Hi all,
I'm after a list of what is actually needed for a CA18DET into a 1200 Ute and before you say silly newbie use the search button I have been for quite a while but haven't made many post. I have a fair idea of what I will need but I thought some of you guys with experience could help me out. Also was thinking that this could be put into tech section to help people out and stop them asking the same question over and over again.
Thanx Everyone,
Philip

Hi there one4datto,
i was just about to post the same thing so now we can both have the same idea of what is needed!

Probably not a bad call, It's about time someone put their CA converted car into the featured cars section.

Dattodude????

hey, there's a website you could check out
Shoey's
Its a first class conversion, but there are a lot of things Dattodude has done that you dont need to do for a basic conversion.

I have done it 3 times.. Different ways each time.
I was thinking of writing a HOW-TO, but there are too many knockers (not the good kind) that like to sit back and pick at things because they are too lazy to do it themselves or too pov to pay someone. To do it properly simply requires access to tools/machines that 99% of the country doesn't have in their garage.

Let me start by saying ..it's not a bolt in. It's not an A14 or A15 transplant. It's not a Buick v6 transplant, its not an L16 or L18 transplant.

The hardest part of the CA18det transplant is debugging an advanced EFI/Electronic ignition with "carby and points" style tools in your garage. But to be truthful. There are less than 10 wires you need to interface with the 1200 loom. If the rest of the loom is in good shape, then it should be fine.

Unless you've wired a CA18 or SR0 or KA24 from scratch, don't undertake to buy a bare engine and then try to find looms etc. You will definitely fail. Budget for a front cut.

Putting a CA18 in a 1200 requires several skills, the most important ones are patience, motivation, and ability to think for youself.

Major changes are required for:

1. brakes
2. new diff
3. clutch conversion to hydraulic
4. new fuel system
5. new exhaust sytem
6. wiring
7. modified transmission tunnel
8. custom tailshaft
9. New radiator and body work to accomodate
10. Intercooler fitment (worst jigsaw puzzle you'll ever do).

Then you fit the engine.
Then you wire it up.
Then you get a blue slip and engineers cert ~$500.
Then you pay for your insurance ~$1000/yr more than you are paying now.
Then you decide the 30 year old paint is not befitting of your self-created technological marvel and spend dollars on that.
Then you decide the engine doesn't have enough power, because it's not lifting the front wheels on street tyres.

It's a slippery slope, is what I'm getting at.

A conversion is more than one step. Doing your brakes will inevitably mean doing your diff, which means you need to do the tailsaft, which means you need to have the engine in the car already. A conversion is a long series of depandancies, that can be done once with large downtime and lower cost, or done quickly in stepwise ways and cost more.

Hope you enjoy your visit into my Shoeys gallery. It is a representation of the last 6 years of my life.

Recommended shopping list.

- Stanza lower arms and ball joints Get outer tierod ends and tierods while you are at it.
- Buy some of Maddats coilover struts for the front. That'll also give you enough brakes. Also give you some much needed castor..
- Buy the Maddat fitting kit for engine and gearbox crossmember.
- Buy a the Maddat brake/clutch combo. Easiest solution. Otherwise use a AE86 clutch master, and fit a shorter clevis and shaft. Could also use a LA/LB Lancer booster.
- Radiators, you can use N13 (Recommend Import Langley N13 with filler on drivers side, needs FWD EXA CA18 thermastat cover) Could also use the S13 radiator, but it's a bit uglier
- I recommend the S13 gearbox, especially if low KMs. Otherwise you can use a CA20 gearbox or a R30 stumpy with an S13 bellhousing or CA20 bellhousing)
- Recommend getting an R31 Silloutte Skyline diff cut down. Get the 3.9 LSD. It is 28 spline and has disc rear and 4 stud.
- Go 3 inch mandrel exhaust, Easy on Ute.
- Get a <$300 Ebay Intercooler
- Get a smaller Rollerbearing GT turbo. ~$1500. Bigger is just laggier while you are still running factory ECU.
- Go a walbro or bosch pump. Try to fit it "in-tank" to keep the noise down, and also keep the pumps cool in summer. I've broken down too many times while running an external EFI pump due to overheating in summer. This can be overcome by running a switch and a 1200 ignition coil ballast resistor in line. When the pump get's noisy, flick the switch and the pump doesn't work as hard and cools down.
- Get a HD clutch daikin/exedy, anything else is a waste of money or poor quality.

So that's about $5000-7000 spent, without buying the frontcut.

But believe me from experience it is well spent.

You want to run smaller brakes, you will crash.
You want to run smaller diff, it will break, and the towtruck bills get boring very quickly.
You don't want to wire it yourself? When it breaks down on a rainy day, see last comment.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Chris

Thay was AWSOME dattodude, you must be almost sick of writing up these lists but they are an excellent guide for people who need somewhere to start. As with every conversion, mine is different. I am going NATURALLY ASPIRATED. One thing I am keen on is your 4 coil set up, looks nice, will definatly out last the standard coil packs and is much cheaper (I HOPE) than the after market "splitfire" brand setup. Any tips on how to do it and whats needed.

wow that pretty much sums it up...
i do feel the need to nit pick though...

dattodude i think with a year or so of daily ca18det driving u will find this out...
daikin/exedy hd clutches will certainly die with a decent powered ca/sr..
in my ca i destroyed 2 hd exedy clutch pressure plates..
and 1 daikin in the sr which broke in about 6 pieces... both of them slipped like crazy and Yes every single time i was either doing a burnout or droppin the clutch at high rpm on the strip...

but after getting sick of replacing clutches @$600 each plus time i got a setup made by jim berry @" raceclutch ".. it was unbelievable....

it was a solid centre 4 puck plate with a modified STANDARD NISSAN pressure plate... lets just say if u dump high revs in 3rd @ 60k's it would peel the tyres as long as u had the balls to do so...

i did numerous burnouts and not once did it slip.... i actually blew my 28spline borgy while trying to break it.. (jim told me if it slipped he would make me a new one)..
i never did need a new one...

buy a Jim Berry clutch first and u won't waste a grand (like i did) finding out which brands are decent..

nit picking is ok Thanks for the clutch tips!

It's the 'knockers' I've got a problem with
I might be giving him a call when I invest in a lighter flywheel

some links in the tech section to here, or even a new section with 'what you need for a CA conversion'

killer

then hopefully we can move on to more specific details of these conversions. Get the info out there- the more hot dattos around the better I reckon

I hope I'm not stepping on anyones toes by doing this, but I've put all the info in this thread, and a bit extra onto my website.

This way next time we can just send people here instead of re-typing everything again

I hope you people approve.