thought I might as well start a build thread on my current project as its rather unique and will be a big build. So currently I have a r32 gtst that I built a few years ago with y32 vh41de and z32tt manual box. Have always loved the power band of this motor compared to rb 6cyl laggy motors. Not over the top in power but flat usable torque curve equals fun. I've always said I would love to have this motor with gtr driveline and a puff of boost but awd vh41's r rare as to find and not really compatible with the rest of gtr driveline. I've recently acquired a gts4 sedan with gtr driveline including rb26 but must say the lag and low down bog is majorly disappointing from the rb26 which I've dreamed of having since young. But the awd system is very fun. So the challenge is to fit the gtr diff under the vh41 independent of the sump and still fit all this in the engine bay as far back as possible. I've spent a bit of time with the vh41 and gtr diff sitting in a gtr half cut engine bay measuring and nutting out a plan to attempt and have decided to commit. Tomorrow I'll post some pics and explain the plan so far. Questions??

I have cut the gtr sump right down to just a diff and will need to make custom brackets to mount it as close under the v8 while still leaving enough room for a custom slim sump with a big oil pan in front section. I've had to position the gtr diff slightly further to side of motor in order for it to sit up higher. The gtr sump/diff assembly originally sits on a slant which also add to the difficulty of getting everything to fit. Basically The diff has to sit hard down on crossmember and v8 will sit with crank centre line slightly higher than rb26.

The vh41 has convenient bolt holes on the side of the block where the diff sits making mounting easier. These are on the vh41 only and not the vh45 as the vh41 was available in awd form. The vh41 sump is alloy and bulky so I am cutting and shutting a vh45 pressed steel sump. It needs cutting narrower for the vh41 width and a lot of clearancing for the gtr diff

I have drilled and tapped new holes for the vh45 sump as the vh41 has large 8x1.25mm holes ( guessing for the awd sump model to support diff ) and the vh45 sump has fewer holes and smaller. Time to start on engine mounts so I've set the half cut up on stands and split the cut down middle so I can fold engine bay away from motor n crossmember to make fabricating easier. Also will help making manifolds.

looking good so far.

Heres some projects that might spin your wheels
this uk guy started on the same mission but seems to have lost interest. Started with a 4wd vh41. seems to fit well
http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/103940-r32-g ... rence.html

and a german guy building a turbo vh45 awd r32. its in german but i just read the pictures
http://www.skyline-forum.de/showthread. ... 4s-R32-Gtr

About your exhaust runners, dont make them too big. you want it to be punchy, wont need to be massive as you will have 8 runners worth of exhaust gas.

edit- just read its log style. just use whatever fits! If the flow is not great you only have to up the boost 2-3 psi to make up for poor design!

search for a user on here called holset. he has a vh45det r32 rwd skid car. uses a massive truck turbo he got from work on a a pretty ruthless exhaust manifold. not equal length but divided. makes massive power. i think he has some good photos on here. i have had a good look at it when it was apart and its simple but effective.

awesome vid here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-0kMa8oqV0

also, if you keep it n/a, the stock cars here in nz are up to 600hp on a 4 barrel carb, with vh41 and 10:1 compression. ill find a photo later

Custom sump is nearly complete minus a pickup and baffles. I've started on the engine mounts which u can see in pics. I've decided to make custom captive mounts using round nolathane bushes. The idea is they will absorb vibrations while allowing very little movement as clearance is going to be tight all around this motor and diff.

Really cool man! Keep us posted and keep it picture heavy!

Sorry I haven't posted for while but haven't done a lot to project lately. I've clearanced The rocker cover for booster clearance. Originally I couldn't fit gtst or gtr booster and was looking like I would have to use a small booster off a small car and that would mean heavy brakes. Surprisingly now that I cut n shut rocker cover, I can actually fit the gtr booster which is the biggest of the r32. Mind u there will only be few mm clearance. Hopefully my engine mounts restrict movement to a minimum.



Also I drilled and tapped thread into some unused lugs on the front diff to add additional strength to my mounting setup

Hi I'm considering doing similar conversion but rwd. Just wondering what you did for engine mounts or were they all custom? Did you need to have engine sitting higher to accommodate 4wd? It would be easier not having to notch valve cover for booster.

I previously had this motor rwd in r32 gtst. Using stock vh41 mounts on motor I then made new mounts on crossmember to match. With motor sitting as low as possible and forward a bit from the firewall, it cleared booster and stock exhaust manifolds were used with some mods to steering rack position. Bonnet cleared only just by removing some bracing from underside

Awesome thanks, was the vh power steering pump ok to use with Gtst rack? What were the mods with the rack? Spaced back a little?

Remake rack clamp to rotate rack so steering shaft moves back and down away from header. Remove the rubber coupling in steer shaft completely as it doesn't clear head. I made custom power steer pump bracket on opposite side of motor and used a small pump off a Mitsubishi.

I am building the same kind of build but going into a 1997 240sx. I would love to bounce some ideas off of you if you have the time. My build is over on zilvia if you want to see how far I have gotten so far.....

My plan was to build a plate that bolted between the front cover to increase capacity and allow me to bolt it directly to the frame. Trying to make my motor mounts do the same so I can drop the crossmember if I need to without having to hold the engine up.

Hey there, add me on Facebook if u like and then we can use messenger. Search for Kade Francis in Tasmania Australia

BUMP any progress?

Sorry I haven't added to my thread for ages as its such a pain to add pics to. Yes the car is 99% finished and on the road as of last week. I ended up going motec engine management. It produced 316 all wheel kW and 650 nm torque on a lazy 9.5psi as the internal gate is a little small above that. Power and torque curve are everywhere in rev range and is absolutely amazing to drive. So far the awd setup is working beautiful.

http://i570.photobucket.com/albums/ss15 ... age_1.jpeg

awesome news. I do not have my hands on a FWD pan/diff but I'm planning on mounting an R160 up front.
What controller are you using for the AWD?

All diffs, gearbox and controller are stock r32 gtr. It's a proven awd system and still lengendry after all these years

cool, I will probably be going with something different since I do not have a GTR to start with. Aftermarket systems like ETS-pro will not require me to add ABS sensors to my car to get it to behave properly.

I chose the R160 because its the same R&P size as the GTR F160 and I can hug it closer to the block than other Diffs.
Running an R200 in the rear.

What's it off? Is it front driving?

I don't have the R160 yet, but it will most likely be from a Rear Datsun or Subaru. There have been plenty of Rear gear sets installed in of front. When Properly set up the worst you ever see is a little more noise under load but usually if it was quiet in coast and engine breaking as a rear it will be quiet up front.
I personally own two that are set up this way from the factory.

This is an awesome and inspiring thread - I'm working on getting an AWD V8 build together myself, but using an S14 as a base. I've been struggling to figure out how to properly mount the front diff as the engine I'm looking at using has a steel oil pan rather than an aluminium one, and I can't weld steel to aluminium as I'm not a wizard.

I'd also like to go to something a little heavier duty than a F160 as my long term plans have me putting down a bit more power than I'd be comfortable putting through it regularly, so aftermarket alum pan + welded on GTR sump may not be the best thing anyways.

@nissman77 - how was your experience with Direct Clutch? I assume that's a custom one they did up for you?

@MY1PATH - how do you plan to mount the diff? Custom front crossmember? Or bolted to the engine somehow? I've been thinking about the possibility of a rear R200 mounted to a custom crossmember with gears cut for the Pathfinder/Xterra/Frontier high pinion R200 front diff, as my understanding is that gears in those diffs are reverse cut, which is basically mandatory for fulltime high hp AWD systems.