Logic, according to my brain...

In 2000 I installed a Nissan VQ30, 3.0L from a 97 Maxima. 190hp 205tq and it was great. Then things happened (rusted battery tray). Then it sat for a decade (recession). The engine now overheats the cooling system like a bad head gasket. Likely from aluminum erosion from sitting too long (other signs). Fixing that requires complete disassembly down to a short block.

Soooo....

I decided to move up to a VQ35, 03 Maxima 3.5L +80hp!!! (that's 42% more)

Here's the rub. To get the VQ30 to fit I moved everything forward 1.5". Renegade sbc trans blocks, shortened shift rod, small hole in the truck. To fit the VQ35 as-is I would need to move it back, likely to stock location, to clear the variable cam timing stuff. That means a new cross mount, new shift rod, redo exhaust, plus new harness and ms3pro ecu ($$$$).

Turns out the gearheads at Maxima.org like to upgrade too. They created a VQ30/35 hybrid. It's a VQ35 engine with VQ30 ecu, harness, timing components and accessories. I lose the variable cam timing but I get to reuse all my custom swap bits, which saves a bunch of time I don't have before RRC22. But it requires some new custom parts.

If one or more of our great fabricators has time and tools I'd love to toss email money your way. @mueller @tygaboy @mb911

First is the Throttle Body adapter. Replacing the factory e-gas with cable. I currenly have this partially drawn in CorelDraw and design is not absolute (still searching hardware). 96mm x 99mm. TB (red) bolts to piece_1 (blue) which bolts to piece_2 (green) which bolts to IM (yellow).



Second is cam gear adapters/spacers in steel. I need 2 @ 178* and 2 @ 180*. 4 total cuz 4 cams of fury. 6mm dowel pins look to be readily available.



Third is a pair of aluminum block-off plates for the VVT cam adjusters. 1.5" x 3.5" Also drawn in CorelDraw, which can be exported as .ai or .dxf. Actually I might make these by hand.



Gratuitous PartsFinder pic

I may be able to assist with the block off plates. What thickness of aluminum? The plasma table can’t compete with a mill for edge finish, particularly on thicker material but let’s at least explore it. Feel free to PM me, too.

Hi Chris,

Remind me late next week if not in a huge hurry, I'm driving up to Cornelius Oregon for a wedding this weekend.

That car is going to be even more wicked with that power upgrade!

Think you'll do a VR30DDTT from a new Z or Infinity once they start to get wrecked on a more regular basis?

Not likely. Too many things going on with that one. Same with the HR and 3.7. This vq35de will hopefully be the last one. Will do ~300hp with headers and a good tune, 400hp with turbo but only if a WRX trans can take it.

Made it to the Gaudin Porsche Bumblebee reveal. The first official outing of my resurrected car Also the last with this poor engine. It was tough to be so gentle with the throttle but made it no problem. I'm tempted to paint the lowers red and call it a Bumblesicle

Let's file this under things I don't want to do twice.

First the outer timing cover.



Then the timing components.



Then the inner timing cover. 72 bolts total



But before I put the vq30 parts on I am going one step further. This year motor came with a bad batch of valve stem seals. So I'm pulling the cams to replace them while I'm already here. For that normal person that asks "why not just do the head gasket on your 3.0L?". Well, after the cams are out the head bolts can come out -- this is why I chose upgrade over just fix...



They also had issues with the cam gear chain guides prematurely wearing. The fact that it hasn't worn thru yet is a good sign of low miles and easy living.

Looks easier than an Audi. Are upgraded guides available or is that not worth the effort?

The factory fix is updated guides and chain. The chain is the problem.

I'll be using all the parts from the 3.0 so it's not an issue.

Mid work day update. Got one side done and my back wanted a break. This valve spring popper tool works really well if you have the right hardware handy.



In case you're wondering.... solid lifters.

Got behind on updates.

Boring part
<rant> The cam adapter diagram is wrong. Because the person (engineer) that designed it took logical measurements but didn't update his mistakes after trying to assemble it on the engine. The pins are too long, specially the 10mm that goes (doesn't) only 3mm into the tapered cam flange. Then the 18mm is way longer than it needs to be, the factory only did 3mm in 7mm out
Threads also left out the factory part#s. This is why I double check and usually figure it out myself.
</rant>

This would be alot easier if vq30 hot cams weren't $1400. But going from vq35 238/240 to vq30 232/232 just gives up too much fun.

Spent the rest of the evening removing ancillary parts then another 5/8" in 1/2 hour t-storm blew in.

Also 100f and humid sucks.

I've gotten to the point where I have an engine in/out system that is fairly quick. Unfortunately I have gotten to the point where I have an established system...



Previously I used threaded rods to lower the front while using a jack for the trans. Now I use 2 jacks and the rods as guides. Still have to drop the front wheels to the ground to clear 32" under the bumper.



Then in the spirit of upgrades I test fit 350z/g35 exhaust manifolds. Would have been cheap and easy HP if they weren't such a poor fit. Tried z32 headers too but didn't fit the heads. I'll have to make some when/if the time comes.

Not much for today. Got the vq30 stripped except for the flywheel, as it's stuck.

Did a little pre-fitting of coolant pipes and seeing how much of the vacuum hoses stays with the EGR. The 02-03 vq35 didn't have EGR so those bits won't be transferred over.

After way too many brain taxing hours looking thru FSMs it looks like I'm free to remove the whole vacuum hose jungle gym that was used on my 97 CAL spec swap. I previously grabbed a 95 FED manual ecu as it's compatible with NIStune and it's before all the evap system check systems.
Also going back to the early 90s for the basic evap system. The ecu controlled system is just too much.

Hi Chris,

Just need to machine off the excess material on this one and tap it.


Click to view attachment

Weekend update.

A little WD40 overnight soak and I was able to work the flywheel off.

Then the part I didn't want to do twice happened again...

Nice simple flat outer cover that was a b* to pry loose.



Outer cover off. You can see the necessary timing marks on the intake cam gear. Everything looks good like it should given the 20-25k on the motor.



The much simpler timing setup off and without power tools this time.



Rear cover doesn't want to come off either, so called it a night.



But before I went in I did a quick test fit of the VVT cover. This Chris isn't making a new firewall for 5-10 hp...

A rare moment of easier than expected.

The 3.5 FlywheelPS is 4mm longer and the oil pan is 4mm thicker at the mounting location to accommodate. The guide lists options as grind down the 3.5 mount or swap the 3.0 oil pan. The only other differences with the oil pan is an extra hole for the compressor to mount directly instead of with a bracket -- and extra internal bracing.

I feel the bracing is important... so some quick FSM reading and, no surprise, the sensors function the same.

Luckily this part of the harness is a separate segment and it just happens to use the same pins (unlike the injectors) and it wasn't removed from the motor before I got it. Presto change-o connector replace-o



Spent the rest of the time cleaning and de-gasketing and making my neck hurt.

I also need to up my pace

Noting much to take pics of. Did some more cleaning. Started working on the throttle cable bracket. Had some down time waiting for parts... found some interesting info on the HR & compatibility. The RWD HR intake looks like it will fit without the trunk cuts I had to make earlier, but the parts list gets involved and fuzzy.

Monday was delivery day. Adjustable FPR (Aeromotive clone), added 8mm barbs, injector connectors from wirespecialties.com (yes 2 are missing, they are inbound), factory EGR tube plug. Grabbed double the dowels (10mm 16mm 20mm) I need just in case I mess up the 'fitting' from McFaddendale Hardware (local). Also got a quart of paint to cover the primer in the engine bay (finally, put that off for a while).



Took a trip to the Pick-a-part for a G35 fuel rail inlet/damper. Rubber hose over a plastic hose -- kinda funky thing to do.



They happened to have an HR apart to inspect.





Looks like it's going to be 110F all week, because it's crunch time

Another series of small accomplishments.

Used the drill press to file down the TB adapter cap screws from 10mm to 9mm to make @Mueller happy.



Took a lesson from the 'resurrection' and bench tested the injectors before the engine is installed. Passed with flying mist



Also set the aFPR to 51 psi (3.5 bar). No surprise the cheap gauge is off. Followed advice from a Youtube vid and took the FPR apart first. Found aluminum chips (debris) that would have been bad for the injectors and greased the adjustment screw. Also put thread seal on the gauge plug. Still trying to find a good place to mount it.



Lastly, prepped the engine bay for paint in the morning afternoon right before dark again.

Chris - I'll get your parts shipped tomorrow. Enjoy!
Chris

Those look goooood!

Fun fact - your project and mine spec the same torque ~275 lbft

Ha! But why do I think yours will be running first?

Another sleepy day of small projects.

The Pathy TB has a nice pair of unused bosses in the perfect place to mount a cable bracket, so I threaded them m6x1.0. In the process I realized they both didn't go all the way through. Don't know if I want to risk drilling after threading...



Seemed like a good time to mount the rear sway bar so I made these. Then in test fitting I found rust, so I decided that should probably wait...



But to end on a positive note... sleeping on a problem resulted in an easy solution to the FPR location issue. Bracket fabrication in progress....

Well lookie here, I made #2 on Google



Since I'm on the subject of #2...
....the bay got painted this evening. We will say it looks better than 21 year old primer and leave it at that. Someday I will make the whole car all nice like, but I want to at least 9,146 miles first



Now something I'm good at... Waffle Aided Design & cardboard brackets Nailed it on v2.1

Using Eggo waffle packets to make bracket patterns? Well, I've seen Stranger Things.


Thx, I'll be here all week.

- Tony

PS. Interesting build, keep the posts coming!

The acc cable bracket was a bit more involved design. Penciled a few ideas before deciding this design would be strong enough and easy to make. KISS

Upped my game with CAD this time. I was a CorelDraw wiz in my past life in signs.



Prototyped with WAD of course



Will be a perfect fit after the adapter is installed.



Since I felt like avoiding sweating buckets today, and I thought the trunk light would be good if it didn't shine on the ground and everywhere like a ricer, I did a little hobby painting before putting it back on.

These will ship out in the morning. Hope they work!
Click to view attachment

They look perfect. Thanks so much for making these.

Since everyone is dying to know... the TB adapters required a 3 step process of SAD, CAD & RAP.

First both TBs were digitized using Scanner Aided Design. Then measurements were taken and overlaid using Computer Aided Design. Then that was converted to physical form using Ritz Aided Prototyping. This allowed me to get an idea of how it would fit at the trunk wall.








Bonus that the FWD vq35de intake is 2 piece, which allows me to fabricate (ideas?) a non-trunk interfering option in the future

Today was Metal ---- in the mailbox



I like to start the day off with easy stuff. I figured the bottom wasn't too thick, so with a center punch I was able to pop the bottom out without damaging the threads. Then I tapped it all the way thru. Basically it just gives me flexibility with bolt length/type.



Then a moment of truth... @mueller SUCCESS!!!



Officially earned my Binky Badge*


*(not a real thing)

Andrew Wang

So the dudes cam adapter diagram is wrong again, this time in a super important way.

The actual cam pin bolt circle is 33mm NOT 34mm.



So I had to make them fit, which took hours I didn't have to spare.



But I got it to fit with careful filing.



But there is an even bigger problem. There is a groove where the piece mounts....



...that lets the gear rotate many degrees.




Even if I could get it lined up and torqued there is no guarantee it wouldn't slip in use. Way to janky for me. Wasted day.

The cam adapters seemed to be the easy method, but it's not the only one. Others choose to drill the cams, too involved and risky for me. Or drill the cam gears, which is a solid way to do this (plus new gears are cheap and easy).

So with much, very very much thought, totaling half a day, I moved forward with what I had available...

2 cnc machined adapters as templates (off by 0.5mm)
1 undersized socket
1 paper towel roll cut to work as a shim
1 loose fitting center punch
1 wobbly Harbor Freight drill press
5 American size drill bits near 2mm 3mm 4mm 5mm 6.1mm
2 cojones from a desperate man with too close of a deadline



Must include that impossible to acquire skill of Divine Intervention...



I can't describe the feeling when this worked out at this level. At this point I called it a night and drank the elixir of stress relief

The next morning I decided it has been too stressful to try to get the 914n6 running for RRC22. I'll finish it up when I get back.

Awesome amount of work and very ingenious Chris.

After RRC I wasn't in a hurry anymore... and I discovered Link now makes a plug-in 350z ecu... so I started rethinking the plan. I have a vq35de harness hidden somewhere. Nissan makes a floor mounted e-gas pedal. The 3.0L ecu will run the 3.5L but things will be a bit off so a new ecu was on the list anyways.

Plan the work. Work the plan. Change the plan. Spend more money.

But luckily for my wallet I was motivated to work on something else. Plus it gets cold in my north facing garage.

The infamous 1988 Nissan Partsfinder is pretty much worn out @233k. It's fine for local needs but sucks for touring and can barely get it's own butt up the Baker grade - forget towing a 914. I was looking into a newer Pathfinder (one with the vq35de ) when circumstances offered a likely better option.

The next door neighbor's 2004 Chevy Blazer broke again and he was ready to move on. He took good care of it and I did most of the previous fixes, so I couldn't say no.
BUT, what I thought was a bad spark plug wire and broken motor mount was actually a leaking injector and hydrolock damage So it sat for a while, because, frankly, Partsfinders don't break. Eventually I scored a 61k engine & trans from a wrecked 2001 S10. Last winter I finally committed to fixing it. I got it put together and running again by this summer but there were some other issues.

After the 16 hours of driving for RRC I was motivated to finish the Blazer. Still a few little things but at this point it's practically restored reconditioned. Will I unintentionally also drive this Partzfinder for 15 years?

So it started as a simple MIA (Mosquito Involved Absence) from the N6 engine rebuild, which lasted into winter, so I moved to backyard projects cuz that’s where the sun shines making it reasonably warm. Also includes some much overdue house projects but unfortunately this year had uncooperative weather so even those are behind schedule.

But in March I had some random downtime, and a need to make room in the garage, so I decided to install the mockup VQ35 with the 914 trans.



Begin plot twist...

Three decisions were then made. One, I’d like to swap in a WRX trans as I’d like 300+hp with no worries. Subaru Diff is 1.5” closer to the engine compared to the 914, and with the VQ30 I used RH spacers to move it FORWARD 1.25”, so repositioning the drivetrain is necessary, which leads to 2. The VQ35 VCT gears add 1.5” to the front of the motor, which would not be a problem if I moved it back to stock location. Plus I'd prefer to keep it for it’s benefits.

Step one: Can I clock this heater coolant tube at the rear of the engine?



Yes!



Step two: Install drivetrain







Decision three, the VQ35 intake as is hits the trunk lid if I use the VQ30 conv bits and that is no bueno.

An hour here, an hour there, I narrowed down the sweet spot.

914 trans moves rearward 1”.





Oil pan sits 3/4” below the floorpan – similar to the VQ30.



The engine lid will get a minor beauty hump.



The custom intake extension/MAF/filter box will go where the battery sits.



The battery will move to the drivers side.



Trunk will get a removable cover panel to clear the fuel rail.



Add VQ40 headers for a better flowing dual exhaust. Lastly, cable shift. I may or may not do the Subaru trans at this juncture.

Continuing…

That’s a lot of work to be done, and I’m still paying insurance, so I looked more into the VQ30 cooling issue.

One of the exhaust ports looks different...





So the plan when I get caught up is to pop the heads off and if it’s an easy head gasket fix, I’m putting the 3.0 back in.

End plot twist.

Sounds like you are coming full circle and that’s ok if it gets you back on the road sooner.

I want to ask a curiosity question here.

Why use a WRX transmission? With it you have to remove all the stuff that hooks to the rear driveshaft, and install an aftermarket block off plate. Then you have to make custom axles to use it in a 914 chassis. And you still have to make an adapter plate/clutch assembly to hook it to the Nissan engine. Plus you have to fabricate a cable shift setup.

Why not use a Boxster/Cayman G86-21 transmission? It is 2 wheel drive, so you don't have to do any mods to it, and you can use stock, unmodified Porsche 996 axles in a 914. And it already comes setup for a mid engine cable shifter.

It also appears that the VQ35 starter mounts from the engine side (I could be wrong though), so with the Boxster/Cayman trans, you don't have a big unused open hole in the bell housing.


The prices on the Porsche G86-21 trans are about $2500.00. The Subaru trans is cheaper, but with all the mods you have to do it may be cheaper to use the Porsche trans.

Just my $.02 worth on it.

To @clayperrine Clay's question: Chris is handy and clearly likes to fab stuff so more of a DIY may appeal to him. Plus the aforementioned cost savings.
Plus, I suspect Chris is a charter member of the "mine is different/special" club!

That said, I've been noodling on re-powering my LS car with a Nissan V6 and, if I understand it correctly, Kennedy Engineering could supply a complete adaptor kit to the Boxster trans, if he wanted to go that way.

Oh.. and like I am not??

I was just offering alternatives, not criticizing.

My engine is the FWD version as it's more plentiful and much cheaper. The RWD 350z/G35/etc tend to get thrashed. FWD has the starter on the trans, no provision on the engine side.

Box6 disadvantages:
making a starter fit
175 lbs
short gearing
have to buy or make flywheel
small dia bellhousing
Not going to cost $100

Suby advantages:
bolt on starter
100 lbs
plenty of conversions to work from
decent gearing
coupler & axles & plate $300-500
Here is the kicker... Suby flywheel bolts on with a spacer which allows me to use all stock parts.
I can make the adapter.
Only cost $100

It's really a no brainer on my end.

I think this is more your forte @tygaboy

Nissan VQ37VHR to PDK Adapter Kit

The starter is not a big deal to remedy, but I can't beat a 6 speed trans for $100.00.

Post picts. I want to see this setup.