i have a line on a 1985 nissan pickup with 2.5 diesel and 5 speed.  Supposed to be 70 hp at 4000 rpm and 115 ft/lbs of torque at 2000 rpm.  How would this set up work on an 87 tintop samurai with a springover and 31 inch tires.  I want to be able to do highway speeds as it will be a daily driver.Would this be much better than the stock 1.3 carbureted.  And how would this combination compare to a 1.6 or 1.9vwtd converesion.  Oh yeah I can get the whole truck for under $500.Thanks in advance for any and all info.  And yes I did do a search first. 

It's a heavier engine, but as long as there is enough room for the drivetrain to sit in front of the transfer case it should be doable.  The main issue is going to be gearing, but with 31" tires and stock gears in the case and diffs you should be ok.

A friend has a Nissan sitting at his place, I have been tempted to look into it further.  Instead I'm holding out for an Isuzu setup from a Luv/Pup. 

One of the benefits of diesels is you can (and should) run bigger tires without needing gear changes. Bust out a measuring tape, and let us know... should be interesting...

One of the benefits of diesels is you can (and should) run bigger tires without needing gear changes. Bust out a measuring tape, and let us know... should be interesting...

bigger tires would be the gear change, and in really all cases are required, unless you plan on changing gears.  I don't really know if its a matter of being better or worse, there are just a few things you want to take into consideration.  Availability of parts, cold weather operation (i'm not sure if its direct inject or not) like others have said size of engine, and then weight.  Besides the VW 1600 or 1900 diesel, the only real option for small-ish diesels are the cummins 4BT and 6BT.  6BT being much to long though, but a 4BT might be a pretty cool swap, they put them in FJ's all the time (older not newer).  Parts are available as they are fleet engines, you'll see them in bread vans and such and parts are available.  Lastly, they have A LOT of power all around, 105 horsepower and the mid 200s for torque.  Its a fairly big engine, but i could see it working.  With 70hp, thats right around the 1.3s range, but the torque is pretty good.  With those power ratings, you shouldn't have any trouble getting it on the freeway, but it won't be any faster than the 1.3, it should be a little peppier around town though.

4BT is still pretty big for a Zook. I was eyeballing the B3.3 for a while, but decided against it. The Cummins is just way too loud. I don't know Perkins all that well, but I know they make some engines for smaller equipment. If I remember correctly, they're a little on the noisy side too though 

4BT is still pretty big for a Zook. I was eyeballing the B3.3 for a while, but decided against it. The Cummins is just way too loud. I don't know Perkins all that well, but I know they make some engines for smaller equipment. If I remember correctly, they're a little on the noisy side too though 

Any non-direct inject is going to be fairly loud, and the large the displacement the more noise there will be.  So that 2.5 shouldn't exactly be quite ether, on that, smaller diesels like these do quite down a fair amount once they warm up.  http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=4bt&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#  yeah, its fairly loud, but no louder than a gassers exhaust with a high flow exhuast.  Anyways, i was just throwing idea out there.  A major reason as to why people like the VW 1.6 is because its small and fairly light weight, something about impossible to find in the US market, as well as it being available.