I'm thinkin engine swap..

[metalmonkey47]

So I've been thinking a lot lately on how underpowered my car is. And a few friends have engines and transmissions sitting around that I've been offered super cheap so I'm weighing out options and looking for opinions. This isn't anything as of late that's coming up, just looking for ideas.

 

I'm down to a small number of ideas..

 

First off is a Pontiac 392. I haven't made measurements so I'm not sure if this will be an easy fit. Probably not, but it's a cool idea. It's a tri-power engine planted in a 1964 GTO post car. It's rough and needs a rebuild but it would be a powerful addition. Probably wouldn't be able to swing it though without major modifications.

 

 

Next idea is a friends old 360 race block in his 73 Challenger. It's being pulled to make room for a freshly built 360. Both engines were originally in a Cordoba. It's a tight fit, but it seems like I could swing it. I'll post pics of the engine when I find them.

 

 

 

Next off is a 351 Windsor that was planted in a 69 Mustang coupe that a friends dad has rotting away after a flood last year. It needs a rebuild. Dropped valve, blowing smoke, typical problems. Does have bigger heads though. Another tight fit. Don't have pics of the car right now.

 

Also thinking that a Ford 5.0 would work because it's a smaller block and would give me more under the hood room to work with. Don't have one available, but junkyards are filled with them.

 

KA and L series are also in consideration since they are Nissan motors that are readily available. Plenty of aftermarket parts still available and such.

 

 

 

 

Blah blah blah, I'm falling asleep now. I'll continue with diff's and trannys another time.

 

 

Discuss?

 

Bet mike is the first to type a long reply as to why each one wouldn't or would be practical.

 

Ready, set, GO.

[I'm BLUE]

KA would be a good choice.

 

If you want to rip the living snott out of everything then go 350 or above ( no replacement for displacement :P ) Out of the v-8 choices I tend to like the 5.0 , get a running one, has less deck height than a 351w , lighter than the other engines named above , more parts available new/used than engines above on craigslist , T-5 manual available ( sometimes costly ) if you wish to do so , possible fuel injection , and like you said plentiful all over. Chevy is a great choice as well , they have their problems (for sure) but ---> parts everywhere !!!! literally have all kinds of performance parts for them for CHEAP !!!

 

But back to being practical with any V-8 your going to rip the snott out of your diff ! any plans for the diff ? The engines your naming seem like a car that you would want to start building the car for drag racing , and you will be severley dissapointed with the handling for day to day or even weekend driving !

 

All and all , for a more economical , more practical , better handling than v-8 with the correct gearing , I think you will be satisfied entirely with a KA , CA , SR or L Series Type engine. Hell cut your firewall out and stick and L28E/5spd in her with 3.90's and see what happens ! lol

 

My advice , find a running/driving engine/trans or car and carefully label , research , research , research , buy manuals , download all material , and slowly/carefully transfer over ;)

 

You could just avoid all of this and snag a Z car for less :cool: ( options limitless , and all the swap space you could ever want for even the viper v-10 )

[skunk]

a v8 would be cool but your going to twist that little car into a pretzel. If you put somthing like that in your car you going to have to re build just about every part of that car to get it to fit, work and last with out riping the car apart.

an l20 would be the easyist cheapist way to go, you wouldnt have to wire in a crazy harness. but a ka/sr/ca would be the best bang for your buck.no cuting up your car (just a little triming for the shifter) and still nissan.

[datzenmike]

V8s way too heavy for your front end, don't forget a bigger rad, the matching tranny too. Likely it will need to be re-enforced and a shortened rear end added to handle the power. This will drive and handle like a tractor but fast in a straight line. This leaves 4 cyl or maybe a VG30 as they weigh about as much as a KA. All Nissan and they make good torque numbers.

[Z-train]

All the V-8 ideas you mentioned are really bad ideas.

[Pumpkn210]

V8, whyle Badass, would handle like SHIT! Turning would be sometimes scary. You would have to put mustang front susp in it to not just lay on the groung from the weight! Also you would have to make a frame to prevent the car from Twisting in Half. Seems like quite the Mouth Full! Not sure Even I could pull it off in a timely manner! :unsure:

[CharlieBucket]

I believe a 5.0 would be the only one that would fit without modifying the strut towers. Because of the front mounted alternator?{not sure on that, but it sounds right} Old 210 reserch on my part recalls something like that. You have to consider the rear-end also, they are pretty tiny on 210's! I don't think you should try it, but sell me your A15 if you do!

[metalmonkey47]

Well i spoke to a friend about it, and he offered me a VG30DET without a tranny, so I suppose it's just a matter of finding one for that. Theres also an 82 RX7 calling my name. The one that I got the dash from has a beautiful transmission that I fell in love with as soon as I touched it. It just felt so natural and so right. The rotary seemed decent condition and I've always wanted a rotary. Not sure what it is, but the thought of it in my car was kinda cool so I may call the yard and see how much they want.

 

As far as diff goes, I was looking at replacing it with any engine swap. From my understanding, the for 9 and 8.8 as well as the S13 rear could hold the power of a 5.0 and where I'm at now, that's probably what I'll look more into. I won't need anymore power on it since my car is light enough. However, a T5 won't hold a lot of power, so if I ever build it that's the first thing to break. So If I go 5.0, I'll use the T45 that's with the 351.

 

With the KA, what kind of transmissions can I use? And the VG as well? I like the idea of keeping it Nissan as well, just because I love Nissan cars so much.

 

 

I suppose I just need to put more thought into it and weigh my options out and see what deal comes along best. Mike, you're right. Cooling didn't come to mind when I was marking what I need, so I'm glad you mentioned.

 

 

 

Charlie, if/when I swap it, the A15 is yours.

[hang_510]

Well i spoke to a friend about it, and he offered me a VG30DET without a tranny, so I suppose it's just a matter of finding one for that.

 

:thumbup:

 

Dmike is the tranny inspector

 

 

 

:sneaky: i coulda had a V8... good thing i didnt kill the datsun to find out it was a bad idea

[metalmonkey47]

:sneaky: i coulda had a V8... good thing i didnt kill the datsun to find out it was a bad idea

 

[metalmonkey47]

This is the Mopar 360.

 

 

And if you want to hear it run...

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=37832261

 

[INDY510]

Yo dawg: ...... we heard you like trying to fit giant ass motors in engine bays that are too small

 

 

So we cut the strut towers out of your 210 so you can......... wait...... . we also had to cut your firewall so you can...... wait..... we also had to cut your transmission tunnel.....

 

 

Aww fuck,,, the windshield broke............. I'm going to retire from putting things in other things now..... :poke:

[metalmonkey47]

Yo dawg: ...... we heard you like trying to fit giant ass motors in engine bays that are too small

 

 

So we cut the strut towers out of your 210 so you can......... wait...... . we also had to cut your firewall so you can...... wait..... we also had to cut your transmission tunnel.....

 

 

Aww fuck,,, the windshield broke............. I'm going to retire from putting things in other things now..... :poke:

 

 

I'm not doin the 360 or 351, thought the picture and video might just be appreciated by some lol

[INDY510]

I'm not hatin'

 

 

I've abandoned two different motor swaps,,, and cut a huge hole in a firewall........ and then scrounged parts just to get it running with an L-series agian

 

 

My advice would be to measure EVERYTHING before you make any decisions,,,,,, I think the headers will hit the strut towers, the crossmember will hit the oil pan, and the transmission tunnel will need to go....

 

 

Do you have a welder? ...... can you make custom motor mounts, and headers, and a transmission crossmember?

[metalmonkey47]

Yeah, that's exactly why I abandoned both engines The 360 has 500+HP so I think that might break me...

 

I'm looking at an L20B and KA and maybe a VG30 at the moment.

 

I have a crappy stick welder, but I'm going to get a wire feed in a few weeks from northern tool. I have tons of metal working skills that I adopted from my older brother who used to work for one of the areas top metal fab shops. Hence the sweet dash I made. Never made a motor mount, but I'm sure I can figure it out.

 

 

We've made some pretty sweet stuff here...

 

Find the cool in this pitchur

 

[INDY510]

Your A series can tow a chevy truck?......... :lol:

 

 

 

Even a VG or a KA swap will be at least $2k with you doing most of the work........ it would be cool,, but some people spend 2 years trying to swap a KA in a 510 (and that's been done and documented thoroughly before)

 

 

I have seen some fast, good sounding A series motors with dual carbs............

 

This guy swapped a CA18det in his B210: .......... might be similar demensions to your car

 

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/9755-ca18det-in-by-bee-oh-yah/page__p__129501__hl__ca18det__fromsearch__1#entry129501

 

And this guy is swapping a KA24E in a B210:

 

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/21257-sunny-sx/page__p__298821__fromsearch__1#entry298821

[metalmonkey47]

haha totally! We haul ass in my sunny ;)

 

I saw the way he swapped the KA in that build, made it look totally easy. But I guess it helped to have an S13 crossmember. The real trouble is locating a goos KA24 with ECU and harness. There was a guy around here that put a 2JZ in his S13 but I don't think he still has the old drivetrain.

[b210in]

it's funny how much some gearheads get hung up on the whole, "if you put a v8 in it's not going to handle." any swap that you do will some impact on how the car handles. If you do a more difficult swap, you just need to up your game and do it right so you dont end up with a broke ass piece of shit that can't handle.

 

i swapped a ca18det into my b210. i contemplated many engines before settling on the ca18det. along the many engines considered was the 350 chevy v8, because i already have it. i chose not to do this engine because i already have a sooped up corvette and I wanted a different flavor of engine, like a turbocharged dohc four banger, which i have never owned till now.

 

If i were to start from scratch and wanted a v8 swap, i would definately stick with a ford 5.o with a five speed tranny. these things are plentiful in the boneyard and can take a beating.

[metalmonkey47]

Just a thought.......

 

 

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/pts/1865595575.html

 

[metalmonkey47]

So it's down to a rebuilt KA24 for $700 with ECU, tranny and harness, or a VG30DET with ECU and Harness for $200. I'll need to find a 5speed for it. I'm waiting for fall when it cools off before I start planning on pulling the A.

 

 

I've added a pole. KA vs VG.

[datzenmike]

FS5R30A from a Z32. In order to 'stress' this sum bitch you would need about 6 L20Bs in front of it. I found this locally and had my camera.

 

 

 

In a pinch you could use the FS5W71C with the VG bolt pattern from a non turbo '84-'89 300zx. Many consider it better than the FS5R90A T-5 that went in the Turbo model that was retired in '86 and replaced by the above FS5R30A in the Z31. The differences between the Z31 and Z32 FS5R30A were the gear ratios and I think the gear shift position.

 

 

.

[metalmonkey47]

Is the FS5R30A in the N/A and TT?

[Jon]

Yo dawg: ...... we heard you like trying to fit giant ass motors in engine bays that are too small

 

 

 

That's what she said

[datzenmike]

Is the FS5R30A in the N/A and TT?

 

Looks like it was in the Z32.

[metalmonkey47]

Bump for added pole option.