New guy with an old Nissan
Hey everybody, I'll keep this brief, since I don't have much to report at this point. I'm just an auto enthusiast who doesn't see the point of having a car you can't drive every day, and I like getting as much efficiency as I can out of a car while keeping it fun to drive (I watch Top Gear, but am not interested in supercars).
I find myself increasingly disappointed with new cars, having so much excess and heft bolted on to them, and completely missing the point of a vehicle (which is transportation of people and goods, right?). I tend to admire modernized older cars that combine the light weight and simplicity of older cars with the efficiency and tight tolerances of modern engineering. That's why I purchased the ugliest car I've ever seen, and decided to turn it into (what I consider) the ultimate daily driver. Here's what it looks like: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_M...0/DSC_5573.jpg Unfortunately, I haven't been able to source the correct starter motor for it (after 3 tries, and snapping off several starter cog teeth because I was sold the wrong part) I've decided to throw away the old, complicated, ineffective, inefficient ca20e motor and replace it with a slightly more modern but MUCH better engineered ca18det. It may seem strange to expect to go from a 100hp engine that was touted for being very efficient (it has two EGR systems and 8 spark plugs on a 4cylinder engine) to a turbocharged little workhorse of an engine, but the resolution of control I can get out of the ca18det will give me the best of both worlds:
Right now the car is up on jackstands, and is waiting for me to yank the old engine out so I can pick up the new engine on the 19th, then I get to spend the weekend swapping engines and working out the kinks with that. I've removed as much weight as I can, and will revisit the suspension setup after the new engine is in. My end goal is to install a more efficient turbocharger, alcohol/water injection system (to combat detonation), and megasquirt3 (megasquirt1 and 2 do not control coil-on-plug systems effectively, and megasquirt3 allows for easy sequential ignition AND fuel injector control). I'm excited to finally see this on the road, and see what kind of mileage I get out of it. I highly doubt that it'll be any worse than the epa-estimated 21mpg average that seems so disappointing to me. |
Welcome. That looks like quite a project. What do you think about the 1.5 liter engine from the early 80s Sentras, or a more modern 1.6? They should give some impressive mpg.
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Well, they could work, but it wouldn't be viable in this car. The Sentras are front-wheel-drive, while this car is rear-wheel-drive.
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Nice car! Got any more pictures?
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nice looking car and looks like a fun project
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Not yet, it's still in the teardown phase. I should be picking up the engine hoist this week to get the old ca20e engine out of there (hopefully).
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