Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

The 6L V8 out of a newer Chevy truck has proven to make gobs of power with just a little bit of upgrades. I think it was Hot Rod that made 500 hp with just a few bolt-ons.

You will never be able to put enough tire on the car to hook up 500 hp. It is just too light in the rear. My opinion for the rear is to stick with the stock leaf spring arrangement but relocate them in the rear towards the center. This will allow more room for tires with some fender and frame modification. The shackles should be flipped to keep the springs level. You should replace the rear axle with something like an 8" Ford from a Granada. Then put a torque arm that connects to the pumpkin and to somewhere up near the bell housing. A panhard bar will round out the rear suspension modifications.

Somewhere I have the specs on a Ford 302 that produced 514hp with a carb and distributor - no engine management/fuel injection - just a good old Holley. It was all off the shelf parts with a custom cam grind. It may be old school and boring to some, but that is pretty respectable power...

Oh, the Granada also had a 9" diff as optional - the Lincoln Versailles was the same car and got the 9" with disc brakes...

spl310 wrote:Somewhere I have the specs on a Ford 302 that produced 514hp with a carb and distributor - no engine management/fuel injection - just a good old Holley. It was all off the shelf parts with a custom cam grind. It may be old school and boring to some, but that is pretty respectable power...

Take the same 302 and add EFI...you'll make more hp in areas not possible with the carb and it will be more accessible! Any engine combo can make "respectable power". For the average street machine, which the OP is building, EFI isn't about making more horsepower. It's not about simplicity or saving money either. The carburetor has had that covered for years.
No Dominator or Q-jet can come close to the driveability, reliability, lack of maintenance, and consistent performance EFI delivers!

Alvin wrote: For the average street machine, which the OP is building, EFI isn't about making more horsepower. It's not about simplicity or saving money either. The carburetor has had that covered for years.
No Dominator or Q-jet can come close to the driveability, reliability, lack of maintenance, and consistent performance EFI delivers!

bingo.

Plus: I've done carbs and live rear axles for many, many years. This project is also about stretching myself. Going beyond what my comfort zone has been. doing something I've never done before, so I can stand back and say "I did that".
"Old School" is fun..... but it's been fun for a long time. It's time for _me_ to "step-up" to the new stuff.

da-man wrote: bingo.

Plus: I've done carbs and live rear axles for many, many years. This project is also about stretching myself. Going beyond what my comfort zone has been. doing something I've never done before, so I can stand back and say "I did that".
"Old School" is fun..... but it's been fun for a long time. It's time for _me_ to "step-up" to the new stuff.

That was part of the allure of the SR20 for me. Learning and accomplishing something that was new and challenging for me. It's cool to see you are set on pushing your comfort zone and branching out so that you can learn.

We can (and have) argued carbs vs EFI on this forum many, many, many times. Everyone has their own opinion of what works best and I hope your thread does not disintegrate into a squabble about EFI vs. carbs.

Dave wrote: We can (and have) argued carbs vs EFI on this forum many, many, many times. Everyone has their own opinion of what works best and I hope your thread does not disintegrate into a squabble about EFI vs. carbs.

ME TOO!!! This is MY thread, DANGIT!!!!

I had a little time this weekend to dig into the body a little bit. I knew the P.O. had left me some "surprises", but I didn't really know how bad it was.

Here's what it looked like when I got it:


rockers looked fairly intact, though I could tell there was "Some" bondo use.

After digging out the bondo, ( and a couple very poorly made steel "filler panels" that were riveted in) here's what I'm left with:





there was actually bondo greater than 1" thick in places. Some of the bigger rust holes had wire cloth stuffed in them, so the bondo would have something to stick to.

There is rust elsewhere as well, but not as bad, or as complex a shape as the rockers.

I'm a little dissapointed, but also feeling like I'm up for a challenge. I've never been as competent a body-man as I'd like, so this will be an opportunity for me to learn some things.
Advice, as always, is welcome.

Rockers, what rockers? Wow, that's pretty extensive. How are the floor pans and firewall? The rockers should be fairly easy to fab. The front and rear corners will be a task due to the compound angles. I was lucky that mine were still somewhat intact and I cut them out and took them to a sheet metal fabricator. Even with all the equipment they had, it still was made from 3 individual pieces welded together. The same guy also made new front floor pan sections and the lower firewall metal. At least the rockers on mine were basically solid. The front door mount area may be tricky too. If it is not welded in square, the doors may never align right. Probably will require a bit of bracing and reference dimensions before cutting it out. Have you looked at the wheel arches at all?

Floor pans and firewall are not horrible. Yes, there's some rust in key areas on the driver's side, that will necessitate a little cut-n-weld, but nothing horrible.
The bottom of the drivers' side inner fenderwell is terrible. And where it meets the firewall is the worst part of the firewall. But with the amount of fab that I'll be doing to those areas (around the LS1), I'm okay with that.
The rear wheel arches are not bad. Passenger side front (of the rear-wheel arch) is the worst, and is mainly an extension of the damage you see on the rocker.
Passenger side door support is also bad. But It should be straight forward repair.

It'd sure be easier if someone haad a rust-free body!!!

Your car might be a serious contender for the "Rags to Riches" award someday. Be sure to take some pics!

http://www.311s.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.ph ... f88324df92

Linda

I have to start hanging around here, on the Dark Side. Me wanting 350hp from the Rover V8 seems relativly tame. A few people I talked to used to use Rovers in their Super 7 clones, alot have gone LS1. SBC seems like too big a weight penalty .
Since we are going outside the box here, a new aluminum Ford 4.6 block lists for approx $1000.00, plus heads guts etc. Will be small light and narrow, between stock and the world of streetrods and Cobras, many FI options.
Here's a good charton weight and size , for an MG swap. http://www.britishv8.org/Triumph/DanMasters.htm

One option I looked at, and still may try on my spare frame, is to completly cut out the crossmember, plate over the ends to box them where the lower control arms mount, and go with a large maybe 3x3 square tube crossmember with a Pinto steering rack. I will try to find a smaller oil pump cover first, that's my stumbling block now.

As far as the body, Mark Sedlack split the qtr panels and sectioned them wider, very subtle, I liked it. Something similar would work for more rear tire room, and also on the front, if needed to balance the look. I really like the wide fender narrow at the door look. Doesn't Japco make wide front and rear fenders also? I agree on the 4 link and either stock or Ford 8.8 rear Supposedly, you can get custom fabbed crossmembers your choice of frame width and track width, all Mustang II for a couple thousand, a streetrod thing.

Or go completly off the wall, fab a frame and go with an AWD setup from a Typhoon or WRX

JAPCO isn't streetable. It is way to thin and isn't very good cosmetically. I broke my fenders just smacking a traffic cone.