1973 Datsun 620 Pickup

[Gadoozle]

Hi Everyone,

I am looking into purchasing a 1973 Datsun 620 pickup for use as a commuter/project car. From what I know, they are reliable if well maintained and fuel efficient. Can anyone here back me up or prove me wrong here? I know this truck wouldn't be as safe as a more modern car, but how safe are they? Does anyone here have any personal experience with these trucks?

Thanks!

[TugOwar]

ooo Datsun, before it became Nissan! Can't say I have any experience with one, but I see one once with a 350 shoe horned in... talk about tire smoke!

[pugs]

my buddy had one years ago when we were young and dumb(not much changed since then either, not as young and not as dumb) and the little truck ran like a clock and he beat the snot out of that little truck

[WIDESIDE72]

They are tough little trucks, we had a 72 that we put around 200k on before my uncle hit a wild hog and rolled it... and he walked away!

[71tahoe]

I had a 78 model king cab. It had about 100k when I bought and about 190k when I sold it. I had it about 4 years and beat on it about like you would expect from an 18 y.o. It needed a new carb that I couldn't find for under $500 at the time. I found my 71 Chevy for $600 when my carb laid down so guess which one I bought.

If I went easy on the pedal, I could get 30mpg with an automatic.

[Restrorob]

Originally Posted by TugOwar

I see one once with a 350 shoe horned in... talk about tire smoke!

Bought a 73 with no engine and did just that, And it did just that too !

[sixty8c10]

i had a 77 king cab , with the "z" eng and 5 speed from and 87 in it, it ran great got like 30 mpg and didn't quit, sold it to the junkyard with over 300,000 on the clock and still running

[HeavyD]

They are the best looking mini truck ever made. Repo parts basically do not exist so hopefully the body is nice. Rather small engine compartment, but even an old-school Buick V6 (or 4.3 come to think of it) swap will make the truck a very fun ride if you get bored of the 4 banger. Can you imagine what a new camaro 300+hp V6 would be like in that thing? Buy it!

[Tx Firefighter]

I did a lot of work on one a long time ago.

Seems like the engines were called L20B. The transmission was a 4 speed manual.

We swapped an engine and trans from a Corolla into it. The trans was a 5 speed and we had to hump the floorboard for clearance.

The carbs on both engines were junk so we got a 2 barrel progressive Weber carb for it from one of the magazine companies.

Only down side to the trucks is they have single wall cargo beds so if anything slides around inside of the bed it will put dinks in the outside paintwork. I welded some bars inside the bed in front and behind the wheelwells to act as bumpers so stuff wouldn't ruin the bedsides.

[68C15]

oh man, you are bringing back some wicked fun memories. in the early 90's I had a 77 king cab L20B 5 speed. I got it from the original owner with a documented 285,000 miles. original ball joints and tie rods. it took a beating and came back for more.
the only drawback was the tranny. it went south after I pulled an 18' car trailer with 2 Gehl 5625 skid steers for about 50 miles. so I swapped in some car tranny with reverse either above or below 1st. that was handy for rocking free in snow-sand-mud. speaking of mud I gave it a "Lincoln Locker" and some real meaty tires and showed up some big 4wd truck guys (awesome times)

then one day the fuel pump gave out so I installed a used electric one. I suppose the Methanol racing fuel had something to do with it's failure. 4 days later it died while slowly pulling out of a friend's driveway. restarted and ran like crap for 10 seconds. wouldn't start again after that. teardown revealed the exhaust valve seats dropped and broke apart destroying EVERYTHING. darn, it only had 321,000 miles on it.

[68C15]

oh, BTW. seal the dist. cap with silicone before blasting across 3 foot deep rivers @ 40 MPH.

[cam.man67]

One of the few good Japanese p/ups ever made.

[Sillyoldman]

I ran around in a '76 long ago. We beat the snot out of it. It was a great little truck. I kind of wish I had another one.

[DannyK]

Originally Posted by TugOwar

ooo Datsun, before it became Nissan! Can't say I have any experience with one, but I see one once with a 350 shoe horned in... talk about tire smoke!

Trivia: Nissan feared failure selling vehicles in the United States, so they used the name "Datsun" over here. Only after becoming a huge success did they use their real name- Nissan. Yeah, I'm full of useless trivia. And I agree that the early 70s Datsuns were the best looking mini-trucks built.

[68C15]

so, is it yours yet? where's the pics? come on man, don't leave us hanging

[creep]

2 guys in my club have 72s. One is bodydropped with a removable top and the other is a bagged pro-street with 10" wide rear tires. Another guy has a 68 that was hacked together to fit a SBC in it when he bought it. We will be redoing that one when we finish bagging his wife's 67 Chevy.

[bullinthehouse]

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