twalton

Cooling- radiator from a mid 80's camaro 4 cyl.; fits right between the frame rails;added a 16" electric cooling fan; Have had no problems w/cooling even in stalled traffic on a 95 degree day(stock l36 camaro rad.is too wide) Driveshaft- had a custom shaft made(approx. $300 w/ all new parts,etc.) Used the rear pinion adapter to allow for full size,replaceable U-joints for reliability.) Any reputable D-shaft shop can do this for you. Clutch- used a 13/16th Tilton clutch master cylinder(bought off E-bay reasonably) Had a local hydraulic supply shop adapt the Tilton cylinder to the stock line coming from the camaro hydraulic TOB( $20) (The 3.8 camaros use an internal hydraulic TOB instead of a slave cylinder on the outside of the trans. bellhousing) As w/ any swap brakes could be left stock(IF IN GOOD SHAPE). Since this swap results in less weight than most v-8 swaps brakes prob. could be addressed later. This swap is not that hard if you can do a little welding. I have a lil Lincoln 110v welder that was ok for the brackets,etc. The wiring for the FI required a little sorting out but isnt that bad if you can read a wiring diagram and ECU pinout schematic.I would highly recommend finding a complete 3.8 camaro or firebird and get everything you can possibly use when you are pulling. (enine,trans,shifter,engine wiring harness/fuse block,etc.) If you are installing in a FI datsun the stock external fuel pump should be ok; otherwise you will need to address the fuel pump issue.If some of the aforementioned tasks seem insurmountable then by all means consider a swap that has more documentation and parts support and can have questions answered by the knowledgeable members of this site. And BTW, I dont mind the questions at all.

Quin, I have a few decent pics of the engine conv. on page 3 of this forum. (3800/T5). I will see about putting a few pics of the car on the forum.

I used a set of Marshall electronics gauges for my 3.8 conversion.Fit in the stock Datsun bezels.Speedo is programmable and can be driven by a VSS as well as other sensors. Lighting is dual mode too.(although I wasnt real crazy about the amber color) If the lack of briteness with the stock gauges irritated you the brightness is a big plus. I dont know how these gauges rate vs. some others but I havent had any problems so far.

The setup is a LOT stronger than the stock inline with the su carbs.Decently quicker than the '75 FI Z I owned. I est. about 215 horse with the mods I have.The camaro T5 works real well with the Datsun rear end ratio also. I prob. would have gone with a 280zx turbo setup had I been able to find one locally(the inlines are sweet motors) but I have been real pleased with the 3.8 setup. Have had zero reliability problems.

I have put prob. bout 8k miles on the 3800 conversion since completing.I have been VERY satisfied with the reliability of the car. Has made a great daily driver. Has plenty of room up front for a turbo conversion.The 3.8 camaro guys run their stock cars with fairly low boost for a good power gain. As previously mentioned, a turbo setup will require a custom pair of forward facing headers with y-pipe for a front mount turbo setup.I am contemplating building up one of these little motors and going that route.

KRAYZ, I welded up a custom crossmember which spanned the frame rails and also tied into the original mount pedestals. I modded the original datsun motor mount brackets(basically shortened them and adapted them to camaro block) and retained the stock Datsun rubber mounts. A custom trans bracket was also required. Anyway, I have been real happy with the conversion as it yields good power/fuel economy. Also plenty of room up front for possible forced induction mods. Good luck with that 3.8 ford swap. Should be a good driver.

Zya, that NA RB engine will make a great DD Z. Even NA should be plenty peppy. I am actually surprised how strong this 3.8 series 2 is in the Z. I would like to find a scale that could accurately weigh the car cause it feels lighter than stock. I drove it to work this a.m. and kinda chuckled as I backed out of the garage cause w/the stock l6/su combo I would had to let her warm up a while before taking off in the 25 degree weather. Also, I dont miss the smelly fumes from the 'ol inline.

Thanks for the comments... The engine sits real close to the firewall(w/in an inch) in order for the shifter to exit close to the stock position...I had to modify the shifter some due to the stock tilt of the camaro bellhousing. I havent hooked up the speedo yet but I feel the MPG will be much better than I was getting with the stock L6/SU combo. As far as performance enhancement,the aftermarket is much more limited than what is available for the Ford/Chevy V8s. A supercharger is offered by a couple of companies and forged rods/pistons, etc. are available for forced induction reliability.I may look into a few add'l mods in the future.

Well, I finally got the car on the road and am quite pleased with the results at this point. My goal was to have a very mild mannered daily driver with a significant power upgrade over stock(74 260) with good fuel economy. The t5 works great with the stock differential ratio and is very quiet at cruise with the dynomax superturbo muffler/ 2.5" mandrel exhaust I fabricated. I used a 1st gen. RX7 fuel tank with a "modified" FI maxima fuel pump assembly.(in tank, very quiet) I used a tilton clutch master which required some minor hydraulic adapting to the stock camaro hydraulic TOB. I "modified" some 3.8 camaro pacesetter headers to clear the frame rails. I am guessing the car is around 150 pounds lighter on the front end than stock....definitely livened up the steering. With the mods from stock I am guessing around 225 horse. I know, pretty anemic compared to some swaps but it moves pretty good for a lightweight DD. BTW, I picked up the COMPLETE motor/trans/pcm/FI harness for about $300 at pickapart. I have prob. $1500 in the swap since I completely went thru the motor.Anyway, take a look at the pics and feel free to post questions...

Well, I ordered a Tilton clutch cylinder(3/4") and intend to sort out the clutch hydraulics before pulling the motor back out and welding up the engine cradle to frame rails. Im hoping the 3/4" master will be ok with the stock hydraulic TOB. I modified a 1st gen. RX7 fuel tank to use an in tank fuel pump(I modified a fuel pump assembly pulled from a v6 FI maxima.) I will post some more pics of some of the progress soon.

Well, I got the pacesetter headers in for this project and well, suffice it to say I had to modify them quite a bit to gain clearance. Had to turn them into a true block hugger type but I was pretty pleased with the outcome. I appreciate the feedback re: forced induction. I prob. could have engineered this car for the stock 3.8 supercharged motor by sliding the whole engine forward enough to route TB plumbing. I need to do some more research.I agree with Pete that 9.4 compression for the stock motor seems a lil high for a turbo. I know it has been done with the camaro 3.8 as well as a number of nonturbo fwd 3.8 platforms. Will have to jump to one of those forums to see how those cars are being set up.

Good idea Quin; I bet a low boost turbo(6-8 psi or so) with the stock compression would be a seriously responsive daily driver. I like the Y-pipe idea...prob. would spool up real nicely that way....and would def. solve any exhaust routing problems too...

Yea, looks kinda odd compared to the ol L6. Maybe I can hook two of 'em up end to end.(lol) The engine is a lil wider than I would have liked. I sure hope the pacesetter headers I ordered for it will clear the frame rails w/out too much manipulation. A turbo might be something I look at later when I get this thing ironed out. I think a turbo kit is offered for the 3800 camaro setup but is a bit pricey. Would have to design something custom to keep the cost down.

Cool chassis!! Brings back memories of a Classic Roadsters Kit car I helped my bro. build years back. Good point about the S10 bell. The camaro('96) setup I am using uses a hydraulic throwout bearing. Does the s10 have the same setup or does it use an external slave? The pic you show seems to be setup for the latter.(which may be easier to adapt with a modified clutch master cylinder) Anyway, good points.