Vg30et 521

[Hyphy]

First lemme start with a link to what i have already posted at the ODPL site

http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread/396741

 

Second, HOLY FBOMBS.... I never expected to find this much of a community for these trucks...Maybe theres help for this project yet.

 

for those that didnt follow the link immediately :fu: and heres the shorty...

 

Got a 71 521, sat for a few years, found a mid 80's pathfinder for free, thinkin of cannibalizing the PF to make the 521 run again.

 

Lots of stuff to cover as I wanna make this ride my new excuse to hit the shows again... had to sell off my s10.

 

lemme run off a few ?'s ive got runnin thro my head, maybe you guys got some advice/ideas/etc

 

Is this driveline worth it? ( its free but needs work and i dont wanna half ass this)

Should I really do a frame off? ( maybe get everything setup and do it later?)

Bags, Escalade sized rims, discs and daily drivability...possible?

[Hyphy]

Ive gotten both motors nearly completely disconnected and ready to be pulled. Heres some of what ive found.

 

The 521 already had the L18 and weber carb...damn midshaft wont pull out of the tranny...its like theres something on the splines thats keeping it from coming out all the way and binds it.

 

The Z24 from the pathfinder has a bunch of extra crap on it i dont think ill need but tryin to pick thru it all is a pain. Emissions systems have got to go.

 

I was actually staring at both trucks last night wonderin if i should attempt to bargain with a dismantler to trade in some of the parts and motors for a VG30...maybe find a different rear axle that has discs and more likely to handle the v6 power.

[Jester]

Welcome aboard Hyphy. Lot of knowledge floating around here. The search feature works well and should get a LOT of great reading reguarding your wanted info.

I would start here. Lots of info like disc brake swaps and the fact that your stock rear end will do just fine.

 

Good luck, and again, welcome.

[Charlie69]

Welcome Hyphy,

 

Great truck, lot of posibilities. I had a 70 521 that I put a Z20 5 speed in back in the mid 90's.

 

First I cut the motor mount towers off the frame of the and smoothed out the area so there was nothing obstructing the pacement of the new towers

 

Then get the frame sitting level on jack stands (front to back and Side to side), This will help when you want to level the motor on the new motor mount towers

 

I cut the motor mount towers out of the doner vehicle bolted them back to the motor mounts on the motor. Now set motor & transmission in. I scribed a center line reference point on the top of the frame front cross rail (the one under the radiator) I used the line to center motor side to side.

 

It took some time to fit the new towers to the frame rails removing them grinding replacing until I had the motor sitting how I wanted it.

 

As far as the tranny mount I used the 4 speed metal mount bracket I cut in half close to where the bolts go into the front of the cross member and then bolted the back half back to the cross member, I measured from the center of the holes in the rubber tranny mount on the tranny to the edge of the back half of the metal mount I cut and bolted to cross member. I took that measument and laid out where to cut the the front half of the steel mount and cut it at that line. I bolted the now shortened front piece of the steel mount to the tranny. (The tranny is suppoted with a floor jack) If cut properly you can weld the 2 pieces together and you now have the Z24 5 speed mounted. I lifted my cab & bed to get clearance for the hood to close. Your oringinal 4 speed drive line will have to be shortened if you use the long tail shaft five speed tranny (most common).

 

The work was worh it I just loved that little truck after the swap.

 

If you need any questions answered please feel free to ask. I f I know an answer I am happy to share it.

 

Buy the way keep the donor vehicle at least until you have driven the 521 a while and worked out the bugs.

 

Oh by the way if you are interested in selling the intake, carberator, and exhaust manifold off of you L series motor I am interested in buying them. PM me if your are interested in selling.

[Hyphy]

after several hours of reading thru some of the info ( FAQ and all its links) my head hurts..

 

Depending on how this whole thing goes...i will most likely have an entire L engine and dogleg 5 spd i wont need. We shall see tho. Intake and exhaust for L series wont be needed, tho the weber I think ill rebuild and use on the Z24..if i remember correctly, they are the same part number on webers site... not to mention the cluster fuck that is the stock carb with all the hoses and vacum stuff on it...thats still undecided..i may HAVE to use it :(

 

 

Also, my understanding is that the L and Z motors were basically the same/similar blocks. Ur moto mount explanation makes me wonder.... I was hoping the mounts would be identical and i wouldnt have to fab much in...is that not true?

 

I was planning on transplanting the the brake booster/master cylinder with the motor aswell. Thought being that discs would be much nice with that in use. Tho the info i could make sense of didnt have any cut and dry lists of what id need to do that on the 521....i may have to re read it when my brain stops pounding.

[Charlie69]

Hi Hyphy,

 

The mounts are different between the l and the z because of the different ways they slant one right one left.

 

Check the webber web sight again I might be wrong but I beleive the carburetor on L is on the left side of the motor the Z is on the right side which might make them not interchangeable. I have one for a z motor and it will not fit on my L because the linkage is on the wrong side of the carberator.

 

In my opinion you can not beat a Weber on a Datsun.

 

the swap is well worth the work.

Edited January 26, 2009 by Charlie69

[Hyphy]

you are correct, the Z's components are flipped. I guess i was assuming/hoping that the weber would mount up in a direction that would work. Ill have to remeber to check that and if that is the case..the weber would then be up for grabs....

 

tho im still plannin on contactin the many nissan/datsun dismantlers in Rancho cordova and see if theyll take the pathfinder parts as trade toward a vg30 and trans and just go that route...if i can afford it, it would likely be alot more fun to drive given the power. The 521 is in no means going to be my daily so might as well make my toy fun :D

 

Has anyone done a VG30 swap? advice, ideas, warnings?

[Jester]

What size is your Weber and how much to you want for it?

[Hyphy]

honestly not sure man, it came with the 521 when i got a while back...ill have to check if i can find any markings..

 

Im in the process of workin with a local dismantler who might be willing to give me some kinda credit/cash for the stuff i have from the donor nissan and maybe the 521 for a VG30..so its all in limbo atm. In addition, i have no idea what kinda condition the weber is in. I do remember the rubber boot on the rod connected to the throtle is ripped if that matters to you.

[Hyphy]

Using photos and a VIN, the dismantler verified the donor truck i have is actually a 86ish 720 4x4, not a pathfinder. They dont care for the remnants and niether do I so if youre interested in any particular parts from the drivetrain, lemme know. Ill be selling off what i can to fund the VG30et and tranny I want to use instead.

[Hyphy]

apparently the ET version isnt easy to come by, so im waiting to see if these guys can actually get me one...I may have to settle for an n/a VG instead :(

[banzai510(hainz)]

damn midshaft wont pull out of the tranny

 

you know you have to unbolt the 4 bolts on the flage/midsection drive line.

Cause there is a bolt inside holding the flange to the trans!!!!!!!

 

Datsun 510s use a yoke. But 521 there is a nut that holds that flange on in the side. You might have to drop the carrier bearing ect then pull it out.

 

Personally I would just run a L motor in a 521 Cheap and ez to get ahold of for parts and be running in a few days if you have good help and motivated.

[BACARDI_DWB]

dude do you seriously have a noose hanging from your ceiling

[Hyphy]

Banzai- Im actually assuming the tranny is the dogleg 5 speed as it isnt mounted to the original trans mount. Does the bolts deal still apply. that would explain alot.

 

Bacardi-Yea, well the PO did anyway...i kept it..somewhere...but its not in the truck anymore

[Hyphy]

They kinda speak for themselves. Waiting on my tax return so I can buy a VG30et to put in it along with the parts needed to do a coilover/balljoint setup up front. I figure ill need the room for piping and better control.

 

 

[Jester]

Ya, now that's how you clean out a truck. :D Looking good.

[fisch]

Good on ya man! What an amazing difference. The first photos had me thinking it was in pretty rough shape, and would take alot of work, BUT the 'after' photos make me say, "Damn that truck is in great shape! Awesome starting point!"

[Hyphy]

theres still a ton of work to go if i do a full on resto. The bed is pretty well beat. The tailgate hinge on one side needs to be bent back in to align the gate and bed. A good amount of dentage, missing hooks..etc. Theres a nice cancer spot at the bottom of the cab pillar in one of the last photos. I am almost certain its there on the driver side too, but i couldnt get the fender off in time. THe headlight housing screws are locked in so i couldnt get to the last fender bolt.

 

I went through it the other night with some 3M seam sealer and re-sealed the cab and drip rail. Added sealer to the engine bay, and filled the floor board holes and valleys with a generous amount. Ill take pics and shit tonight probly. Only used one tube so less than 20 bucks and a few hours removing the old sealer and rust/debris, quick metal primer coat and voila.

[nukeday]

I'm curious what you used to clean the rust? I see a sandblaster in one of the photos. I've got no experience with this stuff, so please bear with me as newbie on this.

 

Would you share what type of compressor, media and gun you used?

 

Thanks, looking really good :)

[Hyphy]

I used an old craftsman sandblaster unit i borrowed from a friend. It basically consisted of a plastic bin on wheels with a screen at the filler opening and a hose connected to the gun you see in the pic. I plugged my shop air to it and syphoned away.

 

Not sure exactly on the specs on the compressor, buts taller than I am and i wanna say its a 60 gal tank, tho its actually the compressor motor thats gonna make a difference when blasting. Air volume is greater than air pressure for blasting. Once ur tank motor kicks in, it has to keep up wth the amount of air youre using.

 

I bought about 500lbs of the 30 grade sand from a blasting supplier. tho I staill have over 300lbs left. 100lbs of sand looks like a bag of concrete mix. The blaster already had some heavier sand grade in it. For serious rust removal on a non visble panel, Id recommend a courser grade of sand than the 30. The 30 worked great for the engine bay and other potentially visible areas.

 

Common misconception with blasting is warping the metal. This has more to do with the larger industrial guns pounding the metal with sand than with heat. Any small syphon setup should be just fine. Tho the patterns of spray is much smaller and will take more time. I had over a day into this. 9am -1am then another 4 hours the next day. That includes pickin up my trailer, moving the truck, setup, clean up, etc.

 

I highly recommend you either blast outside in a large open area. or a booth like i did. A simple free standing canopy setup with plastic sheeting everywhere worked fine. A particulate respirator and a hood at a minimum. I borrowed thos from my friend..was kinda ghetto tho. Looked like an old welding masked with a canvas sheet stapled to the mask....looked like something outta silent hill tbh.

 

If you can capture and rescreen ur sand at least once, no more than 3 times, youll save a lil cash. Tho each bag only cost me around 9 bucks.

 

Also, Youll want to have a metal primer ready aswell. I used a Rustoleum aerosol bare metal primer. Worked great. Used a lil over 3 cans to shoot what you see. Most body shops will use and recommend an epoxy primer tho. Couldnt find that in an aerosol tho :(

 

I chose no to remove some things that i should have before i blasted. THe metal strip at the bottom of the cab at the door... well i pulled it later and found more rust. I had to clean that up by hand. So be thorough with ur prep and stuff. Sand will get EVERYWHERE. Cover and tape anything you wanna garuntee doesnt get etched or sand in it. I knew i was gonna have to pull my dash apart later so sand getting in there wasnt a big deal.

[nukeday]

Probably common info to a lot of the guys here, so I thank you for writing this all up. Very informative.

 

Don't mean to hijack your thread, just one more question. If I were going to mask what's the best way to do that? Heavy gauge plastic and painter's tape?

[Jester]

Duct tape and cardboard. Cardboard like on the back of a paper notebook.

[Hyphy]

definitely depends on how close you are gonna be blasting near. i wouldnt trust glass under plastic if ur blasting next to it. But as a 'just to be safe' deal and ur not blasting in its direction, itd be fine. If ur doin 30 mesh sand with a home system, you have alot less to worry about. Shipping blankets or old ones you may have would work to. If u have to do some tape masking for small areas/items a few layers of tape would be the best way to go. If you notice the first layer starting to wear add more etc.

[bonvo]

dude i cant beleve were in the same town yet ive never seen this im gonna be doing some stripping when i get the "new" 610 im gonna use somthing im used to 3m rust and paint stripping wheels

[Hyphy]

Check it..

 

 

$1500 was the quote I got from Rancho for the motor/trans/ecu (IF they could find one). Well F them, I found a whole car for the same price.

 

Motor seems good. Good boost ( as best I could tell with no gauges) tho it either needs to run for a bit to clean out the motor or theres something else goin on cuz the exhaust is potent. This thing sat for about 3 yrs. Test drove it, found the clutch slipped bad in 2nd and completely in 3rd while flooring it. The rear struts are toast. It squats really bad when accelerating.

 

Not a huge issue tho. I plan on getttin that motor out asap and gettin it rebuilt. Tho the blow struts may have put a damper on mating up the rear subrame/diff/suspension to the 521. Thats really gonna set it apart from the rest. A V6 turbo IRS 521.....BAMF. Goin to a 4 lug bolt pattern...WEAK. Gotta see if theres a way to convert it to the hardbody 5 lug so it matches the front balljoint/coilover/disk setup.