Helping a nephew with a "new to him" 620

[mike_dmt]

 My neph was dying to pick up an early(ish) Datsun pickup. Lo and behold, my new neighbor a few houses down just so happened to have one to sell. And, the kid bought it two hours ago. 

 

 '79, 5-speed. Rust free and reasonably straight. I like it a lot too, but to be honest, I'm a muscle car guy and this will be a new thing for me.

 

 My little bit of research says its the L20B, 2.0. FS5W71B trans. Makes an incredible 110 H.P..... Did I mention I mostly wrench on muscle cars? Bu 110? Thats a baseline I could live without..  Don't hate... I see kits that'll double the output of the 2.0 without a turbo or supercharger.

 

 So, I have driven it a little. Brakes suck(no biggie). The engine, for the most part runs and sounds solid, but idles like crap. He's on a budget, so I'd like to get him by for a while with the stock carb. I'm pushing for the Weber upgrade, but there's a few things to square away first.

 

 Can anyone hit me with the base carb settings? I've got decent experience tuning on the big V-8's, but its nice to have a starting point. Vacuum routing and what I can delete?

 

 

 Symptoms are: Starts cold without any choke... I don't think it's supposed to do that.. Rich on the low side maybe?

                          Wont idle for more than 15-20 seconds without pedal input. I've seen an anti-deisel thing on these carbs..... Could that interfere?

                          No power over half throttle. Points to a rich setting again, in my mind.

                          Pops pretty good decelerating off throttle. Sounds cool with aftermarket exhaust, but the little guy is fairly bone stock.

 

 

 

 Been on auto forums a thousand times, but I was looking to save the hours and hours of searching.

 

 

 Thanks in advance. I appreciate the help.

 

 MikeD

[mike_dmt]

 And can you guys give me a link or two for some old school style rims? 6 Lug seems to narrow the options some.

 

 The steelies gotta go.

[flatcat19]

Kits to double the HP? Really?

220 is a big number for the L20B w/o boost.

 

Most of us love the steelies.

6x5.5 is the pattern though.

 

 

Where's the pics?

 

Because you said outright you will not search-I will put my spoon away.

Welcome to Ratsun.

[ggzilla]

110hp- but same HP/weight ratio as a Chevy pickup. And can haul as much weight too.

 

Brakes work well when adjusted properly. 1979 has disc brakes, so maybe somethings wrong with them. They generally work quite well.

[flatcat19]

I suspect by kit he means SBC mounts.

[laotsu]

I suspect troll

[mike_dmt]

I apologize. To say I was unwilling to search isn't quite true. I've been on here for a few hours before I posted, and a little bit after. It seems everyone seems to skip factory carb posts, and go right to aftermarket topics.

 

 Brakes are simple enough. I was just giving a little history.

 

 By kits I was referring to a dual carb setup with a stroker crank and a big-bore piston kit. Admittedly, I have no idea what these are capable of. I just came across an article saying from the factory they were somewhat low compression to start with, so decking the block and getting some more compression was fairly effective. Not to mention a cam.

[mike_dmt]

 But, troll?

 

 No. I don't have time for that.

[ggzilla]

Laotsu was maybe trolling for reactions

[ggzilla]

By kits I was referring to a dual carb setup with a stroker crank and a big-bore piston kit.

Ratsun is DIY site. We get factory parts from the junkyard to make stroker motors. 2.4 liter can be done easy enough.

[mike_dmt]

Thanks ggzilla. I will bring that up with my neph in the future. Its his first real project, and I don't want a job like that on me right now. It sounds like the forum will have plenty of info on that, when we get to it.

 

 It seems like an extraordinary amount of parts interchange on these rides. I'm actually getting pretty stoked on it.

[mike_dmt]

Kits to double the HP? Really?

220 is a big number for the L20B w/o boost.

 

Most of us love the steelies.

6x5.5 is the pattern though.

 

 

Where's the pics?

 

Because you said outright you will not search-I will put my spoon away.

Welcome to Ratsun.

 Thanks for the welcome. I have 1 pic, for now. She's obnoxiously high in the back....

[laotsu]

There's a reason the name Skyline is legendary... it's a Datsun. You can get a carb rebuild kit for $25 to $40. A used Weber for $100-$125. Dual dcoes with linkage and manifold for $1200. You decide.

[datzenmike]

Laotsu was maybe trolling for reactions

 

Well.... he is the expert.

[flatcat19]

Per your current problem, pull a plug. What does it look like?

Is it black and wet looking?

[datzenmike]

 

 By kits I was referring to a dual carb setup with a stroker crank and a big-bore piston kit. Admittedly, I have no idea what these are capable of. I just came across an article saying from the factory they were somewhat low compression to start with, so decking the block and getting some more compression was fairly effective. Not to mention a cam.

 

No one sells a 'kit' but if you can find an '81-82 720 truck or '82-'83 S110 200sx with a Z22 engine block and internals, just rebuild it stock. Put an L20B head on it and you have an L2.2 'stroker'. Over bore it to 89mm and add KA24E pistons and you have a 2.3 'big bore stroker'. Should make 115-120 RWHP with a stock L20B carb. Add cam and dual carbs for more.  

[flatcat19]

Anyone else notice the 'DMT' in his name?

[]2eDeYe]

No one sells a 'kit' but if you can find an '81-82 720 truck or '82-'83 S110 200sx with a Z22 engine block and internals, just rebuild it stock. Put an L20B head on it and you have an L2.2 'stroker'. Over bore it to 89mm and add KA24E pistons and you have a 2.3 'big bore stroker'. Should make 115-120 RWHP with a stock L20B carb. Add cam and dual carbs for more.  

 

All this, or just swap in a KA :)

 

Welcome aboard, now how about posting that pic. :D

[mike_dmt]

 I'm trying to figure out how to post that pic. What am I missing here?

[laotsu]

photobucket account

[mike_dmt]

 As far as checking a plug, I'll have the neph pop one out. He's got a few other things to do too. It needs a few maintenance things done, change the oil, change out the thermostat and the upper hose, stuff like that. Not to mention wash the dang thing. The guy he got it from probably hadn't since he bought it..

 

[Rhapakatui]

Not bad.  I really dig that pin stripe.  Also, since it's a 79, you've got most of the upgrades you need in there already (electronic dizzy, disc brakes, ball joints instead of king pins, etc.)

 

I think you'll be surprised what that 110 hp will do once you drive it with all of that restored.  I'm running a weber 38 on my car with the same engine and transmission but more weight (710 wagon) and it's plenty quick.  I won't be drag racing Vin Diesel any time soon, but it feels comfortable going 80+ on the highway.

 

Help him tune it up and let him drive it for a while, I'll bet there will be few complaints.  Later down the line, if he has to have more power, then a KA swap is probably the cheapest and fastest way to go.

 

Oh yeah, and needs more lower!

[mike_dmt]

Lower for sure. He's going to run a little lawn business out of it, so I'll probably just block the rear a little. These just have torsion bars in front though, right?

[Rhapakatui]

Yes. You can index the torsion bars easily to adjust the front height. Blocks work fine in the back. I like the air shocks for hauling loads (lawnmower) in the back.