VH45 in Z32 what are the obstructions?

[craigztoyz]

90Z32, 90VH45

any info on what are some of the obstrcutions?I just got my wiring almost done, and am dealing with Mazworx in the next week or 2, and am wondering about the issues, ie oil pan clearance, stock exhaust (vh manifolds take off precats, and weld/mount to Z32 pipes), I know that the hood needs a scoop with stock intake, but what else, I am thinking of cutting a lil to redo the front crossmember(yes I will strengthen it).

I need to know what I can from those who have done it, and that way the others who want to do it, have enough knowledge to know what they can do, and need to do.Thanx, craig I cant wait to see how much fun-to-drive this has.

[craigztoyz]

ooops thought the first didnt go through, due to pos internet server connection, sorry

[Mettler]

Duplicate thread removed

[craigztoyz]

Thanx Mettler.

Any info or knowledge of what anyone did on their own swap?

[Mettler]

ultrapulse would be the man to ask, he's almost finished his mighty VH45/Z32 conversion and made a hell of a lot of custom stuff for it.

IIRC, one of the main problems is the sump, I believe you need to redo the sump to be a rear bowl sump.

[mtcookson]

Yup, unless you go dry sump the oil pan is going to be a pain. You'll have to go with a rear sump pan as, even if you modify the cross member, the sway bar gets in the way which will be much more difficult to modify. Oil pan would be a lot easier.

[craigztoyz]

well, at least it is aluminum, and not metal-composite.I was afraid, I will be sectioning the pan, and redoing it, and the oil pickup.Fun Fun.Any pics would be great, if anyone has any. Just looking for experienced advice, for me, and the numerous others who will try this swap.

Ambient air temp- I pulled its wiring, any info on what that does,doesn't do. I hope it doesn't effect idle. I started to drop this engine in a few other cars i own, but went with the Z32. Other choices are 81 Datsun 510, 95 hardbody 2wd pickup, 95 J30, and 90 RX7. I think I made the right choice. NOt the easiest, but the right one.

[Mettler]

Datsun would have been more awesome I reckon :p

[craigztoyz]

The twist would break the windows on the first drive. That is my favorite though, because my dad drove it daily growing up and it halled ***, the way he drove it.

[tmorgan4]

well, at least it is aluminum, and not metal-composite.

Are you talking about the pan? It isn't aluminum.

[Mettler]

It is on a 41.

Also, datsun + rollcage = intact windows

[Olderthanme]

I say tub the rear end and put a solid axle in the back of the 510. :-DOr do a R200 swap to hold the power.

:-D

[craigztoyz]

My dad doesnt want a cage, and he wants to keep it to drive, has a hard on for the pos out of one of my rx7s cuz it still runs good, but I dont know. I have had my driveline out of the car and in the storage with others for almost 2 years, got a Z32 for 450, to do this, swap.

Am going to do the pan like the one i found pics of here, and run a good cooler, with a bypass valve for it.I thought the flange is Alunimum, and that is all I need of it.

I may go steel for mine though, in case it hits, I want it last long enough to kill it.

[tmorgan4]

It is on a 41.

So the 4.1s have aluminum pans? Interesting....

[SSDwellah]

BTW if someone can get a reliable rear sump kit made I would convert my swap to rear sump and not look back. Keeping the front sump required too much work and in retrospect I really should have stuck to my guns about switching to a rear sump setup. And the worst thing is the sump is out there so vulnerable now, whereas on a rear sump setup the sump would be near the wheels so I'd get better clearance over speedbumps etc...

Maybe someone with the pull of running a forum could convince Moroso or others to do a limited run kit? ahem couch cough Wes?

[mtcookson]

I'm actually working with a guy to have a custom rear sump pan made, should be able to get him to do a duplicate pretty easy. The pan will be based on using the Mazworx adapter so if you don't have that likely won't work. I'll have more info on that hopefully pretty soon.

Have any pictures of the front sump? How did you pull that off with the sway bar there?

[z1 zonly]

Err uh, is there a reason one couldn't simply cut the flange off the existing pan and turn it 180deg. and weld it back on? There were also pics circulating this forum (John Dixon's, maybe? They're on my home computer) where someone transferred the flat part of the pan to the front and welded the Z32 sump on the rear.

Couple hours of work and voila, rear sump. Right?

[craigztoyz]

If someone can input pics of those, or links to thier sites, I searched, so far no luck. I was looking at sectioning it, and turning it 180 and 'welding' it back together, but if its not aluminum, then how, and not sure yet if its enough to clear. I like the idea, of the Z32, I have one from a 94 SHO, that I like the pan design and size, and am thinking of using alot of it to modify mine. So many choices, 1 week to decide. If there is one or two being made, I would pay cash for one. My Uncle Sam sent me something today.

[craigztoyz]

Ok found the pics of the Z32/VH45 pan, if I could get my pics to apply on here, I would post them.Looks like after paint, it would work.i searched, oil pan. de d de

[Mettler]

It could be done, but it wouldn't be as simple as cut, spin, and weld.

One side of the sump flange edge is straight, from back of motor to the front.

But the other side of the mains has the oil pickup coming out of it... so the sump edge goes straight for the first half of the engine, then widens outwards to go around the pickup area.

I mean, not saying it's impossible, but it would require a little bit more material and some additional modification to actually do that.

You'd also want to be careful not to warp the flange from welding.

BTW tmorgan4, yeah the VH41DE sump is like 4-4.5mm thick cast aluminium. It's pretty strong, but I'd prefer a steel sump in all honesty.

[tmorgan4]

The easiest place I've found to post pictures from is picvault.info Just go there, upload the picture from your hard drive, and copy/paste the link for message boards in a reply here.

[mdotcarter]

I'd like to get one when they become available. I'd spring for a kit if somebody would make one. Has anyone posted a complete write-up on the z32 vh45de conversion?

[z1 zonly]

Hmm, I see what you mean Mettler. Still, maybe I'm underestimating it (I'd have to be holding a pan to see), it may still not be that hard. Just a cut away a bit of material from the bulge, use a small piece of sheet metal to transition it to the straight flange then ball peen the previously flat side out to mate with the bulged part of the flange.

And the stamped steel won't warp unless you try to do a continuous weld. If you just use a technique where your weld is actually series of tacks it provides enough cool-down time to not warp the thin steel. Plus, it makes a sweet looking bead, so it looks a lot more like you actually know what you're doing

[craigztoyz]

I have looked for a writeup so I would not have to ask some of these questions, but have not found one for the Z, just ones on the S, which is a lot different, from the view of the enginebays w/o motor.

[SuperHatch]

Here's the pic everyone is referring to:



And the original post, made by T45

zerothread/279939

Cheers!

[craigztoyz]

Yes, thank you.

That is the pic. The info below is golden. Made my life a lot easier, if I had a Z32 pan, local yard is looking for one.

[SSDwellah]

Hmm, I see what you mean Mettler. Still, maybe I'm underestimating it (I'd have to be holding a pan to see), it may still not be that hard. Just a cut away a bit of material from the bulge, use a small piece of sheet metal to transition it to the straight flange then ball peen the previously flat side out to mate with the bulged part of the flange.

And the stamped steel won't warp unless you try to do a continuous weld. If you just use a technique where your weld is actually series of tacks it provides enough cool-down time to not warp the thin steel. Plus, it makes a sweet looking bead, so it looks a lot more like you actually know what you're doing

Hmmm why does that picture look so damn familiar?!?

[z1 zonly]

Speaking of the VH41's aluminum oil pan, does anyone know whether the VH45 and VH41 could possibly interchange pans? I'm considering a VH41 stroker build identical to Mettler's for the sole reason of the center alternator mount, but the chunky aluminum oil pan could pose problems.

[perana]

yo, heres some pics of sump and mounts.if u using a lhd then there should be no obstuction by the clutch m/cylinder. a 41 will stick abit more than45.

Modified by perana at 9:59 PM 1/24/2008

Modified by

Modified by perana at 10:13 PM 1/24/2008

Modified by perana at 10:18 PM 1/24/2008...if you are using the stock z32 gearbox mount then your sump needs to look like this.cheers
Modified by perana at 10:23 PM 1/24/2008

[ultrapulse]

Found thge link to minehttp://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread/213999