datsun 510
 

i am buying a 510 and i am not sure how i want to set it up v8 or 4 cylinder what r evorey1 elsis thought's.ohyah and any cool idea's on anything els let me know and if you know of any good deal's on 1 around the portland area let me know

Very common, and cool, swap on those 510's is to throw in a rotary. Small, light, and pretty good power output. A turbo 4 could be fun as well. With a small car, a v8 would lead to making dirving on the street very...interesting...lots of torque in a small car isn't always the best thing...

You also have to consider what the different engine sizes will do to your weight distribution. A v8 will put a lot more weight up front than a 4 or a rotary.

Just want you to know I'm incredibly jealous. I've been trying to find an inexpensive 510 for ages, but to no avail.

datsun 510... it fits a nissan silvia engine perfectly... sr20det engine i believe? small, light, rwd.. cant go wrong with that car.

I had a good friend in high school that had a 510 w/ a 280z engine it. That car was scary fast.

I'm personally a fan of the original 4 bangers. I'm a big fan of their road racing heritage, and have always wanted to build up the original 4 with the dual webbers, bump up the comp, white exterior with minimal blue interior and a cage, suspension mods and a set of the mag wheels. Classically delicious.

280z Engine in it? Wow, stuffing an Inline6 in there sounds like quite a job. More effort than its worth even. Personally, id reccomend turbo4 (Nissans, or Toyotas MR2 engine) or a rotary. I like rotaries, so that one would probably get my vote. If you want to make it into a drag queen, you chose the wrong car, but should go with a v8. If you want a great handling AutoX car, go small and light, including the engine.

When I had my 510, I was looking into putting the old 215 aluminum V8 from the early 60's (now produced by Rover) in. It is a pretty easy swap, and the aluminum 8 only weighs about 50lbs more than the iron 4 banger. This is not a huge engine, but will take you up to about 160hp normally aspirated, 180hp injected. I got the idea from a book that is no doubt no longer available, but you may be able to find something through google. (BTW- I didn't do the swap because I lived in CA at the time, and the emissions laws were a bit too tough to keep the car licensed).

This site has lots of pic's to check out. Just browes through, there are cars with engine swaps mixxed in.

http://510.streetracing.org

http://510.streetracing.org/gallery/...c05427-med.jpg

http://510.streetracing.org/gallery/...c05420-med.jpg

http://510.streetracing.org/gallery/...c05392-med.jpg

Here is a guy with a twin turbo DOHC 24v 3.0L V-6.
http://www.datsuns.com/projects/fv-s/fvs.htm

http://www.datsuns.com/boostt/minibolted-in.jpg

http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/fe...c2_08_zoom.jpg

From Sport Compact Car's USCC. Rotary looks so natural in there :)

http://www.datsuns.com/Tech/swaps/350in510.jpg
350 V8. it can be done...and looks good too.

i want to put the 350 from my truck in my wrangler, to hell with aerodynamics, american brute force, bitch! :x

yah i have ben checkin on that 2

how nuch r you looking to spend

i talked to a buddy of mine and he told me since i am going with the 71 to go with the 289 he said it will be easyer to fit in the car thean the 350 he said 72 and up fit the 350 easyer

i wuz also looking at a turbo charged v6 out of a t type regal

bro...go with the SR20DET from the Nissan Silvia. You can import a full JDM from clip for as low as 1800 dollers. I'm my opinion its one of the nicest engines available in our time. Rated at 200-240 (depending on generation) its enough to kick ass in a light 510. Keep in mind that those ratings are at something like 6-7psi of boost also. Buy a Boost Controler and mabey a FCD and crank it up to 12-15psi and you just got yourself a 265 or so horsepower beast.

yah but evorey 1 is doing that i can buy a ke 24 for it for $450.oo i am looking for something different to do but if i cant finde any thing that is what i am going with

I met a guy at a Portland Nissan Meet and he told me about how he bought his front clip for $1500.... not SR20 either but RB25DET
Engine, tranny, etc $1500. It can be done just need to shop around.

i found an sr20 for 1200.00 in town

It would be kinda hard to fit a Skyline straight 6 in a 510 engine bay. Thats a good price for a RB25 though. Have you considered CA18DETs? From what I understand, they are the RB26's little brother in design. Cheaper than SR20dets too.

good to know

In case you can't find anything, my fiance has two 510s just sittin. I'll be glad if he sells them. He has enough "project cars"

By the way...any 240sx fans here?

Details and pictures please! I'm always looking for 510s.

You could say that

who-hoo!!!!

Hey, i just wanted to know is it really worth it to buy a 510 if you have no engine to swap in it ? Theres one for sale in my town
(1500$). yes/no? tell me what you think

what shape r the cars in

you can build the original engine

well i bought a moter for my 510 i went with an l20 b bored out to a 2.2 with a nsmo longtube header and a weber 34 36 down draft carb and i also have a u67 head with a 5 speed tranny and possi rear end for know i am going to use my excell super coil with my egnition system until i get me L dizze i already have the crane cam's xr 700(the little black box) for the dizzy when i get it not long now till i hit the street and go to the body man to get my flares fixed and hope fully finde a good fender

IF you are serious and you want to know all about engine swaps in 510's, email me at zqpm1056@yahoo.com.
I have been heavily into these cars for about 8 years now. I recently finished swapping in an S13 SR20DET in my current 510. It is the most fun car I have ever driven!! It is extremely powerful (dynoed 228 at the wheels on low boost) and the completed car weighs 2,000 lb even. It tears through the tires in 1st, 2nd, and I usually let off in third because I am going sideways and losing control.
I have not dynoed it at high boost yet, or ran a 1/4 mile.
Coming from the mouthes of sesaoned 510 experts and enthusiests, dont waste your money/time on the L-series swap in a modern engine.
And avoid V8's, they are heavy, and they do not perform as well as a well as a turbo-4. THe SR pulls hard all the way to the 7500 RPM redline.
The rotary swap sucks, sure the engine is light and you can lay it way back in the tunnel, but rotaries are such a nightmare, hardly anyone is doing them anymore. THere are plenty of V6 swap kits available and the SR20 kits are popping up too.
I personally did all the fab work and technical details on my engine swap, and I am very pleased how it turned out. I will try to link to a pic here:


http://www.datsun510.com/photopost/s...ort=1&cat=3121

http://www.datsun510.com/photopost/s...ort=1&cat=3121

Go with a inline 6 from a Skyline(have fun finding one)or a Turbo V6 from a 300ZX(90's on). I think a V6 turbo would rock a 510 nicely.

Straight 6 is a bad idea. THe 510 has a short engine bay, striaght sixes are long. You would have to cut the firewall apart the engine would pretrude in the cabin and the tranny tunnel would have to be resculpted.
V6's are easy, turbo/twin turbo V6's are hard. Lots of plumbing, no room to do it. The turbo route usually requires converting the car to rack and pinion steering, which is difficult and not well documented.

Humm I though Datsun's came with a inline 6?

I got a model of one and it has a inline 6!

those are awesome engines, but I would think that it would be a very difficult swap because a) it is a pretty large engine physically and b) you would have to figure out a way to mate a American engine to a Japanese tranny.

definately let us know how you make out, sounds lilke a fun project.

Go with a vg-30 swap, trust me my boy has a real nice one. It is not horribly complicated you can get a engine and harness cheap. just need to have motor mounts fabbed. Scab the engine from an older 300 and youll be stoked. inexpensive, a ton of people have done it, and gobs of low end torque. Makes for an oversized go-cart type of feel.....

Why mate American with Jap, just take the rearend and a TH350 tranny and get a custom driveshaft made to fit...but that will be a lot of work welding all the new suspention mounts up! :eek: :hmm:

All datsun 510's 1968-73 came with a 4-cylinder L-series engine. Most had the 1.6L, the SSS Bluebird in japan had a 1.8L.

Your model is probably of an old skyline, those had a straight six in them.

If you do an engine swap, toss the stock 510 transmission, it is a pile of crap and not worth the trouble of trying to mate an engine to it.

The Vg30 is a good swap, there are plenty of install kits available for relatively cheap, lots of people have done the swap, so there is a lot if info available.
It is also easy to find donor cars.

[QUOTE=compression]If you do an engine swap, toss the stock 510 transmission, it is a pile of crap and not worth the trouble of trying to mate an engine to it.QUOTE]

LOL if its crap why do you want it?