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S13 Front Cross-member & Suspension Swap


810wagn

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OK folks, here is my write-up on the S13 front cross-member/ suspension swap I did into my 910:

 

First part of the subframe swap was getting all the old parts out, a dozen or so bolts and brake lines, calipers etc. and the entire Maxima front suspension was out. Motor, trans and all the other bits were already out and gone.

dat7_zps235ed9b1.jpg

 

You CAN leave the Maxima cross member in and bolt the all the S13 stuff to it, but I'm not sure how the tie rods will work out, and the tension rods will be in a different place. You can probably thread S13 inner and outer tie rods into the 910 rack for the steering portion but don't quote me on that..
 
After that was out I cleaned up the engine bay and painted it. This car lived in a field for 5 years so everything was filled with rat shit and dry grass. I mean EVERYTHING.
Then I had to figure out where to mount the S13 sub-frame. I took the maxi and s13 sub-frames, put them side by side and started measuring. I realized that the rear mounting hole for both the frames were in the same spot (in relation to the engine mount location). 
dat4_zpsdcdbba5e.jpg

 

After that I marked the location for the front subframe bolts, dropped the subframe again and drilled the new front holes. Make sure its square, and use a long enough bit to make it through both sides of the frame rail without having to do the top and bottom separately to make it easier on yourself. I also came up with a new anti-crush tube for the new forward holes (no pictures) but I just used  some steel tubing with the right ID for the sub-frame bolts, drilled out the new forward mounting holes slipped them in and welded them in place. The finished result:

dat1_zps6575e4e5.jpg

 

After that just bolt everything else up to the sub-frame. Power steering rack, control arms, knuckles, all that goes on just like if you were working on an S chassis.

 

PS rack in background and Stance camber plates test fitted:

IMG_20140822_175313_979_zps167cb354.jpg

 

Hubs, Knuckles, Steering:

2014-10-2708_40_01-NissanDatsun810amp910

 

Z23 brakes:

2014-10-2708_40_13-NissanDatsun810amp910

 

All that stuff is EASYY until you get to the TC rods. I could do an entire write up on the TC rods (and will when I remember where I put all my papers with measurements and drawings) It wasn't a huge pain in the ass but it does take quite a bit of measuring and cutting and drilling to make sure that the holes you drill in the TC mounts are square and in the same location on both sides. Be patient and this will go smoothly. I used a set of Tien tension rods in case you were wondering.
So, the first step for me was getting the tension rod mount off the car and cutting out the piece of metal on the 910 tension rod mount that mounts the big ugly (stock) threaded tension rod to the car. Then I put it back on the car and mocked up where I wanted to put the holes to mount them, took some measurements and took it back off the car. I took the mounts into my shop and made some more accurate measurements to make sure both mounts were marked in the exact same spot. Then I chocked them up in my drill press and drilled the holes. As you can see in the pictures I went through where there was the most material but had to put a washer on either side of the tension rod to take up the rest of the slop. There are no binding issues the way I have done it here, at least not that i can tell playing with it in my side-yard (I do that a lot)
 
You MIGHT be able to use the s13 or r33 Tension rod brackets on the 910, if you have a set laying around give it a try, I didn't so I modified mine. It might be less work than what I did here. If not this way is not that complicated, just measure twice drill once.
 

2014-10-2708_39_14-dat3_zps4602403djpgPh

 

dat5_zpse52097ab.jpg

 

IMG_20140502_163042_653_zps80cbb899.jpg

 

unnamed2_zps8eee8227.jpg

 

unnamed1_zps4b22e898.jpg

 

Hope this is helpful to you guys, if you have any questions or if anything is confusing, ask me ill probably be able to explain it or send you more pictures. I will update this will more info as I do more. Steering and Coilovers are next.  :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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EXCELLENT write up. This is exactly the answer to the question I am always getting asked.

 

Sooooo much better a setup too, I believe it would also be possible to just change the control arms ans TC rods instead of the whole subframe, but i am not sure what the difference is either way.

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  • 6 months later...

Miguel confermed on his facebook write up that s13 inner/outers on a 910 rack worj if your looking to go just s13 knuckles. He also used oem tc and lca's with an s13 ball joint. Its like the bare minimum needed for s13 fronts.

 

Also, yay for a first post on ratsun. Its about time I embark onto something outside fb. Watch all the 910 threads start blowing up.

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