FJ FURY
NISSAN FJ20-ET–POWERED DATSUN 1600
Alot of the old-school cars we feature in NZPC magazine are of the rotarypowered variety, and it seems pistonpowered classics like Gerrit Vryer’s Datsun 1600 hide away in the shadows, only to be released when their owners feel they need a good beating, something they seem to thrive on. That’s why Gerrit decided upon this particular example — not for the extreme amount of custom work carried out to strengthen every driveline component imaginable, but for the lump of iron which sat between those strut towers.
Japanese automotive manufacturers built their engines tough back in the early ’80s, and to this day they are often favoured over their modern counterparts. If it weren’t that these units are slowly getting destroyed, and aftermarket support for them is diminishing, we would still see motors such as the FJ20ET dominating our import scene.
That being said, Gerrit was extremely happy his newly purchased Datsun was already fitted with the bulletproof iron-block FJ20ET engine. After owning several turbo vehicles in the past and causing mayhem in his local town of Whangaparaoa, Gerrit had a string of bad luck when a particular Evo of his grenaded itself. He said, “I lost interest in cars for a while when the Evo blew up. I sold it on and purchased a VR-4, which I then sold, and things really slowed down. I knew I wanted another turbo car, but I didn’t know what until the Datsun showed up on Trade Me.” After a few months of ownership with the Datsun, the honeymoon period completely wore off and Gerrit realized what he had got himself into. Some of the workmanship from the previous owner was found to be fairly average in quality, and it seemed that the more he looked at the car, the more he found things wrong with it. To top things off, the FJ decided to drop a piston and completely destroy itself, filling the engine with iron shrapnel. “It was now a perfect time to build my own motor how I wanted to. The FJs are well known for being ridiculously strong engines, especially the bottom end, as they’re an iron block and the internals are much beefier than a modern-day engine,” Gerrit told us. Although that’s true, he still wanted some insurance, and fully forged the bottom end with the best components available, so that once the hybrid Garrett T04E turbo built by Damian Morris at A1 Turbos was wound into its efficiency range, it could take the punishment with ease. A MicroTech LT10-S with hand-held controller was decided upon to keep things within their limits, and on 17psi of boost, with what is said to be a conservative tune, it makes 240kW (322hp) at the wheels. It doesn’t take a wizard to understand that 900kg with this sort of power makes for little rocketship.
Japanese automotive manufacturers built their engines tough back in the early ’80s, and to this day they are often favoured over their modern counterparts. If it weren’t that these units are slowly getting destroyed, and aftermarket support for them is diminishing, we would still see motors such as the FJ20ET dominating our import scene.
Instead of boost kicking in, the Datsun hit a huge pothole and the bonnet release catch failed. The bonnet came flying up doing well over 100kph and smashed into the windscreen
After modifying and replacing almost every component of the Datsun in his garage — which, we might add, is an immaculate workspace — Gerrit set to completing the final touches on the build. A set of 17x7-inch Advanti SA15 wheels were fitted so he could get some much stickier rubber under the guards, his choice being Achilles 123S semi-slicks. The lightweight Datsun sticks to the road not only thanks to those tyres, but a well-thought-out and well-executed Koni shock set-up with Racepro camber plates. The Datsun now has a lot more adjustability than it did stock, and sway has all but been eliminated thanks to the Mad Dat sway bar and the entire urethane bush catalogue installed underneath.
Given the car’s ability to outperform costly exotics, the next task was to upgrade the anchors. R32 GT-R four-pot calipers and rotors occupy the empty space inside the front wheels, and R31 Skyline discs are used down the back.
All was set, Gerrit was extremely happy with the Datsun, and the NZPC photo shoot was booked into his calendar. But a week from the shoot, he was out in the car when the absolute worst thing that could happen seven days beforehand did happen, as Gerrit explains. “So there I was, making my way to my tuner to get a few issues addressed. I was making my way down a long straight road and decided to give the old girl some jandal. Instead of boost kicking in, the Datsun hit a huge pothole and the bonnet release catch failed. The bonnet came flying up doing well over 100kph and smashed into the windscreen. After we pulled over, we managed to cable tie it back down and still made it to the tuner, but there was significant damage.” With a week left, time was running out. Gerrit found a supplier down the line who made him a bonnet with a day’s notice. He had another mate prep and paint the damage, and a new bonnet catch was sourced. So thanks to a few key people, the Datsun was ready and fresh as a daisy for the shoot, something Gerrit is extremely thankful for.
At time of writing he planned to race the Datsun at the V 4&Rotary Nationals covered in this issue, so make sure you head to the coverage page and check out what time he slammed out.