Lonewolf1990 Posted November 22, 2020 Report Share Posted November 22, 2020 Alright datsun fam, so I have a working 350 small block engine, and was wondering if or have heard of anyone done this engine swap in datsun 620 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted November 22, 2020 Report Share Posted November 22, 2020 Very few get finished. (we had a 327 a long time ago that drove) Most never come back because in over their heads, cannot finish and truck is so ruined it ends up in the crusher. Too heavy. Well over 300 pounds more than the L20B in it. Have to cut a hole in the firewall losing the heater. I call that 'doesn't fit'. Quote Link to comment
rosso Posted November 22, 2020 Report Share Posted November 22, 2020 There is always Datzilla. Pete Brock's 510 with all aluminum chevy V8. You would probably have to do even more cutting. Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted November 23, 2020 Report Share Posted November 23, 2020 There been a few for sale. after awhile nobody wants to drive them. Just not practicle to drive sure you can find one cheap Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted November 23, 2020 Report Share Posted November 23, 2020 Get a 4.3 V6 that is a better candidate for fitment. Did GM ever make one with aluminum block??? This will bugger the body the least and when done with it someone else can enjoy. Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted November 23, 2020 Report Share Posted November 23, 2020 On 11/21/2020 at 9:21 PM, Lonewolf1990 said: Alright datsun fam, so I have a working 350 small block engine, and was wondering if or have heard of anyone done this engine swap in datsun 620 Check out this thread.... If he can put one in a 520 it can fit in a 620, now with that said he had all kinds of custom stuff going on upfront... it definitely wasn't just put the motor in and all good..... not sure how much of the frontend had to be cut away... pretty sure he has the whole front clip removable now too.... I was lucky enough to check it out in person... I know he had a mustang 2 front steering, coilovers and control arms setup modified to work... and a different steering column... Not to mention a Corvette independent rearend... 1 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted November 24, 2020 Report Share Posted November 24, 2020 (edited) This company makes mounts and assorted components to swap a sbc into a 620. http://www.powerbyace.com/ Left side of webpage: click on catalog, then click on engine components and they are listed.. Edited November 24, 2020 by Duncan Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted November 24, 2020 Report Share Posted November 24, 2020 On 11/21/2020 at 6:21 PM, Lonewolf1990 said: Alright datsun fam, so I have a working 350 small block engine, and was wondering if or have heard of anyone done this engine swap in datsun 620 Please keep in mind that just because you have something free or just laying around doesn't mean that this will be cheaper or easy. I'm sure that engine swaps, no matter how innocently begun, have destroyed more vehicles than those that were completed, and by far,.... more than actually worked as planned. There's nothing more expensive than something that was free. 2 Quote Link to comment
Logical1 Posted November 24, 2020 Report Share Posted November 24, 2020 30 minutes ago, datzenmike said: There's nothing more expensive than something that was free. One of my favorites! - tada yori takai mono wa nai. Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted November 25, 2020 Report Share Posted November 25, 2020 (edited) 12 hours ago, datzenmike said: Please keep in mind that just because you have something free or just laying around doesn't mean that this will be cheaper or easy. I'm sure that engine swaps, no matter how innocently begun, have destroyed more vehicles than those that were completed, and by far,.... more than actually worked as planned. There's nothing more expensive than something that was free. Actually, I have seen a few 620 trucks running the Chevy V8. I've seen them mostly at hot rod shows. I don't know about the 620 specifically, but they bolt right into a Chevy Luv / Isuzu pickup with a install kit that was made by Hooker headers. As I recall, the only thing that needed trimmed was the firewall just a very small bit for the distributor. I had a V8 Vega way back when, and that was a breeze.. I even worked as a Chevrolet dealer parts man back in the day, and our dealership did a few Vega V8 swaps as an upgrade to the crappy aluminum 4 cylinder motor. I would recommend the OP do a bit of searching on the Intergoogle, and see what factual info may be obtained. Edited November 25, 2020 by Duncan Quote Link to comment
Kenp19 Posted December 3, 2020 Report Share Posted December 3, 2020 On 11/23/2020 at 12:40 PM, Crashtd420 said: Check out this thread.... If he can put one in a 520 it can fit in a 620, now with that said he had all kinds of custom stuff going on upfront... it definitely wasn't just put the motor in and all good..... not sure how much of the frontend had to be cut away... pretty sure he has the whole front clip removable now too.... I was lucky enough to check it out in person... I know he had a mustang 2 front steering, coilovers and control arms setup modified to work... and a different steering column... Not to mention a Corvette independent rearend... Lots of cutting both firewall and core support have been modified custom mounts etc .... I believe 620 has a good bit bigger bay and I believe there is or was a kit Available with a bolt in fire wall section to accommodate the distributor.... but check out Instagram there’s a few sbc 620s to look at for ideas Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted December 3, 2020 Report Share Posted December 3, 2020 It is weird to see a photo of my 520 leading to a thread that is not about my 520 although I did post in the thread. There are lots of V8 Datsun trucks out there, they just don't come here to get told things that they know are not true as they have one, I have seen several drivers and I have never seen one ready for the scrap yard except a 320 truck, but I have not been looking either, I also have NEVER seen a Datsun truck with a V8 in it in a pick and pull scrap yard, but I have seen 100s of stock ones. I do have one concern for the original poster of this thread, I believe that California's cut off year is 1976 but I could be wrong, it might be Oregon, anyway could a 1977 be licensed for the road in that state without the stock drive train? Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted December 3, 2020 Report Share Posted December 3, 2020 How to turn a 520 into a Pinto Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted December 4, 2020 Report Share Posted December 4, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, wayno said: I do have one concern for the original poster of this thread, I believe that California's cut off year is 1976 but I could be wrong, it might be Oregon, anyway could a 1977 be licensed for the road in that state without the stock drive train? The OP's sig says he has a '77 620, so stuffing a V8 into that will certainly be difficult to get through Cal Smog. It can be done legally, but the transplanted motor will have to have all the smog equipment that was required from the model/year it came from. '75 and older is not technically exempt from smog, but they are exempt from the inspections. If a CHP or similar suspect something fishy, they can send you to a smog station for inspection. I remember a few years back, someone on here got pulled over in a SR20 510 and he ended up having to sell the car because he couldn't comply.. Anyway, if it's a '77 the swap may be way more hassle than it's worth, IMHO.. Edited December 4, 2020 by Duncan 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted December 4, 2020 Report Share Posted December 4, 2020 On 11/21/2020 at 6:38 PM, datzenmike said: Very few get finished. (we had a 327 a long time ago that drove) Most never come back because in over their heads, cannot finish and truck is so ruined it ends up in the crusher. Too heavy. Well over 300 pounds more than the L20B in it. Have to cut a hole in the firewall losing the heater. I call that 'doesn't fit'. Forgot about smog. Gets built using a '74 engine and door tag to avoid smog test, gets pulled over for noise, cop hears V8 and finds the frame serial number is for '77, gets towed and big fine. Quote Link to comment
Stinky Posted December 4, 2020 Report Share Posted December 4, 2020 You might think about a 302. The distributor is in the front. Or a newer V6, lots of em make 250-300 HP, and are more compact. In the 3.0-4.6 range Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted December 4, 2020 Report Share Posted December 4, 2020 .... and they actually fit. The 350 is a boat anchor. Is there an equivalent LS six cylinder??? On 11/21/2020 at 6:21 PM, Lonewolf1990 said: Alright datsun fam, so I have a working 350 small block engine, and was wondering if or have heard of anyone done this engine swap in datsun 620 Absolute WORST reason for a V8 swap is that you have one available, maybe just 'laying around'. There is the misconception that it's 'free' and will make the swap cheaper. Sometimes free is just too expensive. Quote Link to comment
Stinky Posted December 4, 2020 Report Share Posted December 4, 2020 According to Wikie ....L3 used in trucks https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_LS-based_small-block_engine# Also, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GM_engines And this says that 6th gen camaro is available w.a 3.6 v6 that has 335hp https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Camaro Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted December 4, 2020 Report Share Posted December 4, 2020 Was hoping for something aluminum and 20 years old so it's cheaper, more available and better after market support and not a scaled down 350 anchor.. Quote Link to comment
Stoffregen Motorsports Posted December 5, 2020 Report Share Posted December 5, 2020 On 12/3/2020 at 4:43 PM, datzenmike said: Forgot about smog. Gets built using a '74 engine and door tag to avoid smog test, gets pulled over for noise, cop hears V8 and finds the frame serial number is for '77, gets towed and big fine. They call it VIN fraud and they can take your vehicle from you. I personally think the 350 swap is a horrible idea. It can't be done right for less than a few thousand bucks, even if you do all the work yourself. The can of worms you open with that swap is enormous. So let's say that the 350 does make it into the engine bay, you still need a properly sized radiator, a stronger rear diff, probably better brakes too. Anyone can hack together the parts and get it to run, but to make it look like something other than a piece of shit, some fabrication skills will be needed to get the motor and trans mounts built, the trans tunnel and firewall cut and put back together, a clutch linkage, throttle linkage, radiator mounts, headers that fit. Major can of worms. Has anyone here ever done a legal KA24 or SR20 swap in a smog era Datsun? If so, I have not seen it, but pound for pound, either one of those will be much more fun to drive. Well, maybe not more fun, but more pleasing to own and deal with for years to come. Do you guys remember Darius Kashabi? And his V8 240Z? I remember when he first got that car and it already had the V8 in it. It sure was fun to drive, but what a death trap. The same car now has had a couple of major renovations and is now a good car, but many tens of thousands of dollars have been put into it to get it where it is. Google darius 240z and see what I mean. Too bad he doesn't have any pics of the car back in the day. Quote Link to comment
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