Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

I read the article on this site about the parts that interchange from an H20 to an R16 engine. Are these parts exactly the same as the originals or are there slight differences?

a little of both. some are identical, while others have differences. It depends on which one you are looking at. what parts do you need? bearings should all be the same. pistons will be different (dished versus domed versus flat) water pumps may vary from your exact model as well.

From what I have learned by joining and reading on this site, the parts are the same as far as dimension but may not be Nissan parts. Motor Power Inc., the outfit in Kentucky that Steve Allen refers us to in his article, says their parts are aftermarket and made in Taiwan or somewhere in the Pacific Rim countries. Steve is running their timing chain components on his R16 race car engine and says he has no worries at all about the quality.

I have a stroker project underway that, if I can ever get to it and get the head off my R16 engine to CC the combustion chambers, I plan on using the Motor Power parts to do my engine. See, the H20 pistons that MP has are dished and may drop compression a bit too low for me IF the combustion chambers on the R16 engine are over 41cc each.

Anyway, my 2 cents worth.....

Scott

From what I gather h20 motor has some interchangeability with both R16 and U20.

The block from my understanding are the same for h20 and u20.

The R16 people like to take the h20 parts to stroke out the r16 to a "r20" with many parts still ready and available unlike the r16.

There is a write up for that R16 stroker on the main page. Also the the stroker projects is not too expensive.

I wonder if anyone has swapped an actual H20 engine into a roadster. I talked to a guy at the Nissan forklift dealer, and he said a long block would cost about $1,500.

Isn't an H20 a deisel motor?

Then again that would be kinda cool with propane injection.

There are several H20's out there but I do not recall who has one. A guy just bought a 67.5 2 liter that had an H20 in it instead of the U20. The crank is exspensive as well at over $500 from a forklift dealer. You can buy the exact same crank from the Nissan Motorsports catalog for around $325.00. It pays to shop around. The 5 main R16 block can be had for much less money. The H20 is out fitted in cars in the overseas market place. It is not just a forklift motor.

Steve

I recently puchased a 67 2000 with a Japanese market H20 engine. Not sure where the engine is actually from...probably Japan or australia.

I haven't spent almost anytime looking at it so far..But the engine (has ID#'s on block), is running dual carbs and the valve cover looks quite similar to an A15. Running the H20 engine, the roadster has some very nice pick-up and go!

I previously owned a Stroked r block (with G crank) engine in a 65 1500. This combo was also very quick.

Has anyone considered installing a H25 motor in a roadster?

Dan Zubkoff

Dan,

There was a thread on that very subject on this forum. The problem was finding an H25 and costs. You can buy an KA or an SR for about the same price and have a much more modern setup. You can do a search to look at the actual thread.

Steve

Steve/All,

In my basic quest to find out more about the H20 engine in my car, I have seen several dealers that sell the H25 engine.

Indeed...It wouldn't be a cheap motor set-up. But, a stock looking 2500cc engine in a roadster might be an interesting combo.

Dan Zubkoff
San Mateo, CA

Hi All,

Don't know if this deserved a new post, but I have a question. I am new to the site and new to roadsters, but I love em! My question is I want to know how I can identify a H20 motor from the outside? I realise that it will be an OHV motor, but are their any block casting numbers etc that will allow me to identify one easily? The reason that I ask is that I want to build a stroker motor, I really like the idea and think it would be very cool. A guy who is a "friend of a friend"(ie I don't know him that well) says he has an R16 and a H20 motor that he wants to get rid of. He does not know the condition, but I am thinking as long as they both turn I can use the crank out of the H20 and rebuild the R16? What does anyone/everyone think? By the way you think you got it hard finding parts... try to do it here in Australia!!!!! Roadsters are very rare here, don't know the count but probably less than 500 left on the road.
Anyhow, hope someone picks up this post and can help me.
Thanks!

That is what the forum is for-to keep open-active discussions going. As far as the serial numbers for the H20. The H20 parts that work with an R16 come from an engine starting with a K in the serial number. I do not know the rest but the K should be a good indicator. As long as the R motor is a later 5 main block you should be good to go. You could get away with using the H20 block, camming it up and adding some 2 liter SUs or some Mikuni/Solex carbs. Personally I like the SUs as they are easy to work on and once you get them dialed in they run a long time. You can for the most part still get parts as well. Any way-welcome to the forum and your participation is appreciated. We all learn from this.

Steve

Hi Steve,
Thanks for that. I thought that might be the case with the motor designation as it is mentioned in the article (or a post) somewhere. I knew it would need to be the 5-main block, so I have asked him to check the casting number, but if worse came to worse my roaster has a 5-main block in it at the moment, but my plan is keep that running as standard for now while I build the other motor. As for just putting the H20 in, would that be difficult? What are these motors like? I was going to go the stroker route as it was simpler than an engine swap, it would also allow me to keep things looking pretty stock. I am not sure how common the H20 is in Australia, but I would think that if I was going to transplant a motor, and do it cheaply (can't afford to do an SR or FJ conversion) then an L20 might be the go. L16,18,20s are very common here in Aus and heaps of people know about them and how to build them, and the parts are very easy to come by. I read somewhere about the L-series conversion, but it mentioned a "kit" from someone and that seemed to complicate things a bit.
Sorry if this is a long post... Also with regards to the carb's, ultimately for best HP would mikuni/weber/solex type setup not be the way to go? More air-flow etc? Although if there is not much in it and the SU's keep their tune better then that would probably be my preference too, because I'd rather drive than "tune" any day!
Thanks,

Stuart

Stuart,

The H20 is frequently used in overseas markets as an automotive motor. Which markets and what automobiles I have no clue. Surely, there is something downunder powered by an H20 or maybe even an H25. Here in the states they are only used in Nissan forklifts. The H20 looks exactly like an R motor and should drop right in with little problem. There is a guy local who just bought a 67.5 2 liter roadster with an H20 conversion in it. I like the idea of using an L series too as they put those together just as an overhead cam engine should be built. There are as you say plenty of aftermarket performance parts for them as well. I am trying to recall what comes in the conversion kit but the only thing coming to mind is motor mounts. It could not be that hard to fab your own. The only other gotcha to the L swap is you have to notch the front crossmember for oil pump clearance. A 240/280z 5 speed can then be mounted I believe using a 1600 roadster driveshaft. The L series are bullet proof little motors.

As to the carbs--the mikuni/solex setups do provide more HP but for me personally I will still stick with the simplicity of the SU carbs. Take care.

Steve

Hi people , the name of the light truck the H20 engine came out here in Oz in the Nissan " Urvan "