Yeah i have looked in to it as well, but the rta sed not a chance......the most you can do is 2L or 2.2L....

A mechanic i know said he had a datsun 1200 coupe with a V6 - it did 7 sec quarters! mind you that was a worked engine. He drove it on the street untill the cops found out...

The older GM V6 3.8 is a Buick V6 design -- and weren't first versions (1961) all alloy? iirc the winning BRM V8s were based off this V6 design.

It would make a Datsun 1200 accelerate very quickly. My sister's car has the 1991 3.1(?) version of this engine and it pulls like a freight train. The newer EFI ones are very nice engines, even if quite heavy.

The early 60's engines you refer to were in fact all alloy & started life as a V8. A V6 was derived from it & both engine designs were sold off when Americans didn't buy a lot of them.
The Brit's got the V8 & have been using it with great success in Rover models ever since.

I thought that American Motors got the V6 but know nothing of it after that.

The V6 that was used in the first generation of V6 Commodores in the mid/later 80's was a somewhat unpleasant cast iron cast-off from the Buick plant with its oddfire crank & it's attendant vibration at lower speeds. From memory there were plenty of oil leak issues too that seem to have never been fully resolved.

They were eventually improved with an evenfire crank & they seem to 'go' OK, but are not really a 'first choice' when it comes to transplants, particularly in small, light cars with the engine planted firmly over the front axle.

Yes it is the same engine. GM sold it to Jeep, American purchased Jeep, American goes bankrupt. GM buys back the V6 design.

Certainly not a "first choice" engine for a 1200, but if you get it at a bargain price it makes a good drag racing engine. In the early 80s there were several Indy 500 bids by the Buick V6, then later came the famous GN turbo engines. It was on the Ward's 10 Best Engines of the 20th Century list. Oh and it weighs 16kg more than the V8.

more details: wikipedia

don't be put offby nagative talk about the buick V6....my little 1200ute flies.series 1 vn 3.8,5speed,4.10locker....man it is awesome!

bloody awful engines an insult to austrlaia that engine is...

new nickname for dodgeman ..."booka"... book of knowlege, a very handyman to have around

All v6s are heavy even in alloy. The lightest one commercially and commonly available would have to be the Suzuki v6 from the Vitara. Followed by the Mazda version of the suzuki v6 with mazda heads and then the vq25/30.
I would never buy a vq30 for 3kAUD when the Maxima carrying that engine is available in some normal wreckers.

If the buick v6 block came in pressure die cast alloy Id recommend it but the cheapest alloy (sand cast version) is about 3k just for the block.

Another overlooked v6 is the Alfa all alloy v6 (sand cast but lighter than buick) which sounds like a ferrari. Found cheaply on many late 80s Alfas.

A fella out here in Roma has just completed a V6 + 5spd ex VRII into a Gemini and if I was to use this as a comparison I would be recomending you stick to a 4cyl in the Datto. It was very unruley at the bottom I had a time of it just trying to keep it from lighting up on take off. Up top, very quick but wheight is a defineite issue. Handled like go-kart with an elephant sitting on the front. Wouldn't corner with any grace what so ever and loose as hell in the rear. The POB and COG where all over the place. In my opinion this sort of conversion, though realy extreme fun should be left to 1/4mile straight line driving. Not really an option for street use. But that is just my opinion Good luck with it though