Ah, what most people don't realize is that it takes time to do things like this. It doesn't matter if they don't want to wait you need to take your time, and do things right after all your name is going to be on this.

Don't forget your pressure points, Dale. WoooSaahhh! BTW, do you need me to send more LED's for the rest of the cockpit controls?

thats one sexy car right there. hit the track with that and get sideways

Ummm... not at the moment, but if you want that NVG glass cockpit we talked about, we'll need to change out the lighting and think up a way to keep the FLIR coolant ice cold... Oh, I forgot, you ARE ice cold... Anyway, a few actuators that can hold 3000 psi and the hard lines to go with them for the vertical speed brake, unless you want to mount them horizontally to smack people out of the way. Other than that, I need a few more cement blocks because I almost crushed my foot when one of the stands gave way on the half cut... damn chickens (literally; pulled the pin on the one jack thinking it was a tasty worm or something). Mother clucker! Got lucky and flew out of the engine bay. Well... chickens don't fly, but this one was making a damn good attempt at it. So much for Dale's Chicken and Waffles and VG Swap House. Tired... gonna get some sleep. Sheesh!

how long and how much money did it take

The first prototype or the first production? A lot of time and a lot of money. As I said previously, this ain't no SR swap and is a 10 on the range of difficulty compared to an RB.

I have a question, but first don't take this the wrong way. How much do you think this will cost the average person? Would you say it would be about the same as an LSx swap (around $10,000)?

Just wanting to know a ballpark of what I am looking at.

180sxfaktory wrote:Ok... now you are probably wondering WTF?! Why are we looking at a Z32 gauge/bezel/clamshell? Well, in this case, AJ expressed that he wants to use as much from the half cut as possible, so I will be modifying the LHD S13 dashboard to accomodate the Z32-spec gauge combo.

Digital Climate/Windshield Wiper Controller (goes on the left)

I just realized (yeah, I know - I'm slow) that this means I'll have a space where the stock S13 climate control unit would've been... I can mold in gauges or a turbo timer or something there!

^^^^

lol slow is not a strong enough word for that. I think you should say snail.

Zee, $10k to do a proper job is about right. If you are handy and good at doing things yourself, you can save more $ for your conversion. The things you will most likely need to outsource are: driveshaft and customized exhaust (if that's your thing). Some folks want to do twin exhaust, and that would require relocating the fuel cell to inside the trunk. I strongly recommend against it for safety reasons, and it also gives away the sleeper factor. Anyway, I am posting up on my web site tonight shipping charges (very close approximations) for those folks who do not want to wait for containers to get stuff. Shipping a Z32 half cut shipping to east coast from port of embarkation is approx. $400-$500 plus any customs fees/handling fees/further freight forwarding charge.
Modified by 180sxfaktory at 10:30 PM 9/28/2007

Nice I can afford that I hope to be ordering a half-cut from you next month, but we will see how things go.

Hey Dale, don't worry about those people that want to know the "How to Guide," on the swap. Most of them will try the "Old Fashioned," do it your-self swap, then realize they should have waited when it is released to do the swap. I totally agree with you on the "PATIENCE IS THE KEY" method. It involves no imperfections and you don't forget to overlook anything at all. I have been keeping up with the story, before this post was started. I have enjoyed it since the first words were spoke of it. I always say to myself patience is the key to good quality work. So Dale, just take it easy. I like the updated site. Did you beat on any cars lately?

Thanks, man! That's just it... I always take my time, and when I am not one here, I am working on this project and taking care of my other stuff. Just a reminder to everybody... it's just me. I don't have a staff. Shak'r and I... that's it, and he's busy doing other work.

Here's some more stuff just to show you all how intense this swap is. The engine harness and the chassis harness are all inclusive... meaning that you can't just unplug the one going to the injectors, sensors and other stuff.

Take a look...

This is the part you see of the harness and are probably most familiar with...

Now look...



Scary, isn't it? I have to replace the injector plug connectors due to dry rot. Those things are what always go first on the VG30DETT. The rest of the harness is in good shape. The harness you see is going directly into MAYHEM. The 1989/1990 editions of 240SX have a general similarity shared with the Z32, as far as the harness layouts are concerned. As I mentioned earlier, I am using as much of this half cut as possible, since that was what AJ requested. That's not a bad thing, actually. As much as a person can retain of the original peripheral items, more of the performance characteristics are retained. Some will argue that, but unless one is a true electronics/wiring expert, nothing beats the original factory wiring and the layout.

As I mentioned in my last post, the Z32 was designed around the engine. Here's what that bay looks like without the engine and other peripheral itemsIt's definitely smaller than the S13 and S14 chassis engine bays.

What's this? Oh! That's the thing everybody keeps asking about... the subframe.



Ok... This looks like a blown up sh!thouse, but no fear. Bahrain is as dry as a California forest before it goes up in flames. Oh... maybe that's not something to joke about. I taking the stuff to my house tomorrow morning for cleaning.

I'm just getting everything lined up so that I can get this car on the road as fast as I can, safely and without hiccups while I am doing some renovation work at my new garage- Dale's Garage, which is opening after Eid this month.

AJ- check your mail in about 30 minutes.

As far as me beating up on some cars, I've been doing that every Thursday night. Doing it again tomorrow night. I'm doing more autocross than drift because I have found out that I'm not actually bad at it. I clocked 52 seconds twice on a very technical course we have here. Think touge but at sea level. Drifting has given me the edge where hard corners don't scare me and I gun through them trail braking all the way to the straight sections. The EVO that was there was only 1 second faster than me, and he is driving a completely gutted car, while mine is fully loaded. I figure if I stripped mine down, I could probably match him. We'll see what happens tomorrow night. Oh! The prototype is not gonna be there because the owner is too damn cheap to fix it. What a waste.

AAAAUUUUUUGGHHHH!! Can't... view.... pictures..... at..... work!

Ah! The good old DoD filters the government straps their IT infrastructure with... I don't miss it! I don't miss a single thing! Retirement from the military is good!

Hey Dale, It is very good to hear that you are doing better on autox. That guy probably new, that he was going to get slapped around, so he is not going to show. He knows that your car will be partially, if not, fully gutted, and will know that he will have a harder time beating your time (all the more fun I say). I have plans on putting the swap vg30dett into the 89 coupe that you see as my avatar. I am fixing it due to a worn out sensor. My question was how would the swap effect my HUD and would it still be possible to keep it in use? This is one of my most liked features about my car, other than the fact that it is a Nissan. What are some things that I should "prep" or already have on the car other than front and back brakes upgraded? I do know that I am planning on doing the swap but just cant do everything all at once. I do have ideas about what to prepare myself for. Patiently doing a step by step process, but limited to various things like extreme heat (not supposed to be in heat due to seizures) , time (the car is one hour away), and help (mostly doing the work myself but on occasion little bro gives a helping hand ... "Thanx bro." Anyway keep up the GREAT WORK DALE & GRREAT WORK ON THE CAR SO FAR!!

Thanx! Actually, his car is completely gutted and mine is pretty much fully intact with nothing removed. 52 sec in a 180SX compared to 51 sec in an EVO VII... let's just say that it's commonly agreed here in the circle of people who autoX that if I were to strip it down, I'd more than likely match him if not exceed and best his time.

As far as the HUD, I have to research it a bit.

Prepping your car now... just make sure that if there is any rotted areas in the frame, take care of it now, as well as widen up the transmission tunnel.

I'll be posting up tonight to show you all the transmission tunnel and the other assorted stuff I've been up to the past few days.

hey 180...do you know the colour name/code for this supra in your thread? I might want to paint my s13 this colour, so sexy!

Hello

The kit does sound like it will save a lot of hassle for people wanting to do this swap, I'm a bit surprised you don't have a few more pics of your install.

I kept both the turbo's on mine with standard manifolds oil filter and no modifications to the cross member, twin smic from an r32

200zx wrote:Hello

The kit does sound like it will save a lot of hassle for people wanting to do this swap, I'm a bit surprised you don't have a few more pics of your install.

I kept both the turbo's on mine with standard manifolds oil filter and no modifications to the cross member, twin smic from an r32

Just remember that you can throw any motor in any car and have it run, but to do it correctly it takes time, especially when you are limited on time in the first place. Also if I remember correctly he is going to sell swap kits for it ( no need to reveal his plans and ideas so that other people can STEAL them.) He is trying to make money, not get sued due to a problem that may happen. To prevent that from happening that takes time for tests and such.

coupe240sxguy wrote: Just remember that you can throw any motor in any car and have it run, but to do it correctly it takes time, especially when you are limited on time in the first place. Also if I remember correctly he is going to sell swap kits for it ( no need to reveal his plans and ideas so that other people can STEAL them.) He is trying to make money, not get sued due to a problem that may happen. To prevent that from happening that takes time for tests and such.

Did I ask why he was taking so long ?? I don't think so, did I ask him to show exact details of his fitting kit ? again I don't think so ? not sure why your coming across so defensive, Its an engine swap and not the hardest in the world, are you trying to say he just threw his engine in or I did, I know I didn't

bombdizzle

Ok! Ok! Ok!

200ZX, so you did this in a UK version S13? Good job. In the 180SX and the 200SX UK version, the swap is way way easier than in the 240SX, and the turbo outlet for the JDM and UKDM 300ZX was already designed to clear the steering column knuckle. I do have one question regarding the oil pan... How didyou get it to clear the stock location sway bar or did you remove it? If not, then you notched it. Also, from the looks of the piping direction, you removed the air conditioning pieces. Regardless, good on you.

The 240SX is 180 out from the layout of the JDM and UKDM S13, hence the additional problems.

I'm not on here posting up because I am busy with this job, as well as getting my own garage ready for business next week.

200zx wrote:
Did I ask why he was taking so long ?? I don't think so, did I ask him to show exact details of his fitting kit ? again I don't think so ? not sure why your coming across so defensive, Its an engine swap and not the hardest in the world, are you trying to say he just threw his engine in or I did, I know I didn't

I didn't mean to sound so defensive but when TIME IS LIMITED, you really don't have time to stop and take pics. He was also doing some traveling recently so that also encounters in loss of time. I really didn't mean to dwell upon this, I was really trying to make a point about the loss of time. This is really stupid of arguing about this little thing, so lets stop.

Yes, please stop. Thanks for the understanding. Instead of posting up every step, I think it's better to just do major increments and then explain the mindset behind the madness. We're at a major point this week.

Ma'asalama!

This swap is awesome guys, and i'm in the middle of pulling my vg30 motor out of my donor car right now. I scored a full car for a good deal and after digging into the thing, i've come to realize that Dale is completely right about the need to buy a front clip/half cut (or a full car). Everything is so damn integrated and interconnected it's a joke. If you aren't really familiar with the 300zx engine bay, you can't imagine how densely packed it is. I know I had no idea before getting into VG's. Don't try to do it with just a motor and a harness/ecu. This isn't a swap that Super Street can cover in a 4 page article; e.g. sr20, rb26, etc. Even with everything Dale is selling to make it easier, it's a very in depth swap and is going to take me forever to finish. VG's will be kicking some @ss out there when we're done, but it's gonna take a while to get a good number of us out on the road.

Hey FAYCEOFF, you getting antsy yet? Your car is gonna rock!Keep up the good work dale.

Thanks, James! I've said it all along that this swap is not for the feint of heart or easily dicouraged, but when it's done, there isn't gonna be much out there that can walk away from you. This wiring, as I am sure James has experienced firsthand, has enough wiring to wire up 4 S13s. As I have said with FAYCEOFF's Mayhem Fairlady SX, I am using approximately 90% of the half cut. This car is going to be reliable, can be serviced by Nissan and most importantly drivable. As I said, this week is a major turning point.

Again, thanks James!

Lockleaf wrote:Hey FAYCEOFF, you getting antsy yet? Your car is gonna rock!

Hells yeah to both! I get so amped up everytime Dale e-mails me or posts an update... It's like having a date with a slut - everytime you think about it, you're like "I'm gonna f*ck the sh*t outta her when I get my hands on her!" Sorry if that comparison offends anyone, but if you're not a slut, you don't have to be mad.

Very bad ***, my buddy has a whole 300zxTT drive train for sale and i was think about that today, glad to come across it.

You guys ever use a bellhousing off of a z31 300zx and put it on a KA tranny to bolt up a vg30dett