Santa's Little Helper. My 521 project.

[Charlie69]

Nice score on the cluster.  The amber turn indicators makes it a 65 or 66 520 or a 411 cluster.

 

I used a 411 plastic, NOS OEM speedometer, and wired it to be compatible with my 1980 720 wiring harness in my 66 520 cluster

 

 

 

Just a couple thing you can do buy mixing and matching parts.

[Charlie69]

Here is the post on LEDs the best 521 was the first by madness.

 

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/16444-led-gauge-cluster/

[Suplexilicious]

 

 

I like that your plastic has "trim" around both indicators and the fuel and water instruments.

 

I bought mine because I liked the amber signals and the theoretical top speed of "140". It's obviously kph but at least ill be thinking I'm fast. Haha.

[Charlie69]

When you get it all dialed in I would like to no how many kilometers to a gallon of gas you get.

[Suplexilicious]

Curiously enough, my original odometer reads 28,193 miles.

My new one has rolled to 45,526 kilometers.

 

Those are pretty damn close - less than a 100 mile discrepancy. Unfortunately, I'm sure that both have probably rolled over.

[greenthumb]

Thanks Charlie

Add to my loooong to-do list

[Suplexilicious]

Thanks Charlie

Add to my loooong to-do list

Haha. Yeah, some of these guys are going to be the death of me.

 

I love Ratsun.

[Suplexilicious]

I found a 69 body (bed, cab w/rear glass, dash, doors w/glass, fenders, hood and grill) about 40 min. north that will get checked out tomorrow. It looks to be rust free - or a lot less rusty than what I'm working with. For less than $300, I guess it's nice to have some spares, right?

 

I also picked up a Weber 32/36 and an L20b intake manifold. The manifold will need a block off plate but that's an easy job. It will also serve as a piece to practice port matching.

 

Lastly, the LEDs showed up for my dash. I'm playing catch up right now as I'm just back from vacation* so I'll be working on that tomorrow as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*twin 3-year-old girls + red eye flights from Hawaii are about as much fun as diarrhea handstands.

[thisismatt]

At least you didn't have the explosive runs on your honeymoon return redeye flight from Kauai.  Ask me how I know...

[Suplexilicious]

I got bored so I started on the speedo-resto.

 

Repainting the needles

 

Detail of said needles

 

Trying to combat some of the dead spots on the cluster, I used a mirror vinyl wrap and a heat gun to try and place it in any areas that I thought might reflect the light. Time will tell if they hold up.

 

LEDs installed.

[Lockleaf]

You buying the "510 truck" body on ksl? A part of me wanted to go get that, just because it was cheap, but I need an extra project like I need an extra hole in my head. Glad it went to someone already building a 521.

[Suplexilicious]

You buying the "510 truck" body on ksl? A part of me wanted to go get that, just because it was cheap, but I need an extra project like I need an extra hole in my head. Glad it went to someone already building a 521.

That's the one. I'm going to look today to see if it's even worth it. I was bummed when I found out the windshield was not there. Windshield or not, I could really use a new cab (floors/rockers), drivers door (dents/handles) and fenders (dents)

 

Do you know who bought the red 521 with all the glass that was listed a couple of months ago? It was in great shape and I'm still kicking myself for not seeing it sooner. .

[Lockleaf]

I don't think I even saw the red one. No idea where it might have ended up.

 

Unless the one you mean was the one down in Cedar. Remember a fairly clean one being for sale down there not very long ago I just don't remember what color it was

[Suplexilicious]

I don't think I even saw the red one. No idea where it might have ended up.

Unless the one you mean was the one down in Cedar. Remember a fairly clean one being for sale down there not very long ago I just don't remember what color it was

Nah, it was up north. Clearfield. I think.

It was red red - not the maroonish red on a lot of the 521s around.

The guy's wife said "she wanted it out of her garden".

[Lockleaf]

I think I remember that ad...

[Suplexilicious]

So I went and checked out the body.  It seemed to be a very early 521 so parts were slightly different than what I was expecting.

 

-No interior door lock pulls.

-Metal dash

-Front fenders didn't have the lower cutouts for flashers. Only one front fender had the three holes for emblems.

-The bed didn't have the evaporator in front of the wheel well and the little access panel to the fuel tank sending unit was larger and a pop-out panel (not the sliding panel mine has)

-The taillights were the earlier smaller style but the lenses looked to be in good shape.

-The bed didn't have the cutouts for the flashers either.  There was a "T" shaped cutout though for some other style of light or reflector.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts?

[wayno]

That is a 520 bed, it has the small taillight lenses I think, do them lenses have a backup light in them, it's hard to tell with the snow, and it has the cutouts for the 520 reflectors, but it is not an early bed as that one has tilted inner fender wells, while the early 520s had boxed inner fenders.

I could not see enough of the cab to tell if it was a 521 cab, or if it is actually a 520 cab, if it is a 520 cab, them 521 front fenders will not fit it, as the 520 cab is a few inches shorter in front of the firewall.

I also think that it is a 521 dash that has been stripped of the padding, see that groove coming out of where the ash tray is on both sides, that is a 521 dash top in my opinion.

To me it looks like the front inner fenders have been cut out, so that leaves the brake and clutch master cylinder positions to say if it is a 520 or 521 cab, if the mount holes are within 4 inches of each other it is a 521, if they are about a foot apart, it is a 520 cab, if the firewall is not there, I would have to be there or you would have to take photos of the door locks, 1970 was the first year of the doors having the place for the door lock pulls, 1971 is the first year the pulls were there I believe, but it does have the plastic door pulls, just another thing that says 521 cab.

Most of the differences in the 520/521 are in front of the windshield or behind the rear wheels, everything else is interchangeable.

[Suplexilicious]

do them lenses have a backup light in them

Yes they do.

 

also think that it is a 521 dash that has been stripped of the padding, see that groove coming out of where the ash tray is on both sides, that is a 521 dash top in my opinion.

Good to know for future reference. All I know is that there was no padding and assumed it was the 520 metal dash.

 

To me it looks like the front inner fenders have been cut out, so that leaves the brake and clutch master cylinder positions to say if it is a 520 or 521 cab, if the mount holes are within 4 inches of each other it is a 521, if they are about a foot apart, it is a 520 cab

The firewall to the radiator support was cut out but the radiator support, hood and headlights/bezels were definitely 521.

 

1970 was the first year of the doors having the place for the door lock pulls, 1971 is the first year the pulls were there I believe, but it does have the plastic door pulls, just another thing that says 521 cab.

No spot for the door lock pulls. Doors were smooth all the way back. I tried looking at the door latching mechanism but the cab was in too narrow a spot to open the doors. The doors did have Datsun towing mirrors at one point as they had the proper holes and "fading paint" from where the brackets were mounted.

[wayno]

520 dash, see the hole between the defroster slits, that holds the defroster assembly in place, only the 520 dash top has them.

You likely have a 1968 Datsun 521 there, although some will argue there is no such thing as a 1968 Datsun 521, it looks like a 520 box to me, but maybe the late 68 521 used an early 1968 Datsun 520 box.

I have an early 1969 Datsun 521 with the doors that truck has, there were so many small changes made in them years, and other countries received trucks that were different from our US trucks, I have even seen a 520 with 521 front turn signals, but that one may have been modified, it was in some Asian country like Thailand or near there where they rode a lot of Bicycles and mopeds, as I seen them in the background in the video. 

[Charlie69]

Buy it!  Need pictures of the radiator support and the fuel tank filler door.  That is definitely a 520 bed.  Wayno knows his trucks!  He is also correct there were 1968 521 but they are rare.  The 1968 521s did not have reflectors like the 1969 521s did on the front fenders and the bed.

 

Measure from the back edge of the radiator support to the front edge of the firewall and post the measurement please.

 

Do the wing windows have a push button lock.

[tdaaj]

Yup, they had 68 521's I cut one up last year.

[Suplexilicious]

Buy it!  Need pictures of the radiator support and the fuel tank filler door.  That is definitely a 520 bed.  Wayno knows his trucks!  He is also correct there were 1968 521 but they are rare.  The 1968 521s did not have reflectors like the 1969 521s did on the front fenders and the bed.

 

Measure from the back edge of the radiator support to the front edge of the firewall and post the measurement please.

 

Do the wing windows have a push button lock.

Here's the best pic I had of the radiator support. As you can see, I can't take any measurements from it to the firewall. Haha.

 

The fuel filler door didn't look any different than the 521 door.

 

I didn't know to look at the wing mirrors! Do the older trucks not have them? One more thing to keep an eye out for.

 

Unfortunately, I don't think I'm gonna get it. Something has popped up so I have to deal with that.

[wayno]

Definitely a 521 with the late 520 type taillights/box.

What engine did they say was in it that they had to cut the firewall like that, Chevy small block?

[Suplexilicious]

Definitely a 521 with the late 520 type taillights/box.

What engine did they say was in it that they had to cut the firewall like that, Chevy small block?

That's what I was thinking.

 

I think he said the new transmission tunnel was fabbed to shoehorn a Chevy small block soooo...wayno is right again, as per the norm.

[Lockleaf]

The body was placed on an Isuzu chassis or something and had a Chevy small block in it. It was somebody's big 4x4 solid axle project that got sold last year. I'm guessing the person selling the body bought the project and wants a different body. It was pretty badly mounted on the frame from what I recall.