Upgrading Headlights in a vintage Datsun (Nissan) 521 Pickup Truck

[@MetalguySS]

I like the lights. I enjoy your videos. I had one of these (71) as my first vehicle, and did tons of work to it back in the early 80's. I have just purchased another as a kind of retirement play toy, and it was converted to 4X4 back in the 80's some time. The truck I now have sat outside in the PNW from 1991 to present, missing a transfer case. I got it started in two days! Mine has a L20b, and 5 speed installed, and a Dana 30 front axle. I found a divorced datsun transfer case for it, and will get it on the road as soon as possible. I'll post videos too, LOL. Your videos have given me some inspiration, and enjoyment, thanks!

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Dang! That's gotta be an awesome little truck. I'd like to see it. Hit us up when you post videos!

[@MetalguySS]

@@ProjectTimeGarage Will do. LOTS to do, for sure. It seems everything needs some work, but that is part of the fun.

[@tonyawebo]

Just bought one and didn’t know how modern lights would look but not them ugly LEDs, Gracias ✨

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Thanks! I looked at a lot of different options before I settled on these.

[@tonyjimenez1198]

I like the new Lights 👍🏼Will buy them for my 521

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Yeah, me too. They've been in there for a few months now and I still really like them.

[@alexcd114]

I think yeiiii !!! looks great.

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Thank you 😋

[@chriswilson451]

Looks good. For some reason 64 impala comes to mind.

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Yeah, I see what you're talking about. Never noticed it before now.

[@danbasta3677]

Because the front grill and headlights resemble a Chevy from the early 60's, even though this truck is tied in with Ford Motor Corporation. I will start a fight about that one, because the Datsun 240, 260, 280 and 300 Z cars all had straight six cylinder Ford engines in them. The Mercury Villiger was nothing but a Nissan Quest, and in 1990 Ford bought the Z engine off of Nissan and put them in some of their Ford Rangers and Mazda trucks. The Z engine has 8 spark plug wires in it even though it is a four cylinder engine, 4 for intake, 4 for exhaust. They were to burn and reburn exhaust for a cleaner environment and cleaner air quality because of air pollution equipment standards.

[@chriswilson451]

@@danbasta3677 I had a Nissan pick up truck back in the early 90s that had a 4 banger and 8 plugs 5 speed trans.. quickest four cylinder I ever owned.

[@danbasta3677]

Yeah, they ran super good, super tough for a little four cylinder truck. And as stated, some Ford Ranger trucks had these Z engines in them depending on the engine the customer ordered when they bought the truck new. This also applies to the Mazda trucks as they to had the Nissan Z engines in them. The Mazda trucks and Ford Ranger trucks were exactly identical except for only two things, one had a blue Ford emblem on the truck, the other one has the Mazda wings emblem on the truck. Otherwise, they were EXACTLY the very same truck.

[@pidgeiam4979]

Looks good. I like the look. I’ve always liked that centre light being a little different. I’m older so don’t judge. Please keep up with the 521 man. Much respect

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

I'm a little older myself, no judgement here!! Lots more to come on the 521. Thanks for watching!!

[@danbasta3677]

@@ProjectTimeGarage I can't wait to see what you have planed to do to this little girl, God, I've fallen in love with her so much. I use to install cable tv out of a 620 series Datsun truck and I owned a 1977 Datsun truck to, and I loved that truck very much to. Couldn't drive it though because it had a crack in the windshield and it wouldn't be able to pass Pennsylvania inspection because of that, broke my heart when I had to sell it, miss it very, very much.

[@tWs-ELEMENOHPEEE]

Bought those exact headlamp kit, for my 72 521. I blew a fuse using those halogen bulbs and switched to led bulbs!

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Evidently the old wiring add a bit of resistance to the equation. Blown fuses tend to be pretty common. I'm going to do an offload relay I think.

[@MetalguySS]

@@ProjectTimeGarage Yes, I will be installing relays for mine when I install them as well.

[@bluehandsvideo]

I'm 99.9% sure those high beams are factory original....I've had a bunch of them in other 521's I've owned. Better to stash them....not many 521's are being restored to a level where they'd worry about factory bulbs. It's funny that it's your driver's side trim on the fender that's messed up. 99.9% of all Datsuns have bad trim on the passenger side. It's really hard to find a good pass side, but a driver's side is easier to come by. If I think of it, I'll take a look and see what I have. I gave a ton of extra parts away with the last 521 project I gave away. I personally don't care to drive with the halogens or yellow lights, but I do think they add some "pop" to the front of your truck. Great job on the videos!! -Mike

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

I think they're original too. I have a very nice original '88 Mitsubishi Starion. It also had Koito bulbs in both sides. I did some research at the time and found that Koito is a tier-1 OEM supplier for the Asian market. Evidently there was no aftermarket line from them, so Koito lights in 70's and 80's vehicles would have most certainly been factory, or maybe junkyard sourced.

[@bluehandsvideo]

@@ProjectTimeGarage Probably 90% chance they were factory originals......I've gotten SY bulbs before, but new ones were always pretty cheap. lol

[@anthonysinclair5721]

If you had to order some trim maybe you'd have to buy it from somewhere with a right hand drive market so maybe the trim would be good on the right hand side.

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

@@anthonysinclair5721 ha ha, yep!

[@JesusDiaz-nw7zy]

Yay I'm thinking getting some.

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

These are a lot better than the stock halogen sealed beam versions. I like them a whole lot.

[@cesararias1989]

Congratulation, I live in México and I have a Truk like yours . I see your videos for learn. (excusme for my English)

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Thank you! Your English is much better than my Spanish.

[@emehlhar]

Nice upgrade. Hope they are brighter than the OG bulbs. Amazing how long the factory bulbs lasted. They don't make them like that anymore. Keep the old ones in case the new halogens only last a year.

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Yeah, the new ones are WAY brighter, but they will probably not last as long. The OG ones are in storage now, just in case.

[@danbasta3677]

@@ProjectTimeGarage I'd prefer to keep the original ones instead. However, that's just me.

[@NoTuneNoLife32]

I just got a truck like this I need to get those headlight bezel covers nice video

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Thanks, I've found a few on Ebay from time to time.

[@ZoltarSoulFunk]

YAY 👌

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Yeah, I like them too.

[@btwin1981]

Looks good

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Thanks!

[@twoeightythreez]

My 1975 B210 still has its factory Toshiba headlights, I am gonna upgrade them but for sure keeping the originals in storage

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

My Mitsubishi Starion still had the original headlights in it. I kept them too.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

YAY! Brian, those new lights look amazing! Maybe you should save the original high beams and sell them to someone that is restoring something that had those if they are not available. Make a few bucks towards your upgrade. Since the replacement are glass I wonder if you should look into stone protectors like the mesh metal screen protectors that use to be avail. Downside is they might take away front the look of the new ones!

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

My inner hoarder will make me store them in my "stash", lol!!

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

@@ProjectTimeGarage Well, you have the room! I guess it depends on what someone would offer to get them from you. Sometimes what they would give you is not really worth parting with them for!

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

@@ProjectTimeGarage Maybe that's a good idea since you have the room. I have no idea what they are worth. If not much, you should keep them.

[@anthonysinclair5721]

@@ProjectTimeGarage You're lucky that you only have an inner hoarder , I have an inner and outer hoarder! lol

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

@@anthonysinclair5721 Yeah, I love having some "inventory" on-hand!

[@mattclark7748]

What about find some after market tail lights and add some blue dots on the tail light so you don't ruin a original set of tail lights drilling holes in them . You remember them?

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Yep, that's an awesome idea. I forgot all bout those. Searching now....

[@kylepogue8443]

What were the gauge cluster led lights you got?

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

They were from SuperBrightLED.com they are called 194 COB

[@mattsangg02]

Just picked up a 71 521. I feel dumb but haven’t figured out how to turn on high beams 😂

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

The turn signal lever, push it forward. That's how mine works.

[@kevinbrislawn5918]

I tried looking for these lights and I have a 1978 620 Datsun pick up. Could you direct me exactly what I need because I looked these up you promoted and they say it won't work. What do you think? My headlights have two prong and three prong.

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

I've never actually worked with a 720 before, but here's what I know for sure. If you are handy, you can probably make them work. I do recall mine not seating correctly and I had to modify them a bit. It was nothing major though.

[@tinyguitars]

These actually should work with your 620. Amazon is stoopid! They bring up square and round lights for the 620, lol!!

[@mattclark7748]

I looked the size of the chevelle and they are T-3 5.750 OD Is that the size of them ?

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Yep, here's the link to what you need: amzn.to/3lbpMSV

[@meme9219]

i found that piece if a few plACES

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

I need one

[@meme9219]

@@ProjectTimeGarage hold on i thought i saw one on ebay

[@danbasta3677]

What's wrong with the original lights that's already on this truck? I don't understand. I've fallen in love with this truck as it is, only thing I would do if it were mine is paint the underside chassis and frame with black rust olem paint, and get her ready to sand down and paint the body itself a nice color. You've already painted the cab roof white, best then to finish the job with white for the rest of the truck.

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Original lights are quite dim, even with adequate grounding. The new lights are very bright, plus as I get older, my night vision gets worse. Nice thing is that the originals are tucked away safely in a box should I ever need to return it to stock.

[@ProjectTimeGarage]

Oops, forgot to talk about the paint - If I were to paint the rest of the truck white, it would be a full-on windows out, bed off, interior out, all panels removed, complete and total paint job. For me that would take months or longer. I'm looking for a nice, driver-quality, fairly original old truck to run around in. I have a couple of nicely restored and freshly painted things. I personally love the contrast of the white roof and wheels against the rest of the truck. Also doesn't help that someone before me painted it with tractor and implement paint that's not compatible with modern urethane paints, meaning it would need to be sandblasted back to clean metal to be painted. Basically an $8,000 paint job. Big job.

[@danbasta3677]

@@ProjectTimeGarage At any rate, I do hope to see much more your going to do to this little girl. I've fallen in love with her and I sure wish that these little trucks can make a comeback in today's modern society as it is today. Gas is going way to high anymore these days and we need these little trucks back on the roads again. The trick to keeping them up and running is to paint the underside of the truck frame and chassis with black paint, ocassionaly take the front fenders off and sand the insides down and spray paint them with black paint or bed liner coating to keep them preserved along with many other parts that can be removed and reworked over to keep this little girl looking young.