Java's Datsun Trailer (1 Viewer)

[java]

So ive been looking for a good toyota bed to build myself a trailer from, well i finally gave up and a datsun followed me home.....
plans for right now get it cleaned up and fully funtional, eventually ill swap axles, build a rack for my RTT and add a fuel tank.
here is what i started with. 200 with a title from CL. a bit beat, very rusty but a good starting point i think.
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after a few mins with a grinder and sawzall the wood bits were removed.
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was wondering why one wheel well was bigger than the other. a compartment for the old charcoal canister!
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too the sawzall to all the bed bolts. impact wouldnt take them off, too rusty. problem is they put a rubber piece between the bed and frame. now i smell like ive been burning out in my garage!
but now the bed is liberated from the frame!
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probably gonna be a bit slow now, funding is limited.

got a coat of POR15 on the frame. and all over my face......
[URL="http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/9523/dsc02939fq.jpg"] [/URL]

got the reciever tube put on the tongue, tongue jack also. weled up all the holes in the bed and cut and patched the rusted sections. what a PITA! forgot how fun it is to weld rusty sheet metal with a flux core welder!!!!
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[java]

worked on rebuilding the front of the bed, did a bit of bondo too
pics for the day.







tongue finished



truck box



suspension back on


did i mention its cold and snowing?! no heat or insulation in my garge......


got the bed POR-15'ed. man my arm hurts! that stuff is thick and stickey.

 

[java]

got a bit more done, tailgate chains, ill put some webbing over the chains so it doesnt beat the paint to death.


sealed all the possible seams with sikaflex. looks like hell but ill get covered with teh bed liner. and hopefully it doesnt leak if i can ever find a tonneau cover for this size bed...... awesome stuff too, polyurethane based that is waterproof doesnt mind UV, and stays flexible, and sticks like nothing else.




put the front of the bed on, need a few more longer bolts.



the frame and bed are back together!!


bed liner came today, maybe if i get a good not rainey day next week ill spray it

electrical done in the tongue box, wont want to finish the rest untill its pained so the tongue box is easy to remove.


made new tail lights, the stock ones were trashed.


mounted



couldnt resist rolling a tire up to it. eventually it will get new wheels and tires.



getting closer together now!

 

[java]

quick link for the safety chains and trailer jack.



the illusive tie downs




got the wheels painted last night. makes a big difference IMO.




weather cooperated and i was able to spray the bed liner. grey bedliner on everything!
its washed out from the flash but i think its a good color

 

[The Jade Bean]

Right on...keep up the hard work! The hooks on the bed sides will be nice to have when your strapping something down.

 

[pillguy]

I am impressed, nice work and great pictures

 

[gsdog2]

Looks great, mine I think is a 78' or 79'. I kept the stock axle since I wanted to keep the shocks; really helps out a lot. Also I had sheet metal welded to the top of the tailgate to get a flat surface. I just Duracoated the body since it was in bad shape anyway. The frame was completely powder coated. I'd like to add a RTT to it soon.

 

[java]

thanks guys! as far as i can tell its 72, i too am going to add sheet metal over the tailgate. been a fun project, the bedliner is getting good and hard now.

gsdog-what size tires are those? i have a set of 265/70's im thinking ill throw on

 

[tmdvtpike]

Do you mind sharing where you sourced the tiedowns? I've found that style to be illusive as well. Thanks

the illusive tie downs

http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/1067/dsc03062c.jpg
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/5517/dsc03063c.jpg

 

[gsdog2]

The tires are 33x10.5 bfg's.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

Nice. And more cargo room than a jeep trailer. And you can put a canopy on it too.

Why did you use plywood for the bed front? Metal would not deteriorate like wood eventually will.

It appears you used the original axle. Did you pull the pinion assembly and put a blank plate over the hole? Or pull the ring gear?

 

[java]

tongue finished



truck box



suspension back on


did i mention its cold and snowing?! no heat or insulation in my garge......

 

[java]

ignore that last post it was a flubber... guess you can edit your posts on 'mud....

Do you mind sharing where you sourced the tiedowns? I've found that style to be illusive as well. Thanks

i got them from rvwholesalers, .99 a piece but a $10 min shipping.

Nice. And more cargo room than a jeep trailer. And you can put a canopy on it too.

Why did you use plywood for the bed front? Metal would not deteriorate like wood eventually will.

It appears you used the original axle. Did you pull the pinion assembly and put a blank plate over the hole? Or pull the ring gear?

yeah im looking for a toneau cover, but not a common bed size at all!

used th eplywood for a couple reasons, one im a carpenter, wood is easy for me, metal not so much. also had it so it didnt cost anything. second i need to strap my dirtbikes to the front wall. the plywwod is good and stiff where as i would have had to use a pretty heavy gauge metal and i dont really have the tools for that.

axle is completely original right now. plan to replace it eventualluy but its not in the budget right now. i do need to get the brakes off it at some point though they are rubbing a bit but the drums were being very stubborn and i havent had the time to deal with that yet.

do you think pulling the thirds guts will remove a fair bit of friction?

 

[ntsqd]

The axle shafts rely on the diff carrier bearings for support, so you can't gut the drop-out completely or remove it and plate off the opening. As was suggested, you can remove the ring gear to reduce some frictional loss. Just give the diff case a good looking at. Some diffs are two piece and are held together by the ring gear bolts. Would need to bolt & nut it and then check for rotational clearance if this is the case with the Nissan diffs. Can't yank the pinion gear without some sort of plug for it's hole, but if the ring gear has been removed it doesn't matter anyway.

 

[jimkyser]

I had a 1970 Datsun PL-521 (same model as your 1/2 frame and box is from) in high school, and those rear drums are a beast to get off. You're probably going to need a puller and maybe a little heat. Especially since mine was only 10 years old and yours is now almost 40.

 

[Mace]

Looks a lot like my brothers Datsun. His has such an odd weight distribution that if you do not have the trailer anchored and sit on the tailgate, it'll flop quickly. I made up a extendable foot so that he does not end up on his butt after a couple cocktails

 

[Combat Chuck]

Neat.
I like this build, keep it up!

 

[java]

I had a 1970 Datsun PL-521 (same model as your 1/2 frame and box is from) in high school, and those rear drums are a beast to get off. You're probably going to need a puller and maybe a little heat. Especially since mine was only 10 years old and yours is now almost 40.

oh boy....ill try this week most likely

Looks a lot like my brothers Datsun. His has such an odd weight distribution that if you do not have the trailer anchored and sit on the tailgate, it'll flop quickly. I made up a extendable foot so that he does not end up on his butt after a couple cocktails

mine isnt too bad, i can step just inside the tailgate without the tongue lifting.

Neat.
I like this build, keep it up!

Thanks!

 

[Assassin]

nice build on the datSUN!!!!

 

[Brian in Oregon]

The axle shafts rely on the diff carrier bearings for support, so you can't gut the drop-out completely or remove it and plate off the opening. As was suggested, you can remove the ring gear to reduce some frictional loss. Just give the diff case a good looking at. Some diffs are two piece and are held together by the ring gear bolts. Would need to bolt & nut it and then check for rotational clearance if this is the case with the Nissan diffs. Can't yank the pinion gear without some sort of plug for it's hole, but if the ring gear has been removed it doesn't matter anyway.

What I was referring to was, if possible, like on a Ford 9", is remove the pinion gear assembly, not the entire differential assembly, since as you point out it is needed to support the end of the axle shafts. It's often less hassle to pull the pinion assembly than to take the entire pumpkin out to pull the ring gear.