Hey,
Im looking for a datsun ute at the moment (stock) butplan on doing an engine coversion soon enough. I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on good engine coversions for a datsun 1200 ute.
i know a ca18det or sr20det just wondering what other optiong and how much i would be looking atfor getting it done. Id be having it done at a shop as i cant do it myself

Welcome to the club

To some degree, the cost will depend on where you are, who is capable & experienced in this sort of work in your area, & of course, the size of your wallet.[edit] or purse

Hot A series Datsuns & CA18DE[T] engines seem to be very popular with SR & FJ engines being fairly uncommon. The Mazda rotor-motor has a small but vocal following, but in the end, you need to make sure that you don't have Champagne tastes, but only a beer budget.
It won't be cheap if you have the whole thing done by a competent professional.

If you fill in a basic location in your profile, you may find some local help & advice.

HEy,
Im from Sydney Australia and im a 18 yr old girl so obviously i cant do the work myself.
im not a fan of rotars so thats out of the question and im pretty sure i have a mechanic that will do the conversion mates rates. i am looking at a 1200 this weekend with a L18 conversion my understanding is that this is not much better than the stock engine.
My brother had a carwith an fj20 in it and i never realised it could be a conversion for the datsun 1200 anyone have idea on cost of parts for a fj20 everything i would need for the car to go?

wait... a real girl?



A think an L18 in a 1200 ute would go pretty well.
Or if an L18 is already in it. then you could put a souped up L20 in it very easily.
Or the whole CA18, SR20, FJ20 thing if you are getting someone to do it for you for cheap...

Still depends on how much you wanna spend though.

Yes a real girl!!!
Umm well im looking at spending up to 7,8 on the actually car and i just wanted to get prices on engine conversions then work out my budget for it?? 2 or 3 would be an ideal price leave me enough money for paint!

.Quote:
Don't automaticly disregard the L18 either as there are members here who will quite rightly sing their praises long & loud. From a cost perspective, they certainly have a lot to offer, particularly if the car you get already has one installed.

Give it a day or so & i am sure that you will get a number of helpfull replies from Sydney based members.
Good luck

Ok well anyone from syndey or anywhere who would like to offer advice and tips (and please do as i dun have much of an idea of what m doing) please add me to msn beatz_05@hotmail.com Hopefully if everything goes well with the ute im looking at this weekend i might have some pictures of my new car up very soon!!!

Ok back up , being a girl makes you no more or less qaulified.....get yourself to a local Community College Autoshop class , doesn't mean you will do the work just means you know what goes into it. Mechanics is not rocket science it is pretty straight forward. 1200's are small and components light which at 135llbs I appreciate.
OR get yourself some books and start reading , you will be a lot happier with your decision if you yourself are informed.
I'm not sure I'm clear on what is in the car but if it is L series engine some basic tuning should make it go or bumping up to the L20 and then some mods should really make it go. At that point like most racers I'd advise you get yourself to a track day as a 1500lb car with 175 HP will be fast.

Have Fun , Tom

Hey,
Well actually i alreday have completed a pre apprenticeship mechanics course but thanks for the advise:) I might go see if their is any datsun books at my local tafe.
The car i am looking at this week has a rebuilt L18 engine in it, my brother says i should go with a stock engine that hasnt been worked on.. But were goingto look any way as its only $5000.

The CA18DET conversion is the easiest of the FJ/SR/CA options and can be engineered quite easily (providing you do the brakes, suspension etc).

If your really keen a good mate of mine has completed an SR20DET conversion that is fully engineered and registered in the ACT.

As for the 2-3K for the conversion, unfortunately that won't get close. Hell I even spent 3K on the diff alone! Even if you get the engine for nothing you still need to upgrade the brakes, suspension, cooling system, custom tailshaft, diff, gearbox, all the fabrication, engineers certificate etc etc.

If you need some further info on the SR or CA conversion feel free to ask...