hi guys....im putting a CAA18 turbo and 5speed box in to my 1200 ute...as im from the rotary club i havnt much experiance with piston conversions....

do i buy a cross member that is modded to take a ca18 or mod my original one...

what gear box cross member do i use or do i make my own

what diff does everyone think is the best for this aplication

can this conversion be done by a backyard mechanic(me)....

thanks in advance
cheers scotty

You can mod your own Xmember or to save time talk to CA18DET_Man (Andrew Denniss) He does up crossmembers to fit CA18's into 1200's.

You can easily make up a gearbox crossmember with some Angle steel,

the ute diff can handle a CA18DET as long as it's not too heavily modded. Also as long as you don't go doin burnouts all the time as well.

This conversion can be done by a backyard mechanic (you)

I did all mine bar the Xmember thanks to andrew denniss. I've just finished reconditioning my CA18.

good luck with the conversion!!!

Damo

hi there, i have compleated a ca18det conversion and if i was to do one again i would modify the origional crossmember,
the gearbox cross member i made my own out of a bit of rhs but i used very thick walled stuff.
i am usuing the standard ute diff but i have welded it up, it has copped a punishment but has never shown any signs of exploding yet.
i am a qualified mechanic, but there is nothing that difficult about the conversion
the areas that slowed me down were the clutch master cly, the wireing and the trans tunnel,
my next one i will send it away to get wired up, as i used an after market computer andit had to be tuned any way.
All in all it proved to be a reliable conversion which was very cheep to run and was great fun to drive. knocked the socks of a few of my V8 driving mates

do i have to modifie my trans tunnel

Is your 1200 an auto or manual?

Depending on which it is, the auto tunnel is bigger than the manual tunnel, and as such, the auto doesn't need to be modified much, if at all, but the manual will need to be.

i had a 240k box with a ca20 belhousing behind the ca18det in my 1200 with a manual tunnel and it does fit but is impossible to get the starter off with out dropping the engine crossmemer down, lot of headaches and no room around anything. Was simpler to just put an auto tunnel in.
My new ca ute has a HQ holden tunnel in it, heaps of room round that

Can some please explain how to do the tunnel modification do have to modify where the tunnel meets the firewall if so how is this done.
I understand the tunnel needs a larger diameter but what about the firewall.
Cheers luke

yes please can someone help here...what is needed to modifie the tunnel...how is it done....do you just weld another in or what...and does the fire wall side of this have to be moded....

cheers scotty

Hi guys ive just finished fitting my engine and modified my tunnel to fit the ca18 five speed.All in all its not to bad and only took me a day to do as long as you have acsess to a mig welder and basic tools.Her is a set of instuctions that I used

1.Reove the original gearbox mounts from inside the tunnel.I drilled out the spot welds then used a air chise to get them out.

2.From the rearmost point of the original gearstick hole measure back 200mm.From this point cut horizontally across the tunnel.Then cut down the sides until you reach the little steps in the tunnel.

3.Place the garbox on a jack and fit it into the tunnel this shold push up through the cot you have allready made

Then all you need to do is trim off the excess metal and make a box to go over the hole with 1mm sheet and weld it in.You will also need to cut a new 90mm gearstick hole

hope this helps

i actually found an auto trans tunnel and cut the whole thing out then just cut my manual tunnel out and tig welded the auto tunnel in