Am I nuts or could this be good

[RT22]

I am about to set the 91 king cab on blocks and start a project. Just got a call from my nephew, 4 yr old 350Z totaled but running. What would it take to drop the V6 engine, transmission and rear end in the D21. I know the frame would have to be made to hold a independent rear end, but with some cutting some massaging and a guy who has put V8's in small cars and trucks the right way. Imagine Nissan V6 300 plus HP a 6 speed and and independent rear end in a 91 king cab d21. No one would expect that hehe. I am looking at 4 grand for the wreck with about , 5 grand more i think I can make it happen the right way. lowered lots of custom fit and fab. But a 1991 d21 with 300 plus HP 6 speed and independent rear end. That is a truck to play with. If i can do this for less than 10 grand i think it is worth it. I will out run most anything on the street and out handle them for half the price. I know this is no small project, but i am looking into it to see if it is doable. Any ideas or is this stupid? I know the truck came with a V6 in models but weak. Beef up the frame, and drop in a real nissan V6 with the computer and all the fixings. I know this could get expensive, but I think if i can get in under 10 grand with 4 grand for drive train5-6 for fitiing, it is possible. or am i stupid.

[seang]

The frame itself should be plenty rigid. IRS'd d21's exist for sure. Is your truck a short wheelbase? I feel the long wheelbase, (longbed standard cab, or kingcab shortbed), is more stable and easier to control while driving sideways.

[PEZi]

out of curiosity... do you want an independent rear suspension? i think that solid rears are actually pretty useful in performance applications (i use mine in autocross and i'd never switch it to independent if my life depended on it) especially for drifting... if you want to drift it the soild rear will help

just throwin some ideas out for ya

[seang]

Furthering the point Pez made is the racing sucess of many soild axle Mustangs on road courses. But either one would work, (soild axle or IRS). I like Jaguar rear ends for some reason, but you obviously would have the 350Z unit. The solid axle would make it look more like a sleeper from the back, where people would see the IRS right away if the ride height was high enough, IDK, I think it would be an awesome truck. Can you really go wrong with a VQ engine? Those f***ing things scream.

[RT22]

Spirited street driving. I had a 300 TT with independent rear end and loved it. Actually was HICAS rear turned a few degrees. I like the cornering and tuning options with indy rear. And for above it is king cab,

[lino]

Sounds like a fun project. What every you calculate add another $2000 for surprises to be safe.

[PEZi]

Spirited street driving. I had a 300 TT with independent rear end and loved it. Actually was HICAS rear turned a few degrees. I like the cornering and tuning options with indy rear. And for above it is king cab,

the reason i asked was because there's nothing wrong with a solid rear and if you could get a custom drive shaft (which you'll prolly have to do anyway) you could probably hook it into the same diff you have now (assuming you want to run that diff) and then fabbing up the parts to make the independent rear would not be needed. i can't imagine making the independent rear work in the truck is as easy as it may seem... so yeah that why i asked if you really wanted it. if you want to do the work to make the indy rear work it would definitely be a sweet and fun project... so whatever works man! good luck

[RT22]

I also took into account the gearing in my diff, i want higher speed and lower rpms than this on offers and I also figure the transmission gearing in the Z being matched to the ind diff makes it the better solution. I am looking inot what all will have to be fabbed to make the Z dif work, it may be I have to go different. if so I want a rear end that I can get gears for to match with the Z transmission. The 4 cyl hums at 3 grand at 70-75mph, I would love to pull less rpm at that speed as the power i will be enough to still launch easily. Not even sure how available gear sets are for this stock diff.