereof) issues, the plan is as follows...

 

- brakes - I'll most likely be going discs all around with the Beebani kit. Plus, my PNP has no shortage of hardbodys to shag parts from. I will need advice on a master cylinder capable of a 4 way disc setup. I know Wilwwod makes one but have also heard that some of the Z cars have one that'll work as well. Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

- suspension - I've replaced the sway bar mounts and sway bar end link bushings with polyurethane. The rest of the bushings will be replaced but most likely with rubber. Re-index. Lowering blocks and new shocks all around.

 

- windsheild - I've tracked down a couple of companies that make windshields but they are $$$ so I'd like to find a used one if possible. I must admit that working on the truck is a lot easier without the windshield. Haha.

 

- exhaust - I think just about every part of the system after the exhaust manifold is shot.

 

- passenger exterior door handle. It's only a matter of time before the other half of that lever goes.

 

- floorboards (they are in a baaaad way)

 

- rockers. They are bad too but with how the rest of the truck looks, it isn't top priority.

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Lastly, I bought some of the front turn signals and taillights from the Thailand sellers on eBay.

 

If anyone should be wanting to update/replace what they have, I would recommend buying these as a last resort. Try, try, try to refurbish OEM pieces. The replacement ones don't have the fit or finish of the 40+ year old parts. In fact, after opening the package and seeing the finish on them, I even ended up reusing the original rubber gasket.

 

From what I understand, the "new" taillights were the smaller ones from early US market and non-US market trucks, not the larger ones from the '71 so I didn't even bother pulling them out of the box.

 

I don't mean to speak poorly or use their products/services as a toilet. I do, in fact, appreciate that these are available for those who absolutely need them but I should've tried using what I already had before spending the money.

 

Just my .02.

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Haha. Since buying the truck, I think I've read this entire write up about a half dozen times. And every time I read it, I wonder if I am capable of doing as good/thorough a job. I guess time will tell.

 

Thanks for the exhaust link. I'm curious if a side exit in front of the rear wheels might make the system a little easier to route.

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Every time I see a 521 in a junk yard, I try to get the tail lights, front park lights, and some other pieces.  the side marker lights share many common pieces with other Datsun models, so they are easier to rebuild, or restore.

I'd be happy to find a single 521 in a junk yard. The ONLY Datsun I've found in the last 4 months was a 620 and by the time I got to it, hood, fenders, doors, bed, radiator support, glass and most of the interior were long gone. I feel lucky to have yanked the camshaft.

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should have yank thewhole head with the rockers that go in the corrisponding spot.

 

putting that cam in a L16 head is a wiast of time in my opinion.

 

read everythin in olddatsuns.com the tech section

I did pull the entire head but left it there as the cover had already been pulled and a few misc. parts taken. Plus, the head had some very serious marring from something being wedged in the timing chain as leverage. It was an open-chambered head anyway. I had my fingers crossed that it was the closed head casting. Marred or not, if it was a peanut hard, I would've kept it.

 

I don't think I'll be installing it in the near future anyway. I pulled the camshaft so I wouldn't have to track one down later.

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I have a couple of questions for the guys who are more versed than myself in the rarities of Datsun parts.

 

1.) How many variations of valve covers are there for the L series engines?

The covers that I am aware of (feel free to correct me if i am mistaken or add to this list) are...

 

- Full fins "DATSUN 1300 OHC" without a threaded oil cap (non-US markets)

- Full fins "DATSUN 1400 OHC" without a threaded oil cap (non-US markets)

- Full fins "DATSUN 1600 OHC" without a threaded oil cap

- Partial fins "DATSUN 1600 OHC" with threaded oil cap

- Partial fins "DATSUN OHC" with threaded oil cap

- Partial fins "NISSAN OHC" with threaded oil cap

 

2.) Of those varieties, which are considered the most rare/desirable?

 

I bought the partial fin "DATSUN 1600 OHC" valve cover pictured above as I like that look better than the the more common "NISSAN OHC" cover. Personally, the full fin "DATSUN 1600 OHC" looks the best but I like the threaded Elephant oil cap.   

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The reason I ask, is that I have the opportunity to pick up the full finned "DATSUN 1300 OHC" cover.  My only concern is that it doesn't have the top vent breather vent tube that is on later models.  I'd love to have it but don't want to get it if I need to add it by drilling/tapping a perfectly good (and relatively rare) valve cover. Is that a huge concern? Is it a bad idea? Any disadvantages? Should I steer clear entirely?

 

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Thanks again guys!

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The block needs to vent, if that is a vented oil cap, then your likely alright, but if it's not vented, your going to start blowing seals and oil will start leaking out of said blown seals.

You could likely rig something up on the block vent that goes to the PCV, but the PCV would not likely work properly anymore.

That's a nice looking valve cover, I would not drill it myself, I would have two valve covers, one for driving, and that one for shows if you keep your engine compartment clean like Joel does.

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