Conan

Bought a cheap ac stick welder, made the world a better place, until now i have been restricted by my awful flux cord "Mig". Made new mounts with same angles as original except i made them about 2 cm shorter to get more room and distance from frame, and i moved the mounting holes a bit over an inch so that it sits closer to the firewall. I will now make brackets that bolt onto the frame... then i need to tackle the oil pan, and pick-up tube. For the pick-up tube i cut an old rusted three wheel kids bike to pieced and saved the steel tube frame, so hopefully i will make that fit somehow.

Been plowing snow and chopping wood the past weeks, so datsun had to wait. I´ve fixed my engine hoist which buckled last time i used it so getting ready to get started. I have no rush, so i will figure something out, the Datsun is my challenge, so will get it fixed myself somehow. I have a wife thats been joking around too much about the Datsun for me to give up and hand it to the "Pros", if i do that i might as well get a new wife as i would not hear the end of it xD No worries, im in no rush, and i still haven´t failed at frankensteining my own pan and tube I bought this as a simple daily driver. Got cold feet about the car driving it home from the buyer.... there were holes in the floor and it was the beginning of winter hehe. Only regret i have is not being finished yet!

Garage has been cleaned and Datsun pushed back in. At a new years party i spoke with the brother of a buddy of mine, he is a mechanic and will sort out my MOT, but apparently welding on the frame is a big no no here in Norway, if i want to show it at the DMV i need to have papers from a certified welder, welding on the mounts themselves was less of a problem. So i was advised to stick to my first plan of modifying my own frame mounts. I can´t recall if i have the rubber mounts so i will dig around a bit tomorrow and se if they turn up. I was wondering if someone could give some dimensions though, the distance from edge of frame to top end of the angled mounting surface, and is the angle exactly 45deg? ¨ Happy new year everyone, and thanks again for all photos and pointers

If its not a huge hassel that sounds great, guessing i just need to cut out my mounts and replace with these then fix the problems that arise along the way, atleast then i know that engine is sitting as intended. I will send you a PM

Im only using the L18 front gearbox housing. My old tranny was a short version of the long l18 with a j13 housing, don´t know if this was stock, but managed to change it over by removing all the internals of both trannies. It took me an evening in my parents basement on a tarp while they were gone for the weekend, had a few friends come by that laught at me for trying, but in the end i had a short L18 tranny, the tranny is now mounted fine on the tranny mounts and i didn´t have to shorten the drive train otherwise i had issues with front clearance which was what turned me off from keeping the long tranny, but as i have raised my cab abit i havent thought of if the front housing will hit my firewall if i try to lower it? Unfortunately my success here is what has kept the Datsun parked as there was no turning back after this point other wise i could have slipped the j13 in and enjoyed it while i figured out the other issues. As for the motor mounts i guess i could scavange around for some metal to make them, or i guess the term i should use is mounting points. The mounts i have don´t exactly fit the frame they mount too far toward the firewall and are too low on the engine to mount onto the struts with a rubber mount in between. I was thinking of cutting off an angle on the tip of the frame strut the j13 mounts rested on then extending that angle about 2 inches toward the firewall then add some supports to that, im just afraid it will look too homemade for the DMV guys to approve it, as i know they will check these i was hoping for a "tried and true" solution that would keep me from being the punch line of coffee break jokes at the DMV "....remember that guy that........" As for the oil pan i think im going to frankenstein the one i have as i have nothing to lose (my truck isn´t a show piece hehe), move the drain to the front, remove a huge chunk right by the pickup tube and add to the sides as the one you posted a picture of. Although getting it oil tight last time was a pain with a gasless mig and that when i only removed a small chunk. The pickup tube is my main issue here as i removed as much of the oilpan as i could and still don´t have enough clearance, i guess i could try to cut and weld the pickup tube i was just doubting the weld strength when using gasless mig on cast iron. Engine has to get out anyway, so will see where my mind is at once i get going again, easier to recall the issues i had 3years ago once they are staring me in the face again.

Ecstatic!!! If your willing, I´m ever grateful, really removes the burden of making something subpar and running into new clearance issues with everything imaginable like last time i got it in. Been "on the fence" until i could decide on a solid fix for the mounting. I have enough work to do and little spar time as the "wife" works when i don´t and visa versa, so I´m in no rush whatsoever. I hate to sound greedy here, but if its not a huge hassle and you happen to walk past a forward angles sump pickup tube sometime between now and May, let me know i had an issue with not being able to remove more sump for clearance as the sump then would hit the mesh on the pickup tube. Had to drive the Datsun out of the garage to sort out leaking oil seals on my "new" 1000$ commuter car (96 corolla) a few weeks ago, and its been taunting me from outside my living room window ever since, can´t wait to get the Datsun project moving again. Gonna drag out the kids and get started on childproofing the garage tomorrow then get to work on my "shabby chic " interior (emphasis on shabby, really do miss my humble grease smelling cab).

As always thank you wayno. I think i will have difficulties getting the mounts. I have seen a few 2 720 for sale a few years ago on the northern most tip of the country. None of the junk yards around seem to have any, think i will have to go dumpster diving at work for scrap metal. Thank you Charlie, i will go through your build, i have no planes of making my datsun as clean and thorough as yours, i just want my old beat up daily driver back for sunday shopping. The clearance issures you had with the firewall. Im using the same gear box that was on my J13, but with the front housing from the L18, i have gotten the the engine as far back as i could and it nearly hits the firewall with vave cover (engine is slightly tilted as i still need to get my engine mountings right so i had figured so far that it would sort itself out once i get the engine lowered another inch, and i have raised the cab by about 4cm to get my bonnet down, but did this before bumping into gearbox clearance issues) So i take it a firewall modification will have to be made if i intend to lower it again or is this a L20 issue? Seems like i will be removing the engine again anyway, so i will probably change to Twin SU-carbs prior to tackling the engine mounts and getting that to run nicely, been a while since i looked but hoping i will not have any clearance issues here. When i first decided to do this engine swap i severly underestimated the amount of clearance issues i would have. Thought it would done in a week or two hehehe Both your quick replies were much appreciated. Thanks. Strange how time flies... i have two now, 2 and 3 years old..... all the work i did stripping, sanding, painting, rebuild gearbox (regret not taking pictures) etc, i did in about a month before the first one was born.... since then i have managed to install a tachometer xD... I have a 150km daily commute, my datsun repair time keeps being eaten away by having to repair my commuter and the "wifes" family car.

Fixing the datsun never seems to go as planned, time is really an issue and i still have not figured out motor mounts. Has anyone else figured out how to mount this engine in this frame yet? Or can anyone make me a simplified drawing with some dimensions and angles that will suit my frame? I did take it for a short drive the other day with my temporary mounts and its idling at 4000rpm, had a slight brakefluid leak, but was great to see that its still alive.

Thank you. The general rule in the Norwegian DMW is if the guys don't like your modification, they will ask you to get a confirmation from the manufacturer that the change is ok. Which in many cases can be quite difficult as no one wants to be liable for any accident. Other than that they as I understand just verify that everything is proportionate (brakes, suspension etc. vs. engine size) Did the 620 with the l18 also have the same dimension front drum brakes?

Got my first daughter a few weeks after the last post and now 2 kids and a new house later; im back. Time has not been on my side the last years, and will unfortunately not be on my side until next year (misses works every weekend i'm off until fall), but finally I will get back on the Datsun. To-do-list: Cut into engine struts and weld in motor mounts (previously tried making bolt on mounts, impossible to get these in the right position without cutting into the struts) Scrap the entire bed, and make a narrow wooden bed out of pressure treated 2x8". Make custom exhaust, was thinking about having a vertical exhaust behind the cab. have not decided whether to use exhaust pipe or to use sections of 3" pipe welded together like an elongated muffler, and making a 90deg bend on top using angled pieces of straight pipe welded together (have this lying around, it will look rusted and rough) Rewire all lights in the rear. Optional: shorten steering wheel shaft. Biggest concern will be getting the L18 approved, does anyone have any documentation of a model using the same brake and suspension setup with an L18 engine? In Norway they generally allow a 10% hp increase, I made the assumption that as the 521 in delivered with an L16 I can make the argument that this is a safe setup, but any documentation helps. Good to be back, can't wait to get started.

Hmm mine looked like a short version of the L18 tranny, but it had a smaller front housing so wouldnt fit the L18, except for that they were almost exactly the same. I had to take both trannies apart then i switched the main shafts and rear housing, everything interchanged perfectly and i now have a short L18 tranny, meaning i wont have to make a new hole in the floor and i dont have to shorten my drive line and i dont need to make a new tranny mount, win, win, win !! :) Unfortunatly my camera refused to charge the battery so i didnt have a chance to take too many pictures of the work that was done but i will make sure to post some pictures as soon as i am done with the engine swap, im guesstimating to be done this week or next week, can't wait!!! Next mods will be to make room for the radiator, and maybe do some small modifications to my engine mounts.

Nvm. It took me all of yesterday, but i now have 1 tranny with L18 bellhouse and J13 rear. Amazing how little had changed from 1969 to 1980!

I think i have managed to make room for my new engine (with only the body lift). I still need to make room for my radiator, but my main concern is the tranny. The tranny that came with the L18 is a long shaft, its about 10cm longer than the j13 tranny. It seems like the bolts that attach the rear parts of the 2 trannies are in the same positions, is it possible to use my old tranny for parts to make my long shaft into a short shaft tranny? and how will i go about doing this? I have tried to search but can't seem to find out if this will be possible to do with the 2 trannies i have.

I have been giving your solution some thought, and i am starting to realize that its probably a better option rather than cutting and welding the oilpan. Tomorrow i have a day off so i will try to get the engine out so i have more room for messuring. Norway is known for overpricing just about anything, but my guess is that the machining will be cheaper than the shipping cost from the state, as well as i think doing this mod will be more educational than just ordering a part. Thanks a lot for all your pics, comments and messurements, you have been a great help Wayno!

I managed to raise the cab about 4cm yesterday. Fortunatly i only had to make a bigger hole for the steering column (unfortunatly i wont be able to drive the datsun if i gain more weight), and i got away with adjusting the set screw for the e-brake, everything else seemed to go ok, in worst case my adjustment only means less oilpan welding. Im thinking about just pulling out the J13 just to see what room i have to work with, as this is my first swap i have no idea how to make this happen from the top of my head. If my lift didnt do the trick i will weld the oil pan and if welding ends up with breaking the oilpan, i will start kissing your Wayno ass for a new oil pan :hairy: If i understood your question correctly the oilpan is about 15-16cm deep on its deepest point (this is completely vertical, at the angle the engine will be sitting in im guessing it will be about 14cm deep).