Howdy all, been looking around for acouple of answers and havent relly been able to find what im after hope some of you fellas can help me out :)

i am interested in the ca18det->120y conversion was wondering about modifications that will need to be made to the chassis. will a 4 door sedan 120y need to be seam wealded?

should i go the 4 door sedan? i have been informed that the 4door is lighter then the 2 door coupe.. then again it will all depend on what i find, i dont expect to pay more than 500 for a rolling/registerd starting point, with the entire project forcast to cost $5k

il be looking at getting a 120y thats allready onthe road as i plan on doing as many mods as possible with the standard motor still in place. I plan to be driving it daily, ie brake upgrades, steering, suspension.
on that note, it brings me to my next question, is it feasable to have a IRS setup in the 120y?.. possibley off a 1600 or other older datsun or just keep the leafs ?
should i forget trying to make it handle well ?
also is there any known conversion kits for the 120y's like there is for the 1600->sr20
i have searched various other sites but came up with very little on the 120y -> ca18

any and all input is welcome
p.s , big first post eh ? :)

thanks guys.. and girls ?



-120WHY

Hope I can help a little.
Ca18DET Which Body.. I'd use the 2 door 210 sedan. It's lighter, and will allow you to flare the rear guards if required. The Coupe has the heavy rear window etc, I expect it would be heavier, you'll need to look at online 120Y resources.
No Body strengthening required, unless you have unlimited budget.It's mostly a 'nice to have' requirement.

Suspension, do the springs/shocks after the engine install, the stock stuff will do for initial installation and registration.

Brakes, upgrade them before doing engine. See the posts here or various other 1200 resources. You could use the 120Y booster.

Wiring and Engine install will take a couple of weeks. (You'll need to take holidays)

There are no install kits that I know of. You'll need a mig welder to make your own.

The Radiator will need replacing.

Never heard of anyone doing an IRS install on a 120Y. It changes the weight distribution, and wouldn't be done cheap (to be street legal). Would handle a little strange due to weight distribution, I would think. The CA18 is not that much heavier than the A12.

If you want to finish the project in any decent timeframe, keep it really simple. Don't create more work than is necessary, or you might lose interest. This is why my 1200/ca18det build has taken more than a year (so far), I'm trying to make it perfect, and I've spent 1000s of hours on it so far, and the untrained eye would think I've done very little.

Chris

dont know much myself but site i came accross called "datsun 1200 modifications" has a short thing on ca18 into 1200's which might help a little but it also has a few links and email addresses to people who have done it. i copied this from the address window (might help if you cant find page) "http://members.iinet.net.au/~mpot/DatsunMods/index.html", good luck id love to do a similar conversion for a road car for myself

ca18det seems very popular for 1200's ,its a wonder there isnt a conversion kit like the ones for datto 1600 etc. if any one knows of one (even cross-members) for such a conversion id be interested

Datsun's aren't so different, I use L18 + 4spd with crossmember and struts from Datsun 160J model 710 in my 2dr 120Y, everything bolted right in execpt gearbox crossmember which I take from -81 B310 Sunny. And 1600 and model 710 160J are almost identical at those parts, only difference is that some 160J and 180B models have longer gearbox which don't fit straight to 120Y without modifications.

I think that 1600's CA18 kit fit in 120Y too, only that gearbox crossmember probably don't fit.

I also check if 180B IRS would fit in 120Y but that requires quite a lot to do, almost hole rear-end needs redoing.

Also with 160J or 180B front crossmember and structs 120Y is much more neutral even with L18 as tyres come about two inches more out and get some negative camber.

I also use in that 120Y 160J's rear axle and leaf spings which use needs custom made bolts as they are much bigger than 120Y's originals and A10 Violet(some places known as Stanza) propeller shaft which also bolts right in, even that centre bearings holes are just right.

My Dad can do crossmembers, he's got a 'jig' for making them for 1200's using Datsun 1600 Engine Mounts. I have photos of my completed one somewhere.

Email him at robert@shoeys.com if you're interested. He works out of Castle Hill (Sydney). He's not good at charging people a lot of money, so he's a good fella to see.

Chris

i did a little talking to my brother in law and he said he thinks "SSS Automotive" do a conversion kit for CA18 into 1200 so i went to there site www.sssautomotive.com.au and found prices for motors (AUD$1200 for ca18det) but no other info on site so you maybe could hassle their email address to find out more from them.

well thanks for all the input fellas keep it up!!:),

the replys have sparked a few more q's..
like the difference between 1200's and 120y's running gear??..

also canned the idea of IRS, itl be to much mucking around me thinks

also brakes.. il definatly want excellent brakes, saftey is of paramount concern to
me.. some fat 4wheel discs sound cool but how do 120y's go with keeping the rears as drums and just upgrading the fronts, also the ca18det will most likly be a front cut and therfore have a newr model, s13 probably, break system with it. how well, if at all, do these things go onto 120y's

1200rallycar: thanks for the url, iv seen the site before but couldnt find it again :)
dattodude: im going to email your father after this post.

thanks fellas

-120why

[EDIT] thanks for the 2nd url 1200rallycar, i saw it just after i posted this for the 1st time :)

<small>[ Edited by 120WHY on 2002/4/16 23:29:26 ]</small>

There is a conversion kit for the 1200 i know of a guy in north sydney who makes them the whole conversion kit for a 1200/ca18det conversion and possibly a 1200/sr20 conversion for $350 his email is inj_18l@hotmail.com his name is paul im sure he'd be able to help anyone with problems regarding the 1200/ca18 engine installation, if he asks who u heard it off say mic told u

there are some diffrences between front suspnsion on a 1200 and 120y. im not sure how major but i know because i got a 120y swaybar for my car as its 2 or 3mm thicker but also when changing my struts to stanza struts i had to use 120y castor rods (thats just what i was told to do and i didnt ask questions) as they were diffrent to 1200 and fitted on the stanza strut. this i know is unclear but it makes me think there are some diffrences so maybe the same rules dont apply to both cars as far as modifying suspension and stuff.