|
|
|
|
|
Diff
[ BlueBird center |
Mitsubishi Scorpion diff |
Escort diff |
Hilux LSD diff |
Nissan C20 Van diff |
1600 wagon diff ]
Nissan Bluebird diff center:
I've been told that a Nissan Bluebird Series II diff center will fit into
a Datsun 1200 ute diff housing. The 1200 ute diff housing is larger than
the sedan or coupe diff housing, and thus the Bluebird center will only
fit into the ute diff housing (thanx Chris Shoesmith and
Ben).
David tells me that it's the Bluebird H165B (8 bolt)
centre that will fit into a 1200 ute diff housing. He also says that the
early model H165A alloy centre will bolt in, but the axle splines are a
different size, and won't fit.
A 1200 ute diff can be installed onto a 1200 sedan or coupe with only minor
modifications. However, you will need a ute tailshaft, as the diff yoke
is different to that on a sedan or coupe.
The Bluebird diff ratio (3.9) is the same as that of the Datsun 1200 sedan
and coupe, while the 1200 wagon and ute both had a ratio of 4.11.
A Nissan Vanette C20 diff can also be fitted to a Datsun 1200. These diffs
have a ratio of 4.875:1, which is good for rallying, etc, but you will
run out of revs in 4th gear, unless you have got a 5 speed gearbox.
Mitsubishi Scorpion diff:
Andrew reckons the Datsun 1200 ute diffs aren't
strong enough (and too hard to find), and he has installed a Mitsubishi
Scorpion diff on his Datsun 1200 coupe.
He has also tried Mazda RX2 diffs, but axles break as well.
The Scorpion diff has a 9" disk brakes, and a 3.3:1 center. Andrew
paid $300 for his Scorpion diff.
The only problem with a Mitsubishi diff is that it can be expensive to get
a good ratio, but you can get anything from 3.3:1 to 5.3:1. Andrew
has got an L300 4.6:1 center, which cost him $350 (that's just for the
center).
Scorpion diff
| |
reverse leaf springs
|
To install a Scorpion diff, you first have to cut off all the old link
bits (The Mitsubishi's have a link rear end - not leaf springs).
Then you totally strip it down, and sit it in where it has to go.
Cut off the mounting plates from an old leaf spring diff, and weld into
position, making sure that the diff is in the center, and the angle of
the diff face is the same as the back of the gearbox (about 6 degrees).
All the brake lines connect, and only minor mods are required for the
handbrake.
You will have to make up a custom tailshaft to fit.
Andrew had a friend make one up for him, using
the front yoke which came with the gearbox, and the rear yoke of a wrecked
L200 4WD.
The Scorpion diff is about 90mm wider in track. However, with front
wheel drive rims (different offset than rear wheel drive rims), the
tyres clear the guards.
Andrew has got 14x6 Toyota alloys with 195/60R14
G Grids on the rear.
Escort diff:
Rhys has installed an Escort diff in his 1200.
He tells me that you can use a diff out of any of the Mark II sports models
(these are New Zealand models - I don't know how they compare to Australian
models).
To do this swap, first remove the old diff and the tail shaft.
The drive shaft must be modified to suit the new flange on the diff.
You can either use an Escort tail shaft, and get a Datsun u/j welded to it,
or you can use a Datsun tail shaft, and weld an Escort u/j on it.
The diff bolts straight onto the standard Datsun springs, and you can use either
the Escort or Datsun u-bolts (or your own custom bolts with lowering blocks -
120Y wagon u-bolts are much longer, and are good if you want to lower your car).
The brake line unions on the Escort diff are imperial, while the Datsun ones
are metric, so you will need to get two conversion pipes made up.
Rhys has used a 4.1 diff centre, but 3.9s are also available. All that then
remains, is to get some rims that fit the Escort stud pattern.
Toyota Hilux LSD diff:
Bob has fitted a Toyota Hilux LSD (5.3:1) diff to his
1200 coupe, which he rallies in New Zealand.
Nissan C20 Van diff:
Steve Dunce has recently installed Nissan C20 Van diffs
into a couple of 1200s that he rallies.
He says they removed the 1200 diff, and removed the brake hoses and suspension
mounts from it. The suspension brackets on the C20 diff were totally removed,
and the 1200 mounts were welded onto the C20 diff. The 1200 brake lines were
then installed onto the C20 diff (just needed a bit of straightening out), and
the diff was installed in the car.
The drive shaft was shortened, and the end of a C20 drive shaft was welded to
the 1200 driveshaft.
The C20 diff is about 112mm wider than the 1200 diff, and the diff head is
bigger (hence the drive shaft had to be shortened). To get around the fact
that the diff is wider, Chris used rims off a front wheel drive (less offset),
and installed 5cm flares, as well as lifting the rear guards about 3 inches
(so the wheel arch is now above where the bottom of the door was).
body mods for the C20 diff
The handbrake cable also must be shortened.
The C20 diff Steve used has a 4.875:1 ratio, but a 5.1:1 ratio is also apparently
available (but hard to find).
Steve is still using the standard master cylinder, but is looking at possibly
using a Subaru booster.
Datsun 1600 wagon diff:
Scott Davidson has installed a Datsun 1600 diff in
his Datsun 1200 coupe. He used a 1600 wagon diff, because it has a solid
diff with leaf springs, as opposed to the IRS on the 1600 sedans.
He cut and welded the plates that hold the diff in position on the leafs.
He then welded some 4mm steel to the bottom of the plates, as the holes on the
diff were too big for the size of the nut on the leaf springs.
He drilled a hole in this steel that was the same size as the nut, and put it
in place. He had to use bigger U bolts, as the axles are considerably
larger than the 1200 diff. The plate that the U bolts join to were bolted on.
However, the shock absorbers would not go over this plate, so some larger
bushes were sourced from Pedders, and everything fitted OK.
The tailshaft was shortened, and the 1600 uni joint was welded on. The diff
is about 5-6mm wider on each side. Scott currently has 13x6 rims with 205/60
tyres, and the tyres just scrape when going over a bump. The guards were
slightly rolled out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
