Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Hi--
Just a newbie to the site, and my brain is already fried thinking of the possibilities. I have a 1600 roadster that I parked in a garage about 10 years ago. I needed a new clutch and I was unwilling to pull the engine to swap it out until I made the big plunge to upgrade to a fuel injected motor.

Well, I've discovered your site recently and I want to plan out the upgrade. I want the simplest swap that will give me at least 150 horses. Welcome your ideas. Since one guy posted about the zedec being easy, I was wondering about the new Ecotecs. Like this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... AMEWA%3AIT

Anybody think this one would work? Any experience w/the computer controlled throttle? Anybody w/a swap to fuel injection that lives on the central coast of california? Thanks for all your thoughts.

To the best of my knowledge, no one has swapped an Eco-tech into a roadster. At least no one around here has. Given the fact that you would be breaking completely new ground and no one in the general roadster community would be able to offer first hand assistance in things like fabricating engine mounts, telling you if and where the frame or body may need to be modified, how to wire it, etc., I'm going to say the Eco-tech fails your requirement for a "simple" install.

If you want simple, fuel injected, and at least 150 Hp, your best bet is to swap in a Nissan KA24DE or the Ford Z-Tech.

If you really are bent on doing the Eco-tech, more power to you! We'll be here to offer any support we can and cheer you on along the way. I don't think it will be simple though, purely because of the general lack of knowledge in swapping that particular engine in.

Athought I have not done the swap yet I think my pick for a swap would be either a miata 1.6L or 1.8L as the engines are everywhere and affordable plus aftermarket parts allow you to get pretty good power over stock. Plus someone on the forum has done this swap and said it was pretty easy with no frame modification that I know of.

Here is a thread on the swap:
http://www.311s.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1211

Actually the Ecotec is a great choice, being all aluminum, and with its displacement and race development you could probably take it quite a ways up the horsepower scale. The one thing I would do (to reduce the complexity of the swap) is to lose the drive-by-wire throttle body, the GM ECU, harness, etc. and just go with a Megasquirt standalone for a fairly simple engine management system. Once you do that, the rest of the elements of the swap, like engine mounts, trans adapting, etc. are equivalent to a Zetec or SR choice, since they all require custom mounts.
You can tell I like the Ecotec [if you read carefully :- ) ]
If I ever replace the Ford 2.3L turbo motor in my roadster it will be with a turbo Ecotec. It will weigh less and make more power.
And that is just my 2 cents worth, maybe a little more...

any good detailed web sites on the megasquirt install for an ecotec? I need to read up on this?

thx!

Yep, reading up on MS is required, but if you are going to run EFI you need to know a lot of this stuff anyway. Try this link:

http://www.megasquirt.info/

People have used MS to run anything from a single cyl. engine to a V-10, it is that flexible.

"People have used MS to run anything from a single cyl. engine to a V-10, it is that flexible. "

Everything from Briggs & Stratton lawnmower engines to a couple of 27 Litre (thats 1,647 cubic inches) "Merlin" V 12 engines........

What tranny options might you have with an ecotec? It seems that most of the gm ecotec cars are front wheel drive. My guess is that since the solstice is so new it would be very expensive to p/u a used one from a wrecking yard even if you could find one. But there must be some other gm cars that use a f/r powertrain setup. Hopefully with a 5 speed manual, hehe. Atleast for me. Thanks. I think an ecotec would be a fun swap!

would a S10/sonoma transmission bolt up?

This might be of interest:

http://www.kitcarmag.com/projectbuild/1 ... index.html

It seems from this series like there may be a kit available from the guys Kit Car teamed up with that will mate the Ecotec to a RWD tranny (from S-10 or whatever).

By the way, their site navigation is terrible. The link I include is to the first of a four or more part series. Type "Ecotec" in the little search window to find the other installments. It's installment IV that has an interview with the RWD guys.

Jesse.

I like this idea too. It is a compact and light motor and will have lots of aftermarket support.

Picture and specs on a 2.2 Ecotec:
http://www.turnkeyenginesupply.com/Street/22170.htm

The Solstice GXP should be out soon, it has a turbocharged 2.0 Litre @ 260 Horsepower and 260 ft lbs torque.

2.4 L Shared parts (from: http://www.policybers.com/Play-to-Pott/ ... lstice.php (scroll down)) :

The 2.4 L Ecotec engine is shared with the Saturn Ion, Pontiac G6, Chevrolet Cobalt, and Chevrolet HHR

The five-speed manual transmission is from the Hummer H3, GMC Canyon, and Chevrolet Colorado

The five-speed automatic is from the Cadillac CTS, STS, and SRX

So parts for this swap should already be reasonably available and not excessively expensive.

On a side note, I am a huge fan of Megasquirt, have two setups, one for my roadster R engine project and another for my brothers 510 racer. BUT for an engine this new and advanced, I think you would be better off with the GM computer. UNLESS you are modifying the engine WAY beyond stock hp ratings. of course you may pick up on this as you read through the MS websites.

My $0.02

Does anybody know the dimensions of the motor/tranny for the miata 1.8 and the sr20de? The guy selling the solstice motor has dimensions and I'm wondering if they're the same. It would be great if the only prob of running one of these is exhaust on the wrong side...

i would think the MS is pretty close to what gm uses for an ecu anyways ....its miles short of the Chrysler stuff. Gms and fords stuff is pretty stone aged. I would rather go with an fast xfi after owning a MS.

Steve

Here is a link to an ECOTEC forum that seems to have good information on performance and conversions.

http://www.ecotecforum.com/forums/index.php?

Would love to see somebody do this conversion.

GoldHawg wrote:I have a 1600 roadster that I parked in a garage about 10 years ago. I needed a new clutch and I was unwilling to pull the engine to swap it out until I made the big plunge to upgrade to a fuel injected motor.

I can understand wanting to swap in a newer more powerful engine, but not driving your roadster for ten years just because it needs a clutch?