Hello all, new to this site so still getting the hang of it... I wish to convert my datto 1200 from
An A12 4 speed to L20 5 speed.. I found an engine i now just need a 5 speed to
Suit.. Does anyone know what 5 speed and crossmember I can put behind it without cutting the tranny tunnel? Hydraulic clutch conversion is not an issue. Also what engine cross member, struts etc
Would be needed? I wish to run sidedraught carbs and the
Engine will be
Fully rebuilt. Diff gears will be at 4.11 with shortened hilux, R31 or falcon..
And can someone help me with axles.. I would like to convert to falcon pcd 5 stud all around.. Think it's 5x114.3.. Whhat front end
And stub axles in the stock 1200 rear housing could I use ? All help will be very very very much appreciated! Cheers
Marc

With some massaging you can fit the box in the tunnel but dont waste your time get say a 120y tunnel (best fit) or stanza/bluebird/200b/180b tunnel. Get a maddat motorsport swaybar as they allow for better engine fitment. Usually will need the l20b to be out of a bluebird or at least get a bluebird/stanza sump and oil pick up for better clearance. There is no bolt in crossmember we found a stanza crossmember carefully removed the mounts after measuring there positioning on stanza x member and then positioned them the same on a blank 1200 crossmember. The l20b is the hardest L series to fit as the block is 11mm taller than say a l18 or l16. You would be best to scallop the crossmember and put some gussets/strengthening in it before plating it back up. Struts theres a wide variety you can use see to the left << in Tech Wiki. if the ute is post 74 then it should have the h165 diff in that case it will handle the l20b if your not trying to leave dirty black marks around the town or launch it. Theres plenty more to tell but im sure others will add more like PIGDOG and Unfamilia. This makes me realize we need to do an article for engine conversions about this.

Thanks heaps for that! Would you happen to advise me
On my 5stud conversion?

Quote:
Like andy said, can be done in hte stock tunnel, you will need to cut out the shifter hole and space will be tight. its not that hard to weld a new tunnel in and have all the room you ever need. so many gearboxes can be used behind the L20b. pretty much anything nissan from a 180b gearbox all the way up to a 180sx/silvia box with the right bellhousing. the later gearboxes are nicer, from a silvia/r31/VL commodore etc and with a little bit of modification to a stock L series bellhousing it will go into the gearbox. gearbox crossmember sorta depends on the box that you use. nothing will be a straight bolt in though

Quote: like andy said, modify the stock 1200 engine crossmember to suit. the first conversion i did i cut the crossmember down so it was level with the drag link and then heavily modified the sump to get it as low as possible. they fit in with a notched crossmember and minor sump work though if you have the right sump(think its a bluebird one thats the tightest to the engine)
Should be able to get the engine far enough back to be able to use a stock 120y swaybar. i spaced mine down 10mm to get clearance from the oilpump at full droop

Quote: cool

Quote: depends what diff. if you use a falcon 28 spline BW diff then you should be able to just cut down the falcon axles to suit a particular width, normally people go an r31 diff and keep it 4 stud. that way you use the r31 short axle as the new long axle and cut down the old long axle to suit the width you want. havent measured up a falcon diff to see what you would have to do, but worst case you use 2 long axles and get them both cut down

Quote:
depends on what you want. all the larger struts run the same stub axle so any 5 stud hubs that will go onto one will go onto another. so really depends on what brakes you want. have a read of this will give you a bit of an idea on things. think i even put in a bit on 5 stud

Quote:?????????? wat you talkin bout willis

what can I do to the car to convert it to 5 stud in its stock form

why not use a r31 diff. keep it 4 x 114 then. easier than looking at 5 x 114 or so.
really depends why you want to conver stud pattern.

piggy is the l master. baldy has done it too but not online as much any more.

is there a particular reason for the 5 stud? The rear end is the easy part, its the front that will give you the troubles, there are ways to do it its just finding the parts!

For the rear on mine i used a EF falcon borwarner, changed the pinion and crown wheel to 4.11 gears (as it was 3.2:1!) The standard EF diff is around the 1550mm mark disk to disk (dont have the exact measurements handy) and you need around 1330mm for standard 1200 width (however mine was shortened to 1220mm!) shorten the housing and the axles to suit.

The front however from information i have got off pigdog and others is, you need a bigger nissan strut (180/200B or R31 etc) and some Z31 hubs, then some disks and caliper to suit, there is some talk of ppl using XF hubs and disks but i havent seen that done yet.

I used the hopper stopper 5 stud conversion kit, which was a straight bolt on to 200b struts.

All up to change mine to 5 stud cost me $3150! thats including the front coilover kit for 200b struts and the stanza front end to fit the struts.

If you dont need 5 stud i would save the money and not do it personally lol