vagen Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Will a better carb and exhaust wake this engine up or should I go ahead and sell the car to find something with a more tunable engine? I have a Datsun 1600 carb to install and a 2" exhaust is in the works. I want to know if I'm wasting my time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philbey Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Personally, I would say yes, you are wasting your time. It will be louder, so you may perceive it to be quicker, and your carb might give it a couple more ponies but overall, if you are aiming to wake up a 40 year old, clapped out 3k I wouldn't expect much. You'll get a greater improvement swapping it for a cheap 4k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagen Posted April 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 OK I'm gonna sell it's a low milage car but being a 3k in the US means the 4k is a non option I'll sell and go for something more tunable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snot35 Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 You're out already?! You should put a T motor in it, I believe they're pretty available over there. More capacity than most K motors, and a heap of tuning parts. I think they may have also been domestically sold over there, so you should be able to find all the right bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz_Rx Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 You're out already?! You should put a T motor in it, I believe they're pretty available over there. More capacity than most K motors, and a heap of tuning parts. I think they may have also been domestically sold over there, so you should be able to find all the right bits. Exactly!!! If you have a ke20/25 why not just build yourself a TE27! :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagen Posted April 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 (edited) here on the east coast of the US older imports are very rare TBH I've seen only 1 other 70's-80's corolla here and the wreckers don't keep older stuff, they just crush them and send them to the shredder. I miss the west coast out there they have an abundance of imports. they salt the roads out here if it gets below 4c and cars rust to oblivion.... it sucks. I haven't totally commited to selling this yet but I'm getting closer every time I compare the 3k to the Datsun A12. I like the look of the car but without some serious power infusion I'll be looking at taillights in the class I race. a 3tc would be nice but unfortunately quite difficult to locate on this side of the country. I'd like to think the 3k would perk up like the Datsun but from what I'm reading here it's not going to happen. BTW.... the class I'm trying to run in is a prepared class where the stock style block is retained and the car must resemble what it is. Forced induction is not allowed. I'd be running against a 1875cc VW bug with twin IDA's (about 96kw) or a Festiva (mazda 121) with similar power both are stripped to the tub and running big slick tires. Edited April 22, 2009 by vagen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snot35 Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 I don't think you're behind the eightball if you're comparing 3k's and a12's. They are very similar in a lot of ways. However, if you can easily get parts for a Datsun then that may be a better path. If you can't fix a race car, you won't be racing it a whole lot! Comparing a fully worked Festiva or Bug with a cheaply modded KE30 is never going to be fair. Whatever you run, unless it's developed, you'll be looking at tail lights. I doubt similar mods to a Datsun will make much difference either. Go with what youc an afford, and more importantly, afford to fix. If you have to ship spares from the otherside of the country then it's not going to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coln72 Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 (edited) If you are going to wake up a k motor you need to change the cam. Carby & exhaust will make a small difference (they did in my '75 Corolla when lined up against my mates near identical model). Wouldn't throw away the Rolla though. When I first started running my KE20 it was powered by a standard 3k fitted with a 2" exhaust. The rest of it was basically standard. Was asked to bring along the car to an event that was happening locally so they could try out the stage for a classic car rally. One of the organisors was there in his Subaru WRX. Both of us were used to do some practice runs before the event started. It was surprising on a course that favoured power, the Rolla was only 3 sec off the WRX. Even when I stuffed up a gear change, got third instead of first. Killed the acceleration out of a hairpin. The look on the WRX owners face was funny as he raced to the timer........ Never did beat that prick over the years. As I made the Rolla quicker he made the WRX quicker. In the end the time gap was always around the 2 to 3 sec over 2k's of dirt track, even after it was modded to full STI specs. Edited April 22, 2009 by coln72 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagen Posted April 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 I've been reading a 4k cam will help a 3k is this true? And where do I get one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philbey Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 Ahh, hang on a minute, I thought you were just talking about slapping an exhaust and carb on your street car for some cheap easy horsepower, not actually racing! If you rebuilt the motor, up the compression, head work and most importantly, regrind your cam, then that's a different story altogether! Rather than swap across to a 4K camshaft, it's probably easier to just get your existing cam reground, most cam shops should be able to help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 (edited) A normal 3k and 4k both share the same cam grind and have 246 degs duration (seat to seat). The only factory improved cams were those found in the k-b and 3k-b twincarb motors which have 256 degs of duration. As philbey said a regrind would be the best option. As for the raceworthiness of the 3k... being in a ke30 I wouldn't bother. If it was in a ke10 well that is a different story in a car 150kgs lighter. With something like a ke30, I'm of the thinking that you are pretty much just wasting time and money that could be better spent towards a more appropriately sized motor for the car. I'll never understand how toyota could release such small 1.2-1.3L pushrod motors, when competitors like Ford were fitting their similar sized Escorts with 2L OHC motors. Edited April 23, 2009 by Felix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OniBerserker Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 http://www.tighecams.com.au/cars.htm this guy has some of his cam specs listed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagen Posted April 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 the K series engine is a puzzle to me how can an engine similarly designed to the Datsun A-series be so down on power in comparison. I am talking 1200 to 1200 comparo the A-12gx vs the K3 B twincarb ..... Datsun 83hp Toyota 77hp. mind you neither one are very common around here but I am more familiar with the datsun since I've had 5 of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagen Posted April 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 I may have found a 3tc powered KE70 to replace the Ke30. the Ke70 is an auto but that might be a good thing since my left knee is junk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagen Posted April 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 The Ke 30 now runs and idles smoothly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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