240sx v8 build

V8 240sx? Sure! If either the chassis OR the engine is non-Nissan (i.e. SR20 in an RX-7 or LS1 in a 240sx), we've done it.
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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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So my brakes work awesome now but my fans still will not turn on . installed one of those inline filler necks in top radiator hose. raised up the coolant reservoir so that it is actually hire than the top radiator hose. cut a small hole in the hood for the reservoir cap to stick through. also had to cut away some of the skeleton of the hood.

unfortunately I did not have access to a jack today. so the bleeding of the coolant system thing did not go so well. I did however get a chance to create a water show. the new rad cap(29-31psi) is hard to remove,cracked it to let out the air and suddenly even the water in the reservoir was boiling. tried to open a hair more like I can with my arc cap for the koyo and I suddenly had one of those geisers. would have been fun to watch if I was not standing under it when the coolant shot literally 15 ft in the air. I looked up just in time to get a face full of it. fun.

so I am still not sure if it is air trapped in the coolant system or a bad sensor that is keeping my fans from coming on . they do come on some of the time which is why I thought there was air.

s***ty day.
Modified by 450SX! at 10:33 AM 6/12/2009


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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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new video posted some one requested shot of the engine so here it is.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e8xYTejymU

.tied in a wire from the ignition source to go through sender and it comes out of sender to the ac overide. this was easier than wiring the ac overide into the car to a switch in my center console that is currently useless.

almost tuned.

ignition timing is good though. initial is 14 and overall is 34 at 2500 rpmwith the boost set to retard 1degree per lb of boost. not sure if it needs the retard with only 6 lbs, just being safe for now.

enjoy the video.

Modified by 450SX! at 11:58 PM 6/14/2009

Modified by 450SX! at 9:14 PM 7/1/2009
Modified by 450SX! at 1:52 AM 7/5/2009

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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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car needs a heat shield and insulation.the exhaust is heating up my floor pan so much that it burns my skin to touch it.

buying some of that material used as the outer layer(DEI heat screen radiating matt) on turbo heat shields, also got some left over from, goint wrap the exhaust under the car where it runs under the passenger feet , my feet and my seat. bought some of that tru-max insulation and am going to cover the entire inside of my car with it. hope it is paintable, car is so loud I can not talk on phone while driving. or hear my own music with out having to blast it. guess that is what I get for having a powerfull motor with stripped insulation. this is going to look really cool or really ****ing stupid. at least I will be able to drive with my windows up at night. that is how much heat is coming up off the floor. feels like my right shoe rubber is going to melt. some of the exhaust already has heat wrap(wear it passes under the tranny and around the cat) guess the more i can keep the heat in the exhaust the better so that it moves quicker and contains enough heat to make the cat useful. the cat sits back a bit farther than normal, my spintech muffler is where the cat used to be.
Modified by 450SX! at 11:06 AM 9/8/2009

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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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so I did some upgrades to the coolant system. filler neck in the upper hose, drain/bleeder on the heater hose.

aluminum plates to seal the radiator to the radiator support.like this on both sides

4 in heater ducting from lower side openings on bumper routed over the bumper support and to the rad.

scoop from bottom of rad support that scoopsunder the inercooler to bring air up

2 new fans (12 permacools 3300cfm each)built a shroud for the pusher and altered the mounting brackets on it to mount to shroud.



second fan is a puller(no shroud)

raised the overflow tank/reservoir 2 inches so it was a proper height for the new engine and rad hose setup. the overflow port on the reservoir where it dumps into engine bay needs to be higher than the highest point in coolant system otherwise it just dumps.

Modified by 450SX! at 1:25 AM 7/5/2009
Modified by 450SX! at 1:29 AM 7/5/2009

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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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got an apointment with the man today. chp is giving me a new vin number and inspecting my car. did not go so well. chp is convinced that my car is not a specially constructed vehicle. and I had done some touch up paint on the fire wall and filled in the VIN too much so they want me to strip it down so they can verify the number.then i need to repaint so it is visible.

now I need to go to a BAR referee. hopefully they will say that my car is a specially constructed vehicle and they will pass if I get the vin from the chp.also a condition of me getting a new VIN.

If not I am in for it cause I will have to do a lot of mods to make it smog legal. like add all the smog stuff I pulled. not sure how that will work yet just hoping for the best and anticapting the worst. worst being one of two things. having to convert to fuel inection and adding all the smog stuff. or having to pull the motor and sell to get a ls1 or ls6 that is odb1to put in my car.

biggest lesson learned is don't trust a word people say when it is not there *** on the line. That was the only reason I did this motor, also did not realize how serious they are about that **** in cali.

was told that a cop could have my car impounded for the vin firewall not being readable. then they would strip what they needed to inorder to identify the car then charge me for it. that is at least what the chp VIN officer told me.

Got the impression that they do not deal with motor swaps too often. however apparently people are importing skylines and trying to register them as specially constructed vehicles so they are street legal.



Modified by 450SX! at 4:59 PM 7/14/2009
Modified by 450SX! at 9:53 AM 7/28/2009

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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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On my way to the smog referee, literally 3 blocks away when my clutch went out. In down town los angeles. love it. damm mcleod hydrualic throwout bearing. I called them yesterday and aparently some of there parts have not been built to spec in the last few years. they guy I talked to on the phone said he had been brought back to run the place to get everything back to spec. think the seals blew, have heard about this on other forumns. so I got to pull it this weekend and take a few measurements to make sure I had it in the correct operating range and was not over extending the piston, pretty sure I was not as I took the measurements necessary before. then I got to send it to them and they will upgrade my master cylinder if they determine it was the product which it likely is(reason for the guy being brought back to run things).

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Jon FLA
Posts: 102
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2009 5:20 am
Car: 1994 Convertible 240sx
Location: St Petersburg, FL

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what motor mounts did you go with?? or did you fab your own?? r33 trans crossmember?

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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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I used a universal sbc mount that can either be bolted or welded to the inside of the frame rails. I cut down my original cross member so that the humps on it where the OEM mounts had been are flat with the center of crossmember.welded in the universal mount so that it is practically right over the crossmember. used a f-body road race pan(7qt) for ground clearance, cut firewall and pushed back 5 inches. pulled out ac and heating so I could do this. pushed motor back until the pan dropped behind the steering rack.

the motor mount welds on these pictures were pretty bad. after my welding got better I ground down a weld at a time and re-did them.
Modified by 450SX! at 4:31 PM 8/7/2009

chemao
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[QUOTE=450SX!]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDX5VXxcyGw QUOTE]

That s*** sounds mean! I really can't wait until you get it polished up and then TUNED with some real boost. Take it easy and graduate it up to 3ATM. It should be good for 600 or 700 RWHP. Oh, and please don't forget a camera mount for those impromptu stoplight encounters.

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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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that would be hilarious, I wonder what would break first at 3atm.

looking for about 500whp at 10psi to run safely on a two bolt main.


Modified by 450SX! at 9:56 PM 12/29/2009

User avatar
540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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because of my stupid vin on the dash being different I am now at odds with the chp. no new vin until i get pre aproval from the smog REF.

so I have decided to replace the carb, intake with the TPI setup

idea is I will have one exhaust system to drive in and one for smog tests. got 60lb injectors

the tpi is good for low end torque and the boost should carry it through the rpms above 4500. picking up a donor car tomorrow to pull everything from. damm thing is 130 miles from me but having a car right next to mine to pull stuff from will sure beat scrouring a junk yard multiple times for the little stuff I would most likely miss.

Picked up the vehicle the runners are in perfect shape no dents or scratches. just what I expected the car is in bad shape but the top half of the motor looks great minus a few cobwebs.

Modified by 450SX! at 11:31 PM 10/23/2009

Modified by 450SX! at 12:31 AM 10/25/2009
Modified by 450SX! at 9:58 PM 12/29/2009

User avatar
540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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not sure the firebird manifolds will clear the steering column, finding out tomorrow for sure.

customizing the the stock tpi fuel rails. going to weld on -8an fittings on to the back of both rails to run from am aeromotive fpr that is mounted on firewall. going to block off the openings that the OEM fpr used. the original fuel feed opening in from I have cut off and will be welding in an adapter fitting so I can run a line to remotely mount my fuel pressure sensor as suggested my autometer. going to run braided line with fittings to the back of fuel rails. for the front crossover tube I am also going to weld on-8an fittings an use aluminum fuel line to connect across or pressure balance between rails.

the oem manifold did not mate well to my dart 200cc heads, as in it did not actually cover the intake runners on the heads. so i got the edelbrockhigh flo manifold and the dimensions are great. goint to port a little on the manifold to match to heads and polish runners (or at least make less bumpy). then going to port the runners a little to match the intake so the transition is smoother.

rebuilding fan shroud , going to mount both fans in front as pusher on a custom built shroud. no room for the one fan I had as a puller with the new design to make exhaust crossover work with the tpi intake.

this is all a pain in the A** but the car will be what i originally intened it to be from the beginning. a small v8 with decent torque down low with the boost for the top end, that i can wind out a bit. going to set rev limit of 6300. told at 6500 i might get valve float.

post pics soon

lancer_013
Posts: 67
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:30 am
Car: V8 s13 in the making
02 wrx daily cruiser
Location: Hawaii

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How did u make ur brakes work good

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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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I only had a vacuum source off of my cold air intake(lack of knowledge when I did this) which I imagine would start creating vacuum when the turbo spools up it and starts sucking air through the inlet.I tapped my intake for manifold vacuum and installed check valves after both sources, ran those into a T that went to a comp cams vacuum canister, then to booster.

I get 14in of vacuum at idle and 20+ when I let off of the gas which is when it is needed. not sure all I did was necessary but I prefer to error on the side of caution.

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WDRacing
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Car: 95 240SX, 99 BMW 540i, 01 Chevy Express, 14 Ford Escape
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Man, I can't believe the amount of work you've put into this. Props on having the motivation and will to stay with it. I won't ever live in CA...screw CARB.

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youngmoney
Posts: 377
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:58 am
Car: 93 240sx SE

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everyone on nico's got stacks apparently

nice build so far. im jealous...as usual

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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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WDRacing - thanks

youngmoney - Wish I had stacks. I used 3 credit cards that were 0% interest for a year(needed a cosigner on one). spaced them out so I could pay them off over a year and a half. now I am selling parts for myself and car parts my friends have that they offered for me to sell for them for a profit because they won't make the effort.

the only labor paid for the was the assembly of the engine(longblock) ,pressing in the new energy suspension kit into the control arms, rebuilding turbo with garrett internals(a1-turbo).


lancer_013
Posts: 67
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:30 am
Car: V8 s13 in the making
02 wrx daily cruiser
Location: Hawaii

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so did you hook the brake up to the carb or straight to the intake mainfold

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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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my carb only had one 1/8 in vacuum source so i tapped the side of my manifold.also still had the vacuum line T'd to the intake before the turbo. both with check valves. i figured when the rpm's go up and when turbo spools it might start creating a little vacuum, figured with the combined i was sure to get enough to operate brakes properly. also used canister.


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Flicktitty
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Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2004 11:56 am
Car: 1989 Nissan 240sx 2JZ-GTE Swapped
1994 Toyota Supra
2019 Lexus GX460
1992 Lexus SC400

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this thing is sweet!

did the ducting you did to the radiator/intercooler help lower the temps?

lancer_013
Posts: 67
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:30 am
Car: V8 s13 in the making
02 wrx daily cruiser
Location: Hawaii

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Got a pic were it was hooked up don't know where to conect mines

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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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not sure, I did all the upgrades at once so i don't know. I do know that cruising on the freeway my temps would drop below to about 170 which is when the ducting would really have helped. do you have an intercooler blocking your radiator?

My temps were still creeping after driving for about twenty minutes becauseI was running the primaries really lean for mileage. It could idle this long and still be at 180 because the idle afr was 14.5 +/- .3 had 59's in the primarieswith a 10.5 pv, needed to go up a few sizes. at part throttle if I opened it up the primaries leaned out to where the engine would stutter, would hit 17+ afr

I was trying to use the power valves and accelerator shot to richen up the mixture at that point.

going to get the turbo header flanges milled because there some leaks,can see some scorch marks on the cylinder head surface.

also going to raise and change how the intercooler is supported. I was using mounting points on the bottom. changing to point off the back, (the thickess on the bracket and bolt head is easily .5 in. I had driven out of a gas station and scraped the bolt head and bent the brackets holding the intercooler.

going to redesign the scoop as it bot bent backwards when i scraped. nothing it going to be below the level of bumper. don't like having to rebuild brackets from scratch.

not that my aluminum welding is getting better the next one will be from aluminum sheet.


Modified by 450SX! at 7:56 AM 1/21/2010

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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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I used a metal screw and drilled it into the bumper support.

chemao
Posts: 369
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Car: 2019 Tesla Model 3 - preordered
1997V2 AM General H1 with 6.6L Duramax (LML) running biodiesel swap
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450SX! wrote:that would be hilarious, I wonder what would break first at 3atm.

looking for about 500whp at 10psi to run safely on a two bolt main.
Typo; I meant 2. I think 10PSI in this application should get you well more than 500 with a good tune.

45PSI would be ridiculous boost. You did say it was fully built though, right HAHAHA

*on dyno*"1000HP WOW!!"KABOOM!!!!"s***..."

lancer_013
Posts: 67
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:30 am
Car: V8 s13 in the making
02 wrx daily cruiser
Location: Hawaii

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What would I need to make mine turbo or can I just buy a kit from eBay the twin turbo ones

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youngmoney
Posts: 377
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:58 am
Car: 93 240sx SE

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your car looks so damn mean. what kind of headlights are those? where did you get them?

eaton89
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2010 7:45 am
Car: 91 240sx

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First time on the forum. Question? With the design of your oil pan, have you had any issues with the 2 completly seperate sumps? How long or miles have you used this pan and have you had the motor tore down to do any work and inspected the inside of the pan? I'm going to try a 383 swap from my dirt race car and I was going to try a moroso pan (20210) with the relief for the rack and rear sump. I scored one on ebay for $60, Looks like it will work but if it doesnt your pan looks like a great way to go and save a ton of money as well.


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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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my pan cost over 300 dollars , it is a 7qt canton road race pan for an f-body, rear sump and no problems. I also got the high volume melling oil pump that was built just for corvettes with an ARP hardened shaft.

My motor was freshly built by guys that build race engines before being installedin my car. only things reused were the block and the forged steel small journal crank. everything else is brand new with about 450 miles on it.

eaton89
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2010 7:45 am
Car: 91 240sx

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my mistake!! I got your post and another mixed up. Yours is set back. I have the same pan on my motor now. I just dont really want to move it back that far unless I absolutly have too. Dude your car is pretty awsome!! In the circle track cars setting motors back is the ticket, I'm sure it would be in these cars too but I dont want to put that kind of work into it. I'm building this car so my 15 year old who wants to drift so bad, can take this to the track with me and get this out of his system without trashing his car(same 91 240sx as mine) ,getting his license pulled, hurting himself or others. This car is gutted and has a cage. Im a v8 lover so since I have the motors and parts it only makes sense to go v8 all the way. Sorry for the mix up!

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540sx
Posts: 365
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 12:11 pm
Car: 240SX
Location: Culver City, Los Angeles

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no problem. sounds like fun, wish i could have been driving at tracks at your sons age. I used to live in topanga canyon and had a lot of close calls going as fast as I could. I want to track mine but will stick with open track day events for now.
Modified by 450SX! at 12:19 AM 1/23/2010


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