Buy motor + standalone or parts car?

[z1 zonly]

Hello all,

I'm currently doing a VH swap in a Z32 and am having trouble deciding the best way to go about it. I have the Z32 and am prepping the chassis, but my choices for the VH are as follows:

1) Buy an engine by itself and standalone. This way would make going turbo or switching engines really easy while being able to extract more power out of the stock setup. Thing is, I don't really know anything about standalone, and am only envisioning a wiring nightmare that I can't crawl out of. Even if I got it all wired up, how would I put together a base tune just to get the thing running?

Also, it's harder to verify the actual running condition of the engine by buying it alone. For the sake of just getting this done I'm wanting to just put it straight in the car and drive it as-is, and option #2 is definitely better for that.

2) Buy a rear-impacted Q45 that verify-ably runs fine, and just transfer everything over (engine, wiring harness, ECU, MAF, etc.). Just have NICO flash the ECU.

Both options are inexpensive for what I'm going to end up with, I just need to know the one that fits my needs best. I AM planning on boosting after the car has been shaken down. A different engine (VH41 stroker?) is a possibility in the future, but I'm not paying much attention to that notion now.

[T45]

Buying a parts car can be cheaper in the long run simply because of all the extras that you get. If you pay 300-900 for a parts car you'll make out in the long run. Otherwise you'll more than likely have to source the bellhousing, bellhousing bolts, injector and ign harnesses, MAF and some other odds and ends that add up to a ton of money from the dealer or a ton of time and headaches on ebay. Just ask TMorgan. lol

[craigztoyz]

Buy a running car anytime you can, always makes a swap easier when you have all the parts, and you can scrap the shell, to keep more in the budget. I paid 300 for a good driving Q 2 years ago and have made over a grand off the parts from it. CraigslistThe ECU is fine, it has a EMS wiring harness with almost all the important wires, fits in stock Z32 spot, and can be modified. Go stock first, then after it runs and is broke in, if money is still falling out of pocket, then boost it, or NOS, or whatever the man on the shoulder wants

Keep in mine, that no swap is 'inexpensive', or simple. they always add up, and become more work than they are supposed to be. I have swaped engines on over 20 cars, and can attest to that. But the joy of driving the hell out of it is worth it,..................... usually.

[darinz]

I bought a parts car and still used a standalone ecu. The advanatges are as you say. I got to test drive the motor so new it was good.I went with a standalone as it made tuning and installation much easier. Most standalone ecu wiring is far far simplier than factory and gives you the ability to remove all the emission control crap. The factory ecu is pretty good and can control boost but if the cost isn't an issue I'd go standalone. Well I have so I'm biased!

[craigztoyz]

Na, if my budget, or had knowledge of a good deal on a vh standalone that worked, I might think differant. I am just saying that for a swap that is not mastered, and documented, then, stock is a good start, for an economical swap/build. just my 2 cents. plan the budget out befor the build, and dont forget the radiator, that and fan system, are expensive.

[z1 zonly]

This problem might have solved itself, as I just found a VERY reasonably priced '94 Q45 in my area. Going to try to look at it tomorrow! I'm excited!

Thanks for the input guys.

DarinZ: What standalone setup did you use? Did you have to custom-make the harness? Did you have prior knowledge about how to implement the base tune?

[darinz]

I used an Autronic ECU and CDI. It comes with a generic harness thatyou need to finish. ie it is just labeled wires that you fit plugs etc to. Basically I remove all of the factory wiring including the igntors. I replaced as many plugs as I could with new ones. ie injectors etc. I now have 2 engine looms. One for the ignition as it is controlled from inside the cab ie no factory ignitors. And one for everything else on the engine. I also have a third loom for everything not engine related. My build is a little different as it is a competition 4x4 so it is all about reliability, ease of repair and function. I don't give a rats *** what it looks like! But upon saying that the engine wiring is very tidy. For the ignition there is a loom running from under each coil cover to inside the cab.The base tune was very easy as I paid someone to do it!!!!!But I was there and basically he told the ecu what the timing order was. Set the TPS and told the ecu about injection and ignition type then sarted it up! First time it started the drivers bank coils didn't have power so it started first time on 4 cylinders and ran!!!!!!!!!!I won't kid you tht this is a cheap way to go, but I now have full data logging etc etc so you get what you pay for.

[anyotherone]

I face this decision a few months ago, and ending up buying a running, clean title '93 Q45 as a "parts" car. Best part about it is a freshly rebuilt automatic transmission with a receipt for $1000 on the repair. I am hoping to recover the cost of the car ($700) in just the transmission, calipers, and the rest of the shell.

Hey, I might even make a little extra cash and still have a motor, wiring harness, and ECU to start with.

I think I'm going to have to re-ring the motor though... it has a lot of blow-by

[craigztoyz]

Good Score, except the blow by, but from the info I have found on teh Phoenix shop with Q engine parts, that is not a huge problem.On my Q I stripped it down to a naked shell, not a single bolt left on it, scraped the shell, got 50, craigslist the rest, and have the trans still, with a fresh built too, but have made well over a grand on the parts from the car. not bad for a $300 driver. The body panels and doors are valuable if you can find a person in need, same with the seats(too damn big to swap into anything else) I made a killing on the modules that i was not going to use. Just be sure to take everything you need and sererate it before you start scraping and selling. Made a mistake like that once, never again.If you have any q's on wiring, let me know, i just got my q done, and am going through the Z's not all a piece of cake