VH41DE into S13 Silvia
Last updated: Feb 2008 -- Note: V8 engine swaps in Nissan vehicles areStill, this remains one of the earliest ones - and is fully street legal.
Silfiniti - AFARCC Day, 9th Oct 2004. Photo courtesy of Phil Luyer from High Octane Photos.
Before we go into details, Thank you to:
Ian Allenby of Alltune Engineering - Advice, patience, understanding, tolerance, machining, welding, labour, etc!Iwanz and AJ from Speedworks and APA - Front lawn and workshop space borrowed for extended periods of time,
heavy workshop equipment, advice, parts, financial assistance, tools, materials, dyno time, development concepts.
Baz, Matt and Scottie from Speedworks - Welding, machining, tools borrowing, general assistance, humour.
Shane from Vic Park Tyre and Brake Centre - Obviously tyres, but also plenty of free labour, advice, assistance,
inspections and plenty of going out of his way to help out at any time, including short notice.
John and Bob from Wheels World - For help, advice, a supply of tyres that would otherwise have been discarded
and use of workshop equipment.
Lumpy from Hyperdrive - Backyard space borrowed for an extended period of time, and early work on the vehicle.
Rob and Mel - Whom the car was purchased from, and went out of their way to accomodate me during this time.
Waynez - Right hand axeman. You know I love you, buddy.
Steve Mayhem - For having a Nissan V8 halfcut available the exact week I was looking to buy one.
Daze, Damo, Hobzai, Nizai and the rest of the lads who at one time or another gave a hand to get the thing going.
I cannot say thankyou enough guys, this car is as much yours as it is mine.
And no thanks to:
Flexible Drive Agencies here in Perth who charged me $176.00 for a set of custom handbrake cables to suit theR33 rear brakes that ended up being almost completely the opposite of what I asked for, and then charged me
another $92.40 (cost price only mind you, they were doing me a favour) to have the problem corrected.
Nice doing business with you, guys.
Story So Far...
This is a Nissan VH41DE quad cam V8 from a Cima (luxury sedan, JDM) transplanted into a late 80's Nissan Silvia.Before commencing this project I did much research to learn what I could about the engines and to find dimensions
and weight comparisons to see if the concept was possible. I have a small scrapbook full of measurements and details
relevant to the transplant.
Once this research reached a satisfactory conclusion, I contacted the Western Australian Department of Transport
Technical Section to apply for approval to modify the car, and waited for their response before starting. They
approved the project in priciple based on the details I gave them and explanation of what I was intending to do.
The vehicle must undergo re-weighing and be issued with an Engineering Certificate giving approval of the brake
system modifications prior to being issued with permits for road use.
The transplant has been conducted in a manner that allows the vehicle to be returned to standard without significant
difficulty should the need ever arise (ie. Some parts may need replacing, but the car as a whole is independent from
the engine).
Engine History
Nissan V8's come in 4.1, 4.5 and 5.6 litres in production models, and have been used in smaller capacities in Nissanracing projects including the Infiniti Indy series. Also, the Nissan R390 was equipped with turbochargers (yum).
Infiniti V8's (American Q45's) are different in many areas to Nissan V8's (Japanese domestic Cima/President).
For full details visit Fresh Alloy, pontificating about these engines is not the purpose of this site.
Nismo have announced plans to use V8 engines in the JGTC/Super GT in the Fairlady platform in 2007. The
engine is clearly different in appearance to the VH and VK families, looking more like the VQ six from the 350Z
with additional cylinders.
Project Status
The car has now been run at several track days, each time running better and betterthan the last as small things are completed. Starts and runs as reliably as any
other street car I've owned, punches hard when asked. Strong overtaking power delivery;
Brutal manners when abused, amazingly polite when respected.
Breezed through Engineering Certification.
Technical Section approved submitted paperwork.
Passed vehicle examination at O'Connor pits, first attempt, early 2008.
Vehicle Specifications
Engine:R32 Radiator (needs upgrading for summer track visits)
K&N Air Filter (needs shielding from engine bay heat)
Bosch 440 Motorsport EFI Fuel Pump (seems to be playing up)
Brakes and Suspension:
Tein HA Coilovers (spring rate too high)
Tein radius rods (stupid adjusting design)
280mm x 30mm Z32 four piston Front Brakes
R33 twin piston Rear Brakes (need new pads and rotors)
ADR-Approved BrakeQuip Braided Brake Lines
Drivetrain:
VEEM Tailshaft
Nismo 2-way Mechanical LSD
R33 Driveshafts and 5 stud hubs
Performance: (hahaha! still basically untested as yet)
230 horsepower and 330Nm of torque @ rear hubs (yeah sounds a bit low to me too)
60/40 front/rear weight split, 1300kg with driver.
No quarter mile time yet.
Links to pictures
Wiring Looms from Cima halfcut - This part was the most fun. No wiring diagrams for the Cima could be found inenglish, so I had to strip the entire wiring loom down to what was required to run the engine, by hand.
Tracing wiring - And this is just one freakin corner of it. Fucked if I'm doing that again.
Wire trimmings - This is maybe a quarter of the crap I've cut out. The factory loom included ABS, Climate Control,
Cruise Control, Anti-Theft, Power Everything, Entertainment System, Engine and Gearbox controls, the list is long.
This is Ajax - He's imitating my method for approaching the wiring issue. Some people know him as BadBiki,
the rest of us know him as Crackhead.
Nissan Quad Cam 32 Valve All Alloy 4.1 Litre V8 Engine - Big sucker, innit? High kilometres halfcut, but good
condition nonetheless. I just gave it a service, chucked it in the car and kicked it in the guts.
Engine in bay, rigged for a test run - See what I mean about the wiring? Fed with fuel from a jerry can and with
a bodged together cooling system and no exhausts. Sounded really sweet... doesn't now :(
Top-down view of exhaust clearance to chassis rail on driver's side - Yes, both sides are tight and no, nothing hits.
View of clearance from brake cylinder and lines to driver's side cam cover - No, I can't change the plugs without
pulling the engine or the brakes out, but it's running Platinum plugs so it'll last a few km's anyway.
Bottom-up view of exhaust clearance on driver's side - Note also the curve in the exhaust manifold for steering column
clearance (not installed in this picture). An American import half-cut has different manifolds!
Front view of sump aligned with crossmember - Engine fully installed, nearly millimetre perfect. No sway bar on the
car at this time, and yes the sump is a little exposed to potential damage, but this will be resolved.
Car more or less in one piece, rigged up for a test run
And again - Fully sik, according to someone off to the left, possibly Lunaz, I forget.
And once more - Organised chaos, or just chaos?
Tidied up to be packed away
Exhaust viewed from under rear of car - Showing dual outlets merging to single system before catalytic convertor.
This was done to keep the car quiet for Permitting, and as a first simple cheap experimental system.
From here it will become a full dual system, and then possibly turbocharged... We'll see.
Detail shot of exhaust outlets merging - Ugly, isn't it? Again to keep the system simple and quiet.
Car outside Speedworks, moving under own power - Hurrah!
Looks flash
with big
wheels on it - So desu ne?
Hmm, these suckers poke out a bit under the rear guards
The only badge on the car. 18x9 inch Veilsides
Interior shot - Standard and rough, no fucking showcar white leather here. Excuse the auto shifter, its days are numbered.
Nice bonnet, dickhead! - This is nearly sorted, trying to create a subtle, low hump that integrates well with the shape of
the S13 has not been an easy task.
Silfiniti at O'Connor vehicle examination centre, early 2008
And another
My old Silvia in Cat Corner at Barbagallo Raceway - Circa 2000/2001.. old school
My old Silvia in Shell Corner at Barbagallo Raceway
Just to prove it wasn't a fluke
