My ridiculous project... VH45DE into 240sx!

[CrazyTrance]

Ok, so this thread is basically explaining what I have been working on during the past three summers.

^ This is the car I started with. I purchased it in March of 2005.

The original plan for the car was to do the incredibly popular SR swap. I ordered a front clip from a business after talking with them a lot and they gained my trust. It was roughly $2500 out of my pocket. Unfortunately the businesses supplier flaked and didn’t ship the clips. I have received all but about $570 back from this business. It took nearly a year though. This basically destroyed my plans for the summer and I was stuck. Instead of selling it I kept it and looked at other options.

I was in a junk yard one day and happened to see an infiniti j30 which has the vg30 engine in it. I was going to do this swap but then wondered what engine was in the q45. I found out it was a 4.5 liter quad cam v8 called the vh45de. And basically found all my information about the swap here on nico.

^ So I ran across this 1990 q45 with 256xxx miles on it for 900 bucks. Picked it up for 800.These engines are way overbuilt and known to last extremely long. The only thing that needed to be replaced on these early models were the timing chain guides because they were plastic and broke from becoming brittle. Unfortunately this engine did not have the guides replaced and it broke and became lodged in the oil pickup tube. The heads looked burnt and I became pissed. But my neighbor offered to take them to his work and clean em up but i would need to replace the valve seals and started looking at other options.

^ I stripped this thing of ALL of its wiring and anything I thought I might need. Then had someone come literally drag it up onto a flatbed and haul it away, which was really cool to see. (I kept the wheels so that’s why it they dragged it up)

^ Here is the engine out of the car.

Anyways my friend happened to find another q45 in a junk yard that only had 150xxx miles on it while looking for other parts. I checked it out and they said they would sell me the block, heads, intake mani… everything short of the alternator and a/c compressor for 150 bucks! I didn’t have to think twice about this because that was way less what it would cost me to rebuild the other engine. Plus now I had extra parts!

Now everything you see past this point has taken place just this past summer. Progress explosion!

^ Here’s the new engine I bought after I stripped it of everything but the heads.

^ New engine on the left, Old on the right.

^ Here on the top is a valve cover and upper timing chain cover from the bad engine. On the bottom is a upper timing chain cover from the good engine. Notice the difference?...

^ New engine’s valve cover. CLEAN…

^ This made my day when I pulled the upper chain guide cover and found that the guides had been replaced. See the metal backing? That’s good! (saves me about 370 bucks!) Also look at the front of the head! Its CLEAN! Very clean!

^ I was basically the happiest person on earth when I pulled the valve cover off on one of the heads. If a head looks this clean after 150xxx miles you know the previous owners did oil changes religiously, it also had a mobil oil filter which gave me an idea it was in good condition… and I thank them for that. Whoever that is…

^ Here is the transmission I am using for this swap. It is a n/a z32 manual transmission I drove down to Iowa to get it from a junk yard. (about $300)

^ Here is the custom adapter plate I ordered about a year and a half ago. Maybe longer. It was a group buy I happened to come across when I was researching the swap. Only 5 were made and it was made in the UK. ($750) The reason for this is that no manual transmission bolts up to this engine.

^ So here is the first time the engine was test fitted into the chassis.

^ Here are the engine and transmission mounts I made out of quarter inch steel. My friends dad welded them up for free. For the transmission mount I used the stock ka auto transmission and welded two 1/4” pieces of steel because it sat back a little bit. Some people actually cut the mount and re-welded it. Which I found un-necessary. The stock z32 rubber mount was used for the transmission bushing/mount/whatever you want to call it. And hockey pucks are used for the engine bushing/insulating/whatever you want to call it.

^ A close up of the transmission mount. I basically used that center hole as the new rear bolt holes on each side. And then drilled a new hole for the front.

^ Good engine with the re-surfaced stock n/a z32 flywheel.

^ Picture of the flywheel with aluminum spacer.

^ Adapter plate and RPS stage 2 clutch (6-puck disc).

^ Me fabricating the headers out of mandrel bent tubing. (Thanks to friends for letting me borrow the welder and helping me fabricate these) These weren’t finished in time so that’s why it had to go to storage again. I purchased all of my tubing through “Headers by ED” he also helped me figure out the correct size tubing for the exhaust system.

^ My buddy Brandon helping me fabricate the exhaust. Thanks man!

^ I cut the flange off of the stock vh45 headers and am now using them to make custom headers. These will be pounded round, welded and ground down to fit correctly.

^ Had to bend the ends of the tubing to fit into the flanges. A ball-peen hammer and an anvil type vise thing was my friend during this stage. Also an angle grinder…

^ Picture of the transmission bolted to engine with adapter plate and passenger side exhaust.

^ On the bottom of the engine there are two black braces for the bottom of the transmission. At first I wasn’t going to use them because I didn’t think it would allow for clearance over the steering rack. But it clears.

^ Picture of drivers side header.

^ Test fitting the drivers side header… Its extremely close to the steering column. It’s touching right now but that will be fixed. And lots of heat wrap will be used to keep the heat down.

^ Picture of engine in car!

^ Another picture of engine in car with the car actually on the ground. Notice how it doesn’t sit incredibly low in the front with the stock suspension.

^ Passenger side mount in car. Notice how close the exhaust ports are to the frame rails.

^ Clearance of oil filter. I thought I was going to have to do a remote mounted filter but I don’t think it will be necessary.

^ Another picture of oil filter clearance.

^ Here is a picture of the distance between the brake booster and the drivers side valve cover. This was after we re-drilled holes and moved it up and to the right. This is also a brake booster from a Nissan Sentra, s it is much smaller than my stock s13 auto booster. I have q45 brakes to make up for the loss in braking power.I’m not too concerned about how close it is because the engine is mounted pretty solid in there.

^ Distance between firewall and back of engine… Don’t think I will have heat.

^ Picture of shifter position. It’s almost perfect, sits a little to the left. There was a rod originally on it that I cut off and just re-welded the bracket from the other end. You can see the welds where I did this.

^ My hood won’t close anymore.And those wires’ hanging over is the custom harness I made. It’s there just for testing. Making sure it works and all. I got as far as cranking it over. I didn’t have fuel hooked up so it never fired. And the exhaust never got completed, I ran out of time.

^ Picture right before we towed it to storage just this past summer. Its sooo close!And that’s my dad helping me hook it up to the trailer. Many thanks to him for letting me use the garage all these summers and bearing with the project.

^Just an overhead image of it before it goes to storage.

One main frustration of this project was figuring out the correct wiring. I think I had to wire up a total of 10 wires. All necessities.

I still have to have a custom driveshaft made. I called around and can get a basic 1 piece steel drive shaft made for under 100 bucks.

And I also still have to run the clutch lines and make a custom bracket for an alternator.Will be using a 240sx alternator because of fitment issues, would have to notch the frame otherwise. Another person used it with this engine and works fine.

If you have questions please feel free to ask. This is an enormous project and I’m sure I haven’t covered everything in this single post.

I also have MANY more pictures I could post up if someone wants a different angle.

Thanks for looking!

- Chase Gardner

Modified by CrazyTrance at 12:53 AM 10/23/2008

Modified by CrazyTrance at 12:03 AM 1/30/2009
Modified by CrazyTrance at 12:07 AM 1/30/2009

[Mettler]

Nice, good to see another swap in the works. Great work m8

[CrazyTrance]

Thanks for the comment!

[qsiguy]

Awesome. That has to be frustrating getting that far and have to put it back in storage. One more summer and you should have it on the road! Great, now we have to wait til next summer to see it tearing up the pavement.

[CrazyTrance]

Yeah... it was probably the most frustrating decision of my life.... was working on it one day and all of a sudden stopped, looked around, walked inside to tell my dad i was done and cleaned up. It sucked so bad.

[tmorgan4]

Sweet project! Looks like it was a good idea to start with a better engine after opening that first one up.

Is the transmission installed when you put it in storage?

[CrazyTrance]

Yes, the transmission is installed.

[elwesso]

That overhead shot is HOT!

Nice project, engine you put in looks really clean and shouldnt need anything but fresh guides to give you a lot of life even under abuse.

[CrazyTrance]

Hey thanks man! That means alot coming from you. I was amazed at how clean it was when i took off the valve cover. Just immaculate.

[gs14racer]

Nice, looks good your gonna have a lot of fun with it, I gurantee it.

Your mounts look just like mine do hockey pucks FTW!!1 lol

[CrazyTrance]

I sure hope i'll have fun!

I know, i based them off your design. Thanks! question though. Does it shake the car much with the mounts being so solid? I would assume so. It doesn't matter to me. Just wondering

[gs14racer]

Not at all, the VH is so smooth you dont even feel it.

[doctorchee]

Hi

nice work. nice phot and write up also.

hope this will give more information to others considering this unique, potent, swap.

good luck.

Regardsderrick

[DeXteR]

i want to buy you a beer.

i'd be interested in seeing whatever pictures you have.

i hope you don't mind, but i'm going to "right click" and "save picture as..." a lot on this thread. you're a year or two ahead of me. reading the beginning of this thread was funny because i'm thinking the exact same thing.

hmmm... j30 has a vg30... what's in a q45? 4.5L V8?!!! i must have a vh45de... i must acquire z32 tt transmission... i need to buy a q45...



i look forward to seeing next summer's progress.

[elwesso]

that shot of the head looks amazing, really REALLY clean... I have to say though (im awaiting the hate!)...



That thing in the center of the engine bay really makes the rest of the car look like a POS!!!!

I really like seeing that stock airbox in there... SOOO much better than a cone filer!

How do you anticipate the header fabrication as far as difficulty?

[Jeff Taylor]

Looks great man.... I'd like to see how well it runs with those nice looking headers.

[CrazyTrance]

Not at all, the VH is so smooth you dont even feel it.

Awesome. Thats good news to me.

Hi

nice work. nice phot and write up also.

hope this will give more information to others considering this unique, potent, swap.

good luck.

Regardsderrick

Thank you derrick, it took a while to make but i'm glad i did.

I hope others consider this swap too. Like you said, maybe this will help other peoples swap also.

i want to buy you a beer.

i'd be interested in seeing whatever pictures you have.

i hope you don't mind, but i'm going to "right click" and "save picture as..." a lot on this thread. you're a year or two ahead of me. reading the beginning of this thread was funny because i'm thinking the exact same thing.

hmmm... j30 has a vg30... what's in a q45? 4.5L V8?!!! i must have a vh45de... i must acquire z32 tt transmission... i need to buy a q45...



i look forward to seeing next summer's progress.

No it's cool man, save all you want. Just as long as you don't try to like re-distribute them or something wierd. But yeah its cool.

Oh i didn't use a tt transmission. I used the n/a transmission. Shorter gear ratios and WAY cheaper.Edit: I'm dumb, internals are the same.

Next summer should be a blast i hope!

that shot of the head looks amazing, really REALLY clean... I have to say though (im awaiting the hate!)...



That thing in the center of the engine bay really makes the rest of the car look like a POS!!!!

I really like seeing that stock airbox in there... SOOO much better than a cone filer!

How do you anticipate the header fabrication as far as difficulty?

Yeah, the head is so clean i thought i was hallucinating at first haha.

But yeah, the rest of the car is kinda rough. It's ok though. She will get cleaned up.

Yeah, i think i might keep the stock airbox. it fits perfectly in there. I'm not 100% sure yet though.

The header fabrication is extremely tedious. At first i wasn't going to make an equal length header because i was going to just try to get it running. But since i ran out of time. I'm going to re-do the headers and make them equal length. Since i will have a whole summer to do so. This will be much harder. But it can be done. Plus it will flow alot better. People forget how much non-equal length can effect the engines performance. But when i was making them it was actually a really fun process making the headers. I don't know why but it is haha. Especially when working with a friend. But it is not something an impatient person should tackle. It can get overwhelming at times.

Looks great man.... I'd like to see how well it runs with those nice looking headers.

Thanks! Me too!

Modified by CrazyTrance at 11:04 AM 10/23/2007

Modified by CrazyTrance at 11:06 AM 10/23/2007
Modified by CrazyTrance at 12:10 AM 1/30/2009

[DeXteR]

...Just as long as you don't try to like re-distribute them or something wierd. But yeah its cool.

oh, no. these would be going right into my private folder for "s13 inspiration" that i don't share on the internet. i'll share a link to this thread before i share the pictures.

thanks.

Oh i didn't use a tt transmission. I used the n/a transmission. Shorter gear ratios and WAY cheaper.

yeah, i caught that. i have my reasons for wanting the tt transmission.

best of luck to you, and keep us updated.

[CrazyTrance]

oh, no. these would be going right into my private folder for "s13 inspiration" that i don't share on the internet. i'll share a link to this thread before i share the pictures.

thanks.

yeah, i caught that. i have my reasons for wanting the tt transmission.

best of luck to you, and keep us updated.

Nice, many other people have turbo'd these engines. 600hp easy.good luck to you too and you're swap!

[Mettler]

Plus it will flow alot better. People forget how much non-equal length can effect the engines performance.

That's not exactly right... equal length runners are not so important as just having good overall exhaust flow. It'll affect exhaust note more than anything.

Individual runner length simply determines where scavenging effect occurs in the rev range... having different length runners simply shifts this area of effect slightly up or down the rev range. You need something like a whole 12" difference in runner length to cause a mere 1000rpm shift in scavenging effect for that cylinder, so really the effect is nowhere near as dramatic as you may imagine.

Having said that however, my first set of headers did not have equal length runners, and while the engine performed awesomely... I was not entirely happy with the sound. I too am going to be fabricating a new set of headers with equal length runners... just finishing the remounting of my engine and then I'll be getting to work with the headers in my new workshop.

I can link you to a David Vizard exhaust article if it interests you, it taught me heaps about exhaust configuration.

[gs14racer]

this is what equal length sounds like, not that I know what non equal length sounds like. I just wanted to wh*re out my car some more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f55mn5OA34U

[Rex]

Beautiful.

I'm very excited to see this. I can't believe you kept this to yourself for this long.

[Mettler]

this is what equal length sounds like, not that I know what non equal length sounds like.

If you've seen the videos of my conversion, that's what it sounds like. Except I'm changing all that, so yeah.

[CrazyTrance]

That's not exactly right... equal length runners are not so important as just having good overall exhaust flow. It'll affect exhaust note more than anything.

Individual runner length simply determines where scavenging effect occurs in the rev range... having different length runners simply shifts this area of effect slightly up or down the rev range. You need something like a whole 12" difference in runner length to cause a mere 1000rpm shift in scavenging effect for that cylinder, so really the effect is nowhere near as dramatic as you may imagine.

Having said that however, my first set of headers did not have equal length runners, and while the engine performed awesomely... I was not entirely happy with the sound. I too am going to be fabricating a new set of headers with equal length runners... just finishing the remounting of my engine and then I'll be getting to work with the headers in my new workshop.

I can link you to a David Vizard exhaust article if it interests you, it taught me heaps about exhaust configuration.

You are correct. It does effect more than anything the sound of the engine. I know it does not effect the performance aspect nearly as much. I just meant that people sometimes forget that it does make a difference whether it's equal length or not.

The guy i bought all of my mandrel bent tubing from has been in the header business for over 40 years. He's the one that advised me with the tubing sizes for the headers and the rest of the exhaust. He also educated me on equal length headers and why it is important. Plus a whole bunch of papers with information on building your own header. So i am aware of the scavenging effects that are caused and how to pinch and weld the tubing together at the end for the collector. What maximizes flow and what not.

But i do appreciate that info you shared and would love to see what other people have to say about headers. If you could link me to that article i would appreciate that.

this is what equal length sounds like, not that I know what non equal length sounds like. I just wanted to wh*re out my car some more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f55mn5OA34U

I have seen this. It sounds awesome! Just love it.

Beautiful.

I'm very excited to see this. I can't believe you kept this to yourself for this long.

It was hard to keep it a secret!

Thanks all,Chase Gardner

[tmorgan4]

Plus a whole bunch of papers with information on building your own header. So i am aware of the scavenging effects that are caused and how to pinch and weld the tubing together at the end for the collector. What maximizes flow and what not.

If you have any way to post up this info I think it would be a good read.

[riu]

The NA Z32 transmission does not have shorter gears. It is internally exactly the same as the TT Z32 transmission, the difference in gear ratio is in the differential where it has a shorter final drive ratio.

the difference in the actual transmission itself is the edge of the bellhousing has a different lip where on the TT the Starter sits several millimeters further than where it sits on the NA, this allows for a larger flywheel to bolt up to the TT transmission, but its marginal. I highly doubt you will have issues with the NA transmission, just make sure you use the right flywheel and the spacer neccessary for the Dixon Adaptor plate

[gs14racer]

Yes hes right internally the trannies are the same just the starter and flywheel are different. The gears are the same.

I really recommend you use merge collectors, they are expensive but they will get you a couple hp in the mid range and up too.

I got mine from this site for 400.00

http://performanceweldingheaders.com/compmerg.htm

[CrazyTrance]

Oh really? huh. Oh well, no biggie. I believe you though. But how come the tt transmissions are so much more expensive?

Edit: wait... it just clicked... durrr i was thinking of the differential's final drive, just like you said. Wow i feel dumb. Oh well, **** happens

Right, I am using the n/a flywheel so it works fine. I've cranked it over and it seems to turn over ok. So we will see..

Thanks for the heads up though.

[CrazyTrance]

Yes hes right internally the trannies are the same just the starter and flywheel are different. The gears are the same.

I really recommend you use merge collectors, they are expensive but they will get you a couple hp in the mid range and up too.

I got mine from this site for 400.00

http://performanceweldingheaders.com/compmerg.htm

Thanks for the info but i've already purchased my collectors... The guy i bought them from taught me how to pinch the four tube ends together before they go into the collector so it acts exactly like that.

[Mettler]

Nice! Here are my merge collectors for the new headers: