Unorthadox engine conversion questions

[Messiah]

hey all, i have a mate whose looking into getting some work done on his car. Now it may not be a skyline, but hey it IS a nissan. I was thinking of posting this on a pulsar forum, but i'd much prefer to deal with a crowd i know and trust... heres what my mate has to say....

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I have a '99 N15 Series 2 Pulsar (I think it's a CA16DE).

I am looking into doing an SR20DET engine swap from a Bluebird.

It seems that the Bluebird is one of the only SR20DET FWDs, so hopefully it should fit.

What other parts would I need to replace to accomodate this engine? (clutch, gearbox, etc.)

I've heard with the S15 SR20DETs there is a big difference between the black-tops & red-tops.

Does anybody know if the head from an S15 SR20 is interchangable with the head from a FWD SR20?

I have heard that the red-tops are better than the black-tops due to Variable Valve Timing etc.

Is this correct and are there any other differences?

Any feedback you could offer would be appreciated.

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Can anyone help? And if possible can we keep the "buy a new car" or "why the F$@^& are you doing that?" statements to a minimum that would be great, i know a new car isnt an option for him (he needs a 4 door, would prefer something recent over a 15 yo import and couldnt afford any of the current model turbo 4 doors. Ok he could maybe get a my00 WRX..... but ITS A WRX!!!!!! thats worse than a crazy fwd sr20det conversion ).

So can anyone help a brother out?

Messiah

[Messiah]

oh and a question from me... what kind of suspension work will stick the front end on to the road harder. I'm thinking he'll need to harden up the back end and fiddle the front to stop it skipping.... can anyone give me an idea along the lines of "less rebound here... more spring weight there and harder/softer at one end"?

[pentae]

Your friend needs to sell his car and/or get out a loan, bite the bullet and buy either a Bluebird SSS Attesa (awd sr20det) or a Pulsar GTIR.

As cool as the engine conversion project sounds, this would be a lot more practical. Particularly the SSS Attesa (I almost picked one up last year for 6-7k, but expect to pay 12k.. its worth it if its in good nick..)

[dojobi]

I hate to say what you didn't want to hear as well, but Pentae's right. He'd be far better off getting one of those AWD turbo Bluebirds. Cheaper than doing the conversion and you get AWD for free.

[paulr33]

pm me your email address, i have 3 x sr20 pulsar howto's will zip and send them

[Messiah]

Cheers paul, pm sent.

Pantae & MIC thanks for the input, as much as i'd like to see him cruising around in in an import or a bluebird, its not really an option for him.

I think he said it best "I'm not trying to get a fast car, i'm trying to get my car to go faster".

And besides.... i think the conversion would be fun.

[NickR33]

mmm torque steer...

[pentae]

Two words:

Resale Value

Anyway, Have fun! make sure you post up pics of the conversion..