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[onanysunday View Member Profile]

Well,
I have finally decided on my next car. It will be a Funco Gen 4 with a 3.5
Nissan v6. It will be turboed, non intercooled with 9 psi boost. Since I am on
a very tight budget, I will be doing all of the work myself along with my father
Chuck of Chucks Speed Center and brother in law to be Errick.(Errick is now doing the fuel injection and dyno work on all the race cars,street rods, buggies, etc. He is also a certified Harley mechanic) It has been a real struggle deciding on the motor. I love the subaru for its lightweight and nimbleness but just don't have the$$$. I ran the Nissan in my last car (Sand Limo - great car by the way) without a turbo and was very happy with it. I like this motor better than the Honda
due to higher horsepower numbers and more aftermarket parts available. It is
not as pretty as the Honda (my guess why you don't see more in buggies) but I'm
not really into show. When we were in Vegas for the S.E.M.A. show this year
there were quite a few manufacturers selling parts for the 350z such as twin turbo
kits, aluminum oil pans, etc. Through 04 the HP was 287 stock and I think a little
higher in 05. The motor will be coming from a 2002 or later Maxima or Altima,
but I will be running the 350z exhaust manifolds and two piece plenum/intake.
Computer and edist (electronic distributor) will be F.A.S.T. (Fuel, Air, Spark, Technology) My father has run tons of these in race cars, street rods,buggies,
and you name it. It will be nice this time since we did all the R&D work on my
last car. There is a billet spacer that needs machined to install the crank trigger
on the front of the motor. The stock cam has 5 or 6 "windows" to read the signal
so we machined one with 1 window. This slips over the end of the cam and is
tightened with a set screw. The valve cover is cut in the back for the sensor
then there needs to be a check hole in the top covered by a billet plug. On the
last motor we were going to use the nitrous circuit in the computer to run the variable cam timing but the motor ran so good we just dissconnected the soelinoids.(I know that is spelled wrong)
This is a long term project due to funds. I am hoping to order my roller from Grant this fall. In the meantime I will buy the motor and start mocking everything up. After 35+years the shop is being relocated due to the light rail going through
Phoenix. That will keep us occupied through April, then I can find a motor. The
last one was $1400.00 to my door with 12000 miles.This week I actually won the bid on a 3.5 from a 2002 Altima with 38,000 miles for $510.00 but the guy in Florida had a reserve of $800.00. Along with $275.00 shipping. I will keep looking.

Here is my first purchase.
Believe it or not I paid $400.00 for these new from the Nissan dealer last time.
I like the stock 350z exhaust manifolds because they are double wall, lightweight,
and this time cheap!!
Is this a good buy or what?
My next purchase is the two piece 350z intake/plenum. If you go here
Click on link for video
and watch the 3 minute video, Doug shows how his plenum allows more flow
to the front runners. The stock plenum tapers down due to the crossbar under the
hood in the 350z and G35. In a turbo application I'm not sure if it will matter but
I still may cut, raise, and TIG the stock upper for better flow. It is on its way
Fed Ex later this week. I will post pics when it arrives. ($179.00 shipped used
after emailing a bunch of people from the Z forums. Shop cost from Nissan was
$367.00 for the upper and lower)
If it is OK with everyone I will post pics throughout this project and maybe someone else can get some ideas if they want to do a similar combination.

This post has been edited by onanysunday: Apr 13 2008, 06:15 PM

[virginsand View Member Profile]

There is a billet spacer that needs machined to install the crank trigger
on the front of the motor. The stock cam has 5 or 6 "windows" to read the signal
so we machined one with 1 window. This slips over the end of the cam and is
tightened with a set screw. The valve cover is cut in the back for the sensor
then there needs to be a check hole in the top covered by a billet plug.

Do you have any pics? A web site for the ECU?

[mjmtrsprt View Member Profile]

So you have run the vq35 before with this computer? and were able to just unplug the vvt solenoids and it ran okay, my buddy is in the process right know with that motor and we talked to a guy and he said he had to machine billet spacers to lock the cams in place because they would somehow move and sometimes then he couldnt start it.
also kennedy engineering makes a adapter plate to run the stock crank sensor and they put the trigger wheel on their flywheel.
he has been talking to different comp. manufacturers and has found two who say thiers will run the vvt. one is a guy in northern ca. I forget his name. The other is HKS who says with his you piggyback it with the stock computer, so HKS runs everything except vvt then connects to stock computer to run vvt.
We also figured out that you can subaru oil filter adapter to go remote so it looks a little nicer than the stock filter sticken out the back.
We just deleted the stock plenum because it ran into a tube on his chassis and made a new shorter one wich put the throttle body in a better location, what throttle body did you run on last motor(because stock is drive by wire) the guy we talked is running a mustang 4.6 70mm so that what we bought?
if you know of any other tricks or possible problems we can run into please let me know any info would be great.

[onanysunday View Member Profile]

F.A.S.T. website




Here are some pics of my last car:




Crank trigger. Of course everyone is saying go with power steering so the pump and turbo will now be back here.





Side view. Shows the 350z exhaust manifolds. Not as fancy as headers
but more than adequate.





Top view. Nasty altima/maxima intake that will be replaced with one from
a 350z. That intake actually had a butterfly that the computer opens and
closes to shut off some of the cylinders. I will also take the LS1
coils and mount above the valve covers then make covers to make it look
a little nicer. Air valve was off a 4.3 chevy. Pretty big. Not sure if I will go
quite that big with the turbo.








F.A.S.T. computer and edist box is next to the fuel tank







The only pic I have showing the billet piece covering the inspection hole
for the cam sensor





This post has been edited by onanysunday: May 25 2009, 11:07 AM

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[onanysunday View Member Profile]

So you have run the vq35 before with this computer? and were able to just unplug the vvt solenoids and it ran okay, my buddy is in the process right know with that motor and we talked to a guy and he said he had to machine billet spacers to lock the cams in place because they would somehow move and sometimes then he couldnt start it.

We tore the vvt apart and inspected how it all worked. Even dropped some
of the small parts and had to remove the pan. (Pan was off anyway due to
damage from wrecker. They did reimburse me though) Anyway I racked my brain
and tried to find someone to ask. Finally just left it disconnected and let it rip.
I ran the pi$$ out of that motor for two years and the guy that bought it said
it still runs great. Always started instantly and idled perfect. How the programming
is set up on the computer is critical.

also kennedy engineering makes a adapter plate to run the stock crank sensor and they put the trigger wheel on their flywheel.

I remember talking to Kennedy on that but we did the trigger on the front of the
motor. I think it is an MSR that was purchased in a kit. You can see in the pics
the custom bracket to mount then set the air gap.

We also figured out that you can subaru oil filter adapter to go remote so it looks a little nicer than the stock filter sticken out the back

I like the sound of that. Also I never did like the size of the stock filter. Are you
talking an aftermarket adapter.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I have built a lot of motors and had something happen on
this motor that is right at the top of the freaky list. When we started the motor
we noticed the oil pressure was high. I think at first it went over 100psi! I was just waiting for the old fram grenade oildown. Thought hmmmm. Called people and researched and never found an answer. Never changed anything in the oiling system. Anyway started removing and replacing with different springs and finally got the right pressure. Freakin weird.

I will be running this adapter to add another quart. Only $100.00 vs $500.00.
I need to check but I think you can order it with the oil return for the turbo.

JWT oil pan adapter

[mjmtrsprt View Member Profile]

Thanks for the reply that pan spacer looks cool he was thinking of cutting and lengthening the stock pan but thats much easier. the oil filter adapter we bought outbacks and then we are removing the coolant lines around the stock location. And you have to machine a liitle off the inside lip of the adapter. but the threads and the filter size are the same. that is the same intake he has out of a I35. His intake manifolds are different the drop straight down to 3 bolt flange, the guy we talked to owned the orange twisted tin car(on the index page of this months sand sports) he had the same straight down manifolds with twin turbo and the worked really simple with the turbos. my buddy is staying N/A and having headers made probably 6 into 1. The HKS dealer he talked with has headers flanges they will sell him too. I will try to post some pics of the intake we did and manifolds he has.

[wreck View Member Profile]

I am also running a nissan motor in my buggy a 300zx turbo and wondering if the headers or the pattern are the same for the vg 30 and those headers you have, they look like the same pattern. I am also interested in the oil pan spacer looks great. What tranny are you running in your car? Any info would be great.

[virginsand View Member Profile]

Thanks for the pics and information.

[onanysunday View Member Profile]

I am also running a nissan motor in my buggy a 300zx turbo and wondering if the headers or the pattern are the same for the vg 30 and those headers you have, they look like the same pattern. I am also interested in the oil pan spacer looks great

Paul at F&R motorsports has done a lot of turbo 3.0 projects and knows this motor. He also helped revalve my Kings and did a great job. This link is to
his other business and has an email link. I can also give you his number if
you need it

F&R Motorsports

Ebay has lots of headers for both motors at pretty decent prices

Like this

This post has been edited by onanysunday: Mar 13 2005, 09:59 PM

[Nine-1 View Member Profile]

sounds like its gonna be a pretty badass car

[journeyman View Member Profile]

Here is my first purchase.
Believe it or not I paid $400.00 for these new from the Nissan dealer last time.
I like the stock 350z exhaust manifolds because they are double wall, lightweight,
and this time cheap!!
Is this a good buy or what? 
[right][snapback]901643[/snapback][/right]

Those actually look like pretty good flowing manifolds!
And being double walled (AND with a heat shield) there is no need for jet hot coating (unless you REALLY want to keep the heat in).
Keeping the pre-turbo exhaust hot translates into more power at less expense (less pre-turbo heat loss means less pre-turbo pressure loss).

Good call on the factory manifolds.

And yes, you DID get a good deal!!

[SUBIE4ME View Member Profile]

[quote=onanysunday,Mar 13 2005, 12:44 PM]
It has been a real struggle deciding on the motor. I love the subaru for its lightweight and nimbleness but just don't have the$$$.


Subaru's don't have to mean big $$$$$ ! Depending on your abilities, you could do a 2.0 pump gas motor for between 2 & 3k. A pumped up (race gas,hi boost)2.0 would add around 1500 bucks. That is between 3 & 4.5k for everything. I did one for 3k . Including trans adapter & ecu. You could get into a lo boost 2.5 for under 6k. The honda and nissan motors are great, but they have a much higher cg than a subie. If you still decide to go with the nissan, at least check out msefi.com . You can buy one built and tested for 250 bucks, then add 30 bucks of junkyard parts for the spark.. They work great, and have recently had many new features added, making them comparable with ecu's costing a LOT more. BTW, I am not connected with them in any way. I'm just a very pleased builder/tuner of one.

This post has been edited by SUBIE4ME: Mar 14 2005, 06:20 PM

[onanysunday View Member Profile]

Subaru's don't have to mean big $$$$$ ! Depending on your abilities, you could do a 2.0 pump gas motor for between 2 & 3k. A pumped up (race gas,hi boost)2.0 would add around 1500 bucks. That is between 3 & 4.5k for everything. I did one for 3k . Including trans adapter & ecu. You could get into a lo boost 2.5 for under 6k. The honda and nissan motors are great, but they have a much higher cg than a subie. If you still decide to go with the nissan, at least check out msefi.com . You can buy one built and tested for 250 bucks, then add 30 bucks of junkyard parts

With the nissan it is easy to make 400+ reliable horsepower. Paul at F&R motorsports has done many 3.0 (2001 and earlier) turbo projects and they
haul a$$. Iv'e seen him run up to 15psi with no intercooler. The 3.5 should even
be better. Unfortunately for that kind of power in a Subaru it is $$$ for the closed
deck block,rods, pistons, labor,etc.,etc. I also like the idea if a motor breaks there
are 1000s more out there to drop in quickly.
And yes I realize the center of gravity and weight is a huge issue especially in this
car but finally decided it is the best "happy medium" for my budget. (Ask Grant, I have been driving him nuts for 3 years)
As far as the ECU the F.A.S.T. stuff is right up there in quality. I never heard of the
mega squirt. The computer and how the programming is done is critical on the
performance. I have ridden in and been around cars that I knew could run much better by either programming or different computer. It seems price is usually a good indicator on quality and adjustability. My fathers shop has installed this system on many very high dollar vehicles.

[onanysunday View Member Profile]

So you have run the vq35 before with this computer? and were able to just unplug the vvt solenoids and it ran okay, my buddy is in the process right know with that motor and we talked to a guy and he said he had to machine billet spacers to lock the cams in place because they would somehow move and sometimes then he couldnt start it.
also kennedy engineering makes a adapter plate to run the stock crank sensor and they put the trigger wheel on their flywheel.
he has been talking to different comp. manufacturers and has found two who say thiers will run the vvt. one is a guy in northern ca. I forget his name. The other is HKS who says with his you piggyback it with the stock computer, so HKS runs everything except vvt then connects to stock computer to run vvt.

Today I finally found a guy that knows about the vvt. He builds Nissan race engines
and apparantly is the guru that Nismo calls when they need technical assistance. On my last engine the vvt was disconnected leaving the cams in a full retarded posistion. This gives more top end. (That motor ran like a scalded ape from 4000-6700 rpm). The vvt is on the intake cams only and there is 42 degrees of range
of advance. He said the only computer to run this system correctly is the Motec.
He was talking algarithms and flat curves which went over my head but basically
there is a pulse signal sent to the solenoids to control the vvt. There is another signal from the cams telling the computer what is happening. I asked him how it
would run without the vvt and he said not as good but would still work (they had dyno numbers of 15lb or torque higher at certain rpms with vvt vs.not. ) Since this
is a budget build I will probably stick with the F.A.S.T. ECU and pin the vvt. (That job is going to be a biatch) With it disconnected he did recommend pinning it at 16-17 degrees advanced (42 is max so I guess that would be leaning toward higher rpm.) I did ask about the 350z plenum and he said it should be fine. He did mention a 1" spacer that goes between the upper and lower and adds some HP. I will have to research that.

Several people have told me that the rod bolts are weak and have seen on turbo applications several motors push a rod out the side of the block. Apparantly Nissan Motorsport of America has some better bolts that are 40% stronger. The cool part is that they can be changed from the bottom without resizing the rods.

This stainless oil filter looks pretty neat.


Stainless oil filter


Here are the only pics I have found on a rebuild of this motor. 650HP!

Motor rebuild

Also I have emailed 50+ wrecking yards in the southwest and have received two
bids on motors from $1350.00 to $1500.00 for one with 10,000 miles. I know there
is a better deal out there.

[onanysunday View Member Profile]

350z intake/plenum. Pretty nice piece. I was surprised by the weight (18lbs).
Much better than the Maxima/Altima intake. I wonder what the Honda intake
weighs?

This one would be nice but $1000?

Cool intake

This post has been edited by onanysunday: May 25 2009, 11:10 AM

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[mjmtrsprt View Member Profile]

that is definently a better intake. One question I had is why did you run ls1 coils? what was wrong with stock coils?

[Jumpnbean View Member Profile]

Nice ...

[onanysunday View Member Profile]

One question I had is why did you run ls1 coils? what was wrong with stock coils?

He has used the LS1 coils on other projects and know they work well with
the F.A.S.T. edist box. Might look into running the stock ones this time.
It would definately be an easier installation with no bracket/fabrication.
And cheaper.

[journeyman View Member Profile]

That is a WILD looking intake manifold!

[Sunshine View Member Profile]

He has used the LS1 coils on other projects and know they work well with
the F.A.S.T. edist box.  Might look into running the stock ones this time.
It would definately be an easier installation with no bracket/fabrication.
And cheaper.
[right][snapback]910441[/snapback][/right]

It all depends on the resistance of the Nissan coils. The drivers in the EDIS box may not be compatable......

Sunshine

[mjmtrsprt View Member Profile]

here is the pic of the exhaust manifolds he has pretty cool for turbo setup

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[mjmtrsprt View Member Profile]

here is what we did on the fuel rails

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[mjmtrsprt View Member Profile]

here is the oil filter adapter it worked out great

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[mjmtrsprt View Member Profile]

This is what we did for the intake should work

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[onanysunday View Member Profile]

Looks great. Thanks for the pics and please keepem coming. One thing we
did last time on the fuel rails is run a crossover (at the end of each run) to equalize pressure. Probably doesn't matter because they have the same feed. Also you can remove that butterfly on the back of the intake and use a plate. (Looks a lot cleaner) Is that the Mustang air valve? Are you runnin a turbo on this or N/A?