Keep up the good work Zach! I got that grommet in the mail today. I do appreciate the fact that you took the time to send it to me... I don't know where I would've found a replacement at..

zspeed10 wrote: This is the first thread I have ever checked on a daily basis! I'm hooked. Mentally sorting out my build now. Passed a couple of Q45's on the road today and the one word that passed in my head..."donor". Sorry Infinity guys!

Haha, that's great!

PyR0NiAk wrote:Keep up the good work Zach! I got that grommet in the mail today. I do appreciate the fact that you took the time to send it to me... I don't know where I would've found a replacement at..

Thanks Chris! I found it and I thought to myself... wait a minute, I know where this goes, SH*T! I don't know where you'd find a replacement either...

Engine is now back out of the car. I don't know if I'll be out there tomorrow or not, depends on how I feel. So much to do. I wish I had the money to finish her and take her to the Carlisle show in May. I need to put like a paypal donate button on here, lol.

The motor is back out and on the engine stand. I have started installing timing chains and guides, but I have run into a little snag that I'm going to have to look into.

As you can see by the pictures below, the chains are all in place, the sprockets are all in place, only a few chain guides missing for the time being. On the crankshaft, there is a key that hold the sprockets in place... my dilemma: the key is on the inside just long enough to hold the timing chains in place, and on the end to hold the crank pulley in place, but the key isn't long enough to hold the oil pump chain sprocket in place. If the crankshaft were to spin right now, the oil pump would not. I want to see what the deal is before I take it into my own hands and create a solution, haha.

There's a lot going on in the garage today... I'll take pictures.

One thing I am a little confused on and will need a solution to soon is the hose paths under the plenum. Anyone got a good picture?

the oil pump gear is held on and in place by the torque on the the crankshaft pulley bolt. That why it is important to get the Crankshaft bolt tightened to the proper torque of 240ft/lbs.

I don't know why Nissan didn't give the oil pump sprocket its own key way?

Well, I made a key for it, lol.

pics of key or ban!

LEMHEAD16 wrote:pics of key or ban!

I'll put together another long update tomorrow with pics. I made quite a bit of progress today.

Wow awesome build man. I like the custom work.

J14cm7 wrote:Wow awesome build man. I like the custom work.

Thanks dude, new update in like 15 minutes or less.

Awesome job with your build so far man! I cant wait for the end result, and im learning a thing or two also

Wow. Keep up the awesome work man. Huge props for everything you have done!

Ok. I left off with issues with my timing parts. I still have issues with my timing parts, but it's a whole different thing. Since my last update I have gotten quite a bit done. I would have had a LOT more done, but I ran into a few parts here and there that I was missing.

We'll start with the key that I assumed was missing. I still don't know if there is supposed to be one or not, but I made one none the less. I went to the local Tractor Supply and bought a key there that was too thick and too long and ground it down to size. The end product was pretty good and it'll do the job I intended it to.



After all that was taken care of, the timing covers were to be the next to go on. I had them bead blasted a couple+ months ago and kept 'em in a box since then. They seem to be a very porous type aluminum that you just know will hold dirt and grime easily enough, so... I set them all out and coated them with a clear engine enamel. While I was in the painting mood I went ahead sprayed the lower intake sub-manifolds with the engine clear as well. I had decided not to powder any of these parts, so something had to be done. The clear came out really nice. It left all of the parts smooth and glossy.



I let those dry for a while - overnight. Yesterday I started installing them. I had gotten the motor disassembled, so all of the bolts to everything were in one gallon-size zip-lock bag and some of the hardware was missing. I ventured out into the last of businesses open on Saturday on a quest to find a sh*t load of M6 x 1.0 bolts of various lengths. I was successful @ Lowes hardware where I was also able to find the tiny size washers that are no bigger than the split-lock washers. Paint dry? Check. All necessary hardware? Check. Oh, and a 14oz tube of Ultra Gray!



Just to tease myself and get a good picture for you guys, I installed the crank pulley and took a picture of the engine so far with the valve covers set in place temporarily.



Mazworx is a great source for parts for this swap, but I'd like to think I'm slightly more resourceful than that. Don't get me wrong, great place, good people. I bought my headers from them. They contracted someone to build my driveshaft to spec. I bought extra exhaust flanges and stuff from them. But the transmission shifter bracket, the cover plates, engine mounts, shifter, transmission crossmember, etc I would rather make myself to my standards.

The next thing I did was make the shifter bracket stationary. It was rather simple. I ground the pins out and removed the old rubber bushings. I then sandwiched the bracket back into the little mounting brackets and welded it in place. You'll see the weld in the next couple pictures. It is more than strong enough to hold it as it is, but I am probably going to add another bead to each side when I get some down time.

The first picture shows the striking rod and where I drilled a larger hole so that I can use a 1/2" bolt to hold the shifter in place instead of a smaller bolt with a 1/2" sleeve bushing on it. I didn't have a 1/2" bolt handy at the time of the picture so there is an M12 in it temporarily to hold it in place for testing purposes. I plan on using a 1/2" bolt that is only threaded on the very end, stainless, with some grease to keep everything in perfect working order with longevity.



I also cut the shifter hole in the chassis larger to account for the slightly different shifter location. After I have the transmission back in the car and shifter in place, I will make a little cover out of a thin gauge plate steel to cover the excess opening.



It was getting rather late into last night but I didn't want to leave without at least doing something else to the engine, so I installed the intake sub-manifolds. When doing this I realized something I was missing that would prevent me from moving further until I could find them. There is a metal ring that looks like a large wedding band as big around as the inlet on the sub-manifold that acts as a guide for holding the rubber seals in place and lining up the upper intake manifold. There is a close-up picture of the one I do have. I guess the search is on to find some more. I also need the little rubber half-circles that go in the head before I can put the valve covers on. I think I may have bought the only gasket set that came with EVERYTHING except those! DAMNIT! I found three of the four that I pulled out, but missing one means I have to order a new set of them... $13.



AND because I love y'all... more part numbers:

VH45DE Front Oil Seal



VH45DE Rear Oil Seal



Keep the feedback coming! It gives me new perspective and provides that little bit of motivation I need to keep on goin!

There was a couple things I forgot to mention.

First, I replaced the dust boot on the striking rod. It slid right over the forks even though it sure looked like it wouldn't. It was like trying to put a condom on a sledge hammer.

Secondly, after all of the timing was together, I gave it a little turn to see how it was and the tensioners would allow slack at a certain point of the cycle and the chain would dip between the cam sprockets and then slap back tight. I'm sure it has a little to do with the VTC and I'm not 100% sure how that even works. I still suspect that the tensioners aren't doing their job either, so I guess I'll be replacing those as well.

Hell of a build, can't wait to see the outcome!! I'm planning on doing the same swap too on my Fastback, i have 2 that i'm planning on making into TWINS one i plan on keeping KA and the other with the VH!!!

Dorikin86 wrote:Hell of a build, can't wait to see the outcome!! I'm planning on doing the same swap too on my Fastback, i have 2 that i'm planning on making into TWINS one i plan on keeping KA and the other with the VH!!!

Awesome! Let me know if you need anything made for it: mounts, etc.

LEMHEAD16 wrote:the oil pump gear is held on and in place by the torque on the the crankshaft pulley bolt. That why it is important to get the Crankshaft bolt tightened to the proper torque of 240ft/lbs.

I don't know why Nissan didn't give the oil pump sprocket its own key way?

Yeah...think maybe they were trying to save the crank if the oil pump failed and seized or was blocked by some debris? That's all I can come up with as to why there is no key slot in the crank. Wonder if there is an updated sprocket without the slot...? hmmm.... Just a thought...

Keep up the good work Zach. Theoretically, my car should be driving wednesday, but I keep running into brick walls of stupid s***. Check the 'I'm a freaking idiot thread' if you need some examples. We'll have to take these cars to one of the NICO meets sometime.

zspeed10 wrote:
Yeah...think maybe they were trying to save the crank if the oil pump failed and seized or was blocked by some debris? That's all I can come up with as to why there is no key slot in the crank. Wonder if there is an updated sprocket without the slot...? hmmm.... Just a thought...

Still needs a slot to get over the key that holds the pulley in place. I would hate to think of something that would cause the oil pump to seize like that, lol!!

PyR0NiAk wrote:Keep up the good work Zach. Theoretically, my car should be driving wednesday, but I keep running into brick walls of stupid s***. Check the 'I'm a freaking idiot thread' if you need some examples. We'll have to take these cars to one of the NICO meets sometime.

Definitely. I am going to be at the Carlisle P&S in May but unemployment has constricted my car budget. I'll be there none the less.

Does your custom key way go into a slot in the crank?

I would really just take it out and run it as the Factory suggests. There are lots of rebuilt VH motors out there running the factory set up and none running yours.

I'll give you credit for thinking outside the box and creating your own. Your fab work looks really good.

LEMHEAD16 wrote:Does your custom key way go into a slot in the crank?

I would really just take it out and run it as the Factory suggests. There are lots of rebuilt VH motors out there running the factory set up and none running yours.

I'll give you credit for thinking outside the box and creating your own. Your fab work looks really good.

No, it stretches from the left bank sprocket to the pulley, locked in by both.

And just when you thought I wouldn't cram any more pictures on this page...

I'm crunching to have stuff done for y'all. After all, I'll be going out of town for two weeks for work and NOTHING will get done while I'm gone!!! Oh wait, that's a bad thing.

I have begun removing just about everything from inside of the car...

I removed the dashboard, I removed all remaining trim pieces, I removed the steering wheel, I removed the carpet, I removed the headliner, I removed the seats, AND I have begun removing the sound deadening material. Here's where I'm @ so far:



Then when I got done with all of that, aside from remaining sound deadening material of course, I began doing a little gas tank restoration.

I opened it up, and it's BAD. It isn't done yet, but I'll keep y'all in the loop on how the cleaning/relining kit I bought is working out.



That's it for tonight. I get the little half circle grommets tomorrow; therefore, the valve covers will be sealed on. The plenum gasket alignment collar thingies that I was missing are in the mail thanks to Infiniti of Scotsdale! I usually deal with Joe there, but Leon was able to get those shipped out today. Kudos.

I should probably be able to finish the removal of the sound deadening material tomorrow. Expect another update.

Oh yeah, and leave comments so we can push my next barrage of pictures to a new page!!

That gas tank is nasty. Great work so far, keep the engine pr0n coming XD

Ender_Zero wrote:That gas tank is nasty. Great work so far, keep the engine pr0n coming XD

Yeah, I don't know if that liner kit is going to be able to save it.

Awesome build man. I love your choice of engine in this one, and you're making it look so perfect!

Chassis prep: also a grrreat job man, I thought bare metal was overkill until I saw you filled the body line.Idk, just had to subscribe. Lookin' forward to updatess

Didderson wrote:Awesome build man. I love your choice of engine in this one, and you're making it look so perfect!

Chassis prep: also a grrreat job man, I thought bare metal was overkill until I saw you filled the body line.Idk, just had to subscribe. Lookin' forward to updatess

Thanks man, I appreciate your compliments. I will have a few more pictures within the next 24 hours when I get some more work done. I love getting feedback, even if negative. As I see it, there is always room for improvement. I am going to do this project build as I want it and to my standard no matter what, but I'd never shoot down using someone else's ideas if I like 'em.

my really good friend with a shop has the same vh45/tranny setup sitting on a pallet(not as clean though) for his S13 coupe, and hes been trying to get me to put a vh in my rust-free S13vert. this really makes me think hard about it over the vq35 (in my garage). he has a second vh 45 that he has offered me. keep up the good work zach...you're an inspiration for all (gearheads). i'll be checking your updates and making swap decisions.

Z_OMSIN wrote:my really good friend with a shop has the same vh45/tranny setup sitting on a pallet(not as clean though) for his S13 coupe, and hes been trying to get me to put a vh in my rust-free S13vert. this really makes me think hard about it over the vq35 (in my garage). he has a second vh 45 that he has offered me. keep up the good work zach...you're an inspiration for all (gearheads). i'll be checking your updates and making swap decisions.

Let me know what you decide to do. I made the mount brackets for my VH in my S13, I am going to make more brackets for this swap that can be used with the OEM mounts, though I recommend an upgrade which I can offer as well. Ironically enough, the next set of mounts I was going to make was going to be for the VQ35 swap in the S13, but I need a VQ, haha.

Good luck with your decision and good luck to your friend. I hope my trials will be of use to you guys. Thanks again for the compliments!

Bump for new page.

Next post has pictures!