Hades : VG30DETT D21.

[Dj Hentai]

I found this site looking for more info about the swap I'm doing. While it seems there are a few other guys doing it, info is hard to find, so for the sake of others who might be trying to do the same thing, I'm gonna start covering my build here (It's already been getting posted on another site, racingsouthwest.com)

 

First off, if you're thinking about doing this swap, stop. Save yourself. Have you ever tried to shove Rosie O'Donnell into a Size 0 dress? Yeah, it's like that. Quit while you're ahead, and drop in a V8 or something.

 

Ok, so since you didn't listen to that last part, here's my progress so far with this b***h of a swap.

 

I started this because my custom truck was totaled when some ninja kid decided he could turn left quicker than I was coming down the road. Needless to say, he couldn't. His Firebird now resembles a fortune cookie, and my truck's front end was nearly annihilated.

 

Before:

 

After.

 

The V6 in the truck was damaged beyond repair in the collision. So a buddy of mine hinted that his Z parts car's engine could be mine for $800. I got the Engine, ECU, Wiring, Turbos, an Automatic and a Manual trans in the deal.

 

I had heard tons of horror stories fromthose who've contemplated this swap before; "It doesn't fit - it's too wide, the heads are too big, the turbos are in the way" etc. So I figured hell, the truck is already bagged, the fender supports are bent to sh*t, so I'll just cut everything off (inner fenders, etc.) to make room.

 

 

So with all that out of the way, it made it alot easier to pull the old engine out and I figured it'll help make it alot easier to shove the new one in.

 

 

I pulled out the old engine and trans as one - I'll be swapping this trans onto the Z engine as the D21 and Z32 share the same auto trans anyway - FYI people, I'm sticking with an Auto for a few reasons - #1, this truck is/was my Daily. #2, I spent $1500 on that trans last year. #3, I don't plan on track racing this thing, excluding the occasional drag strip trip, in which case auto=better - No lift, more boost.

 

Anyway, with that out of the way I cleaned up the bay a bit and painted the firewall to match the rest of the truck better.

 

 

Picked up the new engine from my friend's place.

 

 

Looks like it has a few external mods, polished manifold, underdrive pulleys, Edge downpipes (might not even use those tho.) Who knows what internal. Has about 160k on it, new timing belt, new water pump.

 

So at this point I've started test fitting and hanging the engine in the truck's bay. I originally planned to swap over the truck's engine mounts. No go - the turbos are in the way. 2nd plan was to use the Z's mounts and fab up brackets on the frame. Again, no go. Sits the engine up too high, and they're too wide plus they're staggered height - it'd sit crooked in the bay horizontally. So I yanked those, next plan of action is to fabricate my own mount brackets and just use the rubber from the Z mounts inbetween them. I cut the original V6 brackets off of my frame to make more room.

 

 

Other items that concern me at the moment are that the turbos will hit the frame if I try to take the engine down any lower than I could get it without the mounts on, and the wastegate rod contacts the steering shaft at this point. I plan on notching the frame to allow the turbos to fit down lower into it if this will also clear the steering. My other thought is to flip and swap the exhaust manifolds, placing the turbos at the front of the engine facing upwards. This will call for some crazy piping, but might be my only option for clearance.

 

I'll be updating this thread regularly as I do more work on the truck. It doesn't happen as often as I'd like, due to it being at my parent's house (they lived right by the accident scene so I had it towed there) and my living 50 miles away. Lately I've been going down there once a week to work on it, as I was unemployed, but I start a new job tomorrow and don't know what my schedule will be like now.

 

Anyways, to anyone else doing this swap, if I can answer any questions I will, and if I can help in any way otherwise (I plan on making mock ups of my engine mount solution available to anybody who needs them once I make them) just ask. And if anyone else has any advice/ideas/solutions, please send them my way! If I hit roadblocks that require tools/equipment I don't have access too, I'll be sending this swap to someone who can do it right - But I will still document how it gets done.

[Dj Hentai]

 

The frame sat at 24" from inside rail to inside rail, turbos on the VG30DETT were 28" from outside to outside. C-notched the frame from the inside for clearance, and now it's looking like wiring is going to be the next headache.

[Dj Hentai]

 

 

You can see where the frame was notched here, as well as the new engine mounting points (using modified Z motor mounts that I'll post pics of later) Note the crossmember below the mounts has a small notch in it on the RH side of the pic. That allows clearance for the Z oil pan, meaning you can use it and not have to modify a truck pan. The oil filter is in the stock location right now, but it sits real close to the crossmember and will be a pain to get out - I plan on installing a relocation kit.

[Dj Hentai]

Here's the modified Z engine mount.