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1969 Datsun 510 2Dr Z22 turbo EFI build


FricFrac

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Well I guess I should start a build thread. Like everyone and their dog here long time 510 fan always wanted one but being a Z car guy first and foremost the 510 kinda went to the back burner. Kept an eye out and missed a few but most of the stuff around here is rotten and goes for a fortune. Long story short a guy I knew had one about three years ago. It was a project he picked up from a kid. Put the car back together, added bubble flairs and painted it flat black. Found a rebuilt L16 and dropped it in. Shortly thereafter he found his dream car - '60's Impala which he proceeded to dump huge piles of cash into to build his dream car. I told him if he was ever going to sell the 510 to let me know. Three years later I get a message on my phone from our local classified adds which pops up any time anything Datsun is listed. 95% of the time it's either wheels that fit a Datsun, books with Datsun in a picture on the 59th page or some rotten piece of junk. Anyhow this time it turns out to be this 510 and it sure looked like the guy's car that I talked to years ago so I call the number right away. He answers the phone and I ask him if this is so and so and it turns out it's the guy. He says he just posted the ad less than five minutes ago. Anyhow I ended up buying it and so it begins....

 

After she arrives at home with some of her stable mates:

Z22EFI5101.jpg

 

Missing the rear cover so I covered her shame with a piece of sheet metal till I can get around to fitting something properly.

Z22EFI5102.jpg

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Of course I haven't even had her towed home and I'm researching engine swaps. You know the usual KA24, SR20, VG30E and ET, etc... I'm trying to get 'er running in the drive way and I'm not having a lot of luck. I rebuilt the carb not knowing what kind of shape it's in. Getting better. Find a bunch of vacuum leaks. Replace the weak coil. I'm an Electronics Eng so I pull the stock harness out of the engine bay and give 'er a rebuild. I've got all the connectors for the 240Z, etc so I was already good to go there - add some new ground wires, etc. The whole time I'm fighting with this I'm thinking how much easier it would be if I was running Mega Squirt like I just built for the 280ZXT. That's when I start thinking about building an L16 turbo with EFI (MS3). I start researching about how to make this happen. I think it would be a fun little engine and I don't need an insane build - I've got other cars that make lots of power and the L16 turbo is kinda unique as most people don't bother. I start researching EFI manifolds and figure I'm going to have to build my own. Then I start trying to figure out how I'm going to trigger the EFI. Looking into an L28ET dizzy, etc and I find out that the Z24i has an optical dizzy. It also has a hemi head with a good quench area - hmmm that's perfect for a turbo build. A friend of mine tells me he has a Z22 so I do some horse trading (thanks Greg!) and now I'm going down the Z22 EFI turbo road. She burns oil so now's the time for a rebuild. The tentative plans are a full gasket set, ITM hyperutectic pistons and rings (only $50 more than rings alone - seems like a no brainer), ARP head and rod bolts (good for a boosted engine and the NAPSZ seems to have an issue with the head bolts getting loose after time), and Cleavite crank and rod bearings. Once we get her cracked open we'll see if anything else needs doing but I'm trying to keep this fairly low cost. I picked up an extra oil pan (thanks Peter!) and oil pickup (thanks Hayden!) so I don't need to rip the L16 apart to build this thing.

 

So the challenge of this beast is to get it into EFI land. I'm already part way there researching for the L16 EFI conversion. I need an EFI manifold from an early 200SX (Z20) and an optical dizzy from the later Z24i Hardbody. DatsunMike as always has been a pile of help. Posted tons of picks and pointed me in the right direction. Found a dizzy from a Z24i (thanks Sealick!) and while I was looking at a 280ZX for a good friend of mine I look down in the dirt literally and there lies a 200SX intake plenum and runners - the last piece of the puzzle (thanks Robert!)

 

So here's the plenum and runners before the masaging begins (minus 12lbs of pine needles)

 

Z22EFIoriginal1.jpg

 

Z22EFIoriginal2.jpg

 

 

Intake runners bead blasted, ported and polished

 

Z22EFIrunnersported1.jpg

 

Z22EFIrunnersported.jpg

 

 

Intake plenum ported to accept a 240SX 60mm throttle body. Might be a little overkill so I may have to go to a 280ZX 48mm TB for better throttle response. We'll have to see how it works out.

 

Z22EFIplenum4.jpg

 

Intake plenum with 240SX TB and an adapter plate made of 1/2" aluminum. Two screw holes are tapped into the plate to mount the TB and the other two line up with the stock mounts. Third set of holes mounts to the stock location below the TB. Cut the water inlet/outlet off the TB to reduce plumbing.

 

Z22EFI240SXTBandadapter3.jpg

 

Z22EFI240SXTBandadapter2.jpg

 

Z22EFI240SXTBandadapter1.jpg

 

 

Plenum and TB test fitted. TB adapter is port matched to the plenum

 

Z22EFIplenum1.jpg

 

Z22EFIplenum3.jpg

 

Z22EFIplenum2.jpg

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..... and I find out that the Z24i has an optical dizzy. It also has a hemi head with a good quench area - hmmm that's perfect for a turbo build.

 

The Z24 has no quench area at all being very close to a hemi combustion chamber shape. It does have dual plugs though for faster burn and cross flow design so the hot exhaust ports don't heat the intake ports next to them like an L series does. The port angles are not that good for high speed breathing but this will be a turbo motor so this doesn't matter. High lift and duration and the valves will touch, again, not a problem with a turbo motor.

00770018.jpg

 

 

 

ARP head and rod bolts (good for a boosted engine and the NAPSZ seems to have an issue with the head bolts getting loose after time),

 

Not so much that they come loose, I don't think they go deep enough into the block. If there are enough threads in the block then longer bolts might work? The Nissan cure for head gasket failure is to re-torque the bolts every tune up.... who knows or does this???? it might actually work if tried. Anyway this wasn't a problem with the Z22 block (which is essentially a larger L series with a different head)

 

 

Really looking forward to this. Z series motors were born to be turbo'd.

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Ha ha great minds think alike....

 

240sx and 200sx TBs.

720ECU006Large.jpg

 

My intake is the earlier type

 

 

 

 

 

Matt HRH has the other one.

 

Mine was the dual butterfly valve 200SX thus the tear drop shape inlet....

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And here's my dizzy from a Z24i with the optical encoder wheel. I might be able to use the wheel as is since it has a larger slot for TDC. MS3 firmware 1.1.2 supports the Nissan CAS so we'll see if that works. If not I've got a 24-1-1 50mm optical encoder wheel we cut on the water jet that should work instead. I cut it for the L28ET but it's the same size conveniently ;)

 

Has the same 10 spline count as the L28ET oil pump shaft which should work in the Z22

 

Z24iDizzysplines.jpg

 

 

Stock 50mm optical encoder wheel. Same size as the L28ET and VG30E dizzy. Different in that it has a larger slot for TDC whereas the L28ET are all equal size (and six instead of four slots on the second ring)

 

Z24iDizzyopticalwheel.jpg

 

The pigtail looks like it goes right into the dizzy but it's just a cover plate that holds the more common rectangular four pin connector - same as the L28ET dizzy. Nice as this makes it easier to interface to

 

Z24iDizzyconnector.jpg

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Took the engine apart so it's all sitting in bits on my buddy's garage on the bench. Took the head apart and started to give 'er some loving:

 

The gratuitous before picture of the carbon coated chamber:

Z22CombustionChambersBefore.jpg

 

After a good long cleaning:

Z22CombustionChambersAfter.jpg

 

After I cleaned the combustion chamber I saw quite a bit of damage. Looks like something bounced around in all the chambers. Of course the first one I started working on was the worst and I forgot to take before pictures but you get the idea from this one:

Z22CombustionChambersCleaned.jpg

 

After some sweet loving she's starting to clean up. Still in the process of cleaning the chamber up but it looks like there is hope :) Tried to remove as little as possible but I'm not too worried about reducing the compression ratio from the small amount of material removed. Just trying to keep the chamber as clean and slick as possible to keep any hot spots to a minimum and thus prevent detonation. It will of course help with flow but reducing detonation is more important IMHO in this turbo application.

Z22CombustionChambersPolishing.jpg

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Jumping ahead here a bit but I was playing with the new Shadow Dash software for the Android to implement a HUD for the Mega Squirt 3 I'll be running in the car. Man this is slick!

 

PDA on the dash

HUDdash.jpg

 

Piece of reflective window tint and voila - HUD!

HUDwindshield.jpg

 

Of course pictures don't do it justice so a quick and dirty video of the HUD

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Didn't get a spindle with my Z24i dizzy so I had one "made up" from an L28ET (which is too long) with the optical dizzy (eg not an '81 with the CAS). Sleaved for a nice compression fit. The original stock dizzy spindle beside the modified one.

 

Z22EFIoilpumpspindle.jpg

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Yea I read tons and I've always wanted to build but never had the time or means until now (well a little lacking in the time department still lol). Hoping to contribute along the way. It's an uncommon build but I'm hoping it turns out to be another worth while option for a fairly easy 510 peformance engine swap.

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Interesting info on the distributor... I'd never seen a z24i dist. before, it appears to just bolt right to the timing cover? I wonder if it would bolt right to an L series timing cover with out the distributor pedestal? Another theory would have been to use the L series distributor pedestal on the Z timing cover to space the distributor out so the oil pump spindle didn't have to be shortened, if the pedestal was long enough.

 

Nice work though... I believe I will attempt to run a KA24e distributor w/ megasquirt on a future build. Uses the same L28et spindle.

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Damn that is gonna be nice! I think your gonna be a happy camper with this build! Like your chamber work too..nice. I did alittle to the z24 head on our build but yours is berry berry shineyyy! Are you gonna do any thing to the piston tops too? Those ITM's look pretty tough. Are those head studs too? I'm gonna follow this one..i totally forgot about the z24i distributor, that'll work perfect!

What i found when we used the z22 was they are alot more stable on the deck surace, and i guess the bore spacing having all the extra meat between cylinders unlike the z24. Man that thing took boost like it was nothing! No gasket failures at all.

Keep on plugging away..i be following this one. :thumbup:

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