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Engine sizes


pope_face

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Ok, I've got a couple questions... I'm planning a KA swap, and as far as I know people have done this many times without issues... I've gone through all 43 tech pages on the 510 Realm looking for anything related to a KA, and I don't see much, if anything, about fitment issues due to actual size. However, I was just looking at my truck, and the engine compartment looks tiny... smaller than I remember it, at least. Right now it has the J13 in it, but it looks like that barely fits in there, so I'm curious how well the extra 1,100 cc's will fit...

 

What I'm wondering is the actual physical size of the KA vs the J-Series... there's only a couple inches of clearance between the back of the engine and the firewall, and maybe six to eight inches of clearance between the front of the engine and the rad, not including the fan... I'm probably going to get an electric fan, so that should only take up a couple inches, but I'm hoping I won't have to cut into the firewall or anything... the only other possibility would be moving the rad an inch or two forward by hacking into the support... The 521 engine bays are the same size as the 510's, correct? I mean, they both came with an L16 at some point, so that had to fit...

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Fil, the spacing between cylinder center lines on the L16 through L20B, the Z20, Z22, Z24 and the KA24 are all the same! Except for the bore sizes one gasket will fit them all. (course the water passages won't line up, but the bolt holes do) So don't worry, size is not a factor here, it's all internal.:D

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Thanks Mike... There's still a lot to sort out with the engine... I found out today that ICBC will not let me reset the odometer regardless of whether or not I do a full rebuild... I didn't expect they would, but it was worth a try. But, this brings up the question of whether or not I'll try to track down an old engine to rebuild, or whether I'll just look for one that's in decent condition... Specialty has one they'll modify for me if I want, but the amount they want for the engine seems a bit steep, not including the work I need done to it...

 

FJ, thanks for the tip... I remember reading that the SR and KA mounts are pretty much the same, if not identical... I'll take a look at the project page to see what info I can glean...

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Pope, does your J 13 run now or is it in need of a rebuild? My 69 had a J 13 & it ran ok i suppose but decided to swap in a KA 24 e which i never finished. Not saying you wont finish it done get me wrong but heres a few things i ran into. I had to make new motor mounts [frame side] & had to trim the firewall a bit to get the trans. to not hit the tunnel. Also a custom radiator may be in order, theres not a whole lot of room unless the core support is trimmed. That is unless you plan on running the stock L radiator then you should be fine. A custom trans. mount will need to be fabbed which isnt that hard really. Ill be watching this thread & let me know & i can post pics of the 69 w/ the KA in it.

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Pac Coast: Thanks for the tips... The J13 runs, and I'd keep it save for the fact that I can't get an auto transmission for it... I do want carbs, however, so it's either an L-Series or a KA. The only reason I want the KA is because of the cost, availability (both the engine and parts), and power potential. I expect to have to trim the transmission tunnel anyways in order to mount an automatic, which is a bit of a shame to do, but them's the breaks if I want to keep this truck.

 

You mentioned you needed to trim the firewall... I'm assuming you mean an inch or two around the transmission tunnel, correct? Was there a lot to take out, or was it just a bit? I don't mind cutting the firewall a couple inches around the transmission tunnel and rewelding the tunnel in there, I just don't want to have to extend a large part of the firewall back to clear the engine...

 

As for the rad, I'm assuming the VW Rabbit rad will fit... I know people have used them in the 510's, so I figure the 521 should be similar... only concern would be the transmission cooler. I'd either have to find a rad that had one built in, or get an external one to mount in front or underneath the rad... if I trim the core support too much it might not fit behind the grille. Is it possible to get a long, narrow one to fit under the rad behind the valence? I'll have to look into it... I'll try to find the thinnest fan assembly as well.

 

As far as pics go, I'd love to see them... it would be good to see what I'm getting into. But, this will be a long-term project. Even if I track down an engine sometime soon, it probably won't even get a test fit until after New Year's...

 

Edit: Actually, now that I think about it, I might be moving the battery behind the cab, probably in a custom box built into or under the bed. If I do that, I'll have that space free... would it be possible to mount a transmission cooler more or less horizontal in that position, then louver the hood to allow airflow through the cooler? Or would a horizontal-mount cooler not work?

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Did you have any clearance issues in order to get it installed straight? And would you happen to have a picture of the core support/rad/front of the engine just to show the clearances?

 

Thanks for the pic though... I've seen a few of the KA's in 510's, but never in a 521. Hopefully there isn't too much of a difference between the two.

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