astroboy

Phar, my friend. We are in similar boats. hahaha. It's amazing how much time they require. Kids that is! I can't remember if you were going with a nats based installation or removing it? I do hope you're doing well though.

Hey Phar, You still alive, did you ever finish your conversion? It'd be great to find out. Thanks in advance,

Nice work man, Keep it coming! How many litres of fuel do you think you'll be able to hold now with that tank? P.S. Glad you're better now too.

Hey Tank, Please continue to provide these updates. I'm checking everyday at the moment to see how you progress as I'm about to start the same conversion in a few months. Thanks in advance!

Hey all, I hope you're all doing well and having a good xmas and having lots of festive frolics! Had a quiet time at work today and was looking through the Rocky Auto website to search for their VQ35 conversion. I did manage to find it but looking at the install closely, they have cut a hole out of the bulkhead. They've also cut a the plenum and welded on a new one that reaches around into the bulkhead and into the cowl area of the car. Just thinking about how this is more an advantage and how they would be pushing air to the area for the engine to breath?!?! Thoughts on a posting please or if you know the correct answer already... http://rockyauto.co.jp/stockcar/profile.cgi?_v=1411638663&tpl=car

Great stuff Docaam! look forward to how you made it work. Summers are getting hotter in the uk. Also, with our wet winters, I'd rather not take the car out.

Hey, Sadly I haven't heard anyone being able to keep the AC compressor on the engine. It sits in the way of the steering column. It kinda sucks as I would like to keep it too. I know I'll be looking into this but I'm a year off starting my build Would love to find a way around this too. Best of luck

Yep, thanks for addressing my mistake! I'm in the situation where I've got the engine, ecu, bdu etc. Basically everything needed to run the car include the key and the go faster pedal. At the moment I'm taking my time sourcing the right parts for the conversion. I've already talked to Abbey Motorsport in the Uk in regards to the loom/Nats removal (they used to look after the Motul 350z drag car -http://www.youtube.com/user/BramsRacingTV?feature=watch) so they have more than enough experience. Question is, who is doing the sparks work for you?

Ok cool. It sounds like you've got your budget in mind: $4K. Once you buy the engine you've got $3k left. It also sounds like you haven't much experience in car restoration or building (like myself at first but slowly getting the hang of things) Therefore, have you looked into who would be doing the engine conversion for you ableit you can do the metal fabrication work? It would be worth speaking to them to see if that $3k can cover the engine conversion/wiring loom (special no wiring in the bay style)/fabricating the cam shaft/exhaust/cooling (Rad) and fuelling system to get your car rolling back on the road. I would look into seeing if you want NATS or not and go on from there. Again, it would be great to hear your thoughts...

I'm a bit perplexed as to your situation. I'm my experience, the drifters I've known across Europe and in Japan are usually very technical and would know what route to head down. I would cross reference this forum and driftworks.com for information. For setting up the VQ35DE I'd stay around here, a number of fellas have done the conversion and can offer advice but always try to dig about first. The last thing people want to do is repeat info already here. In regards to setting it up for ultimate lock and suspension for drifting, head to the driftworks for further info. Pharaohabq has written a large amount of information in regards to the conversion which is also pretty extensive. The thing is do you want NATS or not? Who is going to do your conversion? The fabrication of your own mounts is easy since there are autocad diagrams are already available on here. Have you considered uprating your fueling system when launching the car sideways? New brakes? Since you're a drifter, no doubt you'll have to install a hydro brake and you'll also have to replace the drum on the rears. Roll-cage? Have you thought about this? The s30 is mega old and isn't the strongest shell about, would be worth thinking about safety! Wheels. I doubt you'll be wanting to roll about on the wolfrace slotmags? Factor in cost for your footwear of choice. Suspension - drifter = decent coilovers/ custom setup. Please also remember that you have to get the camshaft from the 350z aswell as the gear box. Cut it (made of carbon fibre) and mate it to the exsiting on your machine. They'll also be the custom exhaust system that you'll have to get sorted too. Unfortuatnely I don't think it's the case of getting the engine, 'make everything plug and play/bolt on as much as possible'. "I want a clear engine bay with not so many wires" This can be done to any car - think of the Veedub scene. They push to have the cleanest bay that have just the engines in where the other parts are tucked away under the metalwork. Pharaohabq mentioned that $4k would be tight and you haven't even mentioned the above and you're already suggesting boost powas! lol. Remember you've also got to sort out the cooling system too. New rad or cut and weld the current one? Also, if you're not doing the install yourself, think about labour costs too! A lot me research is to be done me thinks. It'd be great to hear your thoughts though. Talk to us...

A long long time ago I used to film a lot of drifting and even worked for Option japan in the UK and over at Sazuka; epic times indeed. Anyhow, I did the pilgrimage in 2006 but a few years later a friend of mine who is a film maker went out with Driftworks. This is how the story unfolds.

So just to be clear, is there anything below the engine/transmission that is restricting the engine to be mounted lower in bay/tunnel?

If the car was a RHD (the correct side for a driver to be, of course lol) I believe that the AC unit could be kept in there but It might be the case that the alternator would have to be sacrificed. Obviously, the alternator is the more important component to keep. It would be good to see if there was another way to keep the AC as I'll be doing long drives (not long compared to you lot over stateside) and like to have the option when it does get hot in the UK. I haven't spent too much time working out how things can fit yet. I've only had the engine delivered/tranny delivered so far. If you need to find out how much to cut out on the OEM crossmember, would Hoke's site not help? There's a section and photograph showing how he worked it out.

The Mckinney mount set has been used a number of times on a number of conversions. From stateside to different parts fo the world. There are some threads and info about reinforcing the frame, just have to search about. Welcome btw, looking forward to your thread/install.

Hey Zero, I've sent you a PM. Thanks in advance. Astroboy