I thought I would share my latest project with everyone, since it is half-3rd Gen related

Last February I picked up a 1990 300zx N/A to replace the void left by my Max that I wrecked. At first I intended to just buy a clean rust-free 3rd gen shell to swap over my drivetrain and interior, but I found that Z32's could be had for a reasonable price in N/A form, and I also ran across a thread on HybridZ.org where someone had posted a picture of a VE bolted to a Z32 transmission without any modification. That pretty much sold me, plus the idea of having RWD was awesome. After a few months of searching, I ran across this one:



It's not perfect by any means, but it ran pretty well aside from a couple injectors and the frame is rust-free (surprising, since it lived its whole life in northern IN).

This past April, I pulled the engine and major stuff out of my Max and started tearing into the Z. A few reasons why I chose to go this route and swap in a VE:

1) The VE is ~150lbs lighter than the VG30DE from what I could find
2) A Timing chain, to me, is much easier for maintenance
3) My VE was already built, and is in my opinion seems easier to work on
4) As far as I know, this has not been done before
5) I have issues letting go of my Max





At first I thought it would be fairly straightforward and be done in a month or two... Things that I thought would be hard turned out to be pretty easy, and what I thought would be easy turned out to be pretty challenging. The transmission bolted right up, and the Z motor mounts bolted to the VE in exactly the right spot.



Simplicity pretty much stops there, because although the engines are similar, the heads are angled differently (VE is much tighter), and all of the crap on the back of the VE (thermostat, heater hoses, CAS, PTU, etc) got up close and personal with the firewall. Also, the oil pan hit the engine crossmember and steering rack. I had to notch out the crossmember and reinforce it, and notch the oil pan as well.






The engine finally sat in the engine bay like it was supposed to, with the transmission all bolted up.



What followed after actually getting the engine bolted into the car was the bulk of the work, which I did not realize at the time.




Initially, I was going to use the VE intake and have the TB mounting location in the front. Turns out, the hood didnt even come close to closing with that manifold on. What I wound up with was using the Z32 manifold, and using a sandwich of different adapter plates to accomodate the different bolt locations and port sizes.




I also picked up another VE throttle body and used those instead of the Z ones, since the VE ones are much, much bigger.

Continued below!

 

Some exhaust pictures:



Wiring was pretty straight forward, the biggest challenge with it (so far) was getting it routed around everything in the engine bay. I am using the VE ECU with my Emanage Blue, which I spliced into the Z32 body harness. It was tough reading the wiring diagrams, since there are more wires at each harness connector than are detailed in Engine Control diagram in the FSM. Most of the wires matched up with something, and I guess I'll find out if something doesnt work for the ones that didnt match up Most all of the sensors that are on the Max are in the Z in some form, with the exception of the plug for the heater valve (the Z's is mechanically controlled through the heater door).

So long story short, after 8 months of working on this project off and on, I finally started it up yesterday. It is far from finished, as right now I have the ignition coils just kinda hangin out, not bolted down. I am thinking about trying to use the Z32 coils since they sit much lower, which will take some custom work to get them to sit right, as the mounting points on the manifold are designed for the VG30DE head angle. The hood does close, but it's very close, and I had to space up the rear 1/4", which will do until I can find an aftermarket one with more clearance







I'm very excited to see what the VE can do in a RWD setup. The Z32 transmission is supposed to be able to handle ~650hp, which I want to push after I make sure everything is working well.

Let me know what you think! Here is a video of it running (cell phone quality): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiKnkDPrGW0

By the way, does anyone know what this wire goes to?

 

*****in', man. *****in'.
may wanna add a couple of details to the video description on youtube. some moron'll come in and talk about butchering a tt or some crap.

looking forward to seeing it driving.

edit: the ve is sooooo much smaller than the vgde...

 

Good point, edits made

It is much smaller, and the engine bay cleaned up pretty well underneath the intake manifold. That makes it look quite a bit more cluttered than it is. I'm curious to see how the changes I made will impact the power, with the dual TBs, 4" exhaust, and shorter turbo feed piping.

 

Ahh! I had no idea you were this far along with it already! I thought you were just getting started last we talked!

This is flatout sweet dude. Massive props! Have you posted it on any Z forums?

Also, that harness end in the last pic goes to the ac compressor

 

 

I somehow missed the video my first time reading through and just watched it. Yep, definitely sounds like a VE

When I started up my JDM VE for the first time it sounded like that for a solid 10-15 minutes and then finally quieted down

 

Sorry to go off topic for a sec... but did you finally get that hole helicoiled?

 

This is very very awesome. Not only is it a turbo VE but in a Z. Very nice.

 

I'm speechless..much to say the attention to detail!...Biggupps Bee!

 

drool......... Now this makes me wanna find a n/a z and do it VE powa in a 300zx

 

Nice work man. I believe that wire goes to the A/C compressor.

 

Total badassness man! Didn't know you were working on this or I'd have offered some armchair quarterbacking!!

 

Thanks for all of the comments! Since that plug is to the air condition compressor , I went ahead and clipped it off. No A/C on this puppy!

I'm hoping to take it around the block yet this afternoon, I just have to get the front bumper assembled and pull some nasty bubbly tint off the rear window (a household steamer makes that pretty easy).

Matt - Don't worry, there is still more to do, and improvements to make I'm actually moving down to Austin in a few weeks, so maybe it doesnt have to be "armchair", haha!



There are a ton more pictures on my webshots page here: http://rides.webshots.com/album/5772...kh?vhost=rides

 

Great job! Major props.

But after seeing this it makes me wonder why Nissan didn't put the VE in the Z as soon as the engine was released. That would have been a nice upgrade for it.

 

Straight up awesome. I nevr seen anything like this. I want a VE maxima bad, ive never had one. Ive owned 6 3rd gens and ony had vgs. I NEED one!

 

Very nice!!

 

FTW

 

Very very nice.

 

Congrats...

 

WOW! Dyno that thing, see what that intake manifold does! Twin Turbo VE coming up next?

 

That is extremely impressive and it's nice to see something unique, but not retarded. By that, I mean, you took something you had (good VE from a wrecked car) and figured out that it would work sensibly into something you could get fairly easy. Mad props, yo!

Plus, I am always proud of the VE, since I have owned two VE Maximas and I have that same kind of attachment that's hard to get rid of.

 

Really! U'll be closer to me 4 now. San Antonio for school. Everyones moving to TX.

 

I'm not really sure, thats a good question. Stock for stock, the VG30DE makes 32hp more than the VE at 222hp, which I'm guessing mostly comes from the head design as they flow more air. The VE was probably a bit more expensive to produce than the VG, and was designed more compactly to fit into the Maxima.

Now that I think about it, a twin setup would probably fit quite a bit better and clean up the engine bay even more. If there is room for two turbos with the big honkin VG in there, two should fit easily with the VE.

Thanks! "Sensibly" might be a bit of a stretch though Though when I started, I did think it would be pretty sensible

 

I did not know the VG30DE had more power than the VE, but with the difference in weight I think the VE would make up for it. Plus, it would be interesting to see if that intake manifold would actually add more power to the VE.

 

Nice work man, I just found that vid not to long ago. I even posted on facebook! I Love the VE and am glad to see it used in a different car. I remember that some dude from nico club was going to put it in a older 200 or 240 sx. Not sure if they ever got it complete. Great work man.

 

Holy, we've got a 3rd gen hero right here folks!

 

props to this, cool idea! And i thought just putting a VE back into the original car this weekend and rebuilding the car was tough enough - Im outside working in the wind & cold and not much daylight to take advantage of... looks like you have a nice garage or shop to work in like a normal person

Possibly another reason the VE was not in the Z to begin with was higher center of gravity - im betting the VE is more top-heavy than the VG30DE that was in there

 

So what's bringing you to Austin? You didn't become one of them sandal-wearing hippies did you?

lemme know when you get here. we'll definitely have to get together. there's a pretty active Z Club in austin and they're nutjobs like we are, so you'll be in good company!

 

Holy ****!

That is all.

 

holy ****!

where the hell have you been?
nice to see you remember us.

 

LMAO! Its so funny cuz its true.

 

Much props to you for the ballz and effort involved in this.

 

Wow.

 

Haha, not quite (although, are there any E85 stations? It's better for the environment ) I'm taking a new job at a small orthopedics company down there doing regulatory affairs work, so like working to get new joint replacements to market through the FDA and various government agencies.

The Z club sounds like I'll fit right in I'm planning to move down there around the 14th of Jan. The only thing that concerns me is where I will work on the Z at.

 

If you move out in BFE like in Manchaca, real estate prices aren't absolutely horrible. maybe rent a house for the first 6-12 months you're there and then look to buy?

Might even post up on Capital Z's forum and introduce yourself. They're pretty friendly folk and might be able to help out with advice.. http://czot.org/forum/
(just don't mention my name... you'll be instantly excommunicated. )

As for E85, there are a few places in Austin you can get it. It's not widespread, but some of the local HEB and Kroger stores carry it through Austin and Houston.

 

great stuff man.. you are an inspiration to the VE'ers.. show them Z boys what the VE is really made of.

 

yup, maybe they will see the capabilities of a VE and start wanting 3rd gen Maximas

 

lol, highly unlikely.. not because they are FWD, but because they are hard to find!

 

Does the engine itself sit a little further back toward the firewall or just the accessory/sensor stuff? Just wondering if it'll help the weight bias and handling a tad. I've read the distribution is anywhere from 55/45 to 51/49 (<-this seems a little optimistic)....

Excellent job...