Joseph Christen wrote:
>
> I am looking for info on motor swaps for my 69 roadster. I'm considering a
> ka24.
> Anyone with advice/info/web sites wouold be appreciated.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Joe Christen
Joe,
without going into too much detail in this forum, here is some quick
advice based on my experiences so far in swapping in a twin cam KA:
Despite limited availability in JYs, I chose to concentrate my engine
search on only the twin cam KA24DE, as opposed to the older single cam
KA24E. This was for a few of reasons...the older engines would likely
have more mileage, they have less stock hp and torque, and they have
timing chain issues which may or may not have been resolved through an
official Nissan recall.
Anyway, buy the best, most complete engine you can find and afford - by
complete I mean it includes (at the minimum) the engine wiring harness
(un cut....mine was cut and a real pain to patch together!), alternator,
starter, flywheel/clutch, and most importantly, the ECU and the correct
MAF sensor. If any of these are missing, you'll obviously be spending
extra money replacing them. Ideally, buy an engine and transmission
that is still in the car - and coerce the yard into letting you pull
it/helping them pull it, so that you can harvest all the parts you
will/may need.
You can buy from Sports Imports a mounting 'kit' to get the engine and
transmission placed with the least hassle, but at $350 USD ($500+
Canadian!!), I chose to fabricate my own - not a big deal if you have
the tools and basic fabrication abilities. The engine fits really well,
with only a small 'notch' needed on the passenger side inner fender, to
clear the throttle body. The transmission fits pretty well, with only
minor cleaning up of the tunnel (and modified/fab'd mount), but the
shifter sits back a bit further, so your center console will not be
usable as is. Your driveshaft will need shortening, or supposedly one
from a 4 speed/1600 roadster tranny works - I got the 240's driveshaft
so that I can splice the proper 240 output yoke with my old driveshaft,
at the right length.
Realize that all the stock engine monitoring is electric (i.e. coolant
temp, oil pressure, tach, speedometer), so be prepared to buy electric
gauges (or covert to mechanical senders at the engine and transmission)
to take the place of all the roadster's mechanical ones - I'm building a
custom dash, so not a big deal for me, but if you really want to remain
stock looking inside, you'll face the challenge of finding gauges to fit
the stock 'holes' in your dash.
You'll have to do some wiring work to interface the engine and roadster
electrical systems; of special concern is the fact that the new
alternator will put out 80-90 amps, and as Tom W. points out, any bad
connections in you old wiring will get nice and hot under the right
circumstances - since I'm tearing out my dash anyway, I will probably
rewire the whole car. Make use of fusible links and relays to avoid
fires.
Well, so much for brief...
Pete Long
Guelph, Ontario
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