Hey guys,

I am looking into the plan of putting a 13b turbo into a 1600 sedan and, to assist in flow, the easiest way is to remove one of the headlights, probably one of the inside ones, and replace it with a little bell mouth for turbo intake. The appropriate mesh and whatnot to prevent my car eating small birds and children but... this done for road cars in QLD?

There are PAC Performance Sealed filter housings you can get that are compact but classed as an "airbox" so that is a good way to create/leave some space in the engine bay... to use one though, one light would be best to get gone. For the best results.

http://www.pacperformance.com.au/Articl ... c849e4.jpg

http://www.pacperformance.com.au/Articl ... d54cbb.jpg

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The Gene Pool Needs More Chlorine.

I don't think it is legal, but this would depend on the state you are in.
My preference would be to instead use the air that slips in between the bonnet and the section the bonnet clips into at the front. A nice little rectangular duct sitting over the top would work wonders for your application and should be fairly simple to make up.

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1972 Datsun 1600, S14 SR20DET Engineered (204rwkW @ 17psi.)
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#SR20Datsun @SR20Datsun

If you upgrade the outside lights to h4 globes and wire them up to be low and high. You could get rid of the inner ones. Then it would be legal.

Aaron, I don't think it's that easy. The difficulty with lights is the setup you propose would have to be signed off by an engineer (based on my understanding) as you are making changes to an existing standard of lighting and replacing an already high and low beam outer light with an H4 and removing the high beam on the inner. If you could prove the H4 produces the same amount of light on high beam as the typical Datsun 1600 factory lighting (which should be possible), then you may be OK.

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1972 Datsun 1600, S14 SR20DET Engineered (204rwkW @ 17psi.)
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#SR20Datsun @SR20Datsun

The stupid thing is I would say 90% of datsuns have very poor headlight lighting due to bad earths, old wiring and adjustment out so much they point towards the ground or the bushes on the side of the road (reminds me of driving a particular coupe from noosa to sydney, Mick you will have a laugh if you read this).

So any upgrade is an improvement.

A fair few years ago, I restored an 808 sedan and, like you guys are saying is the case with the 1600s, the light was so bad that I avoided driving at night where possible. Around towns etc was ok but darker highways... not a great move.

I did hear/read/dream of a rumour that you needed an even number of forward facing head lamps... so, if that is the case... I'd remove the two inners and replace the outers with something a lot more modern. In regards as to what the car needs in order to comply, It just needs to have the same functionality as the car had from factory.

There are some funny rules and regs though so you never know until you ask.

RE: Covering the front opening, there is some fancy grilled covers and that kind of thing so as to stop it from eating wildlife and small childers.

I have asked QLD vehicle mods branch this same Question. I shall post the reply when I get it.

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The Gene Pool Needs More Chlorine.

Oh yeah, fond memories.
Thank Jehovah and Jeebus for your re-wire workaround and the fact the torrential downpour decided to stop. Standard lighting is dangerously shite.
The H1/H4 upgrade is on my do list in order to get the nugget rego'd in time for Datsun Day.
I like the idea/look of that of that bell mouth intake. Judging by some mods on the coupe you should be able to get away with it in QLD but you could run it by an engineer to be sure. It would look good if got matching mesh covers on either side for some symmetry and to camo the intake.
Like these


Are 13b turbos in 1600's legal these days? Or is that another QLD only thing? I could be out of touch with the current rules..

Hey WU1600, Not too sure what the go is with other states laws but, in QLD, I can scrape by by the skin of my teeth with around 100cc to spare. Keen as mustard!!

I saw something like them on one sight or another and I like the idea of symmetry. I would love to put the second headlight hole to good use though... instead of just a hole going nowhere... Thought of mounting the oil cooler there with a small intake or some such thing... Theories at this stage though, might not get enough flow or create too much clutter to warrent mounting that there.

I will know more when i start mucking about.

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The Gene Pool Needs More Chlorine.

Requirement is for minimum f two forward facing white lamps, must be switchable for low and high beam.
If running additional lamps, they must be equidistant to each other.
If fitting just an additional single forward facing lamp, it must be in the centre.

Funnily enough, the two white parkers are also considered as forward facing lamps, but the rules got written so that the headlamps must illuminate a distance, and have reflectors that prevent glare to oncoming cars when on low beam.

Many 1600's would ditch the twins, and fit 7" singles, and that is legal.
So, f removing one inner hi-beam, must remove the other.
Do not need engineering approval for that, as the inners are complimentary lamps only.

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Yep, i race a Datsun, and I drive a truck, sometimes I get confused, and then the truck goes fast, and the Datsun gets a lot of boxes shoved into it. AWW GEE

I thought it might be something like that. Thanks heaps for the reply. Appreciate it heaps.

Also, I enjoy your signature (^_^) made my morning.

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The Gene Pool Needs More Chlorine.

Nothing says you cant have 4 forward facing headlights as long as hi low either.

huh??

We're not saying you cant. I am asking of the legalities of removing one globe to create a free flowing air intake for a turbo... I was effectively asking if three was legal (not including parker lights).

Thanks though.

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The Gene Pool Needs More Chlorine.

You need to remove both inner high beam lamps, and the Dept of Transports in all states will require some form of mesh cover, to prevent little children being ingested, or sticking little arms and legs in to touch hot things or fast spinning things.
Do upgrade the outers to decent Halogen H4 ( Hi-Lo beams) you can get globes that almost melt bitumen, but fit a decent relay, and rewire from the standard Earth switching setup, a PITA.

Vague recall in Vic maximum no of forward facing lamps was/is 4, NSW it is 6
As above if using an odd number, the odd one must be centre mounted, hence the number of trucks or some 4x4's with a ginormous spotty up high and centred.

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Yep, i race a Datsun, and I drive a truck, sometimes I get confused, and then the truck goes fast, and the Datsun gets a lot of boxes shoved into it. AWW GEE

Hey again,

Thanks again for the info and laughs. I was thinking to go a two phase meshed sammich little deal. Sort of have a mesh guard -- foam insert -- mesh guard over that. To try to assist in keeping insects and excess moisture out. Don't know if that is worth while as It will surely restrict the flow to an extent but, for the idea of keeping small wildlife out... probably work ok.

Worth my time?? Is this something that is commonly done or commonly thought of as a waste of time?

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The Gene Pool Needs More Chlorine.

It should be noted, it is an offence to reduce the safety offered by the original vehicle manufacturer. It may be possible to remove these lights providing the remaining headlights meet all the requirements outlined in the ADRs and these include the light pattern and lumens. To have you vehicle correctly accessed I would suggest that you seek the services of an Approved Person Engineer and a list has been attached for your convenience.

This is the QLDs Vehicle Mods stance on the question i asked... Exactly what i expected them to say.

So long as the two remaining have the same functionality of the original car's design, no dramas here. While being within current legal and safety parameters of course.

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The Gene Pool Needs More Chlorine.