I found this 620 on craigslist and I want it. The rotary swap is icing on the cake.
The only things I know about these, other than that they're the coolest looking trucks in the universe, is that they have drum brakes and rust at an alarming rate. What else can you guys tell me that might scare me away?
That's a cool looking trucklet! Since it hasn't returned to the earth yet, obviously inspect the underside and see if it's hiding any sins, especially if it's spent its life in NJ.
I bet later Z parts fit, like disc brakes and stuff like that.
I don't know a damn thing about them but I want it just because of the taillights.
"What else can you guys tell me that might scare me away?" - A Chrysler 340 fits in them pretty well.
Lots of info is available on community.ratsun.net As suggested by Bravenrace and Silverfleet engine and part swaps opportunities should be plentiful...just keeping in the Nissan family gives choices of SR20, KA24, VG30 engines, etc.
Should make a really neat cruiser.....
sweet meats and cheeses, go buy it! 
Sweet truck!
Don't know a ton, despite my avatar. They are sweet though, I've always thought of them as a truck version of a 510, as they came with similar motors and have a similar front end. L series 4 cyl was stock, probably an L20b in your case. Check it out for typical old Japanese stuff (ie, rust), and have fun. Not sure about parts availability, I would assume it's far less than a 510 or Z, but I'm sure most of the regular mechanical bits can be found at your local AdvancePepZone or on Rock Auto, or even eBay. Honestly, the 13b is probably the weakest part of the truck, now, assuming it isn't a rust bucket. Old Dattos from that era are pretty tough, so if it looks solid then I say go for it!
Back up....Do tell bravenrace on the 340 fitting in there well......Do you happen to have any details? I happen to have a fresh 340 block and heads looking for a home.
My brother has one with a 240sx engine/transmission in it and it SCOOTS.
I find the back end to be a bit loose and I'd probably look for a front disc conversion.
here's a picture I found of it online:
The drum brakes really are awful.
The poster has taken it down already...
My grandfather bought a slightly used 1980 Datsun 720 King Cab when he was terminally ill and drove it for a couple of years, then my father inherited it. It was our family's (my single father and little brother) do-everything vehicle in 1986, when I was 8.
We drove it from Tennessee to Niagara Falls, with my and my brother in the bed. From there, we took it to Canada. Nearly every day in the summer, we would load up and go to swim in the river.
My dad used it like a tractor, including habitually overloading it. At one point he had 2 tons of gravel in the bed. The truck took it like a champ.
I learned to drive on it and would sneak it out during the summers when dad was at work, a good couple years before I was of legal driving age. My little brother and I would just drive around TN backroads all day, hopefully scraping up enough change from the ashtray to stop and get a hot dog at a gas station.
We had that truck until it hit 287k miles, and in that time it needed an alternator and a couple of brake cylinder overhauls (which I did myself at 14, despite having no experience and little oversight.) It finally got parked in the woods when my dad deemed the frame was too rusty to continue to haul 2x it's new cargo capacity. It sat there 3-4 years and finally my dad put a classified ad in the paper. Kid showed up, turned the key and it started...drove it off into the sunset.
It was a magnet for idiots. The truck was hit and totaled four times, and four times bought back from the insurance company.
I'm nostalgic for them. I think they're cool and a great alternative to the usual suspect Japanese classics.
Where's Klayfish?
I had one, it was fantastic. If not for the rust I'd never have given it up. Mine was a '78 kingcab, and it had factory front disks. It also had non self adjusting rear drums that were scary when not set right, but setting them right wasn't hard. It was bright yellow with black trim, had home made long tube headers and a Weber carb. We called it RumbleBumble, it was more fun than a barrel full of monkeys.
If I could find another one without rust I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
I always liked them. The engine in one was the the first one that I rebuilt and got paid for as a mechanic in high school...
Don't go on Ratsun with a weird swap, odd group who actually likes the all Datsun route. Do go on ratsun and read the threads, there is awesomeness and it has all been done before!
Quote:
"L'il Hustler lovers do wild and wonderful things to their machines..."
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