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Just about anything can and has been used! Brake and strut assemblies from Fiat to Ford have been fitted to 1200s.
Reasons to swap struts:
- To swap from front drum brake to front disc brakes (a must-do)
- To fit bigger brakes
- To add adjustable camber & castor
- To lower car
- To fit high-performance strut shock inserts
Brake Comparo
Counterpoint: There are some good reasons not to change your struts. The stock struts are very light, which is good for acceleration. They also have a good damping qualities for a smooth ride. Less work to keep them. Less expensive to keep them.
This article focuses on swapping struts. For simpler brake upgrades, see Brake Swaps.
Also see: Strut photo index
Contents |
Better Brakes
Here are some considerations of a braking upgrade:
- Bigger caliper and corresponding brake pads will slow down car faster
- Some struts permit wider tires, which will improve brake contact patch, and are a huge part of increased braking performance
- Larger-diameter disc brake rotor will improve braking power and sensitivity
- Vented rotors will improve repeated stops (less brake fade because the rotors can shed heat faster)
Considerations:
- Slotted/drilled rotors are unnecessary and can often weaken the rotors, but may be useful in some racing applications (check with your brake vendor for their suggestions)
- A dual master cylinder is safer than a single one. Why?
- Front and rear caliper/cylinder ratios should match the application of the car weight bias, brake and tire sizes (See Brake Bias). Otherwise, a brake proportioning valve will be needed to prevent premature lockup
- Bigger tires. Yes, this has a big effect on brakes, because more rubber on the road lets you stop faster before the car skids. 1200 accept 185-width on front, 205-width on back (if you have wheels with appropriate backspacing)
Disc Brake Swap
If your Datsun 1200 has all-drum brakes, upgrade now! It is a simple bolt-on swap. See Brake Swaps.
Adjustable Caster Rods
Adjustable caster rods (aka "castor rods" aka "tension rods" aka "radius rods") are useful when you wish to add more caster. The 1200s rods are non-adjustable with a lot of caster dialed-in.
See Caster Rods
Coilover conversion
With stock Datsun 1200 struts or upgraded struts, you have the option to convert them to coilover spring configuration. Advantages include:
- Adjustable spring height, for lowering or for adjusting different length springs
- Many spring rates are available for customizing
- If using small-diameter springs, you gain
- more room to move the strut inward for extra negativ eCamber
- more room for tires, or wider tires
See main article: Coilovers
Popular conversions using Datsun donor parts
- B310 strut swap brake upgrade. A great bolt on. Larger brakes
- 280ZX strut swap brake upgrade. Great for lowered cars, big brakes, requires cutting and welding spring cup
- A10 (78-82 510, Stanza) Strut swap brake upgrade. Requires cutting the strut tube. Very large brakes possible
1200 Disc-brake Swap
B110 "Standard" models used front drum brakes (most Aussie sedans are STD models). You can simply bolt the disc-brake struts together with brake assembly directly onto a STD car. You will also need the master cylinder and brake lines.
See Brake Swaps
B210, B310
B210/B310 caliper swap - add bigger brakes, this is the easiest upgrade, but are still light in performance compared to modern cars. Good for street use, and can be modified for racing use.
NOTE: Datsun 1200 (B110) uses 45mm diameter strut tubes, while B210 uses 50.8 (as with almost all other Datsuns). This means the B210 strut itself is not interchangeble with B110, but as a whole assembly it can be done.
See B310 Strut Swap
| Dia. (mm) | Part Number | Source |
| 212.5 | 40206-H1006 | B110, B210 with A12 1974, 1975 |
| 220 (AN18) | 40206-H7500 | B210 A12 1976-1978,B310 with 12" wheels |
| 232 | 40206-A1155 | B210 A13, PB110?, PB210 early? |
| 245 (AN20) | 40206-U6700 | B210 A14, B310 A14/A15, PB210 late? |
You can swap A14-powered B210 struts onto a 1200, to get larger brakes. Use the 1200 spring.
B210 (1974-1978)
- B210 with A12 & A13 engine have larger strut/brake assemblies that will fit under 12" wheels
- If you are moving to 13" wheels, do the B310 swap instead for even better brakes for no extra work
- Australian built 120Y's from July 1976 used a completely diferent disc brake setup. They use a Mitusbishi (?) caliper and brake pads
-
reference: Marty's 120Y brake swap
'78 120y struts discs and calipers are an Aussie assembled PBR product.
B310 Swap
A14/A15 B310s have a larger brake than B110, these B310s use the same size as the largest B210 brakes.
-
- B310 on left, B110 on right
-
See B310 Strut Swap
A10
A10 (1978-1981 Datsun 1600 aka Violet, Stanza, 510) is a beefier version of the B110/B210/B310 suspension ... so the parts fit with only small modifications.
See A10 Strut Swap.
Stanza struts and 275mm rotor Commodore VL Turbo caliper
1200rallycar has this to say about the Stanza strut swap:
I installed stanza struts to give me 9.5" discs with huge pad area (single piston though) and also to permit putting wider wheels (14*5.5" maybe 6" can fit not sure) the struts are a straight swap if you use the following componentsuse the stanza struts and stub axle, 1200 springs and top-plate things, stanza lower control arms, 120y castor rods and 1200 tie rods. all ya gotta do is swap everything over and i think when you put the stanza struts in you reverse the sides they came from but its pretty obvious which one goes on which side when you go to put em on anyway. If you want a stiff front end too change over the oil in the stanza shockers to 20W-50 motor oil (ive done and it works a treat, no body roll) There is 250ml oil in these struts. I am quite happy with the brakes as theyll pull me up instantly without change to master and no booster used. As added bonus stanza struts installed like this give about 1 degree negative camber.
The stanza springs can be used in this install but would need to be cut down (legalities involved) and the holes where the strut mounts to the tower need to be bored and elongated out so you can use the stanza top plate, though these springs will be stiffer and its possible to lift the front of you car a little for more squat on launch.
There is two stanza struts one has a three bolt ball joint the other has a four bolt, you need the one with the four bolt, also there is notable diffrence between calipers, the four bolt has big girlocks, the three has small calipers similar to the 1200. (i think the change between struts occurs in 1980)
280ZX Struts & Brakes
1979-1982 280ZX (S130) front strut/brake conversion:
- 10" vented rotors
- solid, single-piston caliper
- shorter strut height
- will clear certain 13" wheels
- decrease in track allows wider wheels/tires
- Better than Z-car (S30) parts, because it has the correct camber angle. And can fit under some 13" wheels, while 240Z/260Z/280Z requires 14" wheels
See 280ZX Strut Swap
This is nearly a bolt-in, using A10 (stanza, H510) or B310 (sunny) lower control arms, steering arms, balljoints and outer tie rod ends.
TRD
TRD struts are often used on 1200s. See how-to pictorial on strut shortening: TRD Race Height Suspension Conversion Guide.
Less Popular Swaps
Z-car
car: 240Z/260Z/280Z (Nissan S30 chassis code)
This is not a good swap, because it adds positive camber:
Kingpin Inclination
- 240Z: 5° nominal
- B110: 8° nominal
Instead, do the 280ZX swap.
Data Points
- Add adustable camber strut tops to bring it back to 0 camber
- 240Z brakes on 1200 Strut. This involves welding, and fabricating new parts. See Datsun 1200 Competition Suspension Manual
- For stiffer spring rate, use 280ZX rear coil spring on Z-car strut on front of B110
610
(180B)
This is not a conversion for someone without a mig welder and a workshop. The springs are larger diameter in the 180B. They will NOT fit in the 1200 strut tower. You will have to remove the spring perches, and weld on stanza or 1200 ones. Stanza ones are better because the Stanza strut tube diameter is the same as 180B. You will also need to swap the top of the struts too, including the mount, 1200 springs and thrust bearing.
discussion: Installing 180b struts
NOTE: H-B210s use 610 parts (B210s with A14 engine)
810
(200B, Maxima)
http://datsun1200.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=593
200B Calipers
Shortened 810 Struts with 280z strut cartridge inserts, 300zx rotors with Toyota 4piston calipers
front crossmember is a stock 80 210 piece.810 Struts I belive are the same lenght as 210 but they have large spring perches and a different Caliper bolt pattern. They are also the same geometry and bolt to the same lower ball joint. Mine have been shortened to exept the 280z front shocks and the small 210 perches Have been welded on. Once you have done this they will bolt in using the 210 springs and upper bearings. At least a 79-82 210 I'm not sure about earlier models. The brake Calipers will the bolt on(89 toyota 4X4 Pickup). The rotors are 300zx turned down appx. 1/8" Mounted on 280zx Front hubs with a rotor spacer. The only problem with this setup is you must run a 1/4" wheel spacer so the 300zx wheels don't hit the struts. I'm currently looking for a sulution to this But until then the spacers work fine. It's really not as hard as it sounds. I enjoy answering your questions and am looking forward to more!!
Good Luck;
SunnyGX
910
(aka Maxima, Bluebird)
Nissan 910 is named "Maxima" or Bluebird. These struts fit the usual A10/B310 lower parts -- except you need a 5x3 mm ring (? diameter) to properly seat them. And use the Sunny strut tops.
Subaru
S13
(Silvia, 240SX, 180SX, 200SX)
Nice smaller vented rotors and beefy single-pot calipers, fits over 14" wheels (13"?). Adds ~30mm to the track.
S13 brakes on B210 disc-brake Struts
The Silvia S13, S14 centre bore is 68mm and the 1200 hub is 70mm at the disk seat. But the Silvia disk has a huge backspacing compared to the 1200 disk. Perhaps 2mm need to be machined off? custom adaptor plates for the caliper are also needed.
You need an adaptor plate for the the calipers.
You may need to swap the struts right-to-left and left-to-right to clear the steering arms. Also, mount the calipers INBOARD for better weight distribution.
'78 120y struts discs and calipers cos they're an aussie assembled PBR product.
i aslo swapped the struts left to right to clear the steering arms once i put silvia rotors and calipers in place. low1000
Optional: use Hilux 4-pot calipers, which only involve the elongation of one bolt hole with a round file and then bolt straight up over 180SX discs. These are similar to MK63 calipers but are cast iron instead of alloy.
Wise words from Bundy351 I am running 120y struts in my 1200 ute. On these struts I have a Kev Rowley Brake adaptor plate (about $100 for the pair) Rotors, calipers, calliper bolts (2 per caliper) and wheel studs from a 1989 nissan silvia. You also need the flexi brake hose (mine came off a 1995 corolla cause thats all I could find). Very simple conversion.
- MACHINE THE OUTER DIAMETER OF THE HUBS DOWN SO THE ROTOR WILL SLIDE OVER IT (150mm FROM MEMORY BUT I HAVE HAD ALLOT OF RUM SINCE I DID CONVERSION) PREFERABLY USE A LATHE BUT YOU CAN USE A GRINDER.
- KNOCK OUT 120Y STUDS AND BANG IN SILVIA ONES
- CUT A 10mm SLOT IN THE HOSE MOUNT ON THE STRUT TUBE (LITTLE METAL TAB THE BRAKE HOSE SITS IN)
- BOLT BRACKETS TO STRUTS
- SLIDE ROTORS ON
- BOLT CALIPERS ON WITH PADS
- CONNECT HOSES
- BLEED
- RE-FIT WHEELS
- TEST DRIVE
WHERE TO CUT THE 10mm SLOT
WHAT THE BRACKET LOOKS LIKE
FINISHED PRODUCT
Skyline R30, R31
Most likely, you would have to change the whole strut assembly, which will require B310 or A10 (Stanza) control arms, balljoints and such.
- Has the wrong spindle again, resulting in increased camber (positive camber, not good)
- The Skyline R31 strut does not exactly fit on a B310/A10 arm, so a small ring spacer needs to be machined up.
- Fits perfectly with 15x6.5 rims with a 38 mm offset
Suspension Principles
Important considerations:
- Bump Steer
- It literally causes the car to turn one directly or another when you go over bumps. Not so good, but in small amounts can be acceptable. Some factory car setups have a little bumpsteer, so it's OK but not ideal.
- To prevent bumpsteer, the bottom lower control arm needs to be the same length as the steering arm. This is because of the relationship of the arcs described by the lower control arm vs the steering arm. If the arm pivots are not concentric, you generate bump steer when there is vertical suspension movement.
- Moving the holes in the crossmember outwards may mean you end up with a steering arm longer than the suspension arm, resulting in bumpsteer that you cant fix with spacers.
- Instead, to gain more negative Camber, consider moving the top of the strut inwards to give yourself more camber. It doesnt give you as much increased track, but wont mess your bumpsteer around as much.
- For increased track width, consider using modified (longer) steering arms with your longer lower control arm.
- Road Racing: with the high spring rates and limited suspension travel involved, having a little bumpsteer is not as critical as on say a gravel or offroad racing car.
- Scrub Radius
- You can make small changes to scrub radius with positive results to steering behaviour, but like a lot of things a little can be good and a little bit more disastrous!
- For 0 scrub radius, the tyre contact patch centre should be at the same point on the road surface as the extended strut axis from upper pivot through ball joint to the road surface
Reference: Dropped my 1200 onto its new S13 front suspension
Unsprung Weight
Car performance is all a matter of balance. The harder it goes, the harder you need to be able to stop. This increased stopping power comes at a price, and that seems to be increased mass of the unsprung weight.
Road cars usually travel slower than race cars and ride quality is more important, so a lighter brake/suspension could be justified. It's all a matter of balance.
Other's don't mind a rougher ride as long as it corners better with less dive under braking and less body roll.
I remember talk about S13 calipers and rotors on a 120Y strut, which is some pretty serious braking power - well above that offered by a set of girlocks on the Stanza strut - meaning maybe it's possible to get a whole lot of braking power out of a 120Y strut....which would mean top brakes and lower unsprung weight!
Short-ratio Steering Arms
180B steering arms may be shorter than A10. B210 large-size are shorter than A10.
Grunterhunter stanza steering arms are longer (146mm) than the 120y ones (138mm) ...This will give a slower steering response ...Total strut length for both the stanza and 120y, from the surface of the strut hat(?) that bolts into the tower, to the bottom of the strut where the steering arm bolts on, is 660 mm. The stanza struts are longer in total, because the bearing goes up through the tower (like the 1200), whereas the 120y sit flush.
Also see discussion: Shorter steering arms (stanza alternative)
240sx struts in 280zx tubes
120Y Strut Swap
For the Australia market B210 (120Y), the bare strut is the same for the 1200 coupe & the 120Y [Australia built sedans from July '76 excepted] and so are the disc brakes. Springs too if i'm not mistaken, so these parts will provide you with a stock upgrade, but use the 1200's upper spring seat [the bit that bolts to the body] to avoid raising the front.
Counterpoint: Late model 120Y PBR brakes pull up hard!! For a CA18DET conversion 120Y or 1200 coupe struts & discs are legally sufficient and have great stopping capablities, just not repeatedly in a short period of time the 120Y Brakes have suprised us a couple of times as to how well they stop. Time to get this datto stopping and turning!
Datsun 1000
gary hamilton managed to squeeze RX7 4spots on his 1000 sport sedan which uses 13" wheels, but don't ask me how! http://datsun1200.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=1372
Brake Swap Notes
- A10 strut: corona hubs, magna rotors and 60series cruiser calipers, fit under 13" wheels with a 1mm grind 250mm rotors and 4pots under 13" rim
I managed to squeeze R32 280mm front rotors and sumitomo 4 spots on stanza struts -- custom caliper bracket mounts to std stanza caliper pick up points. I can still fit my 14 inch superlights over the them. benny
twin piston sumitomo calipers for sale, go straight onto stanza struts with the use of larger 200b or 240k discs...early 200b discs are 253mm, about 10-15mm bigger than stanza ones, but are offset to suit the twinspots everything is a straight bolt in
9592.jpg PIGDOG
boofheads with slotted 240k discs
9585.jpg
With an adapter plate you can use Silvia calipers and rotors on a 120Y strut. The Kev Rowley special.
'universal' type coilovers for a Civic donated the springs
mid corner - turn 1
run 14s over R32 rotors and calipers. R32's are on stanza struts and calipers are the "sumitomo 4-pots".
used C22 vanette hubs [have different offset, but use the same bearings] with the R32 rotors [ 280mm dia] had to make up braket for caliper as the center to centre spacing on the strut is 90mm and the caliper is 100mm. position of caliper to rotor relationship is spot on.....
Landcruiser 4 spot conversion on a c210 skyline strut and i dont think 13's will fit over the caliper. I am running FWD 14's for the offset aswell.
200b and stanza are solid discs.
feral's vented package using modified 240K twin spot calipers. http://www.datrats.com.au/BRAKES.html
on a stanza strut, vented 200b rotors (were they available vented?) with hilux/landcruiser 4-spots machined slightly to centre them over the rotor.
sunny struts, swapped left to right with Mistubishi Verada vented rotors and commodore calipers. I've also heard of rx7 4-spot calipers being used. All this fits under 13" rims.
sunny struts ,magna discs, girlock calipers...
CA18DET Wagon is go
i took an r31 strut, and cut the spring perch off (the diameter of the spring is far too big to fit up the 1200 strut tower) and while i was at it chopped out about 2 inches from the actual length of the strut to accommodate some koni yellow shocks which i picked up cheap and had rebuilt (which is also cheap to have done). so the front end stiffness is adjustable with a little knob. because i had them rebuilt, i asked for the soft setting to have a hard rebound for goodweight transfer when i go to the drags. the springs are just some pedders lowered made for a stanza which i modified. it is just running the standard r31 vented disk and caliper. both of which are huge for a 1200.
you can also equalise the track by fitting a BW KE30 corolla diff, which is 30mm wider than the 1200 diff. then you have a car with 30mm wider track - back AND front - for better handling again! get the handbrake handle and cable too if you do this.
front brake upgrade 1200 ute
i used a sunny strut leg unbolted the disc off the hub and bolted a cc lancer vented disc to that and then a used a 4pot caliper off a 80mod volvo witch bolts strait onto the sunny strut leg
- 120Y struts
- B310 (sunny) hubs, outer edge turned down to 140mm