Running a V8 in a 510... Pros & cons?

[datsunfreak]

I'm sure they are fun because... V8 not because they are a 510.

 

The more I've thought about it, the righter this sounds. Could've shoved that donk in almost any sub-2000 pound Japanese crackerbox and got similar results.

 

Kinda kills what makes it a 510, ya know? 

[datzenmike]

Zackley. A Pinto or Vega most likely fits better.

[DaBlist]

Zackley. A Pinto or Vega most likely fits better.

V8 Vegas were in their hay day when I was in high school. They where bad enough stock that you weren't ruining a good car.

[INDY510]

Except he wishes he'd bought a 2dr instead...   :rofl:

but how would he cool the radiator, with a 2 door?? ... :confused:

[datsunfreak]

V8 Vegas were in their hay day when I was in high school. They where bad enough stock that you weren't ruining a good car.

 

Yes, a V8 swap is what makes a Vega actually worth owning.   B)

 

but how would he cool the radiator, with a 2 door?? ... :confused:

 

The same exact way he is now?  :rofl:

[mattyhacks71]

V8 into a 510 is a waste of a car and a huge waste of time. These cars don't weigh much, you can get all the tire smoking power you can handle out of something like an sr20, and you're keeping it within the brand. Half the weight, can deliver just as much power, car will still handle.

 

When I see V8 510 I think all those cars in the 80s that were ruined or an unfinished swap for sale on craigslist.

 

..2 cents..

[tr8er]

Best V8 swap I've ever seen in a 510.

 

 

 

Owned by a guy named Jared. Know him personally, and the guy that build the car, Luke Idhe (Lucky's Speedshop). It is an incredible car, but I would not try to duplicate it in my own garage. The time, effort, engineering, tools, materials, and processes that it takes to make a car like a 510 handle 500+ hp and torque is huge. It becomes a ground up rework just to make sure you don't twist the frame. Not to mention the tubbing you'll have to do to make a the running gear for a motor like and LS (or any V8 worth actually using) makes the whole project nearly impossible to do on your own time. (Unless you own a custom car shop, which is how this car came about.)

 

 

You'll get a one-of-a-kind result, even if you fuck it up -- it'll just be one of a kind for all the wrong reasons -- but it's the kind of project that will end up sitting for so long anyone will lose interest and it'll just get parted out or rusted out.

 

I regard Jared's car as something of a Unicorn in the 510 world. Something that should be admired and revered as a somewhat magical beast. But most attempts at recreating something similar will end being a donkey with an ice cream cone stuck to its head.

That is beauty. If you have that resume, I will never object to your whims. Fucking nice car.

[scooter stuff]

Too bad they didn't use wider rear wheels/ tires too fill the flares. Kinda ruins the stance if you ask me. I'm surprised with a build to that level that they didn't catch that.

[Abe Froman]

Too bad they didn't use wider rear wheels/ tires too fill the flares. Kinda ruins the stance if you ask me. I'm surprised with a build to that level that they didn't catch that.

I was thinking the exact same thing !!!!!

[russaroll]

This thread went to pissmode rather quickly... :rofl:

Don't they all?

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

Too bad they didn't use wider rear wheels/ tires too fill the flares. Kinda ruins the stance if you ask me. I'm surprised with a build to that level that they didn't catch that.

 

The rear is super tubbed. The tires are massive in the back. And if you get up under the flares, there actually isn't that much space to get the tires further outboard. The car would have to be raised in the rear to make the fitment move outwards. 

 

But I agree, it doesn't sit like you'd think a 510 would. More like what you'd think a tiny Chevelle would sit like. 

[q-tip]

It looks like it has a solid axel too

[worksnaDELUXE]

Bro just go SR, CA.

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

It looks like it has a solid axel too

 

It does, if I recall correctly they put Ford 8in or something to that extent in it. 

[ByStickel]

Buick 215/Rovers are about 318lbs.  Sr20DET is 10lb heavier. (or so the internets says)

 

Whatever you prefer is obviously best, but if you want torque with a linear output, the V8 would provide that.

 

As small as they are, it's a chore to make them fit. I'd post a pic but Flickr is bog slow, tonight.

[Jesse C.]

How about a good'ol reliable, dependable and easily available VG33E?

 

[Lockleaf]

That's the nicest looking single cam vg I've ever seen. It's still an ugly motor. I consider them the workhorse of the 80s/90s Nissan engines. Reliable, fairly tough, drag anything up a hill pretty well, work hard all day long, but a bit portly, and not pretty. It's a strong motor, but it's not a show motor.

 

And of course, in this thread, the problem with the vg is it's only 6 cylinders. :)

[DISLEXICDIME]

Just cut the fire wall and get a mojave heater . Done and done

[DISLEXICDIME]

Once you start getting past 200fp of torque in a 510 traction and body flex is an issue whether it is a v8 or not so ether way you are going to be modding the entire car . My last Sr car started wrinkling the roof after a night of drag racing on street tires. The question is do you want to cut the fire wall or not .

[datzenmike]

 

It's still an ugly motor. I consider them the workhorse of the 80s/90s Nissan engines. Reliable, fairly tough, drag anything up a hill pretty well, work hard all day long, but a bit portly, and not pretty. It's a strong motor, but it's not a show motor.

 

 

It's mostly the poor choice of color. Who paints the engine bay like that??? Unless to contrast and show off the engine.... and then match it's drabness. Black or crinkle finish black would have been far better with matching air filter top... and they can still be saved easily enough. I love large valve covers, always have. Like the E more than the DE when talking KA. This is probably from owning several Dodges back in the 60s and dreaming of hemis

[tr8er]

It is a poor choice of color. But damn its clean

[paradime]

For me the 510's 4 banger light nimble performance represents a direct rebellion against the fat American V8 muscle car mentality. When I was a kid, I built a ratted out L20 Dime that smoked cameros street racing. I did this to make a clear argument for the !JAPANESE! mindset of light well balanced performance. Why go to all the trouble of stuffing a fat V8 in the ultimate expression of anti V8, only to get a car that will not hang with an SR 510? The short answer is to make it more American. Please buy a Nova and let the Japanese cars be Japanese. 

[Lockleaf]

Mike, I agree with basically everything you said. I think you're right about wrinkle black helping quite a bit.

 

This is the z24 I am prepping for my 720. Just finished the new coats of wrinkle a few days ago.

 

 

And I am finishing up the prep work on a KAE valve cover and plenum, though I'm not sure what treatment it will get yet. I love both of these valve covers.

 

 

There is just something ungainly and portly about the VGs that I don't care for. However, if someone made some cast aluminum finned valve covers for one, that might be enough to make me rethink that opinion...

 

I might just be biased because the vg33e in my pathfinder is the biggest bitch of an engine I've ever worked on, and when I see one I think I might be experiencing traumatic flashbacks :)

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

That's the nicest looking single cam vg I've ever seen. It's still an ugly motor. I consider them the workhorse of the 80s/90s Nissan engines. Reliable, fairly tough, drag anything up a hill pretty well, work hard all day long, but a bit portly, and not pretty. It's a strong motor, but it's not a show motor.

 

And of course, in this thread, the problem with the vg is it's only 6 cylinders. :)

 

 

Lol, "not a show motor." 

 

It's all in the execution, I've seen L series motors that, if I didn't better, would make me think that one would never look good in a car. Same can be said for everything from SR20 to an LS7. 

[Lockleaf]

 

Lol, "not a show motor."

 

It's all in the execution, I've seen L series motors that, if I didn't better, would make me think that one would never look good in a car. Same can be said for everything from SR20 to an LS7.

Not sure I follow, because I feel like your pic just made my point for me. I believe it's theoretically possible to make a VG pretty, I'm just saying I've never seen one.