Hi guys ,Has anybody actually seen a VG30DETT swapped into a D21 2WD early 1990,s. Without cutting the ****ter out off it, or useing a new frame ect.. if so tell me what you know

Regards Mark

It's awfully wide, but it could probably be done. Not sure about the tranny bellhousing pattern, but I'd assume you'd take the Z32 trans with it.

So you want to swap this VG30

With this wide load VGDETT30? (The TT is for twin turbo)

This is the VGDE30 (Same engine, but no turbos)

I honestly can't say if this has been attempted. I have seen a Chevy 350 in a D21 and a Ford 302 but those were both small block V8's. The D21's inner fender wells would probably need to be cut out due to the wide design of the DE/DETT engine. The upper control arms and steering shaft may also create havoc with an exhaust system design. Raising the engine few inches might help but then you might have hood clearance issues to deal with. I suppose in theory it could work, but its always a matter of money at that point.

Thanks for the info,

In Australia to legally swap an engine, the donor engine and computor must be from the same or later year. Eg 1993 or later.

So to be a VG turbo it must be a vg30dett as it,s the only variant made after 1993 , is that correct.?

But by the way it,s also not easy to re engineer the vehicle if you have to cut the ****ter out of the frame/ inner gaurds to try and sqeeze it in with clearance all round.

Any other sugestions 300+ HP ??Regards Mark

I started to do some advanced searches the other day and found a couple of images that seem to make this swap look quite possible. A few years ago there were photos of a D21 with the VG30DET(single turbo) under the hood. The truck was a red extended cab and it was built in France. It has been over 10 years since I saw those pictures and I never thought to save them. But it can obviously be done.

But this brings me to my point today. I found a photo of a Datsun 510 with a VG30DETT in it and that engine bay is much smaller than that of the D21.The host site stated this was extremely difficult to accomplish but you can see the result here.

And here's a VG30DET in another 510

I still think the D21's inner fender wells could be an issue with the wide intakes on the DETT. All you need to do is get some measurements.

You can always Turbo the VG30. The VG30ET was found in the Z31, and both engines are very similar. The motor can be bought up to 400+ with the right parts.

i just got a hardbady but i do know that a vg30 e was in some of the hardbody do if you find out what is the diffrence between thew vg 30dett and the vg30 e besides the head then it might just bolt right in with a diffrent cossmember just motors mounts

The biggest issue with the DETT is the overall width of the top end. The intake system is quite wide. Add the turbo's and you have some tight squeezes at the inner fender wells and the frame.

I need to do some checking on a few dimension specs to see what the big differences are on the D21 and the 300Z engine bays.

Big-Bird wrote:The biggest issue with the DETT is the overall width of the top end. The intake system is quite wide. Add the turbo's and you have some tight squeezes at the inner fender wells and the frame.

I need to do some checking on a few dimension specs to see what the big differences are on the D21 and the 300Z engine bays.

I think it would be a good sticky in all threads for the engine dimensions and bay dimensions of each car, just to show where people would have clearence issues.

The 240 guys are playing this tune with the VG30DETT. Apparenly there is a kit available for the 240 swap that makes this easier.

Here's the thread.zerothread?id=187589

yeah if I had a 240sx (which I'm saving for) I'd have to swap a VG, I just trust the engine so much afer the **** I put my truck through with mine on several conditions, but then again that's the VG30E, not the DE or DETT, but I've even got stuck in a rivr had my truck pulled out after stalling and somehow start right back up, all pistons running, and no hydrolock, I was like, WTF but happy.

Anyways, you should be able to fit it in using the mounts to the V6 edition, and if needed the same oilpan incase the pans have a different shape. Since both are designed for RWD i Believe the bolt pattern for the tranny should be the same as on the V6 edition, so if you want to go 4X4 use that, I do not think the ECU could be used from the truck so a DE(TT) ECu will be needed, unfortunately after looking at Frontclips by Z1 I Can't say that whatever frontclip is bought will come with one, so It's best to purchase an E.C.U. core just incase.
Modified by Tarnag40k at 7:35 PM 5/13/2007