A Silvia front cut was obtained from Top Gun imports for a mere $1800. It had been in a serious front-end slam, but Top Gun offered to replace any non-usable parts for nix. The CA18DET might be seen as the poor cousin of the SR20DET, but the 'small block' has many fans in Nissan/Datsun circles. It makes good low-end power fits nicely into smaller engine bays and has heaps of potential. What's more, they are a lot cheaper to buy!

CONVERTING HEATHENS

The actual conversion process was not too taxing. The car had been previously fitted with a 1200 automatic transmission tunnel necessary to suite the rare Jap-spec SSS Stanza five-speed that had backed up the A14. This box was dumped in favour of an R30 Skyline five-speed, the advantage being that the shifter aligns with the existing opening in the floor pan. However, the Skyline box sprung a leak and was replaced with a Silvia five-speed, which now appears to be the better choice. While a new hole had to be cut for the shifter, the Silvia box has better-spaced ratios, improved teeth angles and cast-iron selectors. After shortening the tailshaft and relocating the handbrake, it slotted in fine. The clutch and pressure plate were modified by Jim Berry with double clamping pressure.

Instead of fabricating new engine mounts, the CA18 mounts were reatained as they are quite complex little items. Instead, the existing uprights were removed from the crossmember and new uprights fabricated to suit the CA18 mounts. The sump that came with the car had been smashed by the stablizer bar, and was replaced by Top Gun, as was the radiator. Utilising the original Silvia upper radiator mounts contributes to the factory appearance of the swap and because the outlets remain in the standard factory position, all Kev had to do was find some suitable hoses. Armed with a coat hanger wire that he had formed into the required shape, Kev headed down to his local parts shop in Ipswich and, after much searching, found that a pairing of early Bluebird and Mercedes 300SL hoses worked a treat. A Davies Craig V8 thermofan keeps the beast cool.

Kev approached SL Race Fabrications to build him a custom intercooler, with the instructions: "Make the biggest thing that will fit". They came up with a 660x3000x75mm tube and fin item. Basically it's huge! Kev plumbed up the cooler using 50mm mandrel-bent tube and joined with the trusty MIG. The battery meanwhile, was relocated to the rear of the car to tidy up the engine bay and improve weight distribution.

that the braking and suspension needed a thorough upgrade to cope with the new motor. Having already chosen Scorpion struts led him to fit matching Scorpion four-wheel discs. Utilising all braking components from a single source is one way to keep the engineer very happy, but in this case a Datsun 240Z master cylinder was used. Like the Scorpion item, it has a 22m bore, but has more conveniently positionoed outlets and a neater alloy housing.

Fulcrum Suspensions from Brisbane were given the job of working over the prehistoric Datto suspension. Modified RX7 Koni shocks are fitted front and rear, with 200lb front springs and 110lb rears with reversed eyes for a lower ride. The control arm pivot points were re-drilled to dial in some negative camber. Polyurethane bushes were used at the sharp end, with new rubber items at the back. Kev himself fabricated the strut brace to tighten up the whole shebang. Classic Superlite rims, measuring 15x6-inch and 15x7-inch set off the car beautifully, shod with Yokohama rubber.

Kev intends for the car to have a racing career, and so fitted it out with a competition-style interior that would also be acceptible to the authorities, AE91 Corolla seats are a sporty and cost-effective choice that only needed some brackets to fit to the existing runners. The door panels and kick panels were fitted with aluminium sheeting, along with a four-point aluminium roll cage, polished and padded. Four-point, 3-inch Simpson harnesses hold Kev and co-pilot firmly in place, with retractable seat belts for street duties. All excess interior bracketing and soundproofing has been dumped in the search for low weight. Completing the picture is a 14-inch SAAS wheel.

INSPECTION TIME

Having consulted with the engineer prior to building the car, Kev had already fitted all the necessary mods needed for approval, such as the filler neck restriction for unleaded petrol. The car passed its emissions test without a problem. "Finding a good approval officer is essential, but if you mount things as close as possible to standard, you will have far fewer problems." In other words, the front crossmember, the rear springs hangers, struts and fuel tank are located in the factory positions. This thoughtful approach can be seen with the fuel system. Intead of an externally mounted fuel pump and surge tank, these items were fitted inside the custom alloy tank. This reduces the chance of anything going awry.

During approval testing, the car's new braking abilities were displayed when the car came to a halt from 100km/h in 3.2 seconds and 30m without locking up, pulling an eyeballing 1G in the process. The engineer had never witnessed anything like it before.

Kev reckons the car is a paragon of reliability. Raising the boost to 15psi has decreased the fuel economy around town, but as he says, "if you want V8 power, you have to expect V8 fuel economy." The car can be driven sedately as your average mum's taxi, but when Kev smacks 3000rpm in second, hang on! The exhaust is nice and subdued too, especially when compared to the intake noise...

The Datto made its maiden quarter-mile runs at the 2000 Four and Rotary Jamboree, running a swift 13.6-second ET at 102mph, which is not bad considering it was Kev's drag-racing debut! Since then, some fuelling problems have been overcome and the mapping refined, making the car perceptively faster. With some more driving practice, and a lower final drive, the 1200 is sure to cut quicker times. The standard turbo is holding the car back though, and a T28 item from the 200SX is the logical progression.

Using as many parts as possible from the Silva front cut makes good engineering and fiscal sense. Kev reckons that the conversion cost him a mere $4000, including labour. More dollars were saved by selling off unnecessary Datsun components, exhaustive parts hunting and doing lots of work at home. Living next door to engineer Gary Baley and having access to his MIG, lathe and milling maching didn't hurt either. Tidy work indeed!