320 engine swap

[zeke5551]

Looking at a modern engine swap for my 65 NL. Last year I saw a 320 with a late 80s 2.4 Nissan PU engine. Has anyone done this swap? I talked to the owner and he said he only had to cut off the front pulley. Any suggestions? I have a good A14 and 5 speed from a B210, but I don't think a 1.4 is worth the effort. Any thoughts? I don't want to do a bunch of butcher work on the firewall.

[datzenmike]

Can't imaging a Z24 in one. Not without making room for it and the transmission. The A14 is a better choice I think.

[wayno]

The Z24 is a good engine for the 720, it will do the job and that is about it, my LZ23 in my work truck(3900lbs) will keep up or out accelerate it getting on the freeway depending on the carb it has, and it will walk away from it after 60mph, if you want something fun to drive that is dependable, the A14/15 is the engine you want.

 

But there are a few things you will need to change, one is the 320 idler arm needs to be removed and replaced with a 521 idler arm, that way the A series oil filter will clear everything, it would also help if you have the 1965 Datsun floor shift model with the larger tunnel.

 

I have seen a 320 with a Z24 in it, it was in the wrecking yard.

 

 

[mklotz70]

Chris Mull put a KA in his NL..... https://www.instagram.com/billybob_who/

 

[datzenmike]

There must be more room than I imagined then.

[thisismatt]

4 hours ago, datzenmike said:

There must be more room than I imagined then.

 

Ah, another quote from Mike's "Things I Never Said to My Wife Again" memoir 

[mklotz70]

I have not looked at the build closely.  He may have modded the firewall.....moved the radiator.....??  This truck got the KA installed back when it was a green and rust patina with solid billet rims.  

 

[difrangia]

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Edited June 29, 2022 by difrangia

[zeke5551]

I have pics of the 320 with the 2.4, it was tight. I'll have to find one to measure. Thanks for all the help

 

[NL320-1963]

I just picked up my 64 from my friends house that I had swapped a KA24E and auto trans into.  I have already pulled it out for my next swap, and this is the only pic I have with the engine in it.  I had to remove that 4" wide vertical channel on the firewall to get the engine where I wanted it.  Trans required the crossmember to be notched, and the tunnel expanded.  If you need any pics I can take some.

 

Apparently you cant upload pics, and I do not have hosting.  If anyone wants to see the pic, message me with your e-mail and I will send it to you.

[datzenmike]

Well then it's definitely not a 'drop in' job but more of 'needing a wire feed wrench' swap.

[zeke5551]

NL320-1963, I'm not scared of a little welding, could you send me picks of your truck with the 2.4? I would even be interested in purchasing it. I'm looking for an auto trans. This car has to be good for my ife to drive and she has bad knees, zeke5551@comcast.net  thanks

[NL320-1963]

2 hours ago, zeke5551 said:

NL320-1963, I'm not scared of a little welding, could you send me picks of your truck with the 2.4? I would even be interested in purchasing it. I'm looking for an auto trans. This car has to be good for my ife to drive and she has bad knees, zeke5551@comcast.net  thanks

I sold the engine and auto trans this past weekend.  I posted up pics of the engine mounts I made and the 620 frame pads.

[NL320-1963]

Here are the pics of the added motor mount pads from a 620 IIRC.  You can see where the 320 frame mounts were ground off if you look hard.

 

 

Here is how much I cut the firewall for the trans.  Notice that I also removed that overlay for clearance to the motor.

 

 

Here are the motor mounts and isolation pads I used.  Pads are part # 11220-B2000 from a 521 truck, steel mounts are ones that I made to bolt to the KA24.

 

 

[NL320-1963]

 

This is the only pic I have from the KA24 in the truck.

[zeke5551]

This is perfect, it looks like with just a little firewall work you were able to get the motor back for decent radiator clearance. It looks like the motor sits low enough to leave the upper part of the firewall alone. I will take a close look at the firewall tomorrow. I was planning on using a nissan pick up for a donor, just haven't found one with an auto trans.

Thanks, zeke

[NL320-1963]

13 hours ago, zeke5551 said:

This is perfect, it looks like with just a little firewall work you were able to get the motor back for decent radiator clearance. It looks like the motor sits low enough to leave the upper part of the firewall alone. I will take a close look at the firewall tomorrow. I was planning on using a nissan pick up for a donor, just haven't found one with an auto trans.

Thanks, zeke

The one I had came out of a 1990 or 1991 Nissan truck I think.  Not sure what the 4 sp auto was from as a friend sourced that for me, but it was direct bolt up, and had the correct lean.  The auto trans will require some removal from the top and reinforcement of the bottom on the rear cross member.  

[bilzbobaggins]

I cant stop looking at this.  To my eye, its almost like the 320 body and the ka24e valve cover have the same shape.  Good work.