Hi guys, been lurking on this forum occasionally for years, but now i have a reason to register and join.
I'd been wanting a 620 for years now, and randomly discovered this not too far from where i live, parked next to a garage in a small town, right around Christmas 2015. I'd check on it every so often so see if it was still there, and finally this year decided to do a little legwork to figure out how to get ahold of the owner. Sure enough once i got ahold of him and we talked a bit, he let me come check out the truck and see if i was interested. I live in Iowa, where we salt our roads, and old Japanese steel just doesn't survive, so finding ANY Datsun is hard enough, let alone a relatively solid, early 620. So, yes, it needs a floor, and there's rust here and there, but it had been off the road since the owner retired in 1993, so luckily it was only on the roads for twenty years before it was parked. Anyway, after a while, we worked out a deal we were both happy with, and on this past Thursday he handed over the title.
'73, so it's got an L16. 4-speed manual as you might expect. Frame appears to be rock-solid luckily, couldn't locate any rust-through anywhere...floors of course need help as well as under the battery tray, which is to be expected. Bed had probably 3 or 4 inches worth of accumulation from over the years, mostly mud, but luckily the bed is pretty damn solid with only a few dime-sized rust holes. Very complete truck, three very nice dog dishes, he couldn't find the third one but hopefully i can find one more. Engine is stuck from sitting but shouldn't be too hard to get unseized with some patience. Pretty clean under the hood. Seat needs to be re-covered but planning to replicate the original vinyl as well as i can, eventually. Stock radio, interior totally unmolested. Dash is even pretty nice still.
It's gonna be a project, but i've wanted a 620 for so long and they're so impossible to find locally i'm super excited to get this thing on the road again. As far as my plan for the truck...well, mostly try my best to fix all the rusted out areas, get the engine running properly, rebuild the fuel/brake systems and anything else that may need attention. I appreciate the stock trucks, especially since it seems like so many seem to go the lowered/bagged/rat/whatever route (nothing against those of course, different strokes...) and i mean, we all have to dig the 620 for what it is originally anyway so why not try to preserve that? L16 with a 4-speed is what will remain in the truck. Engine mods...might happen eventually though.
Should be a fun project and i know these forums are a fantastic source for knowledge/parts/etc from my years of lurking. Looking forward to a good learning experience as this is my first ever Datsun, and my all-time dream pickup.
Thanks! Oh and what's the point without pictures? Yes it is completely covered in lichen. Looking forward to power washing this thing!