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73' 610 Wagon- FJ20 swap & IRS


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Picked this up from a Ratsuner early March & have slowly been chipping away at it. It probably won't be until next Spring that it's on the road so don't expect to see too much progress on this each week. I, along with the rest of you, wish I had more time.

 

Anyway, I going to be putting an FJ20ET into her & convert it to IRS using a S13 rear end that I have already narrowed 4". It's about 1 1/4" wider than the axle that was in the 610 after being narrowed. I'll be doing suspension modifications & maybe use a different front crossmember. Bodywork may happen this year, or I may just drive her as is for a year or so before I undertake that. We'll see.

 

As she sits now

yh0v.jpg

 

The power plant

8klj.jpg

 

What was left of the donor S13 rear clip before recycling it

xiz4.jpg

 

Old rear end, meet new rear end

7h8u.jpg

 

One of the main reasons for this conversion. LSD!! I cleaned up the pumpkin when I dropped an Nissan S15 Helical LSD into it.

wcaq.jpg

 

Trying to decide whether to call her the FJ610, similar to name I gave the VQ510. This certainly isn't the only FJ swapped 610 so I guess I need to get more creative.

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Thanks guys, I hope this will be an epic ride when done.

 

Zeusimo-

I'm in Utah. We may head out your way in September if you can wait. Though I doubt my wife wants me throwing this in the back of the minivan.

If you want to pick it up or have it shipped I'll sell it to you cheap.

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Mrbigtanker-

I will actually have a number of spare parts. What may interest you is that I'll probably be able to sell everything that can convert a FJ20E to an FJ20ET. Meaning I can sell exhaust manifold w/ turbo, engine harness, ECU, injectors, etc. If you still need the plug wires let me know.

 

Pedro-

I might post some better pics of the IRS. I am not a professional welder by any stretch of the word with my flux core mig, so it's not the prettiest to look at. My welds are solid though. FYI, I made a jig when I narrowed the rear end 4" & having settings on it to narrow it 4" or 7" (both sizes allow the use of OE CV axle shafts sourced from other nissan vehicles). The 7" setting is a lot though & will make the mods required to be more extreme. If anyone wants to use the jig I can ship it.

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  • 10 months later...

This is a long overdue update. The IRS is finally bolted in place!!! I'm also cranking away at a front crossmember conversion. Things should hopefully move faster now.

 

Here's some photos to show progress.

 

The completed IRS:

IRS-Complete2_zpsda5be57b.jpg

 

The wheel well

IRS-mounted2_zps2172b532.jpg

 

Shock Towers

IRS-mounted1_zps4bbc7d55.jpg

 

I had to cut out a bit more frame rail than I wanted or expected, but as usual I believe I over engineered a bit with the replacement structure so it should be sturdy. I mounted the IRS fairly high so the suspension control arms will ideally be flat with the car in it's lowered position.

 

Someday I'll clean things up with a new paint job, but right now the plan is to get her done & enjoy her for a year or two before I take it all apart for paint.

 

 

Any guesses on what crossmember this is? It gets me a front sump friendly crossmember while getting my track a little wider to match how much the rear got widened.

Crossmember3_zps4d3fb806.jpg

 

I cut an opening in the frame rail, used the original crossmember as a template to make sure I positioned everything correctly, drill the mounting holes, made some plates, welded bolts to that, & then welded the plates in place. I'll close it up sometime in the next couple weeks.

Crossmember1_zps254e3c81.jpg

 

Welded plate in place

Crossmember2_zps5b97c0e2.jpg

 

A quick test fit of the engine to see how the mounts will need to be modified.

Engine-TestFit_zps22dc5739.jpg

 

 

Can't wait to get the front end done so I can drop her on the ground, see how she sits, & give the poor thing a long needed rinse. Welding & grinding has created a lot of nasty dust.

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Part of the reason I ended up a little wider than stock with the track was to ensure the shock towers weren't too intrusive. I could've gone 4" narrower (because of axle options) with the rear subframe but that would've been 4" less cargo width.

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  • 2 years later...

Hey, new here and looking into doing irs on my wagon, is there any reason you didn't use a 610 sedan rear end? I have one I can use so if possible I want to do that because I don't want to spend more on something that doesn't need doing. But it will obviously make it a much smoother ride.

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Replied to your pm's. Main reason, as mentioned, is that 610's are fairly rare around here so sourcing a 610 IRS is not easy & the S13 IRS does have better adjustability & handling.

 

I sure hope to be able to start working on this thing soon. Have to get a few other cars running right first though.

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