XXL

Bumping a pretty old thread... my little 520 is headed back to the Bay area to new owners Cesar @atceeze and Andrea, where I hope they enjoy it as much as I have over the last decade plus. It's been fun.

16 months later... proof of how lazy/old/tired I am. I just posted the truck in the classifieds here--

I'll be posting as soon as I'm ready (read as "get off my lazy butt"). It is a dual headlight... May 1968 build.

If you know of anyone interested, mine is a well sorted daily driver.

Series Land Rover. Even less horsepower than the 67 ponies in the Datsun, but enough torque and gearing to crawl up the side of a house. It's currently somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean on its way from Europe. Supposed to make Houston in about a week, then overland to OR in another week or so. Need a 520 to add to your stable? 😇

Going to be offering up my 520 for sale. Another project has come my way and I don't have enough room for both (so says my wife).

Did the vendor ever respond?

I too have a wealth of car experience, and we have had vastly different results.

There's nothing wrong with the el cheapo inline pumps generally (sure, some are better made than others)... the key is, as others have stated, they are pusher pumps. And their lift capabilities are fairly limited. But there's no reason a 'Pep Boys quality' inline pump can't do the job if installed as close to the tank as possible. Having said that, hit up a wrecking yard for a 720 pump like @Icehouse and @datzenmike recommend. Permanent solution.

I did this a few years ago to solve the 'light pedal press' problem. Datsun also realized the error of their ways and dumped the hydraulic switch in favor of mechanical one in late '68 or early '69. My late '68 520 (May production) came with hydraulic but also already had the bracket over the brake arm (just didn't have a switch in it). Try to get an all metal switch as they tend to fare better than the plastic ones. My go-to part is a mid-1980's Volvo switch (I use the same part on several of my assorted vehicles). All the GM or 'universal or Ford ones I've unboxed at the parts house are plastic. Volvos, metal. I have had to occasionally adjust the switch position as the brake shoes wear and the pedal sags as a result... maybe once per year. Easy peasy two minute task Also, nice looking 520 you got.

Finally got this resolved, and now I have my missing 17 horsepower back for the neighborhood hills. Cyls 1, 3, and 4 had ~140#. Cyl 2 wavered around 50-60 because exhaust valve adjustment had tightened way up. Adjusted them all, and now getting 140# in all 4 holes. Yay. @wayno called it right.

I appreciate all the analysis of my driving, and I expected it. But I'm pretty surprised at the hot takes on someone fleeing the scene of an accident being the victim. I'm a grown up, and have no problem taking responsibility for my own actions (as Kathy Bates' character in Fried Green Tomatoes says, "I'm older and I have more insurance.")... and I fully understand the nature and function of stop lines. I am the person in my family who drives the speed limit, signals religiously, and (generally) 'colors inside the lines'... including stop lines. And, as I previously alluded to, the camera lacks the ability to capture perspective accurately... especially the 3-dimensionality of the locale. If any of you were standing at that intersection in real life, you'd retract your "visibility/distance" analyses on the spot. Here are some pics I took today... no video because I was in another vehicle. I am sitting appropriately at the stop line. It is set so far back, you cannot see ANYTHING to the right (worse, and not shown, is to the right is a hill... so 4Runner boy was speeding up a blind hill, then cutting every inch of the corner off the intersection, turning in front of oncoming traffic, and then fleeing the scene. Definitely the victim. First pic... The front of my truck is 18' back from the actual intersection (I measured it). Second pic... this is my view to the right from the stop line. You cannot see a car until it is on top of you. Third pic... a panorama so you know I'm not playing camera angle games on pic two. There's a sliver of a Prius in the middle of the pic that came out of nowhere during the 3 seconds it took to pan the picture. Anyway, enjoy.

True, you actually have to. The line is so far back, you can't see ANYTHING because you're still on the hill (the video obscures the way the intersection is because the camera has a very "narrow" perspective. If you were sitting there looking with your own eyes, it would make perfect sense where you have to stop before you can see anything. Frankly, it's a pretty unsafe intersection because it's so blind on the side street I'm on.). You'll notice the silver car coming up on my right near the end of the video... that's how far you have to pull up to see any traffic coming from the right. The left side is only slightly better.

... by a 4Runner... emphasis on the "Runner." I was returning from a grocery store 2-mile-round-trip and this guy was so eager to beat his oncoming traffic, he cut the corner on his turn waaaaaaay early, and clipped me in the process. I didn't see any brake lights in my rear view mirror, so I turned around to track him down. I'm new to the area and the streets around here are very non-grid. I saw him duck into a side street, but by the time I made it there, he was out of sight onto one of the next side streets. He was definitely "4Running" from me. I've got dashcam footage of him hitting me, and you can make out most of his license plate... and I'm sure it'd be no effort for police to fill in the blanks with a database search of "4Runner + W??639" license plate number. I debated calling the non-emergency police number and reporting the hit & run, but I have many many many many years of disappointment with police reports that don't get much effort put into them, and so all I'd really accomplish is getting MY face and MY vehicle in the back of their minds (not that I drive poorly or break traffic laws... just that I long ago came to the conclusion that interacting with police for anything is rarely in the "interactor's" interest. Also, it pushed my bumper in but it's something I should be able to tweak back out without much effort. I didn't see any scrapes in the chrome, just lost gap between bumper and fender (down to about 1/16" as opposed to other side, which is about 1"). And I'm not going to file an insurance claim for that, which would also just be a waste of time. So instead, I'm posting here for entertainment purposes. You can make out most of the license plate. If anyone in the area knows who this person is, feel free to remind him that, in Oregon, leaving the scene of an accident is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail, and fines up to $6250, plus restitution to the victim. Probably not a place he wants to be if I change my mind and file a police report. Also, unrelated side note... for anyone in the area, note the 2-door 510 on the right of the road. I see the car every time I go to the grocery store, and I've stopped once just to "talk Datsuns," but was "greeted" by a grumpy neighbor repeatedly barking, "IT'S NOT FOR SALE." There's often an orange 720 parked there as well.