Worth it to buy a shell?

[psychsurf]

Hi all, first post here.

I'm looking at a 1969 2000 I can get for a few hundred dollars, but the motor and tranny are gone from it. I'm wondering if it is worth it given the likely hassle involved in finding a motor/trans to put into it.

I've done motor/tranny installs before, and I know I can manage that degree of mechanical difficulty no problem... When I start looking at some of the swap projects, however, I kind of break into a cold sweat.

I guess my question really is, do the 2000 motor/trans come up for sale fairly often from the folks doing the big swaps? If so, what kind of prices to they tend to go for?

I love the look of this little datsun, and it sounds like they're a blast to drive even in stock form, so I'd love to give it a go if it's not an impossible task.

Thanks for any input!

[EScanlon]

Put your location in your user profile, you may find that there is someone near enough to you to make it all happen.

E

[psychsurf]

Where's the forehead-slapping emoticon?!

Great idea, will do right now. (I'm in Corpus Christi, TX, by the way)

[notoptoy]

You can definitely get a 1600 and 4 speed easy, they come up quite often, so if you want to economically get the car on the road, that would be the route I would take. Otherwise U20's are available, but more expensive and a little tougher to find. The repair/rebuild costs on a U20 are significantly higher than on a 1600. Other candidates are H20, KA24 and SR20's to name a few, even some V8's and V-6's.
Post pics and WELCOME ABOARD!

[sfdaugherty]

I agree with notoptoy. A running 1600 and a 4-speed can be had for maybe $1000-1500 from those doing engine swaps but you will pay three times that for a 2000 with a 5-speed.

An SR20 swap will cost you $2000 for the engine and trans PLUS $7500 to $10,000 to have someone install it (if you don't do it yourself).

Of course, this assumes that the rest of the car doesn't need any work.

Shannon

[spl310]

In a word, no. The cost to buy all of the pieces to assemble a car will FAR outweigh the cost of buying a nice one to begin with. I think I know which one you are looking at, and it is damned tempting. That being said, I know someone who has a couple of cars for sale local to me in Florida. If you want details, shoot me a PM.

[datsun65]

I also agree that you will probably be better off buying a complete car.

However, if you do decide to pick-up a car without an drivetrain, there is a roadster owner in the Houston area with about 20 parts cars. He probably has several drivetrains available as well.

[psychsurf]

Great info, guys, thanks for the quick replies! But damn, you are killing me! Yeah, it's so hard to pass up, but at the same time it sounds like I probably couldn't afford it if it was free just because of the complexity caused by not having a powertrain with it... You're right, much better to have a complete car as a starting point, so at least you know the systems you are working with.

The good thing is I'm not completely married to the idea of having a roadster, just a small and sporty early japanese car, so I might just give it a pass and save for something complete that fits my needs. Anyone have a Z, or a '77 Celica?

[notoptoy]

It's always better to start with as complete and as nice a car as you can afford - but still a 1600 and a 4 speed are dirt cheap and darn reliable....

[psychsurf]

well, I like reliable and cheap... What about the fun factor? I've heard some pretty nice things about the 2000. Can some more umph be easily wrung from the 1600?

[notoptoy]

There are many threads here about how to stroke a 1600 for some impressive numbers, and several members race 1600's.
There is "power-based" fun, and there is "I am in a cool-ass, 60's Japanese Roadster, toothy-grin. riding down the road fun"
Either will do nicely!

[spl310]

You know, I have loads of fun in my 1500. There are folks here that will tell you that if it isn't a 2000 or more, it isn't worth having. That just isn't true. They are all fun - they each have their own character. Again, if you want a driver, buy a driver. Now, if you can find a rusty driver, then pick it up and get the bare body. Do over the body and in the fall, do a swap - you can move over trim as you go and then swap things over to make it a driver in a weekend.

[dbrick]

Here's a very worthwhile car, mechanically all there, all the important stuff is done. You can drive it anywhere. It comes with a spare body, get the spare all done and painted, swap everything over when you want to. This whole setup will cost you less then a 2000 engine and trans.
http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13894

[datsun1500]

or drive to Chicago and buy this drivetrain....

http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13891" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[FergO2k]

in answer to the original question, it really depends on the car and your circumstances. Buying a roller can be an economical way to buy a decent paint job, store the roller for a while until a runner with a haired out body comes up.
Alternatively (and this may be in my future) is to buy/store the runner, buy a car/truck with a KA24 in it, run it for a year (we have smog laws in CA) all the while stripping off the smog equipment, pairing it down to be as simple/basic as possible. Then remove the KA/trans from the truck (I am weird, I like the look of the KA24E better than the DE) and put it in the roadster.
Or, find a R16 and put that in. I have been on many a backroads drive, and a well driven, well tuned R16 has no problem keeping up, only gets outpaced on long uphills and at elevated fwy speeds.
Good luck, keep us posted.