The Adventure Begins- My 620 build thread

[Randalla]

Picked this truck up in Saint David, AZ last week. 1977 Datsun 620 King Cab, L20B, 5-speed, original paint. Runs and drives, but is filthy dirty. Started tearing into it on Sunday. Finding some nice surprises and a couple of not so. All in all a very solid AZ truck though.

[Duffman]

I love it, Randy, you needed a truck!! Excited to hear what you found and how it will end up!

[L320-Dale]

Awesome! Will be fun to see the progress on this one. I miss my 620.

Dale

[AZhitman]

Twins! I'll have to look and see how far apart their builds were!

[Randalla]

Today I spent time cleaning. In the process I found a treasure trove of documentation for the truck. I love the forensics with old vehicles and this one did not disappoint. Going through all the papers pictured, I was able to piece together the vehicle history back to 1977. The 620 was purchased new by Thomas Schmidt, who was born in 1946. He and his son Johnny owned a construction business, which explains all the crap I found in the cab and bed. The bad news is that it was clearly a work truck, not cherished for anything other than its utility. The good news is it most likely didn't accumulate many miles, as the business/customers were in and around Saint David, AZ (near Benson) where the owner lived, and where I bought the truck. It was last on the road and insured in 2001 (21 years ago). At some point the owner obviously parked it many years, prior to his passing sometime in the last two years. The guy I bought the truck from, bought it at an estate sale. The truck shows less than 100K on the odometer, and looking at the pedal rubbers, I believe the mileage shown is original. I also found a confirming Valvoline oil change sticker dated 5/4/1994 showing mileage of 96,515. Buried in the glove box were the service book, owner's manual, radio manual, registrations, insurance cards, business cards for the owner and his son and other trades people in the area. So, other than the guy I bought the truck from, (who never used it) it's essentially a one owner truck prior to my ownership. Fun stuff, although I'm probably the only one geeky enough to care.

[Randalla]

Does anyone know how to flip the prior image?

[AZ 2 NV]

Is the original color 931 ( Desert Gold) ?

Looks like a fun ? project.r

[Randalla]

Yes Gregg, it's 931 Desert Gold. I experimented with rubbing out a very small area (top of passenger fender) which came back nicely. I'll likely just buff the paint and leave the faded/surface rust as preserved patina. Going to have fun with this one and not sweat the details too much.

[Randalla]

A few more surprises in addition to the documentation:

- the truck has a header on it, which is in good condition
- front disc brakes did not become standard on 620's until 1978, yet this truck has them??? Owner may have upgraded to discs to give him more stopping power when hauling heavy construction loads.
- the only rust through I found on the entire truck is a small spot under the battery tray, which can easily be repaired
- the carb was leaking badly around the base plate but I now have it taken off. I'll be looking for an intake manifold and a pair of SUs to replace the carb that was on it (not sure if the manifold is factory original of not).
- the Nissan branded bottle jack and jacking rod were in the truck, still mounted with the original tabs
- the heavy tube rear tow bumper was added by the owner, and will be coming off. I'll try to sell it to raise some cash for other upgrades
- there was a lot of extraneous wiring, which I'm gradually assessing and either removing or repairing. Also have found some mild rodent wire chewing
- the front bench seat is original to the truck, and though dirty, is cleaning up pretty nice, with no tears
- the bed, though nearly covered in surface rust, cleans up nicely with a wire wheel. I'll wire wheel the whole thing, coat it with rust restorer and spray it with bed liner
- in the pictures it looks like the rear tailgate was painted white (or replaced with a white one), but rubbing out a small portion I see the original color is underneath and I think I can save it with a little elbow grease

I'm sure I'll find more as I get further into the 620.

[Turboman280]

Nice adventure!

Regarding the SU's, wasn't a Webber carb the hot ticket on these?