Nissan, Meet Chevy

[Nitro]

I really don't get the point to put truck engine into Japanese sports car... but if you like it - good luck then!

[erik_200sxdrift]

its all about function over matter,
kudos on ur build

[Premo]

a blocks a block dude...you replace the cam, heads, bottom end adn intake and you got yourself a good runner.  
was that a quadra junk?!  LOL!  i hate those things..  
that oil pan isnt going to work either btw.  the sump will HAVE to be relocated to teh front of the motor.  you'll see

[New2Drifting]

I really don't get the point to put truck engine into Japanese sports car... but if you like it - good luck then!

A. If this was a "sports car", i wouldn't be doing such a thing.
B. If my little snail that nissan called a turbo would have spooled and the manifold not be shot, I wouldn't have done it either.
C. I'd rather have a dependable STRONG motor, than having to worry about internals at the 200 whp range. Mine handles the upper 400's before needing forging.
D. How much money do you have to spend to buy a motor AND build it to withstand a solid 300 hp? I will spend in the ballpark of $800 dollars, painted and dressed. 350 of that being a carburetor. Oh and that included the trannie too.

I'm sure I could go through the alphabet with ya twice on all the pros of why I chose this build over going back with that amazing powerhouse CA18ET, but I'd rather just tell you that I have MANY reasons as to why I chose to do it. Granted there are cons of weight, size, fabwork required, etc etc, you have to give some to get a lot more. You could throw a beautiful turbo setup on your japanese sports car (with my FMIC that im selling you, i'm guessing it's in your future), and you might get a LOT of potential power out of it. But then you also have the cons of weight, size, fab work, etc etc.

I understand that you arent criticizing me, and i'm not taking anything personal. I just felt like I hadn't explained my reasoning to begin with and that I should at some point in the thread. So I'm not butthurt or mad at ya or anything. Hell, I'm excited because I can't wait to get the motor in the car!

its all about function over matter,
kudos on ur build

AMEN, buddy! That's what everything on this car is geared toward. The outside will probably stay that way. All dinged up and mismatched paint. Waste of money to touch it right now. It does its function just fine.

a blocks a block dude...you replace the cam, heads, bottom end adn intake and you got yourself a good runner.  
was that a quadra junk?!  LOL!  i hate those things..  
that oil pan isnt going to work either btw.  the sump will HAVE to be relocated to teh front of the motor.  you'll see

I hate you, Mr. Bringer-of-bad-news. Haha. How about I turn the damn engine around backwards and make this thing a front wheel drive? DAMMIT I dont wanna do and engine fab! lol. How much do you think it will be off? There's no way to slide the engine one way or the other or even higher? I dont care if it's sticking through the hood... it doesnt fit under there as is, lol.

[New2Drifting]

no worries man..and cant wait to see some pics!  oh, and if you're going carb too dont forget to swap out your fuel pump as the pressure will be way to high

Finally got what you meant by this as I was reading through... You think I have the stock fuel pump from the CA18ET? I sold it. I have a racing fuel cell that I'm going to strap in the back hatch. I plan to open the spare tire compartment up more, and just basically tub-out where the circle is and drop my fuel cell in. It's a large rectangle one from summit, and I want it in the floor with a piece of sheetmetal hinged over the top of it for added protection (for me and the cell). The roll cage I have built thus far will protect it extremely well, so no worries there. I plan on running with the mechanical fuel pump on the side of the engine, I have a little eletric one too that I mounted off the side of the fuel cell for starting up (used the cell on an old truck of mine before).

[New2Drifting]

Hey Premo, i of course cant make any measurements while at school , but i can atleast compare existing pics.... comparing these two pics, im pretty sure i can move the engine far enough back into the firewall to clear the pan and modify my existing motor mounts on both engines to make it work. here. look at these two and tell me what you think. i already know i'm going to be cutting the hell out of my firewall, that was never a question.

[Premo]

see where your oil pan is? thats where your rack is. unless you plan on having the motor a good foot + into the firewall you're going to have to make a new oil pan. just look on summit man, they sell relocation kits. i had planned on doing this too, just wacking out teh firewall and moving it back but after a week or looking it over and doing careful measurements its a bad idea. for starters it will give dick for room on top of your motor as you have this thing called a windshield that will be on top of your motor. so you'll basically be fucked there. then there's well....seating, pedals, stearing linkages, brake master/booster etc etc etc. just put the block in teh hole and toss the heads on real quick and you'll see what i mean. do this without a bottom end too so you can slide it around. also, your motor mounts will be quite a ways back from where they are now. i know of 2 ppl that have swapped out american small blocks into s12's and they fabbed up custom mounts on the motor and blah blah blah...i redid my crossmember. thats just me tho so do whatever. i just found it to be A LOT easier to blast the mounts off w/a plasma cutter, drop teh motor in the hole and tack together your mounts on your member, pull it, weld it, drink a beer. if you put the sump in the front it will solve A LOT of problems aside from the stearing linkage which is just going to plain old suck irregardless. you wont have to cut nearly as much out of the firewall either.   also, you only have 9.5" to work with between the crossmember and the sway bar.  it looks like an s14 sway bar will give you more tho.  here's what your oilpan should be looking like and about where you're gonna want to mounts your motor:


motor fitment:
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oil pan:
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the oil pan isnt done there but you get the idea

[cjcushing]

Not to mention chevy puts their damn distributors in the back of the motor.That would make a very large hole in the windshield or you could have it sit in your lap like an old econoline.

[gadget1382]

That looked like it was a bit of fun getting all that sitting right...

[New2Drifting]

dont make me find another car to put this motor in...
haha

[New2Drifting]

Ok guys, Premo got me real curious as to just how much this will be off... so being the hardheaded guy i am, i took the ole engine lift back out and pulled the motor off the stand and into the air. i put the oil pan on with 2 bolts just as a "mock up" and wheeled her on over to the s12. i dropped her on down (not very accuraty because the boom isnt long enough on the hoist) so i went from the side of the car as well, which was a little more successful but not much, since i still have the whole front clip intact and in the way. she went down and the lowest part of the pan seemed to sit almost top dead center on the crossmember. this was with about 5 inches or so between the transmission bolts and the firewall. when i went in from the side of the car i was able to hug the firewall and the cross member touched the angled part of the oil pan (where is goes from shallow to deep). oh and just to clear things up. i had the distributor in the block in its proper hole (i know this because of the splines in the cam). the top of the distributor was DEAD EVEN with the top of the "cowl" (flat piece of sheet metal where your windshield wipers are that connects the hood panel to the windshield). this means that i can cut that space out with the transmission tunnel (almost like an upside-down keyhole design) and should be fine. all i would have to do is add some length to my hood and redesign the hinges to open up and pivot, instead of simply pivoting.

i appreciate the advice guys as always but im really trying to do this MY way and want to do this build-up as inexpensive and efficient as possible. i want to prve that a "wild" engine swap like this one can be done by guys willing to put in the effort, even if you have no experience. this isn't my first engine to build, nor to swap, but i'm only 19 and i consider my self-taught mechanical skills to be pretty damn good compared to others. just because you haven't done it before, doesn't mean you can't do it.... or as you always hear "there's a first time for everything".

i have more pics from tonight. i finished putting in all the pistons, and torquing the connecting rods to the crank with all new bearings. i'm bringing the block to my local engine shop tomorrow (the building is literally a 1/4 mile from my house, lol). i plan on getting the cam bearings that i purchased today pressed in and the old ones removed. that is definately something that should be left up to someone who knows what they are doing if you value the life of your cam. there is a special tool to remove and install the cam bearings in OHV motors. It would be a cake walk to do these SOHC and DOHC; they are two piece bearings that install like all the other bearings i have done thus far. If you haven't seen the OHV cam bearings, they are single-piece rings that have to be pressed in correctly with the oil holes lined up, etc.

tomorrow, i am working on the firewall for a little bit and dropping off the motor (hopefully) i finally got my new welding lead too so my lincoln is back in action. i guess i will fill all the holes in the engine compartment and start tacking the new firewall. time to show you guys what a "kid" can do.

[asparagus]

Looking great man, keep it up!

[New2Drifting]

Looking great man, keep it up!

"looking great" coming from you is a respectable compliment, so THANKS! i read every last page of your build so far and absolutely love it, lol. pink paint and all. i love that you have found exactly what you want to accomplish, and are steadily buying and building toward that goal. i wish i had your check book as well.    some of the stuff you have purchased CANT be cheap, haha.

i appreciate the remarks!

[New2Drifting]

ok today i cut out the firewall and a portion of the transmission tunnel, the engine will fit there, i put the heads back on with a bolt in each one for a mock up and also put the valve covers on, i made some measurements and went to town cutting. the only pedal i have to  reposition is the gas obviously which is the easiest of all pedals by far. hopefully the brake can stay where it's at. i now have a BRAND NEW slave cylinder up for sale as well because i will stick with the auto after all.

Premo, I of course did this to defy your suggestions out of my hard-headed, learn-from-mistakes nature. Hopefully it wont come back to bite me. I should have room for the engine and transmission now with a descent size radiator and fans. this places the floor shifter back closer to me where i wanted it anyway. the mock up is REALLY comfortable with my homemade hub extender and slap shifter. my gas pedal will be super easy to pull back and reattach because it simply consists of a wire and the padal swivels withing its own bracket with no external or long accessories like the brake and clutch. i will post up some pics later tonight probably. might wait til tomorrow.

[Nitro]

I wanna see the pics of poor S12 with the cut off parts...

[New2Drifting]

I wanna see the pics of poor S12 with the cut off parts...

haha, it looks pretty helpless, but i coulda sworn i saw the little booger smile a little when i dropped that smallblock in her for mock up earlier... lol

i'll take some pics when i get home late tonight

[Ozchuck]

Hmm, pretty interesting way of doing it.
I would have modified the sump myself, that way I could have given it some wings as well.

[New2Drifting]

Hmm, pretty interesting way of doing it.
I would have modified the sump myself, that way I could have given it some wings as well.

im not making an airplane, although that would be fun too... haha (kidding)

i figured i would do this rather than engine modding so that later down the road a fully built 400 can take its place and bolt right up. on top of that, it would still be HIGHLY likely that i would have to cut the firewall for distributor clearance, but now that's out of the question, and no problems with distributor clearance.

[New2Drifting]

wouldnt be hellaciously hard to make a right hand drive at this point in time either, hehehe. just a brain storm.

[Xano]

wouldnt be hellaciously hard to make a right hand drive at this point in time either, hehehe. just a brain storm.

DO IT, ive been following your thread, seems like your gonna get this thing done REAL fast, your gonna be rockin the v8 in very very little time at all.