My VQ35DE Nissan V6 swap!

[RCMike]

You put a VQ in, you're going to want all the tire you can get!

[RustyBucket]

Thomas Morgan Robertson, known by the stage name Thomas Dolby

[gnoplos]

The chassis is complete!

Under strict supervision, I’ve been working on the front suspension which is meticulous to say the least.

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I’ve also plumbed the fuel and brake lines, as well as attempted to clean the gas tank.

Here’s what it looked like before:

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I soaked it in boiling vinegar for 3 days (a great way to make your shopping smell like sewage btw) and this much rust came out!

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I forgot to take an after-picture of the tank, but just take my word on it- it’s a little better. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to use the tank where it’s at due to muffler placement so I’m not diving any deeper into the tank. If I end up being able to use it (fingers crossed) then I’ll take it to a radiator shop to have it cleaned better.

[notoptoy]

The dog seems to be asking "Seriously? Have you lost your mind?" or "What are you supposed to do with this?"
The tank looks like you are panning for gold. Great fun, but also good progress. Keep it up and keep sharing.

[Gregs672000]

I like that kind of Management! Penny can be my supervisor any time!

[gnoplos]

Had to make a small notch for the oil filter relocation kit and the starter. Luckily I built this nice brace right where the starter needs to go!

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So I began work on getting the engine running with the entire harness. No dice. I gave in and sent the harness and ECU out to get security system disabled and they also clean up the wires and make it a stand alone harness.

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Started on the exhaust too. Made my first buck to expand the exhaust at the manifold

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[gnoplos]

Exhaust is finished! I had to notch my beautiful trans cross brace, what else is new.

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I realized after I built this that V-band clamps and flanges are the way of the future. My method to keep the flanges centered was to weld these dowels in.

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Next step is to get the body safe. No more, no less. Here is what the floors looked like after cutting a very small amount of rusty metal away lol.

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Not the best but again, I’m only making it safe to drive. I want to drive this thing this summer (ideally I wanted it ready to roll before it started to get nice outside but here we are)

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[RCMike]

So cool!

[RustyBucket]

That’s quite a bucket of rust. Can you imagine how pitiful the engine ran with that ‘fuel additive’ ?

Looks like the gunk found under the fenders , against the cowling on my car.

Where can get upper and lower ball joints these days ??

[gnoplos]

That’s quite a bucket of rust. Can you imagine how pitiful the engine ran with that ‘fuel additive’ ?

Looks like the gunk found under the fenders , against the cowling on my car.

Where can get upper and lower ball joints these days ??

I’d like to think that’s the only reason it ran like crap but I’m sure there was more to it lol. I believe Dean at Datsunparts.com has the whole selection of ball joints. If I recall correctly, they’re not easy to come by, so they’re priced accordingly. I didn’t really feel much suspension slip before so I didn’t just replace everything.

[D P]

I could oogle that drive shaft all day. Very nice.

Will you be able to remove the drive shaft without lots of effort once the body is on?

[RustyBucket]

True ! The drive shaft looks totally ‘custom’. That’s going to be be A true z car with a gear transplant!

[RustyBucket]

What products did you use to clean prep and paint your frame ? Eastwood stuff or POR , followed by high gloss ?

It looks great.

[gnoplos]

I could oogle that drive shaft all day. Very nice.

Will you be able to remove the drive shaft without lots of effort once the body is on?

I haven’t tried yet but I don’t think it would be a problem. I’m hoping to mate the body and frame for the last time as soon as I receive my wiring harness and ECU.

[gnoplos]

It’s been so long that I had to remind myself where I left off here!

The body is finished (at least for this round of the restoration). I don’t have any more pictures of the body on hand but I had to notch and patch the frame rails(?). While doing so, some of the cardboard insulation on the other side of the firewall caught fire! And I mean FIRE fire. First time that I’ve ever needed a fire extinguisher! The damage was minimal. Washer hose and hood cable are trashed. I wanna go through the wiring harness but it looks okay.

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Next I got to work on the shifter. As it sits, the bracket puts the shifter way too far back. It’s also so large that I would have to make the tunnel much larger for clearance. Built a simple version of what was there, I’m pretty happy with it! The shifter just barely makes it through the stock hole now. It’s toward the back, but it fits!

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I’m getting to the dreaded “Million little things” stage. I just received the harness and ECU back and I’m working on the steering and radiator set up. I set a goal of 6/20/20 to be on the road!