chevy 350 swap

[mrbigtanker]

WOW,chevy,datsun,mopar all in one.Its different and i love the old vette wheels.Do a thread i would love to see more photos.And as for this volvo 5 cylinder or the the chevy colorado engine whats the overall length,would it not be longer then a 350,302 motor width sounds to be good but length seems to long.

[ggzilla]

Too long? Look how much room is between the motor and the radiator in that V8 Datsun.

 

It can all be done, just depends on how much work & fabrication you want to do. Guys have put straight six engines in Datsun pickups.

[mrbigtanker]

Too long? Look how much room is between the motor and the radiator in that V8 Datsun.

 

It can all be done, just depends on how much work & fabrication you want to do. Guys have put straight six engines in Datsun pickups.

Ok but why would i want to put a longer engine in.And if you look at the top picture there is no room as its states and i am more then sure that Datsun.mopar,chevy truck has got a stretched front end on it.But hey it looks good on you though.

[DailyRacer]

Too long? Look how much room is between the motor and the radiator in that V8 Datsun.

 

It can all be done, just depends on how much work & fabrication you want to do. Guys have put straight six engines in Datsun pickups.

Ok but why would i want to put a longer engine in.And if you look at the top picture there is no room as its states and i am more then sure that Datsun.mopar,chevy truck has got a stretched front end on it.But hey it looks good on you though.

 

THE NEED FOR SPEED

 

its my mothers fault

i was always told i could do anything i wanted if i really wanted to. and it true. just dig in an get er done. if you cant figure it out do more research ask questions until you get the answers you need.

 

i bought this in 1975. 5 engines 3 transmissions 3 rearends later i think i got what i want. well almost. more power is just arond the corner if you have $$$$. This time around it took 5 years i quit keeping track of money a long long time ago.

 

moved the cab back 8 inches extended fenders and hood 8 inches to match cut 7 inches off the bed and welded the bed to the cab. went from a ford 9 inch to the vett rear. i live in the hills with lots of winding roads. it handles quite well.

 

[ggzilla]

I don't know why you'd want to put a straight six in a Datsun pickup, but I know I wouldn't. I don't know why you'd want to put a V8 in it. But I know why I'd like to.

[mrbigtanker]

THE NEED FOR SPEED

 

its my mothers fault

i was always told i could do anything i wanted if i really wanted to. and it true. just dig in an get er done. if you cant figure it out do more research ask questions until you get the answers you need.

 

i bought this in 1975. 5 engines 3 transmissions 3 rearends later i think i got what i want. well almost. more power is just arond the corner if you have $$$$. This time around it took 5 years i quit keeping track of money a long long time ago.

 

moved the cab back 8 inches extended fenders and hood 8 inches to match cut 7 inches off the bed and welded the bed to the cab. went from a ford 9 inch to the vett rear. i live in the hills with lots of winding roads. it handles quite well.

 

cool but extending the the front answers the question on all the room in the front for the radiator.looks cool burn out video please.

[ggzilla]

To the original poster, looking for ideas of getting 'more horsepower than stock', why not put a stock Nissan CA18DET in it? 200 HP is double the stock HP and it's still a four-cylinder. And gets better fuel economy. $1300 is what they cost with full wiring and 5-speed.

[DailyRacer]

To the original poster, looking for ideas of getting 'more horsepower than stock', why not put a stock Nissan CA18DET in it? 200 HP is double the stock HP and it's still a four-cylinder. And gets better fuel economy. $1300 is what they cost with full wiring and 5-speed.

 

thats a good option

or a v6. you will have a lot less work and may have a better power to weight ratio. the 2012 comaro v6 has 323 HP.

I went with the v8 because my friend owed me money so he gave me a 318 motor and auto trans. unless you plan on spending a lot of time and money and want to go really fast don't go with the v8. by the way I think mopar is probably the heaviest and physically biggest small block engine.

[Jskinny]

I know this thread is old, but I saw the listing below for a '69 521 that already has a chevy 350 swapped into it as well as a ford rear end, so drivetrain sounds solid?? It seems like an interesting truck since the swap is already completed (probably). 

 

This is probably too broad of a question, but what kind of headaches would I be looking at for maintenance and such?

 

For context, I'm looking for an older project truck for the weekends and maybe a few road trips here and there. Should I just look for a truck with a stock motor? What other swaps could I look at for a power increase from the 67/97 hp of the 60s-70s trucks.

 

Testing the waters and looking for any info from people with experience as I'm new to this. 

 

https://offerup.co/RE1oxQuxmjb

[datzenmike]

You are at the mercy of who ever built this and their possible lack of fabrication skills and dangerous short cuts. At least a stock truck was put together by the Nissan factory. The engine/transmission are fairly bulletproof and reliable, don't know if the 521 drive shaft was retained and shortened? The Ford rear end is generally good with the 9" being legendary, but 8.8 or 9" seems like it would need to be narrowed to fit a 521 properly and this is where shitty fabrication is dangerous.  

[Lockleaf]

I would have it looked over by a custom shop who can identify any hackery in there for you.  But finding a shop good enough can also be difficult.

 

If you bought a stock one, there are plenty of engines out there.  Just staying in the Nissan family the most common would be the SR20 or the KA24.  Other options would include GM Ecotec (think turbo Solstice) or perhaps a small v6 would work nice.  Something like a GM3800 supercharged would put down plenty of power to be fun, but require less hacking (or no) of the truck to make it fit.

 

Each generation of Datsun truck gets a little bigger, with 620s offering a small king cab, and 720s offering a larger king cab as options if you happen to be a taller person who could use the space to make sure the truck is actually comfortable enough to be fun.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

The truck in the pics looks pretty tired. But all that aside, I imagine owning this truck would be like owning a mid '70s Chevy Monza with a V8. Can't get my hands in there to get the spark plug out, so I'll just cut a hole in the fender well.

 

Also, I bet the rest of the truck needs everything. Heck, even the long u-bolts they installed for the lowering blocks are rusted. It's been a while since any meaningful work has been done on this truck.

 

Still kinda cool though, in a teenage dream sort of way.

[datzenmike]

Alternator, air filter, valve cover rusty, pine needles everywhere. Grass on the bottom of right shock like it was pulled out of a swamp. +1 on the rear end fit. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Duncan]

6 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Also, I bet the rest of the truck needs everything. Heck, even the long u-bolts they installed for the lowering blocks are rusted. It's been a while since any meaningful work has been done on this truck.

 

Still kinda cool though, in a teenage dream sort of way.

 

Wiring harness looks old, brittle, and frayed.  I don't know if they're stock, but the angle on the lower rear shock mounts looks like they might break off if you hit a bump, or get some wheel hop.  The rear rubber brake lines are very cracked and dry. There's NO mention of brake upgrades, either..

 

With that all said, I kinda like it anyway. 

 

If you have experience in welding, fab, electrical and mechanical, this could be a fun fixer upper.  If not, that could get expensive very quickly.

 

My advice is worth exactly what you paid for it....

 

 

 

[datzenmike]

Body looks good and maybe the basic fabrication stuff is sound. This leaves cleaning and prettyifying it up and getting brakes and good tires on it. It would depend on how well it does on a test drive. If loud exhaust you can't hear the drive train. If you can't drive it you can't evaluate the suspension, brakes, steering, cooling, handling etc. I'd rather do my own work that have to go through someone else's.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Is that an early Ford 9" in the rear? If so, what wheel bolt pattern is it?

[Charlie69]

On 7/13/2012 at 4:52 PM, ggzilla said:

To the original poster, looking for ideas of getting 'more horsepower than stock', why not put a stock Nissan CA18DET in it? 200 HP is double the stock HP and it's still a four-cylinder. And gets better fuel economy. $1300 is what they cost with full wiring and 5-speed.

Is that a Covid price?  LOL

[yenpit]

37 minutes ago, Charlie69 said:

Is that a Covid price?  LOL

 

2012 price, based on post!  Yes, the CA18DET turbo engines WERE cheap back then, but either can't find that one today cuz inventory all used up, or twice that now!  My buddy has two 510's with the CA18DET's 😎