Ford Pickup Repowered With Nissan Engine

2009 - Volume #33, Issue #6, Page #36

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"I rebuilt the 2.3-liter engine in my 1983 Ford Ranger pickup but it only worked for 18 months. So I decided to replace it with the engine out of a 1981 Nissan pickup," says Frank Dyck of La Crete, Alta.
  "I was quite satisfied with the results. With the Ford engine I constantly had problems with the head and valves. The Nissan engine doesn't provide quite as much heat in the winter as the Ford, but it's much more reliable. Also, it gets about five miles more per gallon than the Ford."
  He bought the Nissan pickup equipped with a manual transmission from a neighbor for $300. Its 2.2-liter, 140 cu. in., 100 hp engine was still in good condition. He pulled out the Ford's engine, power train and radiator and slipped in the Nissan components. The Nissan's transmission shift lever was located 6 in. farther back than the Ford's so he had to cut out a new shifter hole in the floor. The engine mount on the driver's side bolted right in, but the other side needed a 3/4-in. thick spacer to keep the oil pan off the cross member. The transmission rear mount needed an adapter plate to reach the rear cross member.
  He removed the Ford's original coil system and installed the Nissan's twin coil ignition system. "All I had to do was connect the ignition ælive' wire from the Ford to the Nissan system. The Nissan engine has two coils and two spark plugs per cylinder. I also installed the Nissan's boost deceleration control device which hooks up to the carburetor. It kicks in when you take your foot off the gas to decelerate."
  He had to drill a hole near the top of the gas tank so he could install a fitting for the fuel return line. There wasn't room for the Ford power steering pump, which would have interfered with the Nissan engine's distributor, so he removed it. "I don't have power steering now, but I could get it by mounting a power steering pump off a Nissan 4-WD truck. But then I'd need to use the electric fuel pump from the truck as well," says Dyck.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Frank M. Dyck, P.O. Box 388, La Crete, Alta., Canada T0H 2H0 (ph 780 928-3944).

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Ford Pickup Repowered With Nissan Engine PICKUPS Miscellaneous 33-6-36 "I rebuilt the 2.3-liter engine in my 1983 Ford Ranger pickup but it only worked for 18 months. So I decided to replace it with the engine out of a 1981 Nissan pickup," says Frank Dyck of La Crete, Alta. "I was quite satisfied with the results. With the Ford engine I constantly had problems with the head and valves. The Nissan engine doesn't provide quite as much heat in the winter as the Ford, but it's much more reliable. Also, it gets about five miles more per gallon than the Ford." He bought the Nissan pickup equipped with a manual transmission from a neighbor for $300. Its 2.2-liter, 140 cu. in., 100 hp engine was still in good condition. He pulled out the Ford's engine, power train and radiator and slipped in the Nissan components. The Nissan's transmission shift lever was located 6 in. farther back than the Ford's so he had to cut out a new shifter hole in the floor. The engine mount on the driver's side bolted right in, but the other side needed a 3/4-in. thick spacer to keep the oil pan off the cross member. The transmission rear mount needed an adapter plate to reach the rear cross member. He removed the Ford's original coil system and installed the Nissan's twin coil ignition system. "All I had to do was connect the ignition ælive' wire from the Ford to the Nissan system. The Nissan engine has two coils and two spark plugs per cylinder. I also installed the Nissan's boost deceleration control device which hooks up to the carburetor. It kicks in when you take your foot off the gas to decelerate." He had to drill a hole near the top of the gas tank so he could install a fitting for the fuel return line. There wasn't room for the Ford power steering pump, which would have interfered with the Nissan engine's distributor, so he removed it. "I don't have power steering now, but I could get it by mounting a power steering pump off a Nissan 4-WD truck. But then I'd need to use the electric fuel pump from the truck as well," says Dyck. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Frank M. Dyck, P.O. Box 388, La Crete, Alta., Canada T0H 2H0 (ph 780 928-3944).

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