Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

I haven't seen anyone putting one of the L-series engines in the roadster. Is there a reason for that? Too tall? Too heavy? Not worth the effort?

Generally too tall - I've seen some interesting hood treatments to make room.

Stan used to make a kit for the swap.

There's a bunch of info. on the swap in the tech section

ttyR2 wrote:I haven't seen anyone putting one of the L-series engines in the roadster. Is there a reason for that? Too tall? Too heavy? Not worth the effort?

I think the #1 reason is that the U20 is such a bulletproof, hassle-free, cheap to maintain, oil-leak free engine that there really is no substitute.

Alvin,

i think you needed a "..." at the end of that last post!

jEFF

The U20 may be nifty, but parts for L20B's are basically a commodity, not so for the U20.

Would the L18 be a better fit, height-wise?

Where I live L series parts are getting tough to find. At least when I look. On the other hand, parts for the G/R/H motors are easy to come by - your local forklift dealer! The L can be made to fit, but it takes massaging. Contact Stan Chernof to see if he still has some of the conversion motor mounts.

ttyR2 wrote:The U20 may be nifty, but parts for L20B's are basically a commodity, not so for the U20.

Would the L18 be a better fit, height-wise?

I just posted a l20b above with no height probs
L18 has no difference in height

Alvin wrote:

ttyR2 wrote:I haven't seen anyone putting one of the L-series engines in the roadster. Is there a reason for that? Too tall? Too heavy? Not worth the effort?

I think the #1 reason is that the U20 is such a bulletproof, hassle-free, cheap to maintain, oil-leak free engine that there really is no substitute.

So, Rob forced you to replace the U20 with a SR20?

The L20B, [2L 4 cylinder] is 20mm taller than any other L series engine.
The most obvious giveaway is the two front cover bolts at the top by the head.