CA18DET swap Whittier

[Markate]

Katie and I have been Roadster addicts since March 2014. In that time we have bought and sold nine roadsters! We still have four, but are only keeping two. Its been a long time coming but we are finally starting our first build! That honor goes to our first car, lovingly named Teeny Tiny (TT) by Katie. TT is a 1970 1600 with a great body. No rust, straight as an arrow and minimal body work. She was previously owned by Jose in Eaglerock, you guys might know him as the guy that puts on the Datsun swapmeet in eaglerock. Anyway, he was going to do a SR20DET swap but decided to sell the car and focus on his health. Anyway, this is where we started:



We weren't sure about the motor, lots of parts were missing, no idea if it ran, etc... So we bought a parts car with a running motor but toasted body...The motor has been cleaned up and prepped for install, my original plan. (for sale now if anyone is interested)





The car was taken apart and painted




Over the last few months we have been driving a 67 Roadster with an A14 swap and 5 spd transmission. I really liked the motor and having a 5 spd, but I wanted more power for my final project. I debated SR20DET, KA24DE, U20 and even stroker R16. KA24DE was my first choice but finding a motor has been surprisingly difficult. I have a U20 in one of the cars we have with Solex, but I am afraid of the cost to repair and keep up. The SR20DET is nice, but everyone does it and they are pretty expensive. Then a few days ago I learned about a the CA18DET. 170HP, 170ft-lb torque and I could get one at a local JDM motor shop for 1300 out the door with basically everything I need with less then 60K miles on it. I bought it and hope to start the build this weekend.



Any input or experiences is appreciated. We are hoping to document the build and put together a how to. Wish us luck!

[Alvin]

Looking forward to the build! CA's are neat engines with tons of potential. I think you'll be happy with the bump in power

[Markate]

I'm Starting to buy some parts and get this thing going. I have researched a few different radiators and inter coolers but would love some advice from the veterans. Any particular favorites or dislikes?

We are going to get all the brake work done first. Starting with the Volvo brake upgrade and hiding the lines to emphasize the motor more. Super excited.

Thanks,

[Alvin]

I'm Starting to buy some parts and get this thing going. I have researched a few different radiators and inter coolers but would love some advice from the veterans. Any particular favorites or dislikes?

We are going to get all the brake work done first. Starting with the Volvo brake upgrade and hiding the lines to emphasize the motor more. Super excited.

Thanks,

If you are doing the Volvo brake conversion consider using a vented rotor as opposed to the stock solid unit. There's a detailed thread about it

[tag.mf]

You are going to love this swap, the motor and transmission fit PERFECTLY without any modifications! My current 66 1600 just needs the wiring finished to start up! (:

[nismou20]

Subscribed! Are you saying there is no welding required? I'm for a build that drops in. Tranny mounts? Anyways, very interested.

[theunz]

My God, what is that thing beside the dumpster? Must be a pulley display! That's exactly the reason I like old cars, just the essentials. Yeah, I know new cars are better in almost every way, but who wants to work on that monstrosity? Mike

[Markate]

My God, what is that thing beside the dumpster? Must be a pulley display! That's exactly the reason I like old cars, just the essentials. Yeah, I know new cars are better in almost every way, but who wants to work on that monstrosity? Mike

I have no idea... Didn't even see it there when I got the motor. They had some awesome stuff for sure

[Markate]

Subscribed! Are you saying there is no welding required? I'm for a build that drops in. Tranny mounts? Anyways, very interested.

That is absolutely why I'm doing this swap. I've had three people validate this is basically a drop in swap. The only caveat s I have heard are the exhaust and manifold in particular are tricky. Other than of course the other work you need/should do with a turbo swap. To the best of my knowledge a high performance radiator, inter cooler and fuel pump are the only other things that need to be done. I think I'm going to pull the body this weekend to get a better idea of what is going on and do some other work down there, then body back on and motor swap!

[fj20spl311]

a better idea of what is going on and do some other work down there, then body back on and motor swap!

IMHO, You do the swap with the body off.....Make a 3 sided "box" that fits into your engine compartment to define where the body would interfere with the engine and mark the frame for alignment of the box.

IIRC, usually you make a lazy "Z" shaped bracket to adapt the transmission mount to the original mount....That what my FJ20 has IIRC.

[Markate]

a better idea of what is going on and do some other work down there, then body back on and motor swap!

IMHO, You do the swap with the body off.....Make a 3 sided "box" that fits into your engine compartment to define where the body would interfere with the engine and mark the frame for alignment of the box.

IIRC, usually you make a lazy "Z" shaped bracket to adapt the transmission mount to the original mount....That what my FJ20 has IIRC.

Awesome suggestion! I think I will go down that path. Hope to have some updates at the end of the weekend.

[Markate]

Well, as most projects like this go, nothing is going to plan or schedule... No surprise of course.

The unnecessary accessories are off the motor. Pretty simple stuff. I can definitely see where the turbo and exhaust manifold in its current location will probably need to move and be made custom to get around the steering column. I'm guessing the difference in steering parts in the 66' and my 70' is enough that the swap will be slightly different.

Anyway, I decided to turn my brake swap into a suspension rebuild... Let me tell you, pulling tie rods off and ball joints really sucks, even with the right tools.

Yes, that bolt was deformed by the tie rod pulley. Fortunately I think I can fix this.

But eventually they gave in and came off. I have a new set of ball joints I got with one of my parts cars so I just took the assemlby off at the a-arms. Took everything apart, washed it off. Next is either painting or powder coating.


Also working on cleaning and painting the brakes I bought. I am going with the un-vented volvo brakes for now. Might upgrade to the vented brakes in the future, but for now, this is what I got...


My good friend Mark at Roadsterwerx is a freaking polishing master and is helping with my fuel lines and anything else he can shine up. For those of you who don't know Mark, he was the guy that won the stock low windshield this year at Solvang.


When the brakes and suspension are back in place, it will be time to put the motor in.

[RCMike]

Have you considered getting rid of that brake distribution block? It is not really needed.. you can get rid of a ton of extra back and forth lines, and it's not like you are trying to make a stock roadster...

[Markate]

Have you considered getting rid of that brake distribution block? It is not really needed.. you can get rid of a ton of extra back and forth lines, and it's not like you are trying to make a stock roadster...

Not yet, but it sounds like I have a new research project

[RCMike]

Start here.. Michael documented his very well.. It's some work, but..

http://311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f= ... ine+spriso