I have a Nissan Datsun 120y (B310 square light)

Im planning to modify it to use for drifting.

Need advice on:
1. Type of engine-(does the mounting needs to be changed)
2. Type of gearbox
3. Suspensioons
4. Break

Im new to drifting, so if you guys have any advice for a newbie drifter please fell free to comment.

All comment are welcome, both positive and negative.

SR20DET, i only know that the firewall is not touched, how the engine is fitted or which cross member they use is a ???

Seen one or 2 examples before... I think massive loads of money has to be dumped into it and don't think about endorsing it, jus pull handbrake, do a spin turn and run as hard as you can when you the coppers

Sr20 would be the best choice i think because it is the newest of available list of engines that can go in and have more potential... Maybe even cheaper (i dunno the market for 15 half cut or engine lantai)

Not to mention the car is a potential mobile death trap if u can't control it

For SR20 what other modification do i have to accompany it?
gb, suspensions, chassis(strengthening?)

or do you have any link where i can get this information?
or contact of any mechanics who are willing to do this upgrade?

gb from the silvias should be good enough if you do not intend to go full insane 700hp off that engine.

more robust axle, driveshaft, arms are needed to accompany. my friends planned to use a navara rear axle for his KE, maybe you can start sourcing diameter and measurement for axle from robust vehicle.

ofcourse, chassis strengthening is most important when you wanna do things that were not suppose to do on a car, especially old car with beat up chassis. cars are not suppose to drift anyway. full set of Ultra racing bars, or better yet, you can contact UR for full roll cage customization quotation.

go join more car clubs to gather information. modifying and customizing will be pain in the ass and your car will stay in the garage for a very long time.

those are a given... as for the formula to those mix and match items... best to ask an actual owner for further experiences...

you can try zth and see if anyone can help you.. or any of the old school car drift or touge guys...

how much are you prepared to dump into the project first because as far as i know.. this sort of chop and hack mods have a lot of it's own gremlins and unless you really have the backing and time to start the project, don't even contemplate on doing it... it's not really one of those plug and play cases because in this you are trying to fit a heart from a different era into a relic..

you might be better off grabbing something like an A31 with a transplanted RB25 or something like that... else, you find someone who has a car readily transplanted with little to no known problems.. you'll have to deal with a lot of wiring problems, maybe certain things not working as planned, test running, on the engine front... the rest of the stuff like the footwork and braking systems might be able to migrate over from other nissan models assuming someone has done it before prior to you.. just need to copy the template...

the fact that you ask the question here in LYN is already looking to be a very bad start to your quest from my point of view...

This post has been edited by nm7: Oct 19 2014, 02:07 AM

jangan pening2 lah.just buy car with drift spec like KE70 (4AGE) 5k,a31(sr20) 15k.

I've got to agree with you on starting at lyn, but for me starting somewhere is always better than not doin at all.

My current budget for upgrading is at 20k, but im willing to spend more if i can get more details, as where can i do this modification, exact proven spect that others have done. If u guys know of any other blogs or contact it will be good.
Now im on the research period, to find out and to do the proper moddin.

bout this car, i have no intension of buying a diff car, this car has been with me since i was born, so i want to restore and upgrade it. Rather than assuming someone has done prior to me, i would like to know for sure someone has done prior to me. if u have contacts would be great.

Bro, my passion is not only driftting...it is also restoring my dad's car. It has been with me since i was born
So i dont mind spending some time and money

My dad is still driving this car but the round headlight version, same chassis. I was also planning to restore the whole car but for normal use only, no drifting.

A kind advice here. If the car was your dads and you have nostalgic value for it, then just restore it with slight body mods, rebuilt the current engine with webber carb, redo the interior and add nice wheels. You can give it for your next generation.

For drift car, its going to be trashed. So saying its your dads car given to you and you wanna keep it does not make sense. I do not know how many drift cars you have seen, but all of them WILL and i seriously mean WILL get banged here and there. When you drift cars, you cannot be careful. No such thing as being careful when you drift. Also that Datsun platform would not have many parts for it anymore. And having leaf spring at the rear is going to be a real headache to set up the suspension and lowering it and maintaining. Not to mention finding the axle with LSD for it.

Sure u can get SR20DET stuff quite easily. But remember what was said about accidents? Try looking for the metal bumper or lights if they are broken. Once u crash it, the car will forever leave you. All that dads car sentiment will dissapear leaving regret.

Comment noted, i guess i better off buy a car for drifting and restore this datsun. Makes more sense

This model doesn't use leaf spring anymore. Well at least my dad's 120Y is using modern car spring.

I guess u mistaken the modern FF platform Sunny and the old FR platform Datsun. If u think of making a FF platform Sunny to FR... i can only say good luck. Very very good luck.

with 20k,

my suggestion is to go with A31. parts are much cheaper than KE70 parts and you have wide platform to choose from. engine you can go from RB20DET, RB25DET, RB26DETT, 1JZ, 2JZ or SR20DET for weight savings. with the heavy body weight and LSD available in abundance, you can get the car drift worthy and street legal... not to mention heavy body = easier to drift.

120Y, if uses SR20DET, all you need to mod is the engine mounting and also the gearbox mounting and the gear lever... it sits easily 5 inches further to the back due to larger gearbox... on the engine bay, you might need to shift the radiator to the front of he panel to make room for the larger engine block. this means to sacrifice your aircond, or fabricate new mounting for the aircond condenser.

for the rear axle, you'll need LSD, since the original is live axle, you may mod to sub frame from S13 or R32. this means you need to heavily mod the rear mountings and basically cut the rear boot floor board in half. for front suspension, you can use S13 or A31 as it's interchangeable for top mount, but you need to mod a little to accomodate the brakes. since with the added HP, you might as well use S13 brakes and calipers and rear from S13.

with the added HP and weight, you need to reinforce your under carriage or else you'll twist the body to shreds.. this can be done by welding a half inch steel plate to the current under carriage from the firewall to the rear pan hard rod mounting (under rear seat).

I wrote on my 1st reply stating that my dad's 120Y is a round headlight version, is there any round headlight Sunny? Im pretty sure its a 1979 Datsun 120Y with the rear number plate below the bumper not above the bumper.

first of, how far would u want to indulge in this sport??..

if the answer is very, save up and get something better... modded A31 or S13 or 180sx perhaps...

if u have some spare cash and wanna have some fun in it, take ur 120y and get the rear diff welded... locked rear diff, stock healthy engine and some skinny tyres can give u lots of fun.... keeps the budget down to buy spare wheels n tyres as well...

There's 2 generations of 120Ys made by Tan Chong, B210 and B310. D older B210/B211 or "120Y Excellent" to some, is d version with a raised back. Tis is the only local 120Y variant to be fitted with leaf springs.

The latter B310 mentioned by TS is larger n wider wit coil springs compared to its predecessor. Early versions had round sealed headlamps, 4-speed manual tranny n slim chromed bumpers, followed by a facelift with a new dashboard, front square-lamp and revised rear lamp clusters, before ending with d last facelift with absorber-bumpers, air con and 5-speed manual tranny in 1981/82.

But I agree with the_catacombs on getting a newer car. My family still run a B110 and B310, and frankly speaking, d body is prone to rust n needs quite a lot of body strengthening to handle CA or SR-series engines for drifting. I'd rather restore d body to tip-top condition n drop drop a newer A15 drivetrain from d last generation Venette for more poke. For a cheap drift machine, its a A31 for me.

This post has been edited by Deja Vu: Oct 20 2014, 04:42 PM

Yup you are right, but my dad's 120Y round light B310 have 5 speed manual and the logo infront is an "S" not the "D" version. Its the 1979 version. Till today i have not find a solid spec sheet of this car.

Nice. Sounds like ur dad got a JDM unit thats called the Sunny (hence d 'S' on d grille)

Nice, now you gave me a clear info of my family's Datsun. I searched on the net hardly find any of it with "S" logo, mostly are "D" logos. Even on the road are mostly "D". My dad's unit come originally with alloy rims, other B310 i saw on the road are all using steel rims. That's why i find it strange.
Exactly the same like below but in sedan form. Which i found that you are right, most of the photos are taken in Japan.





This post has been edited by Aquariusdenz: Oct 20 2014, 11:07 PM