Sup Nico Club

---- I have a S13 Vert and a 350Z Roadster. My plan is to throw the VQ from the Z into the S13 in goals of having a fast weekend car! I wanted to document my journey ----

So for starters i picked up a s13 vert and the KA in it had an unfixable idle issue - i ended up selling the stock KA and A/T tranny and picked up a salvaged M/T 2005 350z roadster from copart. w/ 153k on the motor

They said it ran and drove but i got the Z delivered yesterday and to my surprise , it did not.... It has a super weak crank and jumping it doesnt work - the 350z wont turn over at all and when i tried a stronger battery, it sounded like it tried to crank a little bit but was way too weak to get the engine started up. i think its been sitting around for quite some time and i will need to figure out whats going on - it could be fuel, starter, oil change, spark plugs? who knows? I may try to add some fuel first and then roll-start it. hopefully i did not buy a seized VQ.... Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I will try to put up pics very soon!

I hope to vlog this project as well. Nico Club has always been very helpful and i hope you guys will enjoy the finished product.

Pull the plugs, put a teaspoon of oil in each hole. Let it sit overnight. Turn it by hand (crank pulley bolt). If it turns over with a 3' breaker bar and mild pressure, it's not locked up.

Next, you need to compression test it.

If its anything but a "click" when you go to start, it isn't locked up.
VQ swap into a 240 is going to be tough. Those engines are TALL, and the ecu/wiring tends to be a little fickle. If you've got an entire spare 350z, a welder, and some fab skills, it should work though.

UPDATE ***

I got the Z running ! the issue was battery and fuel so i def feel stupid for overlooking something so simple....
anyway the 350 ran perfectly with zero leaks and shifted smooth in all gears . so shoutout to copart lol

now because i have s13 vert - this will also be a A/T to M/T swap - i will basically transplant the 350z clutch pedal and clutch cylinders over into the s13.


Next I gutted out Z / pulled out the engine and trans together. This took a couple of days. ( i can try to do a full write up if anyone is interested)



I sent out the wiring harness ecu OBD2 port and gas pedal over to Hexagarage. They will be handling the wiring to the s chasis as well as deleting the NATS . They specialize in VQ swaps btw -https://www.hexagarage.com/the-schassis-vq-swap

Parts i also purchased from Hexagarage - Trans/ Engine mounts , gktech shifter relocater

Parts that i still need : headers, y pipe, power steering lines , cooling lines, fuel lines/pump (if i cant use the 350z ones) and

driveshaft x diff combo:

What are my options as far as differential ?- that is going to be a challenge . I want to be able to enjoy the car on the highway. and having abs and an lsd are imperative... i dont think the 350z differential will fit into a s13 directly... other alternatives would be the Q45 diff? 300zx diff? is it a matter of just swapping out the pumpkin ? Will I be able to keep a functioning stock tachometer?

What's wrong with the S13 diff? They are stout as hell. If yours isn't limited slip, you can swap one in.
Congrats on getting it running!
I'm not sure about the tach, but I bet the Hexagarage guys might have a clue.

i highly doubt mine is limited slip. I have a stock s13 diff .. with no ABS most likely. I suppose i can run this setup for now and maybe just upgrade the diff later.

Hexgarage just says to use a Dakota Digital SGI-5 . i gotta check out some archives lol

If you mean the speedo and not the tacho:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/143554785386

ABS is a big job, but an LSD diff from a Z32 is an easy swap.

AZhitman wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 08, 2021 6:49 pm

ABS is a big job, but an LSD diff from a Z32 is an easy swap.

^^ This. do an R200V swap. You can find them in a plethora of cars. You'll be looking at swapping the rear cover over and possibly output shafts at worst. The rest is a bolt-on affair and they've been proven to be extremely stout.

Some links from our site to get you started;

https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/all-y ... tials.html

https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/fun-w ... l-lsd.html

https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/240sx ... -swap.html