Truck runs sweet!!

[79D50]

Just picked up my truck -- '76 620 Longbed. I drove it the 300 hundred miles home and the engine/tranny/steering/suspension was like a new car. The L18 never missed a beat. It has smooth power and acceleration all the way to redline. You never would know it was only a 100HP..lol..The guy I bought it from did a real nice job on the running gear.

 

It handles like a sports car and I had an extra L18 and misc parts in the bed.

 

I will have pics up this weekend for your viewing pleasure. It is in my storage unit until then. I feel like a kid at Christmas.

[skunk]

nice, glad it went so well for you, my first 620 i had to tow home, the second one was scary to drive on the freeway. grats on the good buy

but your really going to make us wait till the weekend for pic....

[izzo]

Just picked up my truck -- '76 620 Longbed. I drove it the 300 hundred miles home and the engine/tranny/steering/suspension was like a new car. The L18 never missed a beat. It has smooth power and acceleration all the way to redline. You never would know it was only a 100HP..lol..The guy I bought it from did a real nice job on the running gear.

 

It handles like a sports car and I had an extra L18 and misc parts in the bed.

 

I will have pics up this weekend for your viewing pleasure. It is in my storage unit until then. I feel like a kid at Christmas.

 

where you located? may be interested in that l18 :D

[DISLEXICDIME]

sweet i love my l18

[banzai510(hainz)]

You never would know it was only a 100HP..

 

Its isnt!!!!!!!!! be lucky you have 76 hp to the ground.

 

change the gas filter on the trucks. dirt can get in there and cause a world of carb pain. trucks tanks can get dirty faster!

 

olddatsuns.com go there and learn your truck

[79D50]

where you located? may be interested in that l18 :D

 

I am in Washington State

 

When I bought it the guy had the ability to fire it up. He has a home made engine stand, more of a dolly really with 4 caster wheels - pretty cool for storage purposes. Anyway, it fired right up, blew no smoke, idled, and revved all the way to 6k without a ping, miss, hesitation, etc.

 

It is an L18 with a U67 head (not the A87, I was mistaken in previous posts) which has been mildly port and polished. It has an Offenhauser Intake port matched to the head. I am told it has a mild cam but will not be able to tell until I take it apart. It has a header on it (can't tell the make) and a Weber 32/36. I am also told it has flat top pistons and has only 40-50K since a complete rebuilt (bottom and lower end).

 

The guy that built it sold it to the guy I bought it from (they are buddy's) and replaced it with a small block v8. My truck has plenty of pep at only 30k on the clock since a complete engine rebuild and was told that the modified L18 was plenty quick and faster than the one installed in my truck.

 

I may be interested in selling the motor but not until I get it on an engine stand and inspect it. I will take the head, pan, and timing cover off to inspect everything. Once it is back together I can tell you what the motor is all about and what condition it is in.

[79D50]

You never would know it was only a 100HP..

 

Its isnt!!!!!!!!! be lucky you have 76 hp to the ground.

 

change the gas filter on the trucks. dirt can get in there and cause a world of carb pain. trucks tanks can get dirty faster!

 

olddatsuns.com go there and learn your truck

 

76 at the wheels - yes, I understand parasitic loss. The crank/flywheel HP is 100. I drained the tank, cleaned the float bowls and jets, and replaced the fuel filters before I even left the guys house. I've been going to olddatsuns.com for information for years. Like I said in previous posts...this isn't my first go around with Datsuns.

Edited November 18, 2009 by 79D50

[Bleach]

wow, U67, cam, Offy, all on an L18. That's an unusual setup. I had that exact engine in a truck that I used to have....

[79D50]

wow, U67, cam, Offy, all on an L18. That's an unusual setup. I had that exact engine in a truck that I used to have....

 

I have no experience with Offenhauser. I am unsure of the benfits this intake provides vs. a stock port matched intake. Does anyone have any thoughts here?

 

When I did some light searching, I couldn't find anything on the WEB that was specific to Datsuns. The forum turned up some opinions but nothing definitive straight from Offenhauser.

 

It really did run nice. Under load is a different story. Without a dyno it will be hard to estimate what the MODS to this L18 provide.

 

How did your L18 run? Was it reliable with good power or were the gains minimal?

Edited November 18, 2009 by 79D50

[banzai510(hainz)]

You want to sell the motor already?

Why

Just drive it. Why waist your time tearing it apart. If its good it goos plus a used l motor is worth very little. and if that aftermarket cam is a Delta regrind dont evn add value to it but lower the price.

 

If it runs good, call it good and enjoy it.

 

I have no experience with Offenhauser. I am unsure of the benfits this intake provides vs. a stock port matched intake. Does anyone have any thoughts here?

 

Yes more Bling factor!!!!!!!

[420n620]

I am in Washington State.

 

what part of the GREAT NORTH WEST STATE of WASHINGTON you in.

 

you should get joined up on the Washington Ratsun member list. :cool:

[79D50]

You want to sell the motor already?

Why

Just drive it. Why waist your time tearing it apart. If its good it goos plus a used l motor is worth very little. and if that aftermarket cam is a Delta regrind dont evn add value to it but lower the price

 

45 minutes is not a waste of time. This is an extra motor. The one in the truck is just fine. If I were entertaining the thought of swapping out the motor or selling it to someone else I am going to be damn sure that it is solid and not sell or swap junk - common sense.

 

Again, don't know what the CAM is therefore tearing it down for an inspection is also going to provide peace of mind for myself or the new owner.

 

The plus side is also having new gaskets and re-torquing rod, main, head bolts etc. I enjoy this kind of work with some buddy's and a six pack.

 

Further research shows no gains with that Offy intake as oppossed to hogging out a stock intake and getting a rise plate for the carb.

 

If I really wanted power for this truck, I sure as shit would not use a L18 or L20...But, since I have a spare one with hopefully some minor perf. gains...why not right?

Edited November 18, 2009 by 79D50

[79D50]

what part of the GREAT NORTH WEST STATE of WASHINGTON you in.

 

you should get joined up on the Washington Ratsun member list. :cool:

 

Cool...It seems like a lot of NW people are on here. A meet would be fun when the weather turns nice.

 

I work and live in S-Town

[banzai510(hainz)]

maybe get a mirror to see if #s on back of cam

or see if bigger lash pads installed or aftermarket retainers. otherwise cam is not that big

 

here is a photo of a Schneider 460lift 260in.270ex duration.

Personally this Cam should have come stock on all the L series. anything less than this is a waist of money.

Isky 475/275 should be a minimum 153$

[79D50]

Good Tip...I will start on the inspection this weekend. More than likely this thing will just go up for sale once it has a clean bill of health. I don't need a spare motor lying around. I bought this truck as a turn key runner and the L18in it just runs so damn good. It would be stupid to swap unless this other one is a monster, which I can tell you it is not. The tear down is something to do while we are drinking beer....:cool:

[banzai510(hainz)]

most times its good to ck the tensioner and slack side guide as they seem to wear the most and ez to change once front cover off

[Bleach]

The Offenhauser intake has two planes inside the runners. They split the runners between each barrel on the carb. Under partial throttle your smaller port should be running all the air to keep the vacuum and velocity up for more torque and gas milage. Then under wide open throttle you are using poth upper and lower runners inside for maximum airflow.

 

I also increased my gear ratio at the same time as doing the new intake. This killed my torque and I regretted that forever...

[79D50]

yeah...I was going to do the same on my D50 before I did some research. I have a 3.9 LSD in the rear and was contemplating a 4.3 and then the step up is 4.6....I want to drive on the freeway so the 3.9 stays. With my CAM and head work, I am set up for low end torque at 2000RPM and consitent to 6.5 with peak HP at 4800 ish RPM.

 

BTW - Is that dude rallying a pink Barbie Car? My sister had one and we used to do the same thing but never ate shit like that. I finally broke it and was grounded forever.

 

Do you have the full vid? It will make for a good laugh. I will send it to my sister.

[Roadracer Al]

Yeah, Bleach, that pink barbie car video is hypnotic. I can't quit looking at it. What's the story behind it? I've been dying to ask since joining Ratsun.

[1Low620]

Yeah, Bleach, that pink barbie car video is hypnotic. I can't quit looking at it. What's the story behind it? I've been dying to ask since joining Ratsun.

 

X3, that shit is priceless!

[79D50]

Reviving this from the 4 pages back.....

 

This last weekend my buddy and I dismantled that extra L18 I got in the purchase deal. The guy told me that it was a screaming little motor and had head and CAM work done. Well, as discussed above, I am glad I did the teardown. I am going to let the pictures with descriptions tell the story. Although this might have been a runner, I don't believe that it would have been a good reliable swap for someone based on what I found. Yes, you could have reconditioned and replaced some parts, but this was NOT a candidate for a direct replacement.

 

Here is a picture of the motor before we started:

You might not be able to tell from the pictures but the head is definitely newer than the block i.e. replaced or reconditioned.

Here is a straight down view of the 32/36 and Offy intake:

We took off the valve cover to see what kind of CAM this really had: Low and behold it is a stock U20 / L20 CAM. It looked to be in excellent condition with no pitting or score marks. There was some glazing (dark brown oil stains) but that is normal.

This picture is a bit hazy but you get the jist of it:

Here is the bottom of the head. It appears to be a closed chamber U67 with peanut design around the intake/exhaust valves. Being new to these heads I am not 100% certain whether this is good or bad. You can see that there is some carbon build-up. It clearly was running rich. Further inspection showed no unusual signs or wear.

Here is another hazy picture but shows the valves up close. Does that say 16?

Here is a closeup of the exhaust ports:

Here is closeup of the intake ports:

Another Head shot:

Here is the head complete with valve cover. I already took off the CAM gear/chain and front cover:

And now onto the block:

Here is the passenger side lower half:

Here is the top deck of the block:

Here is a another view of the block:

...and another:

...and another:

I did not take off the pan to inspect the rod and main bearings because I forgot the oil drain pan. It would be a good idea to plasti gauge all the bearings to make sure they are within tolerance. They are probably fine.

Here is another shot from above. Quit eyeball fucking my beer..get your own...LMAO

Now we are onto the front cover and timing assembly. You can tell from the picture that the guides were worn and the teeth on the sprockets were rounded over telling me that it has never been replaced or if it has, it was a long time ago.

Here is another angle:

Here is what happens when you drink to many MGD's:

The front view of the motor with timing chain disassembled:

Here are all the parts in the timing cover. A guy would have to buy a new kit for peace of mind:

The next few shots are of the Offy intake. Once this is cleaned up it will go on my L18 along with the Tri-Y Header I picked up:

Edited December 17, 2009 by 79D50

[79D50]

We can all tell that the guy I bought my 620 from was not knowledgeable about this build and was just blowing smoke. :blink: I bet it ran great but it is in need of some repair. A guy could put this all back together with some new gaskets, and a new timing kit. You would probably want to clean up the head and thoroughly inspect the bottom end. Once you spend a little money and time, this would be a great motor and run for 200k without any problems if you treated it nice.

 

Those of you who were interested in this motor can still puchase the whole thing disassembled or I am going to sell peices individually. If that is the case, I am basically giving the block away for next to nothing as I want it out of my storage unit. It sits on a custom welded engine dolley with 4 caster wheels. It is easy to move and transport. You wouldn't need a cherry picker. Two guys can pick this thing up easy.

 

I will put together some prices for the following:

 

1. Complete head with CAM and fuel pump. I would feel confident in slapping this on any motor and running it just the way it sits.

2. Complete timing cover with dizzy and oil pump

3. Valve Cover

4. Complete Block. After inspecting and cleaning this up....well, see #1

 

I would not have felt good about selling this as a replacement for someone as the condition of parts show that it would not have lasted and the runability would have been questionable.

 

It was fun to take it apart and only took about an hour. I will figure out some prices on these parts individually and as a package deal. They will be posted in the For Sale section.

 

If your curious...I don't want to keep any of this as my motor runs like a top and I am not in the business of storing engine parts. :cool: