Am I missing anything? VH45 S13 checklist.

[Redemption1978]

I don't usually like to post things that I'm planning on doing until the project is well under way but due to the unique nature of this swap I'm left with little alternative. And since I have the cash on hand to get the parts I guess it's close enough.

I have some questions that I have yet to see answers to. Here is a list of things that I know I need and the questions.

Here is what I know I need.VH45DE - Found totaled side impact 94 Q45 for a reasonable price. S13 Coupe chassis - Currently looking at 3 of them for sale. 300zx Transmission - Haven't found one yet but not so difficult to get ahold of.Adaptor plate for transmission - Still looking at the alternatives.Mounts for engine and transmission - Motor mounts will have to be made transmission mount can be bought.Driveshaft - easy to find a shop. Wiring - Friend is getting "drafted" to do this but he doesn't know it yet.Flywheel clutch - I haven't gotten far enough to worry about that yet.

I believe this will cover the basics of everything needed. Here are some questions that I have.

The VH45 spider intake is very tall does anyone know if the VK45 intake can be made to fit and work?Did anyone need to modify their cross member?Did anyone have to clearance their tunnel for the transmission?If there is anything anything at all even if it seems trivial that you guys could point out I'd like to know.

Unfortunatly I cannot do the actual work on the car but Maxima278 on these boards will be doing it for me. Since he generously agreed to do the work I want to make sure he has everything necessary and as few headaches as possible.

I appreciate any help you guys can give me and thanks in advance!

[Mettler]

Did anyone have to clearance their tunnel for the transmission?

Shouldn't need any modification to fit, people have slapped RB25s into Silvias with no gearbox clearance issues. The RB25DET gearbox is the same size as the 300ZX box.

Unfortunatly I cannot do the actual work on the car

Why not? Surely you can buy a used welder for under a thousand bucks, and a cheap grinder for like 20 bucks, and get stuck in and help your mate? You only learn by trying

[Redemption1978]

Shouldn't need any modification to fit, people have slapped RB25s into Silvias with no gearbox clearance issues. The RB25DET gearbox is the same size as the 300ZX box.

Fantastic. That is one of the things I did not like about the LS swap when I was considering that option. That along with the price of the engine. What about the cross member?

Why not? Surely you can buy a used welder for under a thousand bucks, and a cheap grinder for like 20 bucks, and get stuck in and help your mate? You only learn by trying

I would love to do the work myself and learn alot by doing so; but I live in an appartment, I just moved 1000 miles from my old home less than a year ago, and I work 50+ hours a week. Its just not a reasonable proposition.

I could also just call up a shop to do the work but I'd rather have a friend do the work so that even though I'm not there I'm still in on the research and whatnot. I also intend to make it well worth his while so its kind of a win win for both of us.

[slamdbusa]

I put my VH into a '91 hatch and I did everything that gs14racer did to his S14, except I had to curve the hood and put spacers on the hinges. I used a gasless flux welder for my project, and it was under $200, but that's me.

The cross member doesn't need to be changed on the S13/14, the motor will fit right in.

If you have any trigonometry under your belt, you could make your own adapter, or buy one.

The drive shaft from Mazworx is the best hands down IMO, but the Z1 group can make you one too. The shaft out of a Non-turbo Z32 has the same bolt pattern as the S13/14 differential, but it's like 4 inches too short.

Are you wanting to do this on the cheap?

[Redemption1978]

Thanks for the response!

The Mazworx adapter plate is probably the one that I'm going to choose. As far as the driveshaft goes though I don't see any problem getting one from a local shop. I think I saw somewhere that Mazworx might have a transmission mount somewhere. To save some headache I might do that but the engine mounts will probably be custom made.

If the cross member doesn't need to be modified that will save some headache.

As far as what I'm willing to spend I'd rather find a nice middle ground between shoe string budget and a full sky high budget build.

[gs14racer]

Since your using the schassis you can use mazworx whole kit.

Adapter plate, transmission mount shifter linkage , and driveshaft . i think it retails around 1000 usd.

I would get the kit, use the transmission mount to center the engine and make the motor mounts and headers after that.

As for how much you want to spend , however much you think your gonna spend multiply it by two. If you can fabricate everything and i mean everything yourself calculate around 3500-4000 done turn key running.

[Redemption1978]

1000 for the whole Mazworx kit isn't too bad. I will definatly have to look into that. Unless things have changed since the last time I was home I know there is a machine shop close. That might save me some money on shipping the bellhousing back and fourth.

I still want to find out if there is some way to lower the height of the intake plenum without affecting performance.

The whole point for buying and parting out a q45 is to help offset some of the costs. I'm also planning on selling some stuff out of the s13. Engine, transmission, all that stuff. That should help with the costs.

Still I'm comming from the 350z world where parts are outrageous. Working on a 240 is like being in heaven.

[Mettler]

I still want to find out if there is some way to lower the height of the intake plenum without affecting performance.

Modify your sump, tbh. :/

[CrazyTrance]

If you have a stock ka auto trannsmission mount you can modify it really easy like this... Thats what i did and am using a 300zx n/a transmission.

I think i used an auto transmission mount at least.

[Redemption1978]

That is definatly looks like an easy enough thing to make.

[CrazyTrance]

Sure was. I made the engine mounts out of the same stuff too. 1/4" plate steel. Except i think i'm gonna have to redo them because i'm going to modify the oil pan so the engine can sit lower. Hopefully the hood can shut then, or at least not stick out as much.

[Redemption1978]

The insurance check for my dearly departed 350z arrived yesterday so now things begin in ernest.

[shanez]

hey guys I dont mean to jack in the thread, but i am also doing the VH swap in my s13. I'm hoping to keep this thread going as it will help us all. So far i've also decided to go with the mazworx kit. It's going to make things much easier to install and a solid ground for fabbing headers. My question to anyone here...I found a place to get 96+ VH45 motors and i know they dont have VVT but i figure oh well. I can't seem to find any earlier motors anywhere besides junkyards out of ohio lol. Do you guys see anything wrong with running a 96 motor?

Also has anyone found some good threads on -custom intake manifolds for the VH45?-header designs to fit the S-chassis?-Oh, did anyone answer the question to the VK45 manifold being modded to fit?

Thanks again fellas i want to keep this going and I'll try to get more stuff posted as i work on my project.