Thoughts on doing a Datsun Roadster (Page 1 of 2)

The judges would be much happier if you found a beat up one and put a Slant Six in it!

( don't forget the claiming rule )

KT

just remember how dang small it is, and what that means in a wreck.... pulped body parts!. My buddy has one, and its cool, but I don't think I'd want to run it in the Lemons crowd! (SCCA Prod maybe)

I've seen retro modded roadster with modern Nissan 4 cylinders.

It's feasible and probably within the budget too.

Racing a car that old requires restoration type work plus the typical build work.

I made and install new floors and frame rails into the 240Z.

Cage attachment points often times needed to rust repair as well as reinforcement.

I don't think guys running late 80's and early 90's cars have had to do that kind of work.  At least it's not common down here in the Gulf coast area.

How about an RX-7 motor for it? Plenty of par ts....and small enough!

I'm not seeing any suitably unreliable suggestions yet.  You obviously need to do a bike engine swap if you want it to go fast and blow up spectacularly...

A KA24 will fit in the car, but finding a healthy one could be difficult. Its pretty commonly done. To be honest, I'd rather run a U20, but I know how much they cost to rebuild. They are fantastic motors, and will take some abuse without coming unglued if they start out healthy. (Trust me, its taken 60,000 miles of abuse to make mine unhappy with more trips beyond redline than I can count. Its not broken yet, but a faulty lower timing chain dictates that its getting a good once over when I get around to pulling it out.)

The trick would be finding a good shell with a good brake master cylinder ($450 new) and solid front suspension ($400 per lower ball joint, the uppers are about the same.) I know they can be fast, I've done a 2:05 at Sears Point on a set of 4 year old race tires, and a friend of mine runs 1:48s at Laguna with less engine than I have (I've never run mine there, it won't pass the sound restrictions.)

A KA24 would give it enough torque and power that long straights wouldn't be an issue, however the fact that it requires an ECU and all the associated mess makes it less appealing to me. (Besides, modern engines don't belong in vintage cars. If it doesn't look like it belongs, it doesn't belong in the car.) A 13b would sort of fit, but they sound horrid. I think the sound alone would make me want to stop racing the car and do something else. Also putting the power to the ground is an issue. Driving my personal car on the street is semi scary as I can light the back end up with very little trouble (makes for a pretty good drift car however.)

I'd love to do one, but I'd want to know if the judges would be lenient on our spending since the parts are stupid expensive.

Will

Spriso has also modded an 80's vintage RX-7 rear end with their LSD for the roadster..

Overkill, yes.  Fun, absolutely.

12A FTW.     We are currently building a rotary SPL311 at the shop.  We are almost there...   As with all rotary conversions, the exhaust is a bitch...     

    Clint or I will post pics....

lol.. I've had 30 cars, 25 of them small ones, including 2 MR2's, road race a Corolla GT-S in IT/A,  and had a uber rare, uber tiny Toyota S800 (always wanted a Honda 600 too)... Trust me, I know small cars... also nearly got killed in one last fall (Sentra). If that had been the Datsoon or my S800, I'd be dead now... I'll have a moment of silence for your funeral... Just sayin.... PS, my new 9000lb mega beast will beat your tiny car in the corners and the straights.. see you at the track

The dood abrades

Hey, when we getting some proper Panasports on that thing?
Will Captains chairs fit? (to match the center console)

So how much hp are you putting to the wheels with an SR20DET? How little traction do you have? Even with 225/50/14 R compounds and a locker rear end, my U20 roasts the tires at will out of every corner in 2nd and out of some in 3rd (such as 2,7, and 11 at Sears Point) and thats still is street tune. If you have some secret to getting the back end to stick please let me know. Right now, I have a really good drift car. It really fun to drive, but not real fast around an autoX course (too much time sideways, not enough time going forward. Always a crowd pleaser however )

I hate to say it, but few things make me more sick than seeing modern engines in a Roadster. There is absolutely no point or reason. Its not cheaper, its not more reliable, it just screws up another car. Heck, if I had the $, I'd buy someones nice looking swapper mobile and strip the thing for all its worth, use the body on my track car and the frame for a Lemons car since odds are its hacked up (especially with a SR20 in it.) On top of that the electrical wiring to make the engine work is too much b.s. I like simple stupid, easy to work on and fast.

As for using a rotary, only if its a 4 rotor. A 12A or 13b just sounds like crap. I don't care if it will turn 10K, I don't want to hear it.   

I'd rather keep carbs on the thing since fuel infection (no thats not a typo) is a giant hassle. (Back to the electrical that shouldn't be there.)

KAs and Miata engines can be done so they don't require cutting up the frame, L series or NAPS Z engines sit too tall and have to be set way over on their sides (and make less power then a U20 to start with.) Not a big fan of the KA for really any reason, I'd rather do a ghetto charged Miata engine (lighter, fits better.)

Now, an Alfa 2L with a Miata head grafted on with a set of carbs could be really different. (And wrong in so many ways.) The Miata head will slip about half way down the head studs on an Alfa engine, the trick is converting the Miata head to use timing chains, and getting the coolant passages to line up. Just to top the madness off, ghetto charge it. What could possibly go wrong with that mess?

As for being small and so called slow, I've caught Lambos, 500 hp Mustangs and other assorted fast stuff on the track. Unless you are out to play bumper cars (and the looks of your car whether it be covered in dents, or with cones, chickens, or rabbits welded to the top of it will tell me to steer clear of you because you can't drive) there won't be an issue.

Will

Not sure on the hp, but I can light em up through 4th gear.   

Yes, it's more power than that little chassis can handle, but the car is surprisingly nimble and well balanced.  Sure, if I push it I can get the back end to seriously step out, but it's not uncontrollable.

It's just a flat out hoot to drive, and why I wanted the engine/car combo to begin with.  Lots of folks get evangelical about originality on cars.  I'm not one of em.  To each their own I guess.  I only had to get the approval of one driver, and he absolutely loves it!