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Can a Datsun Roadster conversion hang here


Guest Anonymous

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Guest Anonymous

Never met a Datsun roadster I did not like. The folks here have been very helpful to me and it is a good education.Do not feel bad about chopping up a roadster;when I was young I took a new roadster for a test drive and smashed it up on a guard rail on a hair pin off ramp. The salesman distracted me with his sales pitch and overated the little car's cornering ability. A sale was made that day to the insurance company.

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Guest Anonymous

I have seen pics and write-up on V8 roadster (I think) It has been a while but I am pretty sure it was an 8. It was white and the pics showed ho the guy used structural fiberglass to move the firewall back and make more bellhousing space. Sweet damn car but it has been to long for me to remember which engine. I have trouble rembering what I did yesterday. ugg.gif

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Guest Anonymous

Hey all -

 

Long time sense I posted. The progress on the custom has slowed due to other projects.

 

I did get another Roadster out of Florida and have replaced the floor pans, trunk and rear panel. The turbo is off being rebuilt. The next thing is pulling the body off and starting the 4-link rear end and front suspension. I have moved the pictures to www.picturetrail.com/SPL311

 

Years ago "Hot Rod" had a 350 chevy Roadster in it. A guy in CA is doing a 351 Ford Roadster and a 4.6 Ford (I think) Roadster is on E-bay now. He wants 2 grand or so for it and is very uncomplete. I know a guy in Idaho that runs a turbo VG30 and dynoed over 300 HP. It is a race car and keeps killing rear ends. He now is installing a Ford 8.8. I may use this rear on mine.

 

Have fun driving those fast Z's. Found a NICE older 300 zx for 2500 bucks. Wife will not let me have it:( Auto and perfect for a V8 project.

 

Phil

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Guest ZSource

Phil,

 

Besides being into Zs, I own a 1970 Datsun 2000 that may need an engine transplant some day due to the dreaded timing chain guide wear. Have you thought about writing a series of articles on your 3.8 V6 swap? I'm still debating what type of engine to put in but the Buick V6 is on my short list. A Grand National swap would be downright wild!

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Guest Anonymous

Hey Ben -

 

I have thought about doing a write-up. A lot of folks are interested in this swap. The hardest part will be relocating the steering column. This is the problem with any V6 swap into a Roadster. This problem is not hard to overcome.

 

Here is a debate my friends and I are going through: To turbo or not to turbo.

 

I want the power, looks, and coolness of a turbo. My friends think NA at 250 HP is enough for a 2000# car. For "coolness" use two side draft Webers plumbed into a 4 barrel manifold with the carbs laying across the valve covers. They have a good arguement. So, what do you guys think??

 

Phil

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I think a turbo is about as 'cool' as it gets! It'll look totally hot too :D Seriously, you have tremendous tuneability options with the turbo motor, and EFI (If its a GN/GNX motor) so no problems starting in cold weather, and great mileage to boot. Hopefully the car won't be overpowered if you tweak it a little :rolleyes:

 

All eyes are watching you, Phil, including my brother who is considering this in about a year! smile.gif

 

Davy

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hey all,

 

i absolutly love the old datsun roadsters and actually looked into buying one not to long ago...this car was powered by a LS1 along with the six speed. a great little car with way to much HP. (like thats posible) anywho...just about anything can be done.....yours looks really good...hopefullyafter i finish my Z and my N600, i canfind a nice little early roadster and start my project.

 

laterZ

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sparky, do u have a honda N600, is that the one that is convertible... cause those old honda convertibles are cool.. and would weigh nothing.. imagine that with a S2000 motor in it.. oh damn

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hey youve got the n600? that is positively my favorite honda of all time, hey you could probably bolt up a dual webber b18b in that car with a little mods, (vtec motor requiring efi)

you could have that thing screaming 8k with 140hp, that would be fun. i was thinking roadster one of these days too, but man parts are really getting scarce for those cars.

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i just checked them out, its S600... i think the N600 is like a oldsckool civic..

 

not completly sure.. thou... that car would be a sweet sleeper.. imagine it with some nice 16 inch wheels.. big disc brakes, music pumping and vtec kicking in, 750kg car (1600lb), that would be nice.. then line it up with the SPl311 buick.. be sweet

 

i'm off the topic.. well not relly sorry

 

(i just looked in the paper) theres one goin for AU$500 Us$250 all original sweet

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hey guys,

 

its a N600 the great grandfather of the civic....even before the Z600 and cvcc coupes.

its powered by a 600cc aircooled motorcycle engine. turning out 45hp at 6700 RPM. does the quarter in 24.5(?) and 0-60 in 27-28 seconds! ive thought about the b18 conversion, but based on the cars rarity...im thinking i should keep it as close to stock as possible. and talk about parts being rare! just go to your local parts house and ask for ANY part for a 71 N600. its just not gonna happen. not even at the dealer! MEANDCAR.jpg cant wait to get her back on the road!

 

im actually thinking about building the orig. motor for serious high RPM + turbo. ive already got a IHI turbo thats super small (like the size of my hand!) so im probably going to throw that on there with some custom pistons and what not. hopefully i can double the HP on this 1200 pound car. the strange thing is...is that all 2 cylinders fire at the same time, its really funny sounding.

 

if you guys would like some more pictures, i have some of the engine and interior. you can see that the shifter hangs from the bottom of the dash!

 

laterZ

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Guest Anonymous

The firing at the same time is probably because honda studied the brit twins (triumph and BSA) of the late 50's, they do the same thing. Honda later in its verticle twins started running them up and down opposite and fired 180 deg, this yields less big vibes, but creates somewhat of a buzz sort of vibration. Those sort of fire together twin's were often called 'twingles' back in the day.. (or so I'm told, I'd hate to admit to being old enough to know that.... :mad: ).

 

Regards,

 

Lone

 

PS: I know its rare and your probably right, but I have to wonder what a 600cc superbike engine in it would be like... watercooled, over 100hp, close ratio tranny and 12000 rpm redlines... :D Be fun to go slap the stuffing out of some civic's with that.. haha...

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Guest Anonymous

Phil, stick to your guns with the turbo. I just acquired a 74 toyota celica that I am going to put an RX7 single turbo motor in. Like Scottie says there is nothing like the rush of a turbo.

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Guest Anonymous

Hey guys - Love that Honda!!

 

The debate continues:) I should know something on the turbo rebuild soon. That may be a deciding factor. My system is a carbed turbo unit. I could use a Weber on it for coolness.

 

If you are interested in getting a Roadster for a custom, now is the time. Prices are going up and now you can get them pretty cheap. I spent $0.00 for the last two (the last one cost many parts off the first one and some custom work). These are missing a lot of stuff and not good for a restoration, but great for a custom. Keep your eyes and ears open and get while the getting is good. Look for a the best rust free (really no such thing) body. Frames are cheap/easy.

 

Phil

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hey has anyone done an l28et into a roadster, my buddy autox's roadsters and always knows where

there is one to be had for good price, being badroc and all of that, is there any literature on that?

my good friend is doing a 510 with l28 five speed, i think the roadster would be some serious fun with the torquey straight six boostingl, or is it too long to dump in the little guy????

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Guest Anonymous

Hey 327 - So who is your BADROC buddy?

 

Some have tried the L6 in Roadsters, but they are a bit long and heavy. Nissan built a Fair Lady S Roadster (only one built) with a L6 overhead cam motor. It was a race car that was very fast, but kept braking. If you look at the engine compartment of a Roadster, you see the firewall is notched back over the tunnel. Buy rerouting the heater hoses and stuff, you could move the motor back 6 more inches. This would put the front of the L6 in the same location as the L4 motors. Clearance of the rear carb may be tricky, but that is what makes building a custom soooo fun:) I would like to see this swap done - and done right. I say go for it! Get the Roadster and test fit the motor. If it does not work out, there are many other choices:)

 

Phil

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