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Question on Chassis


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Hey I got a friend that says he has a 350 Chevy big block that he could give me to stick in my 78 Datsun B210. I know that it will twist the chassis with that big of an engine in that little car. I was wondering if you guys could tell me how to reinforce the chassis and what to upgrade if I do the swap. Thanks a bunch guys!!!

 

Forget all that. B)  What do you guys think is a good cheap small engine to fit into my B? What would I need to do it? Thanks :D

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Thanks for the motivation :D I was just wondering haha. I know its a stupid idea. I love my B, just want to restore it to the best possible and upgrade a bunch of stuff. I have seen a B210 with a 350 in it before. I was just wonderin how much it would take. Whats a nice cheap engine that would go well with my B210? I want to be able to go over 75MPH sometimes :p Thanks

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Hey I got a friend that says he has a 350 Chevy big block that he could give me to stick in my 78 Datsun B210. I know that it will twist the chassis with that big of an engine in that little car. I was wondering if you guys could tell me how to reinforce the chassis and what to upgrade if I do the swap. Thanks a bunch guys!!!

 

The 350 weighs about 600 pounds or 3 times what your A series engine weighs. Think for a minute what that will do for the handling of a 2,200 pound B-210. Now think about getting it stopped on those tiny disc brakes. What about the H-150 differential? Think it will handle 250 + ft lbs of torque?

 

I had a new '76 B and don't remember how fast it would go, certainly 75. Swap an L20B in. That's about 20? more hp. Hell I'm sure KAs have been swapped into the B and that's almost double the HP. With 5 speed you would still have good mileage.

 

 

Just because you have a motor laying around doesn't make it a good idea worth doing.

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A-series. L-series. Z-series. KA. CA. VG? 

 

Lots of "smaller" motors can fit in your car. 

Figure out what you'd like and start researching. 

 

I have a '79 210 couple that will be getting an L18. 

Crossmember from an A10 bolts in to mount the L as it was stock. 

 

You have a B210, so a regular 510s crossmember bolts in. 

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Well this is embarrassing  :rofl:  haha thanks for clearing that up. It seems to run fin. I just does about 75max. Just not sure if thats how it it or if there is a problem. I would just like to make the car a little bit faster altogether. 

 

Faster or quicker? There generally isnt a need to ever go over 75 unless youre trying to race someone... but getting up to 75 quicker can always be nice. Tranny swaps and different rear end gearing can help with that. You can also try to lose some weight in the car. 

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Yea theres 350 sbc and bbc. Also, a14 in 78 should easily do 75...and keep accelerating. Inline 4`s are better than v8s in datsun imho. Sure the 240sx's with 350s and welded diff drift nice, but i wouldnt do it :P or those z's with 350 conversion kits, oh lawd have mercy.

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The A series should work and there is also lots of room for performance improvements too. More power without disrupting the weight balance.

 

L18/L20 (85-95 hp) or even a Z22block with L head... basicly a 'stroker' L2.2 motor. (110 RWHP) But you will need a L car oil pan and to change the transmission as well. A 280zx with large overdrive 5th would work for the larger motor and mileage.

 

Z20/22/24 are all carb available and should fit whereever an L series would have.You will need a Z series oil pan and transmission. Z22s have good torque and the Z24 is up around 130 ft lbs at 2,800 rpms. A real stump puller but not a high revver. It's good for pulling a 3,400 pound 4x4 and should rip the tires off a B.

 

CA20 is a common enough engine but not used in swaps because displacement usually rules. It's light and powerful enough but mostly they are EFI so you might have to convert the car to run it. It also uses a CA specific 5 speed. There is also a CA18ET that is small for mileage and about 130 hp.

 

The KAs have already been mentioned.

 

VG30s are about as powerful as the KAs, similar weight but with superior torque at all RPMs because they are larger displacement. Clearance for exhaust and oil pan is a problem but an interesting alternative to a chevy V8. 

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Did an oil change, changed spark plugs, spark plug wires and topped off all the other fluids. Got up to 85MPH on the freeway but didn't really seem to want to go any faster than that. I don't really need to go that fast anyways. Thanks for the tips guys. Ill keep thinking and researching on the type of engine that I would want in my car. Thanks again!

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