Bowen, Patrick A. RP2 wrote:
>
> Reed, what kind of engine did you swap in yours. As for the emission laws,
> my '79 doesn't comply now, why would I worry to much about later. :^) I
> have a loop hole working right now, wonder if I can keep it going.
>
It's currently a Datsun A14 (from a B210). A friend of mine
did the conversion, and knowing what I do now, I'm not sure I'd
do it agian. I'd start with a newer, more powerful motor.
The A14 is your basic pushrod 4 banger, 1400 CC,
They're pretty strong and reliable, and are available with
a 5spd. In stock form it revs up to 6500 without complaining
(not in fifth gear though :-( ).
Unlike the L series used in the 510, there are not
too many hotrod parts available for the A series. The '78 and earlier
put out more power, and I have heard that the A12 heads had
bigger ports.
The whole reason I ended up with this car was my friend had a
motorless spit body and I could pick up a mostly bolt in motor+tranny
for about $100 at half price day at Pick'n pull. So I ended up with
a cheap, fun, daily drivable car that will beat a Geo metro off the
line, but not by much ;-).
IMHO, my car is not much different from a stock spit, except
engine parts are easier to come by and the darn manifolds are on
the wrong side. A lot of people might be offended by this conversion,
but I really don't care where the parts on my car came from.
There are good (and bad) craftsman in Japan and England,
and if I can get their parts to work together to form a car I
want to drive, there's nothing wrong with that. The reason
Triumphs are great cars is not because they are made in England
or because they are Triumphs, but because they look good and are
fun to drive.
Miatas are probably fun to drive (but I think they're uglier than
spitfires) but if I had the 10 grand a decent Miata cost, I could
get a fully restored Spit, or a hot muscle car, or maybe both.
BTW, I went to the hotrod show at the Santa Cruz boardwalk,
and along with all the classic 'Murican iron, they had the Plymouth
Prowler. Not bad looking for a new car, but for the $100k price
tag, I could have gone home from that show with a whole stable of
great cars. Oh the only furrin car there was a Land Cruser with
a blown, nitrous injected V8. Probably faster off the line
than the Prowler.
--
Reed Mideke rmideke@interbase.com
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