hi guys so i just picked up a 1978 datsun 200b wagon . i was lucky to find one that is almost stock other than the steering wheel and a set of drag ways rims.

there is only a little bit of rust in each door the size of a 10c coin but the body is great ! so far the plans are to respray it the new toyota echo dark silver as the factory paint is silver but faded.

i just bought a set of twin su's for it and put a 2 inch exhaust with a dumpy

im thinking of putting a sr20de engine,5speed box with quad throttle bodies,sard injectors/fuel reg,ems ecu,bosch pump, 2l surge tank,mild head work, and cams/gears

s13 coil overs and brake in the front. Nissan Bluebird Series 3 diff 4.11:1 29 spline and brakes in the rear.

i will keep updating as my work progress .

Thats cool. I wanted one of these a while ago, good luck with your plans.
(My opinion though, you could put the same amount or less effort into doing up the L20 engine as opposed to the sr20. You would be hard pressed to make as much power out of an sr as you would out of a good l20 with twin webbers. & wont have the hassells of doing a conversion. Belive me there will be hassells!)
Great to se another datto being revived though

Umm, what? The SR is an awesome engine, doesn't take much to make it either torquey as hell with boost or plenty revvy with NA mods, known for their reliability and one of the best 2L engines on the market. The L20 is a good engine, but would take a decent amount of money and time to get a good increase in power, not to mention it doesn't have the advantage of modern technology AND parts are much harder to find.
It's a very documented swap, if he comes across any issues they will have already been covered.

two very good opinions. one hard decision ! i was thinking sr because of the cheap power BUT........ i would like to keep the car as original as i can .

i read on ozdat that the sr20 bolts straight in to the stock x member so less mods for cheap power. this was done by a guy who used a stock sr20de engine and bolted a toyota supercharger .

i really need to find a 5 speed cause the 4 speed sux on the freeway lol

Dont get me wrong, the SR is a very good engine. But how many seriously worked N/A ones have you actually seen or driven?? L20s have been getting modified & devoloped for the last 30 years or more, in non turbo form, so many good engine shops have had a lot to do with them. I.E know how to port them correctly for torque/power, Know what cam profiles work , & know how to set up the carbies.
I have personally seen & driven L20 powered cars that put a lot of lightly modded turbo cars to shame, Let alone, say a n/a SR silvia!
Given, an SR engine could be made to perform as well as the L20, but it would take a lot of time. There would be more porting involved (twice as many ports), you would have to spend time mucking around with cam timing on the dyno & tuning the ecu would also take considerable time. You would have to buy 2 camshafts instead of 1, so this adds to the cost of the conversion including all the wiring etc.
Having done conversions before & being involved in n/a datsuns aswell, I can tell you the L motor would definetly be my choice (& about 3 times cheaper too!)

I put a XF falcon 4.1 6 cyl in the front of a 200B wagon ( only for drag purpose ), it was a struggle to get in but i got it in. You can buy a fitting kit to put the SR20DET into the 200B from MADDAT last time i checked, i also considered doing the same thing to my wagon.
Yeah the L20 is a good old thing, i have had a L16 L18 and the L20... but... i have also had a blacktop SR20DET in a 180SX and really the old L series motors are no comparisson to the ever loved and honoured SR20. I reckon you'd near have to throw a home loan at a L20 to make it stomp a SR20DET. Yeah they were a good engine in the past but there time in the sun was over when the FJ20 came along.
IMO, if you wana stay old school keep the original L20 and mod it ( got one for sale if you need a spare? ) but i reckon you a really just polishing a turd.
Want a axle snapping good time drop the SR20DET in it.

well i had a s13 silvia with a mild sr that put out 227kw @wheels on 15psi and that was fun! but im not really after a fast car as my 3yr old and 6 month old will be in the back on our weekend outings. i also had a cortina with the 250 x flow off its nuts .

i think i might just keep the l20 engine in it and do some mild work ! and one day it might be handed down to my kids .

well once i get some time to start working on it i will add some more picks as it comes along

ok well its been awhile now and i thought i should update my work so far so here it is.

ive taken out the motor and stripped it down . i was very suprised how clean the engine is . any how i sent the head away to get ported and new valve stem seals .

the stock pistons are in great condtion and are dished so seeing im not after big hp im leaving them in . i got some acl piston ring and a acl gasket kit .

NOW FOR THE GOODIES !!!!

i bought a custom manifold and t3 turbo running external wastegate /water injection/ nice big su with twin fuel bowls
still waiting for some bits and parts to arrive but here is some pics to give you guys a rough idea

this is the set up so far