S15 V8 Conversion

Bmxking

Bmxking

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Hey there guys and Girls!

The name's Ben and im 21 years old and live in Auckland, New Zealand and this is my project.

So I've finally decided to take my daily driven S15 with the standard SR20DE and do something with it.
So I Decided to go V8...VH45DE...keeping things Nissan!

So this started back in late January this year when i sold the running gear from my s15 and purchased a Infinti G50 front cut from the Nissan Importers. That same week i also picked up a 300zx Z32 manual gearbox.

Slowly im collecting everything i need to do the conversion while dismantling the front cut and removing the engine and trans.

Along with the front cut i picked up a whole set of Nissan 4pot and 2pot brakes from a Skyline R33.

Now with alot of research I've found out what problems and difficulties occur so Im doing my best to aviod them. In the way that here in NZ most 'newer' cars cannot be certified if the chassis is notched, so I'm left to work around them. So I've purchased from Xcessive Manufacturing the transmission adaptor, alternator relocation bracket and Z32 shifter relocation kit.

Next problem was the Power steering fouling the chassis so thats coming out and being replaced with a Toyota MR2 Electric Powersteering unit and wiring. So far im upto having 80% of my parts ready to go while im about to remove the engine from the front cut.

Photos to come.
 
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Nice man, should be interesting! Where abouts in Auckland are you? I'm up Torbay if you ever get stuck and could do with a hand give me a shout. I'm a mechanic that hasn't had dirty hands for nearly 3 months, i'm itching!!
 
Niiiice! Another aucklander here albeit an english one. Very cool project man, look forward to it taking shape!
 
Awesome, a good friend of mine recently completed the exact same swap.

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it took a while, but the car runs and drives, if you need any info I'd be happy to help.
 
Cheers guys with all the feedback, Ive aquired 85% of the parts i need for the conversion! Got a package coming in from Xcessive Manufacturing in the States! A part that im stuck on at the moment is the selector rod that goes into the back of the gearbox through the rubber seal. Got a good box for a good price but without that particular part. So might just have to buy a second one and keep as a spare haha! Ill upload some more pictures once things really start happening. Not alot can happen until i get the the last few bits n pieces.

But on the other hand, the Z32 flywheel and starter motor arrived today!
 
Very nice mate! I almost went with the VH41! But thought nah bugger it..go VH45. But its looks real good in that pic sitting there, did you have any issues with the sway bar? And was there any subframe modifcation done? Good to see that it doesnt sit out too high
 
Alittle bit of an update, today i finally pulled the engine and auto transmission clear from the front cut, pretty easy. Next step is to remove the auto box. and replace a few things before mateing the manual 300zx box up once the parts arrive from Xcessive.

V8
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300zx Gearbox
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Toyota MR2 Electric PowerSteering Unit
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Current Resting Place
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I really like the look of your car. That colour is great and yet it might look shite on a lot of other cars. The inlet design of that engine always looks strange, like its off a transverse engine.
 
Cheers yeah the inlet manifold does appear that way, but down the road i plan to get a custom one fabricated when i deside to add some boost.
 
Whats the deal when it comes to wiring this up then man? Is there a decent amount of information available for the wiring of the VH45? You got any plans when it gets to that stage?
 
This is going to be sick man! remember seeing this at the hard park, props for doing something out of the ordinary to an s15!
 
Thanks for the positive feedback guys, wiring side of things its pretty straight forward as far as ive gathered. Ive got all the wiring diagrams from the sr and wiring diagrams from the vh, now because im discarding the auto box, it removes a huge chunk of wiring. Im not the best when it comes to the wirings, i think I'd be sweet but im leaving to a mate to wire up for me.

Yeah i thought for a while about what i wanted to do. Ive got a soft spot for anything out there that is different. Any make, model. And I didnt want to go down the 1UZ side of things because even though it was a cheaper option its becoming more of a common swap here in NZ. The VH45, beside staying in the family of Nissan, its different, not common, and im finding that out with available parts here (sourcing overseas).

But at this stage it just about getting that V8 into the body and get it running and recerted for the road. Down the road ill be looking into different power upgrades in the way of boost weather it be a supercharger or turbo/s.

Stock, the VH45DE should put out about 270-280hp? (207kw)? So plenty of power to have some fun in!
 
Excellent build - for a second there i thought that was the front end of a Phantom. Must stop just looking at the pictures.
 
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