68 Sprite w/Datsun L28 Swap?

[jonbeans]

Anybody ever try or heard of putting a Datsun L28 in a sprite?  I'd really like to give it a go but not sure if it would be a reasonable swap.  Thanks.

[socorob]

Those are heavy and only had about 160ish hp. You could get the same out of a 4 cylinder these days in a much smaller, lighter, modern package.

[DiDueColpi]

Funny that you should ask Jon.
I did that exact swap into a 65 midget in the late 70's.
The engine was built up as a 3.0L with a diesel crank.
It ran a custom Shadbolt cam, Wiesco pistons, BMW rods and  triple weber DCOE carbs.
It was ridiculously fast for the day and sounded absolutely fantastic.
The engine took up the entire engine bay including the heater area plus some.
I remember sectioning the fire wall right up to the back of the dash.
The trans tunnel was built as part of the roll cage/tube frame and also served as part of the seat sides.
The shifter came out somewhere near the trunk and had to have a remote linkage made up for it.
The drive shaft as I recall was 13'' long and mated to a TR4 rear end. (which held up well compared to the 3 previously race built midget rears).
I sold the car after I got married, the lovely Lynne climbed through the roll cage one time only, while pregnant with our first child.
My buddy still has the car and I would buy it back in a heartbeat if he would sell it.
It still sounds incredible with it's old fashioned lumpy cam.
And even by today's standards it's really, really fast.
Cheers
Fred

[Moderator]

My buddy still has the car and I would buy it back in a heartbeat if he would sell it.
It still sounds incredible with it's old fashioned lumpy cam.
And even by today's standards it's really, really fast.

Sounds like the two of you could probably piece together a great How-It-Was-Done article!

[Bugeyev8]

why ??

[DiDueColpi]

If you're asking the question Brian, then there's no way to articulate a response that would satisfy you.
Cheers
Fred