What do you get when you cross a rusted 1971 Datsun 240Z with a Chevy 4.3L V6 and a turbo from a Ford Power Stroke Diesel? The Rotsun! During Roadkill Episode 25
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:10 Last time on Roadkill, Motor Trend's Kia Rio 5 mopped up the autocross with
00:16 the rocks in here.
00:17 Today we get revenge.
00:19 >> We threw a turbo on this junk and headed out to the good guy's show,
00:22 the Spring Nationals in Scottsdale, Arizona, where we are gonna kill us some Kia.
00:26 [MUSIC]
00:36 >> Our '71 Datsun 240Z came from the guys at White Flag Racing.
00:51 This is a $500 rust bucket of a Datsun.
00:54 It's got a Chevy 4.3 liter V6, a Junkyard 5 speed, also out of a Chevy S10.
01:00 And the rear end came from a WRX car that we found on eBay.
01:04 >> We kicked the 240Z back into action for the last episode of Roadkill,
01:08 because we were convinced that it was going to just destroy everything in our
01:12 autocross shootout.
01:13 But unfortunately, we only got a couple laps out of the Datsun because it broke,
01:18 and it didn't beat the Kia Rio 5.
01:21 We just couldn't have that.
01:22 >> And what's the best way to fix a beat up Datsun?
01:25 More horsepower.
01:26 So we decided to turbo this thing.
01:30 >> There's your guy, off a power stroke of some kind.
01:34 >> Normal people, they call up a manufacturer and
01:37 have them recommend the right turbo for their engine.
01:40 But this is Roadkill, we buy whatever junk is laying around.
01:43 So our turbo came from a 7.3 liter Ford Super Duty diesel.
01:49 But that is the right turbo because it costs $250,
01:53 which is a theory that holds up until.
01:55 >> You realize that that costs about $300 and we have two of them.
02:00 >> And a blow off valve.
02:01 >> Lipstick on a pig.
02:03 >> In the alternate world of Roadkill time, our mind told us that we were gonna
02:07 be able to get this turbo installed in about two days.
02:10 That turned into about two weeks.
02:13 Finnegan ended up having to spend a couple days working on this thing by himself,
02:16 most of which was spent just running around town picking up all the little nickel and
02:20 dime stuff that kills you and slows you down.
02:23 But he also got a lot of things fabricated, like the exhaust side and
02:26 the cold air tube.
02:27 >> I have created the world's first Datsun 240Z to Chevy V6 turbo header.
02:35 [SOUND]
02:39 Yep, I just did that.
02:42 [SOUND]
02:45 Okay, now the world's first Datsun 240Z to 4.3 liter Chevy V6 header for
02:51 a turbo is done.
02:52 [MUSIC]
02:54 >> I'm particularly proud of this build because I don't get to TIG weld that often.
02:59 And turboing this car meant I got to sit down for
03:02 hours TIG welding aluminum and stainless pipes together.
03:06 And I gotta say, the welds don't suck.
03:08 This car is actually a pretty sturdy build.
03:11 >> You know what I was thinking of?
03:12 What are we actually doing with this car?
03:13 We're going to the autocross, right?
03:15 >> Yeah.
03:16 >> Have we spent five minutes on the suspension?
03:18 >> No.
03:18 >> [LAUGH]
03:19 >> I could use a sway bar in the back.
03:21 >> But it'll have a turbo on it.
03:22 >> [LAUGH]
03:22 [MUSIC]
03:31 >> That's choice.
03:32 >> See, right now people can hate on this.
03:33 They're like, why'd you put a 4.3 in here?
03:36 But the moment you slam the hood and they see the header pipe come through,
03:39 then they just have to shut up.
03:42 This is the nicest thing we've ever fabricated right now.
03:46 I figure the rear end blows up before the engine block breaks.
03:49 >> Center section or axle?
03:50 >> Axle.
03:51 >> Yeah?
03:52 >> Definitely.
03:52 >> Okay, did the water pump thing hit the turbo?
03:57 Is that what that was?
03:58 >> Didn't you hear a bang?
04:00 >> That's like the starter falling off.
04:06 That's something really gnarly.
04:09 And it turns out that we had a sunken float or
04:11 something wrong with the needle and seat.
04:13 And the engine got filled up with gas and we hydraulicked the number three cylinder.
04:18 I pulled the spark plug out of it and it just gushed gasoline.
04:21 And now we've got gas in the oil as well.
04:23 So it's 2.30 in the morning.
04:25 We're supposed to be in the dyno tomorrow and
04:28 we were about ready to have a really good time.
04:30 And now I think we're both pretty dejected.
04:32 The only thing left to do is load it up, take it out there and
04:35 deal with it at West Tech in the morning.
04:36 Change the oil there.
04:37 [MUSIC]
04:42 >> Now normally when you take your car to a chassis dyno, you want to show up
04:45 completely prepared with the car running, driving, ready to strap down and make power.
04:50 I've gotta say that we had more to do on this car
04:52 than any vehicle I'd ever taken to a chassis dyno ever.
04:55 >> Talking to Steve Roulet here at West Tech,
04:57 we were really freaked out that we had cranked the starter over and
05:00 hydraulic the cylinder.
05:01 And he was saying, if it didn't try and light off so
05:04 that it wasn't banging the cylinder under actual engine power, it's fine.
05:08 So we'll take that as a 100% guarantee.
05:13 [LAUGH]
05:14 [SOUND]
05:15 >> Pow, dude.
05:18 >> I think I estimated leaving here at 6 o'clock,
05:20 which means midnight, so we're exactly on target.
05:23 >> Time for the payoff.
05:24 Finally, we had the V6 running better than it ever had, and
05:28 it was time to make moves.
05:29 [SOUND]
05:30 >> Come on, baby, stay together.
05:31 [SOUND]
05:41 >> All those problems fixed, and now we have a 430 pound feet,
05:52 387.4 horsepower mule in that car.
05:56 >> Add to the rubber.
05:58 That's about a 450 horsepower V6.
06:00 >> And it sounds and smokes like a Mack truck.
06:03 >> It sounds like a power stroke diesel.
06:05 [SOUND]
06:07 >> This is about the time we realized we were going to need a scavenge pump and
06:10 the oil return line out of the turbo.
06:12 So we came back to West Tech the next morning and put a tune up in the car so
06:18 that it would survive on 91 octane, cuz up to this point,
06:21 we'd been running it on some 118 that I had left over from Bonneville.
06:25 >> God, this is the moment I've been waiting for.
06:27 All that welding, all that grinding, all that work,
06:31 finally get to drive the Rockstar.
06:33 [SOUND]
06:36 >> So we made a couple trips around the block in the 240Z, and
06:39 what's amazing is even in the rain, this thing wanted to hook up hard.
06:43 We tried to do some burnouts, and it just wasn't smoking the tires.
06:47 We tried harder and were rewarded with a broken axle shaft.
06:50 The shortened axle shaft broke right on the weld that we added in the last episode.
06:57 Instead of hitting the road, it was back to the shop.
06:59 [SOUND]
07:03 >> I'm not exactly sure why, but Finnegan got this new, used, and
07:06 beefier center section for the dots.
07:08 And even though we didn't break that, we broke an axle.
07:10 Ever since Finnegan fell in love with this car,
07:12 we've been trying to do things a little bit more right on it.
07:15 And what do you do when you love something?
07:17 You gunk it.
07:18 So I'm gonna clean this thing up instead of just installing it as a complete
07:22 sconge pit.
07:23 [MUSIC]
07:30 Wanna see how late we are?
07:32 That door won't stay shut.
07:34 That's Freiburger's solution right there.
07:36 This is about to get welded to the Rotson.
07:38 >> You know, sometimes you run out of time and have to butcher things together.
07:43 And then other times, for the sheer sake of style,
07:46 you've gotta butcher them together.
07:48 >> It's really a theft deterrent when you think about it.
07:50 You can't attach a padlock to this.
07:52 But who's gonna see this and go, yeah, I want inside of that car?
07:58 Nobody.
07:58 >> All right, it was nice knowing us.
08:00 >> See you in about ten minutes.
08:02 >> [LAUGH]
08:02 [MUSIC]
08:08 >> You gonna break an axle right here?
08:09 >> No.
08:09 >> [LAUGH]
08:10 [MUSIC]
08:16 >> You bolted everything back together on the rear end, right?
08:19 Axle sway bars.
08:21 >> We didn't tighten the sway bar end links.
08:24 >> Really?
08:24 >> Nope.
08:25 >> So like the nuts are gonna fall off?
08:26 >> Right.
08:27 >> That was a short trip.
08:29 >> We lived so far.
08:30 It's not much of a life, but we did live.
08:33 >> Would you like a car wash?
08:35 [BLANK_AUDIO]
08:39 >> No?
08:39 Okay.
08:40 And now it's peeking all over the ground.
08:41 Hop in, I'll push.
08:43 >> Well, you want me to be in the car.
08:44 If it bursts into flames, you're safely out to the side?
08:47 >> Yep.
08:48 >> Not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet.
08:52 Okay.
08:52 [MUSIC]
09:02 >> Oh.
09:05 >> Oh.
09:08 >> Oh.
09:08 >> Oh.
09:09 >> [LAUGH]
09:10 >> Doesn't wanna go into gear.
09:12 How fast are we going?
09:13 I will coordinate the exhaust note to our speed, since I don't have a tach.
09:17 >> 75.
09:18 [BLANK_AUDIO]
09:21 >> We only made it maybe an hour away from there, and we stopped in Cabazon,
09:26 California, where there's this really good sorta high-end casino.
09:30 We figured, you know what?
09:31 Let's valet this thing.
09:33 >> You had him build this thing?
09:34 >> Yeah.
09:35 >> Uh-oh. >> Just put the key in the ignition right
09:37 there.
09:37 >> The guy was completely unfazed.
09:39 He hopped in the Dodson like it was his own and drove the thing away.
09:42 [MUSIC]
09:46 >> All right.
09:47 Goodbye, Native American goodness.
09:50 >> Oh, that's a good sound.
09:53 That's like bacon for my ears.
09:54 [MUSIC]
09:59 >> As soon as we hit the highway, we found out that this thing cruises.
10:03 We thought the V6 was all gonna be shaky and rumbly and a big problem.
10:06 Nope, this thing hauled.
10:09 >> 70 degrees out, blue skies,
10:12 straightest road on the planet heading to the desert.
10:16 Got a turbocharged Dodson.
10:18 Best day at work ever.
10:19 [MUSIC]
10:23 >> Not coming down.
10:24 [LAUGH]
10:25 [MUSIC]
10:29 >> Survey says $1,134.
10:35 So we got out of the hotel this morning, reasonably nice hotel, and
10:38 Finnegan's toolbox is stolen.
10:40 Lots and lots of heritage there and lots and lots of tools.
10:42 So we had to buy all of this stuff.
10:44 This all started with a $500 Dodson.
10:47 We just spent more than that on screwdrivers.
10:50 [MUSIC]
10:55 So after all of this, we finally arrived at the autocross at
10:59 the Good Guy Spring Nationals at Westworld in Scottsdale.
11:02 The Good Guy shows are super cool, but
11:05 one of the things about them is that they don't allow import cars.
11:08 The exception is if you've got an older one that has like a V8 or
11:11 an American power plant like our Dodson does.
11:14 But when we pulled the 240Z in the front gate,
11:17 man did we get a lot of stares and a lot of hate.
11:19 People did not want to see that import car there,
11:22 especially looking like absolute garbage.
11:24 And they hadn't even seen the Kia yet.
11:27 >> All right, chief, what year is this?
11:29 >> 71.
11:30 >> 71.
11:31 >> All right, I think you're legal.
11:32 Head on in there.
11:33 >> He didn't want to let us in.
11:35 >> He didn't.
11:35 >> [LAUGH]
11:36 >> He tried hard.
11:37 He's like, they don't have any paint on that thing.
11:39 >> I've never been on this side of the fence before.
11:41 All of a sudden, I'm an import car guy.
11:44 >> The best part about this whole trip was that we had used Facebook to let
11:47 everybody know we were coming.
11:49 And when we arrived at the autocross course, there were Roadkill fans there,
11:53 waiting to check out the rots and meet us.
11:55 >> Need to sit down to the Roadkill?
11:58 >> Yes, sir.
11:59 >> Hey, man.
12:00 >> How you doing?
12:00 >> How's it going?
12:01 >> Love your show.
12:02 >> Thank you.
12:03 >> Awesome.
12:03 >> Thank you.
12:04 >> A couple of the many Roadkill fans that showed up at the autocross that day
12:08 were Jake and Eric Roswarski, who saw that I had lost my grandfather's toolbox
12:12 on Facebook and generously brought me their own.
12:15 >> My God, this is too nice.
12:17 >> That's really generous.
12:18 >> You sure you want to give this up?
12:19 >> Yes.
12:19 >> Eric and Jake brought me their toolbox.
12:22 It's a good car of karma, and I'm trying not to cry.
12:24 >> What are we going to do about the Kia?
12:26 I say one run and done.
12:27 >> Yeah, we only need one lap in this, and I don't really want to drive it.
12:32 >> No, you have to.
12:33 >> No, no, feel free.
12:34 >> I'm not touching it.
12:35 >> Okay, rock, paper, scissors.
12:36 Ready?
12:36 >> What is that?
12:40 >> It's paper.
12:41 >> You were watching kind of like a half paper, maybe I wanted scissors kind of thing.
12:45 No cheating.
12:45 Don't look down there, look up.
12:47 Look me in the eyes.
12:47 >> Ready?
12:48 Smash!
12:51 >> All right.
12:53 >> And it was super cool that our tent was set up right next to the starting line so
12:57 that we could watch all the action on the track.
12:59 But we didn't.
13:00 We decided there was even more to do on the dots.
13:03 And first of all, the tech guy said we had to have seat belts.
13:05 Imagine that.
13:06 So we threw some seat belts in that we had bought at Pep Boys, and
13:09 we also threw in some gauges.
13:11 We changed the oil, and finally, we were ready to go thrash this thing.
13:15 There, look at that.
13:17 And tell me there's anything wrong with it.
13:19 [MUSIC]
13:25 >> And staging it up next is David Fryburger from Hot Rod Magazine on
13:30 the roadkill 71 Datsun.
13:33 I know what you're thinking, Hot Rod Magazine with a Datsun?
13:36 That's just un-American.
13:37 [MUSIC]
13:41 >> I haven't even watched out here, which means I'm highly likely to get lost.
13:46 This will be embarrassing.
13:47 >> They're ready to go.
13:49 They got their seat belts in, and they are getting in line.
13:53 I don't wanna say to do something awesome, cuz I don't wanna lie to you all.
13:57 He's never even seen this autocross course, so
13:59 he doesn't even know where the first turn is.
14:01 And by the time we got here,
14:03 the transmission really didn't wanna go into second gear.
14:05 So pretty much, he's hosed.
14:07 [MUSIC]
14:16 >> Wow, this thing has power.
14:17 [LAUGH]
14:19 >> A 4.3 V6 low dollar at its finest, and
14:23 is running a turbocharger out of a Ford diesel pickup truck.
14:28 Yes, it's as hideous up close as it is far away.
14:32 I guess they're afraid that their own doors are gonna get blown off,
14:35 cuz they have a barn door latch holding the door on on the passenger side.
14:38 [SOUND]
14:41 >> My hat's off to the roadkill guys,
14:43 cuz they're washing the track for it.
14:45 [SOUND]
14:51 >> I got lost.
14:55 >> Hey guys, that thing is gulping fuel out of it.
14:58 >> The good news is it's race fuel and it's already evaporated.
15:01 >> I understand, but.
15:02 >> That guy has way more power.
15:03 >> You lost to a Pinto.
15:07 >> I got lost out there.
15:09 >> I'm just kidding.
15:09 I don't even think they had a timer on, for whatever reason.
15:11 >> Really? >> They weren't taking you seriously.
15:13 >> Wow, this thing has a lot more power.
15:16 When it takes off, man, it motors.
15:18 >> The big part of it is just getting lost out there, it's tough.
15:21 I took the exit the first time, and then had to dive back onto the track.
15:26 So it's not a clean time.
15:28 [MUSIC]
15:33 So the thing that made my performance all that much better is that Finnegan was
15:37 making fun of me for it, the announcer was making fun of me for it.
15:40 And then when Finnegan lines up in the Kia, which is embarrassing to begin with.
15:45 [SOUND] He goes out there and got completely lost on the autocross,
15:50 making me look like I actually knew what I was doing.
15:54 >> Do you remember it's All American Sunday tomorrow?
15:58 Did we give him a sobriety test?
16:02 >> Am I going the wrong way?
16:03 >> Do they have Driver's Ed in California anymore?
16:05 >> No.
16:06 >> I have no idea where I'm going.
16:08 >> We have ran two road kill cars, and
16:11 neither one of those boys can figure out how to run the autocross course.
16:15 >> You put some signs up or something?
16:16 >> I know, I didn't get that lost.
16:19 >> Was I in the infield or something?
16:21 >> Completely.
16:22 >> So you don't go there at all.
16:23 >> [INAUDIBLE] >> At this point,
16:27 we really hadn't gotten good numbers out of either the Datsun or
16:30 the Kia because we got so lost on track.
16:32 But we had a good opportunity.
16:34 Rob McGregor from No Limit Engineering is a guy who builds these really radical
16:39 handling pickup trucks and who dominates the Good Guys Autocross Series.
16:43 He decided to put his butt in the seat, and he went out there in the Datsun,
16:47 pouring smoke and raw oil because he didn't turn on the scavenge pump for
16:51 the turbocharger.
16:52 [SOUND] He laid down a 77 second time, which was pretty competitive with a lot
16:57 of the muscle cars and late models that were there.
17:01 >> After Rob ran, I jumped behind the wheel to turn a lap.
17:03 And I really blame him for
17:04 breaking the car because I got about halfway around the track before the fan
17:09 belt came off, knocked the oil line off the turbo, and
17:12 covered most of the racetrack in dirty oil.
17:15 >> Smoke is not your friend on the Autocross course.
17:19 [MUSIC]
17:25 >> Make sure it's not on fire.
17:26 >> This part of it?
17:28 >> Yeah, that came off and hit an oil line.
17:32 So I think we're pretty much out of your hair for the day.
17:37 >> Well, that's an easy- >> At least you didn't get lost.
17:40 >> I didn't get lost.
17:41 So all we gotta do is tighten it, degrease this thing, put oil in it,
17:45 and we're back on the road.
17:46 >> Yeah.
17:47 He was doing good.
17:48 Looks like he didn't even lose his way,
17:50 right up to the point where the thing burst into billowing smoke.
17:54 >> Dude, I was freaking Fittipaldi out there right until this exploded.
17:58 >> We ended up putting a new fan belt on the Datsun, but
18:00 ran out of time to make another pass on the Autocross.
18:03 But we were stoked to find out we'd get another shot at it on Sunday.
18:07 [MUSIC]
18:10 >> Well, today I think we finally have our poop in a group.
18:12 We're gonna get around the track with the Datsun.
18:14 We're actually gonna know how to drive the thing.
18:16 I think we're gonna put Finnegan in it because he's got more track time than me
18:19 at this point.
18:20 And maybe we'll improve on that 77 second time that Rob laid down yesterday.
18:25 Maybe not, he's a pro driver compared to us.
18:27 But what we're already seeing is that Datsun is outrunning some of these
18:31 late model cars.
18:32 So I don't know, I don't think we'll embarrass ourselves today.
18:35 [MUSIC]
18:45 All right, here we go.
18:46 Try not to suck.
18:47 [MUSIC]
18:54 All right, come on baby, let's not get lost.
18:56 [MUSIC]
18:59 >> High tech fabrication on the course right now.
19:02 I love how they made it so the front turning signal,
19:06 park lights come on every time they hit the brakes.
19:09 Not everybody can do that, or would want to.
19:11 [MUSIC]
19:30 >> There's a nice lap out of Finnegan,
19:33 a 75.055 actually has him in eighth position for the day.
19:38 >> Eighth place out of every car here.
19:41 >> You're eighth out of every car here this morning.
19:43 >> So the very first lap that I didn't get lost, we ran a 75,
19:47 eighth place out of every car here.
19:49 >> Yep. >> Wow.
19:50 >> You wonder, how good is 75 seconds really?
19:53 Well, it was good enough to beat a handful of nearly stock muscle cars and
19:58 a handful of brand new hopped up muscle cars.
20:01 But 75 was not at all embarrassing for our judge Dodson.
20:06 All that was left to do was to find out, was it really faster than the Kia?
20:11 And we didn't have a lot of time to do that because nobody around here
20:14 wanted the Kia on that racetrack.
20:16 So I only had one shot at it.
20:18 [MUSIC]
20:28 >> And he runs a 78.8 in a one second violation.
20:37 >> 78.8, lower than the Rotsen.
20:40 I'm the fastest man alive.
20:42 Thanks, Motor Trend, beat your car, finally.
20:46 Only took two tries and a whole lot more money.
20:47 [LAUGH]
20:48 [MUSIC]
20:50 So you might ask, how impressive is it really that our 400 horsepower
20:55 Dodson beat a brand new Kia Rio?
20:58 Well, when it comes down to it, the Dodson is way faster in a straight line.
21:02 It actually hauls when it comes up on boost.
21:05 And the Kia's gonna kill it every single time in ABS braking.
21:08 The fact is, we took a Ford Power Stroke diesel turbo,
21:12 made it run on a Chevy 4.3 liter V6, stuffed into a worthless 240Z, and
21:18 yup, we outran a new rental car.
21:20 >> So what did we learn?
21:21 Everything deserves a turbo.
21:23 The Rotsen will outrun the Kia.
21:25 And autocross racing is a hell of a good time.
21:28 [MUSIC]
21:32 >> Man, I'm not gonna lie to you, none of the other guys, dog, could have drove this.
21:36 >> I love the Dotson now.
21:38 I think we've never spent more money on a roadkill car.
21:40 And that's probably why it works pretty well.
21:42 Where'd the zip ties go?
21:43 [BLANK_AUDIO]
21:54 [BLANK_AUDIO]