Waynos 1966 datsun 520 ute

[wayno]

Hows it sanding out wayno?

I am trying to get it close, I do believe I am going to end up with close, and paint it a flat color that will not show all the places I got close, if it's not shiny, it won't look like someone just skipped a rock across the pond.
I bought 2 gallons of mud this morning, time to sand more onto the ground.

[izzo]

Keep up the good work Wayno!

[wayno]

This is what I came up with for the front clearance issue.
This is how it is now, if I get a flat, this tension rod mod will hit the ground which is not acceptable.

So I decided to put it in the back of the LCA, it will not hit the ground, nor will it interfere with the pitman arm/idler arm.

[izzo]

wayno.

where the tcr was originally. it pulled the lca towards the front and center. now it will pull it back to the center, changing the the direction the lca is designed to be, plus changing your caster. do you see that being a problem? Or am i missing how it will work and it will still be pushed in the same direction as stock?

[wayno]

wayno.

where the tcr was originally. it pulled the lca towards the front and center. now it will pull it back to the center, changing the the direction the lca is designed to be, plus changing your caster. do you see that being a problem? Or am i missing how it will work and it will still be pushed in the same direction as stock?

It is basically centered, if I hit a bump or get light in the front, it will pull it slightly back I suppose(1/8 to 1/4 inch at the most), but it does the same thing when in the front, at stock height when you hit a bump(front dips), it pushes it back, but when you get light in the front, it pulls it forward.
When the 720 frame is lowered, it pushes the LCA way back, do most ever take them in and have it re-aligned, no they don't, they are just happy about being lower.
I will work with it, when I did the 521 work truck disc brake conversion, all that had to be re-done, 620 tension rods, 620 LCAs, 720 UCAs(modified), it will all work out in the end, if it don't, I will figure something else out that will work.
The way it was will not work, if I got a flat, it would have hit the ground, that definitely won't work, so this is what I have come up with so far, the only thing I did not consider was that when I turn the front wheels to the left or right, the rear inside of the tire might rub on the tension rod, didn't think of that.

[izzo]

I see. I have my toe adjusted whenever I lower a vehicle. if not it will eat your tires. that was a 250 dollar lesson for me.

I just thought it will pull the lca to the rear instead of pull them forward like stock, and dick up the caster. I know on the b210, you can pull it forward another 1/2 inch and it makes a world of difference driving down the road.

[wayno]

The truck is back on all 4 wheels again, I drove it up and down the street, felt normal compared to the first drive I took down the street with the 521 when I did the front disc brake conversion, I knew something was wrong in the first 20 feet.

Now I need to get the rear down a couple more inches, and I will be happy, I hope.

[RedBanner]

Good work man. Finding salutions left and right.

[wayno]

Good work man. Finding salutions left and right.

That describes this truck perfectly, every time I get a new idea for it, I have to figure out a solution for implementing the idea without screwing something else up.
Right now all my focus is on making it so that nothing will hit if I get a flat while keeping it as low as I have it now in the front, and lowering it a couple more inches in the back.
If this latest fix in the front works properly, I will be able to cut all that tension rod mount stuff off the frame, it kinda looks bad hanging down in the front just below the valance, I will be sure to get before and after photos of that.

[Laecaon]

it also means, if you run up onto a curb, you wont bottom out... unless you are so low the valence hits...

[wayno]

it also means, if you run up onto a curb, you wont bottom out... unless you are so low the valence hits...

Right now the valance will not hit on most curbs, but them tension rod mounts/vehicle tie down hardware will, if I cut that stuff off, the next thing to hit will be the idler and pitman arms, they are about 4 inches off the ground, another 2 inches in the tires will start to hit, I am not going to be able to do anything about the idler/pitman arms hitting, unless I go with a rack and pinion setup, which is not going to happen.
Fact is that I am just high enough in the front to get a flat, and not hit this which is 2 3/8ths off the ground.



The fact is I might have to lift the front a 1/4 of an inch, because the rim is 2 5/8ths from the ground, I will think about this for a while.

[wayno]

Here is what it is looking like up close in the front, the valance is about 6 inches off the ground.

The tension rod mount is about 3 1/2 inches off the ground.

A 2X4 will not go between that metal and the ground.



I think this is a cool photo of the drop arm, see the tension rod going back towards the frame rail in the photo below.

[draker]

We got a bad ass over here....


No really! We do.




That's good stuff wayno! Do you paint those parts or just leave them?

[wayno]

We got a bad ass over here....


No really! We do.




That's good stuff wayno! Do you paint those parts or just leave them?

They need to be painted, but I just put everything in place till I know I am finished modifying everything, once it's all figured out, I will likely pull it all apart, clean everything up, paint it and move on to the next thing/project.
Sometimes I don't do everything in the correct order, but believe it or not, I might go back to the first set of drop arms I made, since I bought them low profile tires, I believe that I can go back to the wider stance arms, they are about 2 1/2 inches wider than what's on the truck now, and it might look better that way, I have not decided yet, just thinking about it.
I need to do the last mod to the rear now, need to drop the rear a couple more inches without using drop blocks, and while I am back there, I will likely close the notches I made over the rear axle.

[wayno]

Well I have decided since the fall rains started early this year, it is not going to get painted, as I have tired of sanding the bondo I put on off over and over, so I rattle canned the rear of the vehicle so it won't rust, I may just rattle can it all till next spring.













It's not the best nor worst work I have seen, but it will not rust, it's a lot easier to see the bad spots now.

[izzo]

wayno
for what it's worth, i know the rattle can may be coming off. but it made a world of difference man. Being one color you can really see the body lines and such. Looks good buddy.

[Eagle_Adam]

love it lone color...... muy bueno!!!

[jayden71]

I'm lovin this build Wayno!

Wish I had half the skills and a tenth of the patience to do work like this.

[wayno]

I think the hardest part of doing stuff like this is realizing that it's not going to be done yesterday, when I screw up, I just cut it out, and do it again, my 521 kingcab is full of screw ups, it has two complete tops on it, when the first one warped, I ground it down as smooth as I could, then put/welded another top right over the one I just welded in, and you cannot tell.


This 520 project actually did not have windows behind the doors at first, but I cut that metal out and made tracks for windows, it's all about not expecting it to be done right away, you have to realize that I have been working on this 520 now for over 2 1/2 years, it has been on 4 different frames, and I didn't plan on it being a Ute, or having it low either, it's my I want it to be difficult build, I have succeeded.
I will say this, I have learned a LOT over the past 8/10 years, 10 years ago I would not have even thought about doing any of the stuff I have done in the past 5 years, just don't be scared to try new things, why limit yourself.

[RedBanner]

Awsome wayno!