Curious, as I'm buying back my Engine-Seized-300ZX off the insurance company (joy ridden) are there any kits out there, with engine mounts, wiring/ecu kits, etc. for our Z32's? I'd like to put an LS1 in there or something that's a V8. Given that there's been a fair few conversions now, just thought there might be a kit offered in the states for LS1's or VH's, given that there's kits like this for Skylines. If not I'll just throw another VG30DETT in there. Meh. :zlove:
Speak to Eric (DrZ400y) at a2zed - he'll definitely give you the best advice/info for the LS1 swap/ conversion
Thanks, I'll consider it! Only thing is I'd want a manual transmission in there with it, not sure if this is possible without hacking up the transmission tunnel/firewall.
Manual trans can stay, either nissan 5sp or gm 6sp. No need to cut anything up. The only issue with an LS1 is keeping A/C, it is quite costly to modify to work with the GM compressor.
go vq30det with 35/40 and 650 injectors nice and light and should see you around 450hp with unopened motor
Thanks for your help Chris I'll keep it in mind, but I can see going the VH route becoming a REAL big project and big big money pit, something bigger than I could handle I think. Awesome. I'd ditch the Air Con then. How much work would be involved to set up something like this then, I'd definately want the GM 6 Speeder, the more gears the merrier.. But would it be a headache, is it much simpler keeping with the Z 5 speeder? That would be beast. But to be honest, I want a high powered NA, for simplicity, throttle response, and the V8 noise! Oh and perhaps some towing capacity, heh. I get to buy my Z back (after it was written off after being joyridden by some druggie junkie and the motor was seized) for a very, very good price... $1500. So we've decided to keep it and restore it. The parents have actually become attached to it too funnily enough, and don't want to see it go! So I'm weighing up on whether to put a Manual TT Engine in.. Or LS1 with 5/6 speeder, money dependant a little bit.
As of tomorrow by the sounds of it. It's being towed back to my house. They offered $8k as a write-off, and gave me the option of $1.5k to buy it back which I am - bargain! Plus there's a $500 excess involved. so $6k in pocket plus a seized Z, good outcome if you ask me
No kits that i'm aware of. Either way it's not going to be "cheap" as by the time you have added cost of motor, sump, trans, ECU, loom, extractors, engineering & all the fiddly bits that need to be made it adds up really fast. I personally recommend the new firewall/tunnel method as you get a much better fit, the only thing is you need to think about how much if any of the climate control gear you wanna keep since a lot wont fit back in. This is where you start throwing money in the air though.. where do you stop? Think about it hard because once you start the last thing you wanna do is sell an unfinished project which far too many people end up doing. If i told you how much it has cost me to date (and there is more to come) you'd have a heart attack, but I opted for as much brand new as possible and I don't regret it.
Thanks for the reply, I think I'll forget about it then and stick with a VG30. It's the small things which tend to really add up fast I'd imagine. Shame their isn't any kits out there though, there's tonnes of kits for R32's, R33's, why not the Z eh?
I totally agree with this. You will need to do the firewall reshaping for a better fit. You will also need to get a inside mounted clutch master cylinder as the nissan one hits on the head. My head is underneath but the nipple is in the rong position. It is the fiddly bits that add up so quick and i worn you that you need to stick at it aswell. I just turned mine over last night and i swear i had a tingle in my pants and thought damn that is soooooo worth all the trouble. A long way away from road worthy but i am learning sooo much. My dad is a mechanic also so it makes it a bit easier for me
Skyrines are much more common and there's a much bigger market for engine conversions and such... You learn so much from taking up an engine swap. It's costing me a fair bit, but it's so worth it for the learning experience :zlove:
Those of you who have modded their firewall and trans tunnel, you are aware that there is a bell housing available for the T56 that saves you having to beat into the car? There is also another clutch master that will easily clear the head. One thing I do agree with, although it might be a simple conversion, unless you can do everything yourself, cost will be well above $10,000 if using a donor commodore for most parts. Double that if you want new stuff.
I had to cut into the windscreen wiper box part in order to fit the plenum.....happy to learn about the Mastercylinder though?? So worth all the cutting and welding. I wouldnt even bother if you couldnt do it yourself.
