jacobbell69

i have had a couple dozen first gen frontier/xterra's so im very familiar with them which is why i thought it would be the perfect swap for me. i do admit of course i wish it had a solid axle! there's plenty of first gen xterras that have swapped in a solid axle. maybe something i do down the line if i really want to take it heavy off roading.

I'm sure jacked up trucks isn't everyone's cup of tea. I already have a lowered 620, figured I'd go with lifted this time around. Never liked the idea of spending money locating a 50+ year old engine to throw in it just to end up with less than 100hp. Plus with this set up I have all the benefits of the newer vehicle like the suspension and brakes without having the fab something up. Once I found the supercharged Xterra for $550 it was really a no brainer for me.

Well last year I finally decided what I wanted to do with this little truck since I got my new garage built. Pulled the cab and dropped it on an 02 Supercharged Nissan Xterra frame! Over the weekend I done the first test drive and went to a car show. Everything went well! She's fast! It's done obviously but I can finally drive it and that's a huge accomplishment for me. Here's my YouTube link if anyone wants to watch the build: https://www.youtube.com/@BrokenArrowGarage

the cab is going on this supercharged xterra frame. you can follow along here if you'd like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXk91bV14Fw the cab is ready to come off now, if anyone in the future is reading this i suggest using a ratchet and tightening these bolts until they break. using an impact will knock the nut inside that enclosed space loose(i believe they're all poorly tacked welded) and youll have to drill or cut the bolt out which is not easy given it's location. the side dash bolts are the same way. i had to cut one side dash bolt out as the nut inside the enclosed space broke loose and was just spinning. happen to know how the inner shaft going into the steering box comes out? looking at the picture now i think it maybe one of those top bolts that hold it in. worth asking though. i did all this work today in 20 degree weather so i was a little all over the place lol.

i finally dug up some old threads and had a couple people confirm on facebook that the nuts are non accessible. apparently everyone either cuts, drills, or tightens the bolts until they break.

Is there any hidden bolts i'm missing? I've removed tons of bolts so far and the fender is still solid on the truck. I have yet to remove these bolts as it seems they just spin. So i'm assuming there are nuts on the back side of the bolts however I'm not sure how I would gain access to them? Side note, check out this cool wrench I found in the floorboard of the truck. Made in West Germany! If anyone wants to follow along with my build I just released episode 2! I'm putting this 320 cab on a supercharged xterra frame! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXk91bV14Fw

I missed you there if you came! I only showed up Saturday with the dually.

i'm in bowling green ky if you ever need something! got a garage full of random bits.

It's been a while since I updated, the 320 is now home! I admit, leaving it in my dad's swampy field was not a good idea. I can see the metal is more compromised than before. I have been researching and researching engine swaps. I am planning on selling the 2 520s I have, this will fund the build and I was never truly excited about the idea of using the J series anyways. As far as the idea for the dually, I decided to dually my 620 instead. if anyone is interested. I have a spare L20B, not much info on swapping L series into these trucks but a buddy on FB put one in his 66' 520 so it seems doable. I am going to make sure the engine is good and start test fitting and locating someone who can chop the engine mounts off a 620 for me so I can weld them onto my frame. I'm on the lookout for a 5 speed trans as well. I'm aware I likely won't have heat, but this swap seems the best bang for my buck. Without investing several years into the truck. I hear the 320 h190 is not the same spline as later trucks, is that correct? Was thinking of getting a center chunk out of a d21, as my buddy says his l20b in his 520 doesn't do much more than 50mph. I believe his 66' has same gear ratio as my 320 IIRC. I also scored a used grille in far better condition than mine, as well as a blue tailgate that isn't rotted away like mine(no pics at the moment). Just need to paint it. Now to get my d21 finished and out of my garage I will pull the 320 in the garage and finally get started on it. I also now have a full set of Xterra SC rims that I am going to use, I love em! I'll be using much smaller tires of course.

Just a little photo dump from Import Alliance 2019 Fall Meet, truck is running well. had oil leak from oil pressure sensor. replaced and has been driving fine for months, upcoming is a tilt bed!

Found a 76 4 speed short bed in a junkyard a couple hours away, scored some inner window trim. mine had rotted away and the rubber was completely gone. they're almost $100 for aftermarkets on ebay. I stripped the truck, someone got to it before me though and took the mirrors, grille(had all trim rings) :( and the tailgate. This truck should have been saved and it's terrible it ended up here. Battery tray was solid and floorboards were too besides one small hole in passenger side. Gonna post some pics, if you see anything you want lmk! Truck is in Lebanon, TN at Express Pull n Save if anyone wants to check it out themselves. Also yes that's an original undamaged floor mat and what looks to be an AMCO center console!

I havent kept up much with every little detail of change like I used to. But I went to IA in Nashville this past weekend. Truck's running really good this summer after a carb adjustment. Seems happier with Valvoline over the Pennzoil I had in it previously. Put spacers on the front so they are flush with the fenders and they look a lot better. Going to have to cut a hole in the bed to fill up fuel. No way to make the one on the dually fender work. I found some center caps for the front and hub caps for the rear, really digging them. Thinking this winter about a dump bed, just throwing out ideas. Still on look out for diesel 720 to use the drive train. I still have the KA I could use, but the L16 is going strong right now.

Been a while since I updated. Didn't do much this winter, it was very harsh this year so I didn't have much motivation to wrench in 20 degree weather. I have mounted the other set of dually fenders. I had to mount them a bit higher so it doesn't lay flush on the body lines. However that was my only option as I would have had to cut the fenders up a few inches so the tire didn't hit. Or I could have raised the truck, which wasn't ideal for me. Still very happy with the results and I like the look of these fenders a lot more. I painted them yesterday. I didn't bother fixing the damage to the fenders or bondo where some repairs have previously been made. It would have just looked to nice for the truck. It matches the patina better that way, imo. You can't see the damage from a few feet away in the photos. I will get some more pics but here are some. Sanded with 320 and shot a few coats of primer and then the paint. it's the same jeep paint(PW1) that i used for the roof repair, it matched the roof pretty well. it doesn't match as well on the fenders since it's a larger area, but it's not that bad. Also forgot to mention I scored some NOS Datsun1600 fender emblems over the winter from Mexico for $75. Still was in the Nissan box. They're way to nice for my truck but they look way better than the "Datsun" emblems I had before.

think so? it may not look as funky to me once i put the smaller dually fenders on.