Peter
Liebig's 1600
SR20 Turbo
SR20 Turbo
Photo
Album
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Peter
Liebig's 1600
SR20 Turbo Photo
Album
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| Datsun
1600 1972 model
The story so far ( or how I came to be a 1600 freak) ... The time had come to purchase my own place. Time to liquidate assets and get that deposit happening! Sell the good stuff and buy a bomb to get around in. Having a history of Dattos meant that it would probably be something from the Nissan stable - don't want to waste the years of spares which had accumulated in the shed. Fortunately, the car I found was quite straight and very original. It was used as daily transport for only a matter of months before the bug struck - and with a little cash left over after the house repayments it only seemed right to "invest" a bit back into the Datto. Unlike previous projects, the bodywork came first. After many tins of paint stripper and sanding disks, and remarkably few rust repairs, the white 2-pack paint was applied. This was my first 2-pack job, and I was a convert after the first panel. No more acrylic for me ! It was driven like this for awhile, while the engine was planned. Having built a few L series engines before, I planned a bitchin' 2 litre with all the trimmings. At about this time there were some rather tasty offerings around in the local Jap import wreckers. Why stick with the L series when 16 valves and a purposeful red rocker cover could be mine for $795 with 5 speed ? What seemed like moments later the FJ20 was being wheeled into the shed on the trusty skateboard. A programmable ECU was purchased and wired up in the shed, along with an angle iron stand, VL fuel pump, makeshift exhaust and cooling system. To the amazement of onlookers, it fired almost instantly and within seconds was quietly idling away. The joy of fuel injection was mine at last! What a hoot it was to be able to change mixtures with the twist of a screwdriver. Almost bursting with enthusiasm, the engine was fitted in record time and the beast was on the road. Unfortunately as they say "reality is a bitter disappointment". The awesome performance of the FJ20 I had built up in my mind was far in excess of the actual performance. Not that it was slow. It just wasn't all that fast - and porting, more compression and big cams would have blown the budget big time. Twiddling with the ECU was fun for awhile too, but twiddling every time the weather changed got a bit much ... After putting up with this for quite awhile, enough was enough. SR20s had started to become available and a very clean example was duly purchased - with factory ECU, AF Meter, and Wiring etc. this time ! (you learn by your mistakes ...) After setting it up in the shed and making my way through the maze of wiring it was time for a test firing again. It fired immediately and settled into a smooth, quiet idle. Having hydraulic cam followers, valve train noise was almost non-existent - something I could never achieve with the FJ20. After a small brake upgrade (200B front disks, calipers and m/cyl), the SR was fitted. Not quite as straightforward as the FJ, but it was worth it. The factory injection performed faultlessly. Unfortunately, although it was better than the FJ, it still didn't really set my pants on fire. I had some vernier cam timing gears made, and after much fiddling and many dyno runs, managed to get more mid range out of it, but I'm afraid the inevitable was looming large. The final solution - forced induction. Unfortunately SR20 Turbos were not exactly thick on the ground (I don't think this situation has improved much either), so it took me quite some time to track one down. After my previous efforts, I had decided that a half-cut was the only way to go (I finished up using lots of the gear from the frontcut too, as you can see in the details list). After 2 full years the phonecall finally came. Sounded good too - 1991 180SX with 38,000 k's on the clock. I checked it out and it was good - damage being confined to a heavy whack in the front and left wheel folded back into the wheel well. No missing bits either. Even came with an HKS blowoff valve ! I was about to arrange the finances when I remembered that sometimes the ECUs go missing. I removed the plastic trim and it was still there - but it had been smashed by the front wheel ! Normally I would have walked away, but after the wait to find this one, I struck a deal to have the supplier find a replacement ECU. I'm glad I held back on a substantial part of the money too, or I fear the new box would never have materialised. The first try turned out to be the wrong one too - despite numerous assurances that it must be right ! After more waiting the right box finally arrived and the dreaded wiring job began. After going through the usual mass of wires and fiddling I was ready for another test run. At last. It finally went like it should. I now know what it is like to have traction problems - and I love it ! Although, after driving it to work for the best part of a year I think the best part is the driveability. With positive manifold pressure starting as low as 1800 rpm it actually accelerates harder (at the SAME revs) than a 185i Commodore (manual)- and goes on to rev past 7000 rpm. And gets great fuel economy to boot ! Anyone thinking if fitting one of these gems to their car should think no more - just get one ! Details
1991
Nissan SR20DET (180SX) - internally standard
Drivetrain
Brakes
Suspension
Front
200B struts & lowered springs
Wheels
/ Tyres
Body
/ Interior
Performance
Contact / Email pkl@dove.net.au |
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