VG30DETT S14 kouki build thread

[fiznowler]

Well I guess it is time to start the build thread. I have been debating for a long time on which motor route I wanted to take with this thing. I finally decided on the VG30DETT 300ZX twin turbo motor. I was pretty close to going RB25 several times but I kept coming back to the VG. After trying with little to no success to find any info on the swap I eventually just decided to buy a 300zx, yank the motor out of my perfectly running 240 and get to cracking on the swap. I am going to part out some of the Z to make some money back but the brakes are mine! Right now I have both cars at my house and hope to start the process by the begining of march. My ka is going into my friends s12 so we are going to tackle that one first since it should be a pretty easy task compared to the VG swap. Well enough of the lengthy crap. I will update this, clean it up and post some pics as they come.
My kouki the day I bought her.





Did a few things to her.

Paint Completed



350Z Wheels

5 Speed swap tan leather interior and tinted windows




The KA stock except for CAI and I powdercoated all of the upper parts.



The donor car


The motor JDM VG30DETT

[s13sickboi]

cool! will keep my eye on this thread... nice kouki!!!!

[numbnuts240]

i might want that diff if you don't have a use for it.

[J14cm7]

Nice paint jobs... looking forward to seeing where this goes.

[laxands13]

Wow, this should be awesome if you can keep up with it. The only thing that comes to mind when people mention this swap is some youtube video i saw of an s13 with like 50086986 miles of wiring just chillin in it haha

[methylprop]

It will get done. And it will be a bmf. He's going to need that z32 rear diff.

[fiznowler]

I really am not too worried about the wiring. I can handle that. What I am a little worried about is the manifold and turbo on the drivers side clearing the steering shaft. If I have to I will go custom but that is gonna take some more time and monies. I have had the kouki quite a while and put alot of time into her. There is no way I will leave this car undone. I have some pretty damn good help with the swap though. Methylprop is my local fellow Nissan fanatic and my partner in powdercoating. My cousin Michael is awesome at custom fabbing stuff and has done his share of unconventional swaps. This isn't going to be a quick thrown together swap, It will be right and clean and take a little time.

[red 300zx]

Good luck with the vg30 dude its a b****.

[fiznowler]

It has more room in the 240 then it does in the z. It might be a PITA to get it in there but once in It shouldn't be too bad. It isn't my daily driver so it should be golden.

[hatedinthemind]

Are you worried about the weight of that engine?

[fiznowler]

Nope. If I was that concerned about weight I would go on a diet myself, and I wouldn't have put leather interior in my car. It will be plenty fast enough to compensate for the additional weight. As far as handling with the motor as far back as it sits it shouldn't throw it off that much, less than an RB I would think. I will tell ya when it is done as right now it is just speculation. I am also going to order coilovers with springs to match the difference in weight of the motor.

[MICRoS13]

Was in the process of doing this swap to my s13 then sold it Hope all goes with your project. Looking forward to this

[fiznowler]

How come ya sold it?

[SX APPEAL]

Will the 5 lug hubs off that Z32 fit an S14?

[fiznowler]

The rears I think will, not sure on the front. I am going to keep this one together until I get the VG at least running in the Z. It turns over but isn't getting spark or fuel. I am basically finishing up someones NA to twin turbo swap. Once it is running I will proceed to part it down to a shell after it is in my 240. It shouldn't be too bad to figure out whats up with it. It wouldn't even turn over when I got it. It does now just by fixing some grounds the starter functions. It is also tripping some codes on the ECU so it gives me a place to start. Just gotta trace some more wiring and find whats either not hooked up or went bad on it.

[Midwest_240sx]

Good work bro. Have you tested the fitment of the dressed motor inside of the bay. How will the fitment be with the exhaust manifold.

[SX APPEAL]

The rears I think will, not sure on the front. I am going to keep this one together until I get the VG at least running in the Z. It turns over but isn't getting spark or fuel. I am basically finishing up someones NA to twin turbo swap. Once it is running I will proceed to part it down to a shell after it is in my 240. It shouldn't be too bad to figure out whats up with it. It wouldn't even turn over when I got it. It does now just by fixing some grounds the starter functions. It is also tripping some codes on the ECU so it gives me a place to start. Just gotta trace some more wiring and find whats either not hooked up or went bad on it.

Thats alright man, I'm not in a huge hurry to swap to 5 lug, just be nice to have the parts lying around when I finally decide to pull the trigger on new wheels

[hatedinthemind]

Will the 5 lug hubs off that Z32 fit an S14?

They wont. If it was a N/A 300zx the rears would work

[fiznowler]

The car is NA. The motor is twin turbo.

[fiznowler]

Good work bro. Have you tested the fitment of the dressed motor inside of the bay. How will the fitment be with the exhaust manifold.

Nope, I have a feeling that drivers side is going to be an effing nightmare! We will see soon enough though..

[fiznowler]

Well I haven't been on here in forever figured I would do an update! I did get my motor and trans in the car. I put the project on the back burner for a long time (close to a year). I have been hitting it pretty hard again lately. I roughed in my motor mounts this week and got lucky on the trans crossmember. It almost fit without a ton of modding. I ended up having to go with a custom modded j30 oil pan and pickup tube. My crossmember is modded to hell and back. Had to track down a brake booster from a 5spd non abs 240 for clearance. And of course as predicted that drivers side turbo is a major PITA. I will get some pics up eventually. I ended up having to use steering rack out of 300zx and modding it to work. I did this to get a sharper angle of the steering column. I used a set of after market dump pipes and had to "massage" it a little to keep from rubbing on the column. By massage I mean beat the crap out of it with a hammer. I am ready to send it to the shop to have my custom intercooler pipes welded up and exhaust made.

[Dugi]

nice!! Will begin the same swap soon too, but in a S13. I will put up a thread too when i start, My plan is for a daily street strip car. Will aim for 750whp with a single turbo setup. this will be alot of custom fab. ecu i will go standalone. for now i'm just ordering all the engine parts to built it. just a few more stuff left to buy. then it's of to searching for the hybrid rear end setup to handle the HP. Hoping by end of this year or early next year the car is finished.

[fiznowler]

Try this again hopefully computer doesn't lock up again.

a few random pics.

un modded crossmember (note the angle of steering rack, this is a 300zx rack)


modded crossmember with mounts roughly tack welded in.


modded j30 pan


my buddy who tack welded the mounts up


back of motor to firewall clearance. This is with the transmount and motor bolted in.


passenger side clearance


driver side clearance


pretty pullies


fmic pics

[Dugi]

nice job!!
from which year did the oil pan came from??

[fiznowler]

I believe you can use any vg30de j30 pan. So without looking it up I think they made them from 93-97 could be off on that but should be close.

[Dugi]

ok thanks... looking forward to see this project finish

[SX APPEAL]

No project is ever finished

[Dugi]

any updates??

[supersayianjim]

i 2nd updates!!

[s12god]

A certain project made some progress this weekend........