I went to a junkyard the other day and found a junked 1985 300ZX Turbo. After looking at the little V-6 and imagining a little, I figured it would be an easy fit. Suppose I bought myself a
1200 coupe, with an automatic (wider tranny tunnel), stripped it out and bought a junked 300ZXT. How hard would it be to transplant the necessary parts and get it running? Has anyone in the
club done this before? What all is involved? Of course I would have to do many other mods as well (transmission and rearend) that I'd think are well worth it. But I'm wondering if it would
interfere with the suspension, or if I'd have to cut up the floor to fit anything and what kind of computer stuff I'd have to do. I'm in school right now, but after I graduate in a year and a
half, I'll be making enough money to do something like this. I was helping a friend look for a car this weekend and I realized how much nicer it would be to have loads of torque and still get
decent gas mileage and reliability. An A-15 can only go so far before reliability begins to be sacrificed and by then spending is pretty high, and a 4 cylinder will only have so much torque.
This is why a newer fuel injected V-6 (Turbo or Naturally Aspirated) makes so much more sense to me. I'm sure just a stock VG30 would get my 1200 to do 13-14's at the strip. There's an
article on datsuns.com about installing a VG30 into a 1200 ute, but the article is incomplete. It says that the engine bolts right in with barely any mods. Any help would be greatly
appreciated, and if I went through with this I would keep the 1200 club closely posted. See ya later!

hi
I'm sure it would be possible to install a v6 into a 1200 coupe if you want it badly enough!
You may need to use a different gearbox as even an automatic transmission tunnel is small.
Another concern is the registration requirements which i know in Australia, but not in the US. You could not get a V6 1200 road registered in Australia! If you just want to
race it, it's a different story...
Justin

I've got a pic of a 1200 with a V6 in it. Dont know if its a VG or not. V6 1200 over here in OZ would be immpossible. Anyone
wanna see the pic??

Davo

Dave, send me a pic of the V-6 1200 (errrnstak@hotmail.com), I'm trying to get as many ideas as possible. I'm pretty sure I'd have to cut up the tranny tunnel to fit the 300ZX 5 speed.
I guess the problem with putting the VG30 in the 510's has been the exhaust on the left side, and that's the side the Turbo is on. Hopefully it won't be a problem in the 1200. Thanks,
see ya later

You probably know of this site- it has a 510 V6 conversion
http://dimequarterly.tierranet.com/

Try a turbo 4 cyl.
SR20DET EFI twin spark plug turbo 2.0l from 200SX goes nice and has been done before.

Australian road laws limit the engine size changes according to the weight of the
car.
3.0l in 700kg is just not allowed.
But a 2.0l 4 cyl is.
Not sure if turbo alters the equation but even without turbo a SR20DE is a nice
engine.
(I have an A15 bored to 1600 in race tune but it was a pig on the road and has since
been delicensed).

- Wayne S.

The other option besides a V6 or turbo conversion would be the a rotary (+ or - turbo). Problem with noise though...and petrol consumption, and for high HP..need to be build properly. Bt
they are extremley light with torque of a six and Very good potentional for high HP...if build correctly!! Plus you can mount futher back towards the firewall to get a better sense center
of gravity.

On another note, I am trying to find out if I can convert to 4WD...combined with rotary turbo and traction control...what a monster..at a cost though..not very street friendly..or V8
friendly..HAHAHa

Here in the US, I could put any size engine I like in the Datsun 1200. The only problem is that supposedly all the pollution/smog/emissions equipment has to stay on the engine. Where I live I
do not have to have it emissions tested anymore, so there's no way for them to know what kind of engine I have in my car. The funny thing is when you do go to get emissions tested, they don't
look under the hood, they just stick a sensor in your exhaust pipe and if you pass you're good to go.

The turbo V-6 has 200 hp stock, and lots of torque to go with it. A little intercooler, headers and decent exhaust, K&N air filter, and computer upgrade would add some serious horsepower
upwards of 300hp easy. I've seen too many rotary Datsuns and turbo 4's here in the States. The only 300ZXT powered 1200 I've seen is on the Net and it was a Ute. From what I've seen, the
VG30ET mounts pretty far back and looks like it fits in easily. God I can only dream how fun my car would be like with that much power.

BTW - I was looking at trying to fit a Toyota truck (88-92?) LSD rearend in the 1200 in the future. They're live axles with leaf springs just like the 1200, and I've seen them brand new for
$400-500. They make disc brake conversions for those too. If I knew what a Mitsubishi Scorpion looked like, I could tell ya if we have them here in the US, I think they might be the
equivalent of the turbocharged Mitsubishi Starion/Dodge Conquest TSI???? Well anyways, happy belated birthday 1200 Club!

-Andy

Oh yeah, the main reason I'd go with a VG30 instead of a 4 cyl. is because of availability of parts. The CA18DET, SR20DET were not available in any US market cars. They can be bought through
engine importing businesses, but they're very expensive. The SR20DE engine is VERY popular here in the Sentra and 200SX SE-R's, which are front wheel drive. I don't know how I'd find a RWD
tranny to fit one of those. The CA18ET (1.8L Single Overhead Cam Turbo) was available here, but I don't think it's a very strong runner compared to a VG30ET.

The street friendly torque in the V6 would be enough to beat anyone around here between traffic lights, ESPECIALLY all these stupid riceboys in their VTEC Hondas. I drove a new Honda Accord EX
2 door with the VTEC engine and 5 speed...talk about a DOG! This along with the Integra GSR, Civic, and CRX are the cars that everybody and their brother wants to hop up and they think they
are actually fast. They have absolutely no low-end torque at all, but for some reason people are paying upwards of $10,000 for the car and then spending another $5,000 or more just to get it
to run 14 second quarter miles. This is why I have vowed to power up my 1200 with an unbeatable, dependable powerplant. I may spend up to $5,000 on it, but it would still a lot be cheaper than
any new car, and unique. Well sorry for running on so long, see ya!

-Andy

Here in Australia we try to stop crazy people sticking huge engines into small cars and retaining the original
brakes.
Only a few people can do it well.
the majority just make big dents in the roadside and fill up cemetaries.
For the few who do it well, the police are usually accomodating.
But it must be done well.
Regardless, a light car liek the 1200 simply doesn't like haeavy engines because the weight upsets handling.
A 4cyl 2litre plus turbo is just right and keeps the car nicely balanced while giving plenty of fun.
This is one reason why I sold my 5litre 1975 Falcon coupe. It had plenty of power but it didn't really like
corners.

Axles:
A 1200 ute rear axle housing can be fitted with 200SX (Australian/Japan model number, I think US calls it
240SX) internals.
The 200SX has currently available LSD.
This is what I have.
No slip at all with my 140HP A series engine.

- Wayne S.