This project has now turned into an SR20 monster project - to see it in the makings of being a CA18 powered car, click here..
Well, once again the poor sprinter has been gutted. Not far from mechanical completion the CA18 setup has been completely removed and fitted to a mates car where on 8psi it turned the rollers at Redcliffe Dyno to the tune of 158hp at the wheels. That's a 22% increase with no more boost then a standard engine. A boost increase and a slight retune should see it pass 220hp @ the wheel's without any problems.

I on the other hand have ventured further into the realm of Nissan and have purchased a redtop SR20DET engine and gearbox. This is the starting point of what will be definitely the final engine I settle on for this car. I need to get it going as it is starting to become a bit of a joke with the alteration's that keep happening and never seeing completion. So, the basic configuration this time will be the SR20 fitted with a 400hp ball-bearing turbo initially all on low-mount tube manifold. Engine management will be via Haltech E6K and intercooler duties handled now by a custom bar and plate setup with dimension's of the core measuring 600mmx300mmx75mm. The radiator has also been changed and is now a full alloy unit with a core size of 600mmx350mmx57mm and sporting two 300mm electric fans.

The diff is from another Nissan, this time a Bluebird TRX and is the H190 assembly used apparently in Nissan motorsport circles in the '70s. An LSD centre from a 4WD will be fitted as soon as I find an alloy housing to assemble it all in. Adjustable panhard rod is an off-the-shelf unit from White-line and will do service for the time being till a watts link or jacobs ladder setup replaces it.

The final incarnation of this engine will be a twin-charge setup utilising a high-mount exhaust manifold and a 500hp turbo with external waste-gate. The super-charger is a centrifugal unit from the GReddy stable. It was purchased as an incomplete kit to suit an SR20DET and I have been able to find no information about it at all so the specs on the super-charger unit is unknown to me. However I will be trying to fit the setup into the sprinter on another purpose built SR20DET engine that I will build later to then exchange. I am hopeful that it will allow boost to be developed from under 2000rpm all the way to redline giving me essentially a seamless torque curve and power delivery. Maximum power isn't my major concern here as I will be happy to achieve no more then 400-450hp but I want it to have the power occurring very early and not dropping off up high in the rev range.

I have also come across some adjustable camber tops from an AE101 Corolla. These set me back the princely sum of just $100 from my importers and other then the outside diameter and bolt pattern are fine for the Sprinter. A short spin in a lathe has machined the outer diameter down to fit in the Sprinter tower and after redrilling the bolt pattern to suit the tower pattern they will look right at home, and for far less then a new set would have cost.

Brakes and front suspension has now been upgraded to Nissan S13 struts and hubs with rotors and callipers from an SR20 powered S13 which gives me 280mm vented rotors, a large improvement over the standard 234mm solid brakes Toyota fitted this car with. Shocks and springs are also S13 and are aftermarket giving adjustable height. Custom tie-rod ends and ball-joint adapters are pretty much what I had to make to get it all to fit.

The nickname of Frankensprinter came about through the fact that I have used so many different bits of other cars in this project. Quite a few parts from different manufacturers bits have made their way into the build-up it really is becoming a monster with no real bearing on the original design.

The above came with many thanks to John - john@toyotaturbo.com .. we exchange many a parts while we both owned CA18's!