1972 Datsun Other

620 Pickup Truck

1600

Manual

PLA620064920

Clear

Gasoline

Beginning of a Legend: The 1972 ½ Bullet Sided Datsun 620 Pickup The truck you are viewing here marks the beginning of a legendary line of mini-pickups that continued through the decade. Since the 1972 620 was just offered for a half of a year you want find many of these around. Datsun launched their new body style 620 pickup in 1972 they definitely outclassed their rival Toyota. Unfortunately 40 years later these trucks are almost extinct. The story behind this 17,501 actual mile 1972 ½ 620 is interesting. Built in June of 1972, this truck was sold new to John M. Linn of Cumberland, Indiana by an Indianapolis Datsun dealership, Tom Lane Auto, Inc. The original sales invoice along with other original documents were found in the glove box. The invoice was dated 2-10-73 The invoice showed the price of the truck to be $2387.00 and the listed options were as follows: Rear Bumper $89.00 Radio $70.00 Stripe $30.00 State Inspection $2.50 Sales Tax $48 Dealer gave a $176 discount for some unstated reason Total sale price on the invoice was: $2450.50 On June 8, 1974 at McCarthy & Son Firestone in Martinsville Indiana, a year after purchase to comply with state law, Mr. Linn had the truck inspected. It was a state required 17 point inspection and based on the paperwork the truck passed and he was charged $2.50. The mileage recorded at that inspection was 12,852. On that day a 1974 inspection sticker was placed on the windshield and that sticker still resides in that location to this day. Apparently that was the only time the truck was inspected. Found in the glove box was a state of Indiana certificate of registration from the bureau of motor vehicles for the 1975 plate year that was never mailed in. From that inspection date the truck would travel just 3700 more miles before some unknown reason Mr. Linn drove it into his warehouse and parked it and there it sat for almost 38 years. A few years ago Mr. Linn passed away and in an effort to settle his estate his warehouse had to be emptied out and sold. As boxes were unstacked a little green pickup truck was uncovered that had been totally hidden through most of the warehouse inventorying. When the truck was pulled out of the warehouse it had just a little over 16,000 miles on the odometer. Like most of Mr. Linn’s possessions, the truck went to auction. Glen, a small motorcycle/auto dealer in Indianapolis who worked out of his home shop, bought the truck and attempted to get it back on the road. He had the brake lines flushed out and brakes adjusted. He removed the gas tank and shipped it to Moyer’s Tanks in Greensburg, PA and had it boiled out and recoated. The hard fuel lines were blown out and the rubber lines replaced. The original Hitachi carb was rebuilt and the distributor cap, points, plugs and wires were replaced. The gas tank was reinstalled along with a new fuel pump and fuel filter. The oil was changed along with the oil filter. A new battery was installed and the original Bridgestone tires were inflated and fingers were crossed as the little ignition key fired up the starter. The starter turned the engine like a champ but the little engine just would not stay running. The idle and mixture screws were adjusted multiple times, what few vacuum lines there were were tested and just about anything else that could keep the little truck running was tried in vain. Glen gave up trying to get the truck running and sold it to me and I hauled it to Greenville, SC to continue the process. Having had pretty good luck with getting old vehicles running, I began to retrace Glen’s steps to see what might have been missed and couldn’t really find anything he had done wrong. As I tested everything nothing seemed to be identifiable, so I began suspect that the Hitachi carb might be the culprit. Even though it had been rebuilt I noticed that the idle mixture screw did very little to change the idle. As I poked around the carb I noticed that a screw that held the carb together top to bottom was loose. When I tried to tighten it I found that it would not tighten. When I pulled the screw out I found that it was too short as was the screw next to it. The screws on the other side of the carb were too long so they had been reversed. Once I swapped them around they fit perfectly. I also noticed that the high idle cam spring was missing so I found one in my parts drawer and got that reattached. With everything back in place I still couldn’t keep the truck at a decent idle. With all that I had found wrong with the Hitachi carb I lost faith in the rebuild so a decision had to be made: send it off again for another rebuild or buy another carb. We were very anxious to get truck back on the road so we put the carb rebuild on the back burner and bought a Weber 32/36 and installed it. After a few pumps of the accelerator the key was turned and it fired right up. The idle was near perfect from the start. All it needed was a little timing adjustment and it was ready for its first time back on the road in about 38 years. The original tires were a little flat spotted from so many years in storage but not too bad after a few miles. We didn’t push our luck with the 40 year old tires even though they were low mileage so we brought the little truck back into the garage to await its new tires from Tire Rack. Within a day or so 4 new BF Goodrich Radial T/A tires arrived: (2) P225/60R15 and (2) P215/60R14. We placed these tires on a set of highly polished 40 year old slotted mag wheels and got them balanced and we were now really back on the road. We left the original tires on their rims and stored them in the corner of the shop. They will go with the truck in case the new owner would like to restore the factory look. We haven’t taken it on any long trips so I have no idea what the highway mileage will be but it will be better than 23 mpg. We have enjoyed making this truck road worthy and taking it to cruise- ins and shows. While driving it one day I had the alternator light come on so I pulled it into the shop and put a meter on it and found that it was not putting out enough current. I replaced it with a new alternator from Rock Auto and also replaced the voltage regulator and of course put on a new fan belt. Also please be assured that I have kept every part that I have taken off of this truck and stored it in a box in case you want to verify its originality or rebuild or restore the old part. What I have tried to do for this vehicle is go through the process of sorting of all of the big and little items and needs that goes along with getting any vehicle back on the road after such a long time of dormancy. Anyone who has been around old cars for any length of time will tell you that this is a tedious process and if done correctly can give you that time capsule feel and still get from point A to point B with a great deal of confidence. With that said, I couldn't bring myself to replace the original braided radiator hoses. They appear to be in excellent condition and as far as I know are no longer available. Speaking of the radiator, it is beautiful. No rust, nice green coolant and shiny black paint with original markings. The interior of the truck has the very rare original tan seats and door panels. You will not find many 620s with tan interiors. You can’t beat the green and tan combo. The headliner and window visors are in excellent condition. The floor was covered in tan rubber with jute backing. The rubber mat held up well but the jute backing was starting to deteriorate. I thought about getting the jute replaced but decided to remove the rubber mat and carpet the truck. The carpet is new and was made for a 1980 Datsun king cab. I chose the King cab carpet because I wanted the carpet to extend underneath the seat. I used the rubber mat screws to hold the carpet down and just tacked down a few places with carpet glue to assure a smooth fit. The carpet can be easily removed and the original rubber mat reinstalled if you wanted the factory look. While the mat was out, I inspected the floor and it was in excellent condition. My only regret is that I did not take a picture of the floor while I had the mat and bench seat out. The original mat minus the deteriorated jute is stored in the box. Honestly I like both interior looks but I have noticed a little quieter ride with the carpeted interior. The dash, instrument panel, and steering wheel are in great condition. The clutch pedal, brake pedal and accelerator pedal show almost no wear. The emergency brake handle still had the factory applied clear plastic wrapper on it. the driver side shoulder strap was still attached to the side wall rolled up and covered in clear plastic. From this evidence I imagine that Mr. Linn did not like using the optional shoulder strap on his seat belt and thus left it rolled up. I found it odd that the passenger side shoulder strap was unwound and attached to the lap belt. So maybe Mrs. Linn wanted the added safety of the shoulder strap. Though this truck looks great in the photos please remember that it is a 40 year old unrestored classic save for the carpet and the carb. The body has stratches that are difficult to show in photos and the chrome bumpers and door handles have some fine pitting. With that said the truck is amazing for its age and beautiful to the Datsun enthuiast. The oddest part about the exterior of the truck was the bed. According to Glen in Indianapolis, Mr. Linn was a bit eccentric and on one night before the truck was parked in the warehouse, he took a can of brown paint and proceeded to paint every scratch in the bed with a paint brush. The truck bed looked like it had some sort of a brown rash but the paint may have actually protected the bed. Looking at the bed that way made me think that Mr. Linn might have been planning on leaving that truck in that warehouse for a long time and was preparing it. I felt like the bed needed to be repainted when I first saw it but I couldn’t bring myself to paint such an original truck. So instead of painting it, I bought several bottles of rubbing compound and after many hours of rubbing I was able to remove much of the brown paint. Truck bed with brown paint. Truck bed after lots of rubbing compound. Do you remember when the service stickers were put here? This one is dated 1973. This truck is a real attention getter from both the old and the young. Hope you enjoyed looking at our little truck and if you decide to take it home it's going to bring you many years of fun. Since this is an as is auction there is no warranty. You will need to send a non-refundable $500 paypal deposit within 48 hours of the end of the sale. The final total funds will need to be in the form of certified bank check or electronic wire transfer. No trades will be accepted on this vehicle. I do not reveal the reserve on my auctions. Test drives and onsite inspections are encouraged. You will need to arrange your own shipping or pick it up in person after the funds have cleared the bank. To protect the integrity of the auction, zero feedback bidders will need to email me for permission to bid on this truck. Happy bidding. Powered by eBay Turbo ListerThe free listing tool. List your items fast and easy and manage your active items.