Help me build a distributor for the hot rod's VG30!!!!

[Alf]

Hey everyone, I have been thinking about the VG30 in my hot rod and the fuel injection is becoming a huge problem. The manifold is too tall, it doesn't vibe with the rest of the car, and its making my wiring a mess. So I am going to try my hardest to make the engine carbureted, simply to go with the look and style of the car. As far as the intake manifold and carburetor goes I can handle that no problem, but the distributor is another story. I have heard that the distributor will not work without the EFI, and it is impossible to find a self contained unit. I have had alot of experience with the SBC distributor so I know how one works and my plan is to retrofit another six cylinder internals so it does not require a computer to run. Has anyone ever tried this on any engine? If I can fit the necessary parts why won't this work? The firing order of the engine shouldn't matter because that is in the cap, all I need is the trigger. I could put points in it if I wanted but I don't, I was thinking more towards maybe a chevy 4.3 v6 HEI, and retrofit the module and pickup. I know its going to be much harder than that, but can you find any reason why this won't work? Thanks for reading.

 

Here is my project if you don't know about it http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=116127

[HowlerMonkey]

Some early vg30 pickups had carbs but most if not all are in australia.

[qwik240z]

The VG30 is a popular swap into the Datsun 510. Some of the 510 guys have used a modified throttle body intake to accept a Holley 500cfm 2 barrel. Then they use a distributor from a european VG30 motor.

 

Check out http://www.VG30.com

 

This is the website of Experimental Engineering. Dave Carroll is the owner and has been building VG30 swap kits for the 510 for many years.

 

Here is some info from the site that should help you:

 

I found this part under parts for sale.

 

Intake Manifold for Holley 500cfm 2 barrel Carburetor

 

 

 

Modify TBI intake for Holley 500cfm 2 barrel .....................$200.00

Modify TBI intake for NOS port-fogger nitrous nozzles ..... $200.00

 

"We build this intake manifold so you have the option of using a carburetor in your engine conversion. This greatly simplifies the installation and gives a noticeable increase in performance over stock multi-port EFI. Carburetors also have the advantage of being easily and inexpensively tuned if changes are made to the engine at a later time. We build this intake by adding a CNC machined, billet aluminum adapter to a heavily modified TBI pickup truck intake plenum. Additionally we offer porting for NOS’ Port Fogger nitrous oxide injection nozzles for the serious speed freak. We require that you send us a stock TBI intake plenum before we will sell you one of our intakes. These early TBI intakes are too time consuming for us to source so we do not give the option of selling them outright with a core charge."

 

 

 

This next info was under "Step by Step install"

 

There are larger pictures on the website.

 

This is one of our custom intakes with a Holley 500cfm two-barrel carburetor installed. The distributor is a "Euro" (actually Saudi Arabian truck) P/N: 22100-V6402 from Nissan Motorsports with a Z31 cap installed.

 

 

So you really don't have to build a distributor. Just source one of these.

 

I hope this helps. I really like your Rat Rod.

 

Best of luck

[Tony D]

Yeah, the last 510 guy I talked with said he ordered the intake manifold and distributor from the Saudi-Arabian Market Truck. Nissan Motorsports used to be real good at getting parts like this... You may try Nismo in Tennessee or wherever they are now on that line of questioning. I have seen more than one with a four barrel on them, using a Nissan Carburetor Manifold.

 

One of the Nissan Employees had a T-Bucket Roadster with a VG30 in it as well, but he had the intake off Spence Low's Off Road Truck, which utilized three Mikuinis...one of which was cut in half! Three barrels on each side, 1 1/2 carburettors---interesting way to do it. He got that cross-ram style manifold for free before Motorsports Division crushed the truck. Perks...

 

One last, and more obscure manfiold you may want to consider out of wicked cool looks is the one produced in the 80's by a Japanese Company caled "TBO"...They had a tripple Weber 44 IDF manifold for the VG engine, had them inline down the center of the engine like a Jag or Ferrari V-8. Looked really cool, and at the time was the preferred manifold for Turbocharging the engine, one TBO Plenum and you were boosting away happily!

 

All these manifolds used a conventional distributor, so they're out there, you just have to find one.

 

OH, and since you are so familiar with the GM HEI, conversion of one of those is not a big deal. You have a distributor stalk made that will fit the block, and accomodate the upper portions of the HEI cap, etc, and assemble one using the GM internals driven through a VG Drive Spindle. They do this for VW's all the time. I think MSD has even put out a line of Billet Distributors for it now. The GM HEI is a fine standalone unit, and with the proper aftermarket module should provide plenty of spark. It's just getting a machinist to make up that mounting stalk. Some Lathe and Mill work and youre' ready to assemble! But beware of that huge cap! Fitting other things around it can be a pain sometimes...

[Daeron]

Some early vg30 pickups had carbs but most if not all are in australia.

 

That is WILD, I was going to post that I thought I had seen a carbureted VG30 in either a pathfinder or a pickup in one of the junkyards on benoist farms road last weekend!!! Blew my mind, and to date you are the third member i've noticed in the WPB area (grumpyvette lives in lotsascratchee)

 

 

One last, and more obscure manfiold you may want to consider out of wicked cool looks is the one produced in the 80's by a Japanese Company caled "TBO"...They had a tripple Weber 44 IDF manifold for the VG engine, had them inline down the center of the engine like a Jag or Ferrari V-8. Looked really cool, and at the time was the preferred manifold for Turbocharging the engine, one TBO Plenum and you were boosting away happily!

 

and I was also going to inquire as to the possibilities of THIS idea, but I imagine that the budget on this project is not likely to permit it, unless a stroke of luck comes along. IMHO, the triple mikuni or weber setup like that would be best on this puppy; BETTER than EFI and I don't typically say that.

 

Good luck finding your solution; I would have loved to see the stock EFI running on it because I am a devout follower of all things Fuel Injection.. but certain vehicles want a carb, and I can see this must be one of them.

[GrayZee]

A Vg30 ecu would need the ignition to run the fuel injection because it needs a rpm signal. However I dont see why it would NEED the injection to run the ignition. I would just hook up a custom miniature harness to the dizzy, ecu and ignition switch. I'm sure it would work. Worst case senario is you MIGHT need a signal coming from the MAF to show you have air flow, well you could plumb that into your carb'd air intake.. LOL If you were running a electric fuel pump I would get the ecu to control the relay as well.

I have seen pics of those 510's with Ford carbs on them. I don't see how it would be much lower than a FI intake manifold, especially with a air filter on top. There are also a few different kinds of upper manifolds that will fit, Pathfinder, Maxima, 200sx, Quest, Mercury Villager... maybe one of those would suit your needs?

[Tony D]

I mean, FWIW, you could take the MEGASQUIRT, hook it up to the Z31 Dizzy, and run IGNITION ONLY on MS-S-E.....

 

I mean, everybody runs them 'fuel only' but there's absolutely no reason you can't use it as a Standalone Ignition System as well. One connector for the Dissy running under the dash, and a couple of lines to the coil...

 

If you look at that VG EFI intake closely, you could easily take the upper manifold section off, and make a simple adapter out of 1" Aluminum Plate that would bolt down onto the lower manifold section...

Cut it so that there is a 'twist' so every two holes front-to-back support a hole running perpindicular to the cylinder heads, and then simply tap the thing for the appropriate bolt pattern, and install TRIPLE STROMBERGS!

 

You want a Vintage look? There you have it! Nothing is as Hot Rod Vintage as Triple Strombergs! And they make lookalike bodies now that hide fuel injectors in the 'float bowls' so you could have the vintage look, and EFI benefits as well... Though Megasquirt or other standalone comes into play.

 

But Triple Strombergs would be too cool!

[Daeron]

.....and install TRIPLE STROMBERGS!

 

You want a Vintage look? There you have it! Nothing is as Hot Rod Vintage as Triple Strombergs! And they make lookalike bodies now that hide fuel injectors in the 'float bowls' so you could have the vintage look, and EFI benefits as well... Though Megasquirt or other standalone comes into play.

 

But Triple Strombergs would be too cool!

 

 

 

TonyD, you are all that and a bag of fish sticks.

[Alf]

Thanks for all of the responses. I know that NIssan did indeed make stand alone distributors for the VG30, but locating one is next to impossible. I also wondered why the ignition wouldn't work without the efi, but that's just what everyone says, and I know nothing about efi and computers so I just took it as fact. It would most likely work with the MAF sensor but that sticks out so far it looks so out of place. I also realized that the carburetor may not be any lower than the upper plenum of the efi, but it has so much less area. If I left the upper plenum on and tried to put a hood on, there would be a huge hole in it just so the intake could fit, with the carb all I will need is one small hole. I would like to get my hands on a Pathfinder intake and make an adapter for the carb and see how high it is. I have also thought about just building an intake form scratch but I would rather not.

[twoeightythreez]

How about running EDIS and getting rid of big, tall, and ugly (distributor) entirely? Lol

it will run (fixed @ 10deg btdc) w/o a computer.....as in you can get it running and then worry about the computer. You could use a megasquirt to control it (then if you go EFI later you are set-up already) or I'm sure you can locate a mega-spark module (predecessor to megasquirt, stand alone EDIS control)

[Xnke]

Sure, EDIS and Megajolt Light jr. would do the trick nicely, I'd think. I'm going that route with my SU-carbed L30.