Jensen Healey 6 Cylinder Datsun Conversion

One of our good customers who also owns a Triumph Spitfire with a Toyota 4AG engine in it, decided he wanted something new. It had to be convertible and English. He liked the styling of the Jensen and found that they could be had at a very reasonable cost.We looked under the hood, scratched our heads, took a few measurements and decided that a Datsun 2.8 Straight 6 would fit nicely. We have been building the Datsun "L" series engines since the 70's and get amazing performance from them in a reliable street form. They make great torque and a broad power band. 250-260 HP on pump gas with a normally aspirated engine is not difficult to achieve and 400+ HP with a Turbo system is no big deal.

Fitting the engine and Datsun 5 speed transmission into the Jensen required a bit of creativity but was no great engineering project. The lip of the firewall had to be trimmed, new motor mounts fabricated, and the steering rack re-located. The steering rack mod worked out great because it cured the terrible Jensen steering geometry at the same time. We modified a set of our Datsun 280Z headers to fit around the steering. The trickiest part was converting the original cable operated clutch pedal assembly to hydraulic so we could use all Datsun components. A bit of tricky bellcrank linkage and a few lines and we have a great hydraulic clutch.

 

This particular engine is a 3.1 liter 91mm big bore at 10.0:1 compression. The head is fully ported and polished with big stainless steel vales. Our .510 lift x 302 duration camshaft idles well and delivers seroius power from the (3) 45mm Weber sidedrafts coverd by the ITG air filter assembly. We used an Electromotive HPV-1 D.I.S. ignition with a crankshaft mounted trigger. We supply this as a bolt on unit for all Datsun "L" engines, both 4 and 6 cylinder. The Aluminum radiator is a custom piece we build from a Ron Davis Racing Products core. The Scotts Fans 16" electric fan does a more than ample job of cooling even in the brutal LA summer heat. We are using a 2.5" exhaust through a Walker Super Turbo muffler. It sounds great. Just the right kind of note for a fast English Roadster.

There was all the usual engine / trans swap stuff to be done as well. Custom driveshaft. Modified shifter and shifter opening in tunnel. Etc, Etc. The original rear end blew up almost immediately and was replaced with a good condition used unit. If it happens again we will convert to something a little more sturdy.

We are not offering this conversion in kit form. We will build them to order in any form you desire. Mild 200 HP cruisers to 400+ HP Turbo powered monsters. Call us at (818) 764-1901 for pricing and details.

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