350 Swap

[improved1]

Ive been searching and searching for hours and days trying to find a write up or walkthrough for this swap. I was of course for the past few weeks weighing the good points of the RB26DET motor against the VG30DETT motor. RB26= Pain in the arse and expensive to find parts for. VG30= pain to work on. So I decided to do something different. Ive seen a few people that have done the 350 SB swap into a 300zx but i cant seem to find a writeup for it, any help would be appriciated. thanks!!

[evildky]

you want to do a SBC swap? nnot worth the drama unless you do the LS IMHO, there have beend a few done but no one really documented it to my knowledge, if you need instructions you might want to stick to the VG, if you got a welder and some basic fab skills by all means have at, but if not, walk away

[improved1]

Well ive been debating whether to pay to have my mechanic do it, or get my best friends dad to help me. The only main problem I see is the wiring because fabbing welding etc... isnt a huge problem. Isnt the LS1 considerably more expensive than just a 350SB? ive heard of those swaps costing upwards of 8-9k

[mgmarsh39]

Yeesh, seems like too much money... Just buy a used GM car with a 350.

[evildky]

yes the ls is expensive, around 3500 for the LS1 up to around 10k for the the LSX but the intake plenum sits betweent he heads rather than over them so it'll clear the stock hood, you didn't specify if you wanted to run carbs or injection, different manifolds and injections systems will come with their own set of challanges, also the LS series will make more power out of the box, and they are all just pushrod SBC's so you can build any of them to whatever extreme you like, be sure to look through out hybrid section, lots of v8 s13's and s14's over there, and hybridz.org has lots of v8 s30's

[OUKNO]

maybe consider the VH45 swap. Stock the VH45 has close to the stock TT HP and I believe more Torque than the stock TT. Not to mention I think there are a few guys on here that have done it for less than 5K. That's not including selling all of your parts that came out of your Z.

[cjdubs]

^^ agree. vh45 swap is sweet. of all the engines to swap in that would be the best since you don't want to put the tt in it. what i don't understand is that you want to swap in an engine and do alot of custom fab work because working on the vg30dett is to hard to work on?

[evildky]

booo! VH is more over engineered than the VG30DETT

[improved1]

Ive definitly heard the VH is more overengineered than the VG. Yes it will take a decent amount of fab work bloody knuckles busted elbows and burnt fingers to get a 350 in there and running however when its over and done with it will be much easier to work on and MUCH cheaper to find parts for. My local junkyard called me today to let me know they got a Grand National T-Type in today with massive rearend damage but no motor damage they said its got an aftermarket turbo + intercooler (werent sure of the make or specs, and the motor is fuel injected which is a plus ( I dont wanna screw with a carburator) they said they would give me the whole setup for 1200$ which in my opinion is a freaking steal. The car itself had just over 68k on the odom, not sure if its the original 350 tho. I'll prolly make a trip up there this weekend.

[chaosdrifter06]

The Grand National (if it is the model I'm thinking about), had a turbocharged 3.8L v6. Now that would be a pretty sweet swap.

[evildky]

the earlier GN blocks were weak, the later ones are known to handle 1000hp+! but it would be lots of custom fab work, no place in front of the motor to place the turbo as the stock setup in those tanks had, basically just a SBC with the front 2 cylinders chopped off and a turbo stuck on it

[improved1]

My best friends uncle has a 85' T-Type which i think is the same year today or tommorow we are gonna go and do as much measuring as we can so we'll see how it turns out

[OUKNO]

LS1 would be the best HP choice of all choices for the swapbut just do to price that's why I say the VH. The fab. work would have to be easier the engine weighs not much less than a LS1I have a friend putting LS1's in RX-7's and they turn out to be bad @ssBut definitely for the easiest swap buy a clip and make it a TTI always thought the TT weighs less than the VH but on HybridZ I just read that the TT is 30lbs lighter.Any thing on Nico to validate this?

[drews240]

350 SB heavier than a TT motor and about 260 280 HP?

VH Swap = big bucks for the set up with Clutch and 5 or six speed?

VQ35DE or HR = good NA power, light package reliable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiulMC53_FI

[jbona]

Ive been searching and searching for hours and days trying to find a write up or walkthrough for this swap. I was of course for the past few weeks weighing the good points of the RB26DET motor against the VG30DETT motor. RB26= Pain in the arse and expensive to find parts for. VG30= pain to work on. So I decided to do something different. Ive seen a few people that have done the 350 SB swap into a 300zx but i cant seem to find a writeup for it, any help would be appriciated. thanks!!

My dad just did a Chevy 383 stroker in his 90 2+2 last year. He ran into the same problem.....no one offers much useful information & there are no off the shelf parts specific to the swap. He fabricated most of everything needed...headers & exhaust, engine mount (aluminum front mount plate), adapter plate for the Nissan 5 speed (still holding up well with 600hp in front of it!!!). etc etc. The small block is a tight fit lengthwise (had to set the transmission mount back 2.25" & shorten the driveshaft to the Nissan rearend (which is also holding up very well) but no transmission tunnel mods were needed. Here's a link to some of his pics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/w...63045/

He's a wealth of information on this subject and can answer all of your questions and he'd probably fabricate anything you would need for a reasonable price.

A couple choice pics:

[improved1]

Would your dad be interested in getting paid to do a 350 swap?

[jbona]

http://300zxclub.com/showthread.php?t=144227

that is the link to a thread on 300zxclub.com that he started. not a whole lot more info, but there is a little bit more.

feel free to PM me if you need any help or advice

[evildky]

yuck, sorry btu that thing hanging out of the hood is just hideous, hanging otu the hook of some fugly mustcle car looks great, btu absolutely ruins the lines of Z32, amd I feel like you need a pariscope to see over it

[jbona]

evildky, go enjoy a stock z32 then, and keep your mouth shut in the v8 threads, because you dont have any actual information. you havent done a v8 swap in z z32, and all you do is bash on the one(s) who HAVE done one. if you dont like the v8 idea, then go away.

[evildky]

I'm not bashing the V8, I'm bashing the mailbox hanging out of the hood, I rather wish I had swapped in an Ls rather than upgraded turbo's

I've done my share of exotic swaps and learned a few thing along the way, for instance if you have the capacity to fab your own mounts it's not the sort of thing you should be considering, and really, putting the SBC in anything short of the space shuttle isn't evne new, go the the DNIdrags (formerly SEZ) to see tons of V8 Z cars running downt he drag strip

if you're gonna show off you're wares you gotta be prepared to accept the criticisim with the compliments, I'm guessing most Z32 entheusiasts prefer the stock lines over the mailbox, otherwise they'd be at the http://www.pintowithamailboxhangingoutthehood.com instead of nico

I have a friend with a fiat, 260z and VW bug all with V8's all running mid 10 second quarter miles, he's a tallented builder and builds amazing cars and he'd actually liek to do a Z32 sometime but I'm pretty sure he'd do it without having a mailbox hanging out the hood

[jbona]

this is all im saying to everyone interested in a v8 swap. you can get a Gen I or II and put out monster numbers for a reasonable price (my father is putting 600hp/540ft-lbs for $10,000, and that is with all BRAND NEW race parts), or you can go out and get a Gen III/IV LSx and put out the same numbers as a stock TT with a couple bolt ons. The other option to that is to get the LS7 for probably $15,000, and STILL not put out the numbers that the Gen I or II can put out for less money.What you do with your car depends on a few variables1) How much power do you want? Gen I/II will put out more power than Gen III/IV, and it is also easier to tune due to not being electronically controlled.2) How important is it to you to keep from cutting the hood, or would you be fine with having a nice scoop molded on over your filter? I like the lines of the Z32, but I also like the look of a nice scoop on the hood. A Mustang Mach 1 shaker scoop would look amazing on the Z, and it would look even better if you had 550+hp underneath it.3) How good are you with fabrication? There is quite a bit of fabrication needed for the swap, and if you can't do it yourself, be prepared to pay someone some good $$ to do it.4) How deep are your pockets? Like I said, it will cost you a pretty penny for the fabrication if you pay someone to do it. If you can do the fab yourself, then you will have more $$ to put into making bigger numbers.

Basically, if you care more about the IDEA of a V8 in your Z than the POWER of a V8, then go find yourself a junkyard 350 and slap it in there. If you want the power, then do a Gen I/II and do it right, and then enjoy going fast, quick.

[evildky]

you can get a Gen I or II and put out monster numbers for a reasonable price (my father is putting 600hp/540ft-lbs for $10,000, and that is with all BRAND NEW race parts)

at teh whee or at the crank? if thats wheel that's impressive

to get 600 chp from the VG30DETT you'd need $5185 to buy this kithttp://www.z1motorsports.com/p...=1081or to make 600 whp you'd need $6300 to buy this kithttp://www.z1motorsports.com/p...=1082

so now I'm just bustn your balls

I kinda wish I had done an LS1 with bolt ons instead of the upgraded turbo etc that I just did, I figure fabbing the mounts and working out the wiring would have been less labor intensive than the engine rebuild, there are just so many parts on these VG30DETT's that all must go on in order, totally overengineered, and the LS is sexy

[heyahh]

Just figured I'd chime in here. My "mailbox" seems to deliver the mail pretty efficiently, and I'm satisfied with it. It really doesn't sit that high either (no periscopes needed). I guess it's a matter of give & take between looking stock vs real performance. I tend to favor the latter. The way I saw it, I've always thought these cars need a lot more HP to be fun and if I was gonna go through the aggravation of a V8 swap, then I'd want to triple mine, which I did. I'd advise anyone not to throw in a "mild" V8 just for the sake of having a V8 in a Z. You can make more HP with these V6's with less aggravation & a bit less cost. I wanted radical torque & HP and ya just can't get that, or that special sound, out of the V6 for a reasonable cost.

improved1: I'd consider helping you with your project once you decide on what you really want.

evildky: Let's see a picture of YOUR Z32......

[tmeyer29]

i would say props to you with the engine swap but im no fan of the "mailbox" it really does totally ruin the lines. thats like putting a huge aluminum spoiler on a early camaro. Theres a difference between looking stock and having power than looking absolutely ridiculous and having power. You can do one without the other.

[jbona]

you dont like the hood, i dont like the two coffee cans sticking out the back of yours. we all have our opinions

[evildky]

evildky: Let's see a picture of YOUR Z32......

here ya go:if you want to make fun of my rides my 240Z is way uglier, looks like ahotwheels on crackyou really should try makign it down to the next DNIdrags, more V8 Z's than you can shake a stick at

[jbona]

haha evil your 240 DOES look like a hot wheels on crack. are you running over a cone there? lolcar isnt done yet for any competition drags. still gotta get it to handle ahard launch on slicks without breaking stock drivetrain

[heyahh]

Your car looks....um, too stock. Ya see too many of these on the road. Bolt this & that on and you have a custom street machine......not my idea of a "project" car. Doesn't look like a lot of thought & effort to the car over all (i realize the complication of the V6 rebuild, but there's just no originality). Buy it & bolt it on.....What is unique or what did you actually "make" on that car?

My scoop with the red inlet flaps has never drawn a negative comment in person and turns a lot of heads.....and it certainly isn't common. I admit I hacked the hood, for now....but I had only spent time on the mechanical aspects of the swap last year. The hole in the hood only allows me to close it. Am currently working on a shaker setup (circa '70 mach 1 type) from scratch. Should be a bit more subtle than the drag scoop. But still gotta think performance...The rest of the body work will come in it's own time.

Anyway, nice driving there #13 !!! Or is that cone part of your exhaust system?

[tmeyer29]

you dont like the hood, i dont like the two coffee cans sticking out the back of yours. we all have our opinions

I can't say I like the look all that much either but it sounds a hell of a lot nicer than stock and yields a good performance diff.... thats the one thing the previous owner threw in with the car, which is arguably one of the best systems for the car. I wouldn't mind going to a more stock style muffler.

[improved1]

Everyone has different tastes and styles. I personally think the TT wing is the ugliest thing they couldv'e put on the car. And i think 2+2s look like turds. But others would bite my head off for that. If you have compliments give compliments but dont insult someones taste or hard work.