This Is Pictures.

[LateFan]

This is not-so-great pictures from my office window….

License plate?

[BlackbirdM3]

Those Roadsters are cool. Would a straight 6 fit in there?

There's one rotting in the alley across from my son's house…..just put a damn tarp on it! It looks like it was decent when they parked it. Sketchy neighborhood.

Pare….nice!

The question is WHY would you want to put a straight 6 in? The U20 with the B cam and Mikuni carbs was rated at 150 hp from the factory. I've got about 150hp at the wheels in mine. A Roadster doesn't need more weight up front, a 6 will at far more weight, and move it forward. Yes, its been done, my friend Tim had this.


Will

[LateFan]

I see, too much weight forward.

[BlackbirdM3]

I see, too much weight forward.

That and you can't close the hood. Really there is no reason to. The car only weighs 2000 lbs stock, 100 lbs can be lost with not a lot of effort as a friend of mine found out.

Short of building a new frame with IRS rear suspension, then dropping a modified body on it you aren't going to put any power down with little weight in the back end with a live axle and leaf springs. I have a detroit locker with some rare mono-leaf springs, and traction bars and I roast 225 series R compounds off idle on the start of an autoX. I also tend to break axles. Engine swaps don't make any sense unless you are going from an R16 (1600 Roadster) to a U20 (2000 Roadster) there is no point. A U20 will be super reliable even built for race use, and will make more power than a KA24, or SR20 does. Heck, if you need a modern motor in a vintage car, you bought the wrong car. I've had mine for 14 years, its only been towed home twice, once because I broke an axle in Monterey, and another time I broke a rear wheel bearing on my way home from Monterey. I've never had an engine problem that I haven't been able to fix on the road. They really are a pretty good car as is.

Will

[LowR3V'in]

Any v6s fit in there nice?

[BlackbirdM3]

Any v6s fit in there nice?

Again, why? No, V6s are too wide. If you need anything but a G, R, or U series motor for a datsun roadster, you need a different car. Simple as that. You can pull 190 hp out of a stroked R16 if you do it right, in full race form a U20 will make over 250 (and have a lifespan of a firecracker, but that is beside the point. ) A 190 hp one will last years and years on the street. I seriously do not understand the need for a different motor in any car. The desire to hack up a rare car because its a Datsun just boggles my mind. It wasn't a cheap car either, same price as a Camaro or Mustang (A little under $4k new) There is a reason there have been 34 SCCA championships won with them. Shelby won only 1. Heck, one finished 3rd in the runoffs after being spun on the last lap a couple years ago.

Will

[JasonC]

Any v6s fit in there nice?

A 60 degree GM V6 maybe cool. Boost it though..

[rturbo 930]

Blackbird, just because you don't see the point of swapping another motor into any car does not mean that there is no reason to ever do an engine swap in another car. There's any number of reasons - power potential, reliability, cost, availability of parts, or simply because someone wants to. I can understand not wanting to cut up a rare car, but to say that there's no reason to want to swap is just silly. And the rear end can be changed too. I believe there's someone in the bay area with an SR20DET and a 4 link rear end, no?

[mrsleeve]

A 60 degree GM V6 maybe cool. Boost it though..

LQ1's LOVE boost ..........

[Exodus_2pt0]

LQ1's LOVE boost ..........

Had a 95 Grand Prix in high school, I wanted the GTP so bad for that engine.

I can't lie, I've looked for another 95ish GP for a DD here and there.



I still love how they look.

[BlackbirdM3]

Blackbird, just because you don't see the point of swapping another motor into any car does not mean that there is no reason to ever do an engine swap in another car. There's any number of reasons - power potential, reliability, cost, availability of parts, or simply because someone wants to. I can understand not wanting to cut up a rare car, but to say that there's no reason to want to swap is just silly. And the rear end can be changed too. I believe there's someone in the bay area with an SR20DET and a 4 link rear end, no?

A Datsun roadster with a 4 link and SR20DET is as close to being a datsun roadster as my microwave is. There is very little Datsun roadster left. In the case of a roadster, you can make good power with the correct engines. More than what the rear axles will handle, and more than you can put to the ground. The largest tire you can clear without doing work to the rear fenders is a 195, or a narrow 205. As for being rare, the registry has 2611 cars listed, world wide. Not exactly an E30 where there are still tens of thousands still around. If the cost of keeping the car on the road is an issue, its not a car you buy. Simple. By the way, a lower ball joint is $450, as is the upper, and there isn't anything else that fits. If you want something to hack up that is easy to find, buy a MG. Hell, if you want a V6 in something, buy something with a V6 already in it. If you need a SR20DET, buy a bloody 240sx. The point is, there is nothing wrong with the car that needs fixing. Is mine modified? Yes, but unless you knew what was done to it you would think is just a very fast stock one. Making the claim that one needs a modern motor to race is about as wrong a claim as can be made. For the SCCA runoffs, sure, a 2l or 1600 is still competitive in their respective class, in autoX, its in CSP and cant beat a Miata without mods that put it in a different class where its too heavy. With a mega modern motor it ends up in OSP and gets eaten alive by stripped EVOs and STis. For getting from point A to point B, the stock engine will do just fine. There is no need for a modern engine swap.

Will

[rturbo 930]

First, I'm with you in that I wouldn't encourage anyone to extensively modify a car with fairly low production numbers. But you didn't say that a modern engine swap in a Roadster is unnecessary, you said a swap in ANY car is unnecessary:

I seriously do not understand the need for a different motor in any car.

And I really couldn't disagree more.

For getting from point A to point B, the stock engine will do just fine. There is no need for a modern engine swap.

Will

In your opinion, there is no need. But by that measure, there is no need for any car to have more than about 150hp, since that's all you really need to get around town. It's about what someone wants. I can see you're passionate about preserving roadsters - I get that, I feel the same way when I see someone chopping up a clean and original 240Z for a V8 or SR when it really should've been left alone, so let's use something else for an example.

Let's use my dad's 67 GMC truck. He already swapped it with an unbelievably useless diesel motor years ago (which will be swapped out soon), but the original motor was an inline 6 with about 150hp, in a ~4000lb truck. It got 10-12mpg, which is horrendous, and of course, it had a carb. Carbs have their place, but I don't like them. I don't want to mess with a choke, and cold starts, and all the other BS that comes with a carb.

The engine that will be going in is a 5.3L LSx, which are very easy to find, as are parts. It will also make about twice the power of the original 6cyl, and should also get about twice as many miles to a gallon. It's fuel injected, which means it will start any day, any time, and it will run flawlessly until I switch it off. It is better in every single way, but if I'm understanding you right, I shouldn't swap it, because "modern motor swaps are unnecessary." That's what I don't get. That truck will be far more usable to my dad and I with a modern motor. Yeah, I guess you're technically right, it doesn't need a new motor, but I want good fuel economy, reliability, and the ability to easily pass someone on a two lane road, as well as the ability to cruise at 80mph on the highway, and the stock motor just won't do that.

Because this is a picture thread, here's the victim:

[thearkitekt]

A Datsun roadster with a 4 link and SR20DET is as close to being a datsun roadster as my microwave is. There is very little Datsun roadster left. In the case of a roadster, you can make good power with the correct engines. More than what the rear axles will handle, and more than you can put to the ground. The largest tire you can clear without doing work to the rear fenders is a 195, or a narrow 205. As for being rare, the registry has 2611 cars listed, world wide. Not exactly an E30 where there are still tens of thousands still around. If the cost of keeping the car on the road is an issue, its not a car you buy. Simple. By the way, a lower ball joint is $450, as is the upper, and there isn't anything else that fits. If you want something to hack up that is easy to find, buy a MG. Hell, if you want a V6 in something, buy something with a V6 already in it. If you need a SR20DET, buy a bloody 240sx. The point is, there is nothing wrong with the car that needs fixing. Is mine modified? Yes, but unless you knew what was done to it you would think is just a very fast stock one. Making the claim that one needs a modern motor to race is about as wrong a claim as can be made. For the SCCA runoffs, sure, a 2l or 1600 is still competitive in their respective class, in autoX, its in CSP and cant beat a Miata without mods that put it in a different class where its too heavy. With a mega modern motor it ends up in OSP and gets eaten alive by stripped EVOs and STis. For getting from point A to point B, the stock engine will do just fine. There is no need for a modern engine swap.

Will

Word. Love my Datsun 2000! Ive been driving it a little, still hammering out the kinks. Oh, and i need to put my bumpers back on haha

[BlackbirdM3]

Word. Love my Datsun 2000! Ive been driving it a little, still hammering out the kinks. Oh, and i need to put my bumpers back on haha

I like the no bumper look. I don't have any to put on my car. the ones that were on it when I got were so rusty they couldn't be recycled. Nice looking car. SUs or Mikunis on it? Is it a '68? I have to say though, the black headlight scoops look odd. The Advan 3 spokes are an unusual look on a roadster. I like it. Is that Sora Blue or something a little different. Are you on 311s.org? If you hadn't already guessed, mine is the number 14 car above. I've had it since 2001 and I've done all the work on it. it was a rusty wreck that didn't run when I got it. I'm currently thinking about building a second engine for the street and making the one that's in it a full blown race engine. I'd need bigger carbs for it however. 50mm Mikunis are hard to find.

Feel free to PM me with any questions. I've probably been there and done that. in the development of mine.
Will

[TwoJ's]

My dad and sister circa roughly 1985. He did a full restoration in about 2000 and had the car up until about 2012. Unfortunately I'm not super close with him and more and don't have any photos of it. I loved that car as a kid though -- I dreamed of him giving me the keys when I turned 16. It had a hard top, but my dad is 6'6" and could only drive it with the top off.

I would love to get one for myself some day -- they'll always have a place in my heart.


I'm curious too -- what do stock roadster wheels look like? I never see the same set of wheels in photos. Does the blue one at the top of this page have stock wheels?