Raymond Moon’s 1969 Datsun 521

IT’S EASY TO SEE THAT RAYMOND MOON OF MENIFEE, CALIFORNIA, IS ON THE COME-UP. Having grown up with a strong passion for imports, Raymond has spent much of his life deeply involved with racing cars of many types. Regardless of what he was building or driving at the time, however, he always strongly respected and admired mini-trucks. When it was time to build one of his own, he chose the Datsun 521 chassis. To keep his 521 unique, he wanted add his own race-inspired twist: a Nissan Skyline engine.

BECAUSE THERE WAS LIMITED SPACE TO WORK WITH IN THE COMPACT TRUCK, THEY WENT WITH TWIN KIRKY RACE BUCKET SEATS AND BUILT THE DASH AND DOOR PANELS TO MATCH THE THEME.”

Combining the best of both of his favorite automotive genres was a serious undertaking. Starting with the stock ’72 Datsun 521 he’d picked up, Raymond’s research began. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much luck; applicable online forum threads and posts were nearly nonexistent. So, he braced himself for the immense amount of planning and work that it was going to take to make his vision a reality.

Just when things seemed overwhelming, a sign from above appeared when a friend made the find of the century on good ol’ Craigslist. A 1969 Datsun 521 chassis, which had already been fitted to the rb25det Raymond wanted to throw into the truck, was available for sale at Laodiez Kustomz. Raymond didn’t hesitate; he bought the build and brought it from Iowa to his home in California.

Now that he had the power plant for the 521, the team at McKinney Motorsports got to work on the interior, wiring and engine. To keep the truck simple and driveable, the crew wired the bay cleanly, keeping the motor and harness easily accessible. After all, what good is a race motor if you can’t work on it?

After running the rest of the electrical through the body, interior and frame, the McKinney team finished the interior. Because there was limited space to work with in the compact truck, they went with twin Kirky race bucket seats and built the dash and door panels to match the theme. When they were finished, they sent the little Datsun our for paint.

Though it was pretty clean for a 45-year-old truck, the fellas at AK Airbrushing still had some bodywork to do before they could lay down color. The custom hood and custom bumpers were draped in House of Kolor Ghama Gold, and Raymond had them add a black accent stripe to the front end for a classic rally-racer style.

There aren’t many body-dropped Datsun 521 pickups anywhere that look this good, but we know there certainly isn’t another that could burn the rubber off those 18×10.5-inch rear wheels as beautifully as this one does.

Raymond would like to send a huge thank you to Alan Farias at AK Airbrushing, Von Chounlamany at Laodiez Kustoms, Gary and Mack McKinney at McKinney Motorsports, Yuya Sano at AvantGarde Wheels, Eddie at Best Mufflers, and also to anyone who ever helped him with the build along the way.

---

TRUCK SPECS                                 

OWNER

Raymond Moon
1969 Datsun 512
Menifee, CA

ENGINE

• R33 Nissan Skyline rb25det turbo six-cylinder
• 250 hp and 250 torque
• Custom intake with HKS filter
• Five-speed manual Nissan Skyline transmission
• Custom driveshaft
• Painted Ghama Gold to match body color
• Best Muffler custom 3-inch exhaust
• Magnaflow mufflers

CHASSIS & SUSPENSION

• Performed by Von Chounlamany of Laodiez Kustomz
• Toyota drop spindles
• Custom-made control arms
• Custom 4-link suspension
• D2200 airbags
• 1985 Toyota front brake calipers and rotors
• Wilwood rear disc brakes
• Wilwood master brake cylinder (hidden in cabin)
• 10-bolt Chevy rearend
• Custom 10-gallon fuel tank

WHEELS & TIRES

• 18×8.5 and 18×10.5 Avant Garde wheels F141 with black chrome finish
• 215/30R18 and 245/35R18 Nexen tires

BODY & PAINT

• Body drop
• Custom hood with custom bonnet
• Custom front bumper
• Custom rear lowered bumper
• Colorado Kustoms rear roll pan
• Raised bed floor
• Airbrushed bed floor
• Extended bed to match cab and reach the floor
• LED Colorado Kustoms taillights
• Body painted House of Kolor Ghama Gold
• Paint by AK Airbrushing

INTERIOR

• Performed by McKinney Motorsports
• Twin suede Kirky race buckets
• Custom-made dash by McKinney
• Colorado Kustoms steering wheel
• Painless Wiring switches
• Defi gauges
• Custom door panels

---