Z32 what are the options for engines

Discussion in 'Technical' started by mitsoevo, Jan 3, 2020.

  1. mitsoevo

    mitsoevo New Member

    TLDR: looking at long term options, 1-2yrs, what are my options for swaps, im looking for what would be best bang for buck, ive researched ls, rb26 and vg30dett swaps, everyone makes the ls look like a pretty straight forward swap in terms of engine swaps, is it? what are other engine options, i know i could just buy another car, but i like mine and im willing to spend and extra dollar to have something a little more unique and i enjoy the project, my problem with the vg30dett is it still looks like shit to work on, heaps of long term issues, unreliable and shit on fuel compared to other options.



    Ive been researching ever since i picked up my na z32 and took it to get the down pipes repaired and the shop said the down pipes are far too gone to be repaired and said the obvious options of used replacement, new close to stock replacement or go for a full custom exhaust however not being new to cars at all they have been my whole childhood and i have 2-3yrs of automotive experience under my belt its still my first car and i was pretty blinded by it and was going to empty my bank account into it without a second thought, however the mechanic brought me back down to earth and sent me home with some homework to do, 3 months later, lots of homework and keeping other maintenance up to date Ive now gotten pretty much everything else out of the way and the exhaust has come back up to the top in priority, after looking at all my options and having a yr or so left on my P's im going to go ahead and get a custom exhaust put in, 2.25' stainless steal pipes with a new high flow cat from base of the headers back to the mufflers as changing the headers takes it from easy to a pain and no point in changing the mufflers as it all ready has fujitsubo mufflers, as i believe even if i have to rip it out due to future plans for me it would of been worth it for the yr or so ill have it installed and i can try sell it off as well.

    now my question that this all leads to, after lots of research and many hours working on the engine to get it in some kind of shape that im happy with i have come to the finding that man its a pain in the ass to work on, i know mr sherlock over here, im pretty happy with the vg30de tho, I rather enjoy its drive, im fine with the fuel consumption i drive it because i enjoy it so i rather spend my money on fuel than booze, the power is okay im satisfied with it as a first car and on P's, but its at a point where i need to make a huge decision, does it stay or does it go, its a pain in the ass to work on, its not fuel efficient for what it is which isnt a problem but if it can be better than its still a negative, and there isnt much that can be done thats worth while to gain power, the first option which most people will chuck is stick with it and sell it later when you have fulls for a tt, which is valid and honestly a strong option but im to emotional and im already attached plus its in very good shape inside and as i said its already stolen my heart. so my options would be:

    1-deal with it and stick with the vg30de and try squeeze some power out of it, maybe low boost turbo

    2-swap to a vg30dett

    3-ls swap

    4-rb26dett

    5- other engine

    my reasoning for each option is that the na is good and with mods im looking at 200-250hp which is a lil low for me as im hoping for atleast 280-300hp, the tt is a decent option but still has the issue of hard to work on and terrible for fuel, but whats the experience in swapping one in ls swap although expensive seems doable, but is it more or less than an rb26 swap and what would other options be
     
  2. ivan129

    ivan129 Active Member

    If you plan to do an engine swap yourself, then you need good engineering skills, mechanical and electrical capability.
    Do you have the tools and workshop at home? Can you perform all the electrical / electronic mods to adapt a different engine. The shopping list of parts for a conversion is a long one and costly, especially if you can't do the work yourself.
    If I were to do it again, I would go LSA.
     
  3. Woo05h

    Woo05h Member

    Hey mate,

    Z's deffinently get you hooked once you get one.
    I've got two of them atm .. a twin turbo manual with a few mods nice car to drive.
    Also have a fresh build 2+2 with a ls1 conversion I did.
    Not as hard as you would think. Castle main rod shop do a engine mount and gear box crossmember kit. All fits pretty good and obviously a few other bits needed along the way.

    Both cars have their perks... really it depends if you would rather a boosted car or aspirated..
    A ls conversion is way cheap then a rb26 conversion and fits better in my opinion.

    The standard vg30 does go quiet well.. set of extractors exhaust and maybe a diff ratio swap will change how it goes...
    But what's your goal... to have a nice driver... cruise.... or go fast... boosted ... lumpy v8.. or something different...

    Worn out you intended purpose for your car and build it around thank..

    Happy modding mate
     

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  4. Martin Williams

    Martin Williams Well-Known Member

    If you are confident that your NA motor is up to it then the a low cost option is low boost turbos. (7psi) no need for intercoolers. You will be able to pick up all necessary bits real easy as lots of us have upgraded our VG30 detts. Do it before you get exhaust done on your NA as you would be aware it all changes. Stick in a stock set of TT injectors (370cc) make the changes on ECU. and your done.
     
    mitsoevo likes this.
  5. AndyMac

    AndyMac Better than you

    V12
     
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  6. jellybeans

    jellybeans Active Member

    sr20det should fit
     
  7. jellybeans

    jellybeans Active Member

    Ivan said all this but its probably worth telling you twice, If your swapping engines you will need a lot of space, money, tools, time, skill and a willingness to hunt down, test, clean and repair 30 year old secondhand parts.

    You will also need another car to drive in the mean time.

    Ive just rebuilt and converted a carby NA motor to EFI turbo ( not a 300zx). it cost me $10,000+ and i did all but the wiring and dyno tune. i didn't try to do it cheap i tried to do it well. I wanted to build something no-one else had and i know i could sell it tomorrow for $5000. So every night at about 2am i finally get to sleep after the tears run dry.

    Hey Woo0sh- how much to do the ls1 swap?

    Finally if you want a VG30dett just buy one don't do a swap. You could probably buy a TT for the same amount of money you would spend doing the conversion if you factor in your time as well.
     
  8. IB

    IB ?????

    How bad is your fuel economy if you think any of those engine swaps would be more efficient. NA z32 gets better economy than TT. I think they should get 9 or under l/100km on hwy.
     
  9. Woo05h

    Woo05h Member

    All up with motor,box and goodies to be drift ready running is say around 10 grand...
    But I pull under driven pully kit .. coolers full exhaust new clutch etc....
    After driving it... very happy with it... fits in very well...
     
  10. Redhotz

    Redhotz New Member

    i stuck a stock v8 in mine ,no matter what anyone tells you reliability is a plus 600ks to a tank of fuel ,never having to worry, is it going to start ,i sold my 304 v8 powered slicktop as im going to build another v8 300z that will laugh at all.

    if anyone thinks an na would give it a run ,ill put you in touch with the new owner ,who raced the v8 against a manual na and literally ate it ,off the lights speed roll ons ,top end pulls in 5th

    imo a v8 is good bang for buck ,you dont need a shed full of shit to build it ,however you need mechanical ability
    if your in n.s.w engineering is 1660 dollars ,and to work out the capacity of the motor you can run ,
    it comes down to tare weight ,6x times the tare weight gives you your engine capacity

    my old na was 1575 x6 = 7.875 litre v8 so basically 400 alloy block v8 with a lazy 500hp should do, if you do all the work yourself ,costs shall come in at around 6k, thats all mine cost ,
     
  11. Dreilide

    Dreilide New Member

    Do the LS swaps preserve accessories? (A/C, power steer etc.). Would the LS still have room for a supercharger in the Z32's engine bay?

    Also have to consider the change in weight distribution on the car.
     
  12. Redhotz

    Redhotz New Member

    The thing is everything vg 30 an accessory must be binned , you need to make it fit . if u go LS u will lighten the car 100 kilos. over a vg30 tt
    so u buy a complet LS POWERED CAR.
    and adapt everthing to fit, you will spend $10k..
    im currently building two 304 v8 zeds an a LS powered z
     
    jellybeans likes this.
  13. Woo05h

    Woo05h Member

    Z32 drives great with a ls in it.
    Supercharger wouldn't fit in easy as.

    The only only difficult/ bit of work part would be setting up the air con and radiator set up with decent fans.

    Everything else is straight forward.
     
    Redhotz likes this.
  14. 260DET

    260DET Active Member

    A VQ37 (370Z) engine could be an option but not bang for buck friendly. Good thing is that they are light and the gearboxes are bomb proof.
     
  15. pmack

    pmack Member

    I still like the VG30TT mine showed 430 hp @ the track , 100% stock engine except i put manual rear housings (turbo ) cars Auto still runs fine , just fixed my A/C with a fellow member from here :)
     
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  16. ivan129

    ivan129 Active Member

    Do we have a register of forum members listing those who have done an engine swap?
    I'm guessing there are a few LS and RB swaps, but do we know who, where and how many are still going.
    Mine is a Z32, 2+2 , 4.0L Toyota 1UZ V8; blown of course.
     
    Zeo likes this.
  17. pmac

    pmac Z,, IT'S COMPLICATED!!!!!

    L77 6.0L Fits nicely 20190326_115320.jpg 20190326_141959.jpg 20190326_142018.jpg 20190405_141535.jpg 20190405_141555.jpg 20190406_133359.jpg 20190413_104650.jpg 20190326_115320.jpg 20190326_141959.jpg 20190326_142018.jpg 20190405_141535.jpg 20190405_141555.jpg 20190406_133359.jpg 20190413_104650.jpg
     
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  18. ivan129

    ivan129 Active Member

    Fits very nicely. How much space do you have between the bell housing and the transmission tunnel?
    When I tried fitting up a nissan 5 spd box using an adaptor to the 1UZ, I found that if crashed against the tunnel and would have had to do a heap of cutting to create clearance. I couldn't lower the engine anymore because I had it about as low as I could go. I did seperate the k-frame a little from the body by fitting a couple of large washers between. I opted for the A341E auto with a stally, shift kit and tiptronic. The 1UZ also has the PS pump, Alternator and aircon compressor in the same place as the nissan engine.
    If interested I can post some picks.
     
  19. pmac

    pmac Z,, IT'S COMPLICATED!!!!!

    Hi Ivan, the front of the trans tunnel needs to be panel beaten about 20mm. I'm using the T6060 gearbox. Less if you use a Nissan 5spd, good info at https://www.lojkits.com/ for this procedure. Do not need cut the tunnel. I'm using all the LS accessories with no interferance or modification necessary. This clutch pedal/ cylinder will be under the dash with a remote mounted resivor. [
     

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  20. ivan129

    ivan129 Active Member

    That's not a bad idea to mount clutch master cyl under the dash, frees up space behind the head. Transmission tunnel looks pretty simple too. Here are a quick list of the mods I did to fit the 1UZ:-
    • Fabricated sump & pickup and relocated std 1UZ pan to the rear of engine
    • Cut and tig welded 1UZ block mounts to fit std LS rubber engine mounts which mate with Nissan K-frame
    • Milled rear cam bearing bosses off heads to allow engine to mount closer to the firewall
    • Lowered front springs cos the engine is about 40Kg lighter
    • Bigger radiator and twin electric fans
    • Remote oil coolers for engine and box
    • Fabricated, pipes, exhaust, rear box mount, Strengthen / braced k-frame
    • Lots of wiring mods, wolf ecu, MSD, trans controller
     
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