Introducing "Ginger" -KHGC11000280

[ctcurnes]

really? that is very cool! Do you happen to have any pictures of the rear coil over kit? and any ideas on pricing? I currently have a set of specially set koni struts, but this could be a much nicer solution!

Sorry for the thread jack, but Gabe is getting pics. I will forward them or post in another thread would be better. QA-1 based system. He said about $800.

Thread jack over.

Interested in steering column pics when complete. Can you pleas clarify which bolt holes are 0.5" off?

Thanks

[akwikz]

I must apologize for the delay. I had the rather unpleasant misfortune of finding my Pathfinder (Terrano for you in Aus.) stolen a couple days after my last posting. Surprising that a 20 year old truck with 341k miles on it was worth the trouble. It left me in a bind as my job requires me to have a truck.

I filed a police report but knew it was very unlikely I would see my Pathfinder again. So, it gave me a good excuse to get this:

It is a Titan SE crew cab. I've wanted one since they came out. Until now I just could not justify it. This one has the utility bed, factory tow package, power rear window, sunroof, and satellite radio. It sucks that some scumbag decided to take my Pathfinder, but I do love this new truck.

Now, as to my Kenmeri. Because of buying the new truck, I have not been able to do much for a few weeks. But I can answer a couple of questions. The LCA I mentioned is the lower control ARM bolt hole. This is the hole that is .5 inches outboard of the stock c110 holes. I have a rough template of the firewall adapter plate that I need to have cut from steel. I'm going to try to get back at it next week. A few of you have expressed interest in doing the same thing. I'm happy to look into having others made if you guys want.

Brian

[akwikz]

Kent, I am already expecting to send one over to you. Are you having any luck in finding a steering rack? I tried getting one from Australia first and only found one that the guy wanted $300 for. You might find it easier to get one from Japan as I did. Believe it or not, the non power one only cost me $60. Something to kick around.

Brian

[240260280z]

Impressive. I look forward to following this thread. You are now a "pioneer" with that transplant!

[ctcurnes]

I have a rough template of the firewall adapter plate that I need to have cut from steel. I'm going to try to get back at it next week. A few of you have expressed interest in doing the same thing. I'm happy to look into having others made if you guys want.

Brian

Brian, I would be interested in one of the firewall adapters as well. Also, any contact info for how to source a RHD rack would be helpful. The internet is letting me down on that one.

Chris

[akwikz]

I thought I would post up a bit more of the progress. What we have here is my 350z six speed tranny.

Obviously the VH45 never came with a manual tranny. And the common one to use on these type swaps is the Z32 five speed with the Mazworx adapter. I wanted something different. After kicking around a bunch of ideas, I happened to mention my plan to a buddy that works for a high end Nissan tuner here in San Diego. As luck would have it, they were in the process of designing an adapter to bolt this tranny to a multitude of Nissan engines. He was kind enough to loan me a prototype to keep the ball rolling.

The tranny needs to be disassembled so that the bell housing of the front section can be machined off. Once that is done the adapter plate bolts on which then allows the automatic bell housing to bolt to the adapter. This then allows perfect alignment on the motor.

So, at this point the motor and tranny are mated up sitting in the car. Originally I was fairly content with the placement of the motor in the car. It looked like I had a nearly perfect distance of about 1 inch off the firewall. Well, after pulling the steering column out I discovered that the firewall has a few places where it bends out a bit, especially as it nears the tranny tunnel. I decided I needed to move it forward another 3/4 inch or so. Its actually going to help out in more ways than that. With the move forward, the stock oil pan might even clear the crossmember. And the relocated shifter assembly will be almost dead on with the stock location in the center console. I will get a few pics of this up shortly.

[akwikz]

So here are the pics I mentioned.

As you can see, the right side cylinder head is only 1/4 inch from the firewall where the column passes through. Its very tight. Now, while we are here, let me show you the plan with the rack and pinion conversion. Here is the stock C110 column as it connects to the firewall.

As we discussed before, the stock column is supported by the steering box with merely a rubber boot at the firewall. With the rack and pinion, the column must be supported at the firewall. Here is what we have to work with.

The plate you see is very thin. Before I actually had it pulled apart, I had considered simply redrilling this plate to accept the S130 steering column. After getting it out, I realized this was not an option. The plate is very thin. It will easily flex if you twist it. No way it could support the lateral forces a steering column would put on it. As I mentioned before, I'm working on an aluminum plate to replace it which will also have correct bolt holes for the Zx column. Here are a few pics of the C110 and S130 columns.

They are almost exactly the same length when measured from the top end to where they pass through the firewall. The mounting points where it connects under the dash are different, as well as where the accessory stalks mount. Surprisingly they have the same diameter and taper points. It looks like the C110 stalks will easily transfer over, with only one issue. The column lock. The ignition switch is in an entirely different spot and therefore the keyway for the steering lock is not even close to being aligned. I'm not entirely sure what it would take to machine a new keyway in, but honestly I'm not convinced its even worth it.

Anyhow, this is where I'm at right now. I hope to get another update to you guys soon.

[akwikz]

Also, Chris, I'm keeping an eye out on that steering rack for you. If you happen to find one before I do just let me know. It took me a few months to find mine, but the funny part is that when it did pop up, there were four others available at the same time. Two manual and two powered ones. It seems like a feast or famine situation.

[ctcurnes]

Seems like famine currently. I'll let you know if I get ahold of one. I was thinking about measuring yours and going with a flaming river custom. With the amount of money I spent already, what another grand or two?

Great progress, keep it up!

Chris

Edited July 21, 2012 by ctcurnes

[240kconvertible]

Sweet, it's great to see another V8 powered K in the making and as you've put a Nissan V8 in you won't get a heap of abusive messages there is heaps of space in the engine bay for an 8, I had mine put as far back as possible and the front axle line ends up between the 1st and 2nd pair of pistons. With that being an alloy V8 it will end up with better weight distribution than the original 6, the L24 is a heavy motor. Good work, I'm stoked one of Kent's cars is getting an 8!

[akwikz]

So this is the latest news. I went back to the machine shop a few weeks back to check on the progress as I hadn't heard from them in a long time. When I originally dropped off my mock up, I mentioned I was in no real rush. Well, apparently they took that a bit too far and never even started on my firewall plate. These guys have been good in the past but this time I was a bit pissed. Anyhow, I decided to make my own new one, and here it is.

So this was made from 3/16 steel plate using a chop saw and a drill press. While it may not be machine shop perfect, I'm proud of it. I went ahead and did a rough fitting of it.

These pictures are of the plate with the S130 ZX steering column. I trimmed off the original mounting ears just so it can be fitted in. I plan to remove the adjustable mount from the C110 column and transfer it over to this one. As you can see in the pics from the engine bay, I need to slightly alter the pass through hole so that the column can be moved down another 1/2 inch or so as its just barely contacting the right cylinder head. Other than that, I'm happy with how its coming together. I'll post up a few more pics after I have polished it up.

[akwikz]

So it's been a while, but I have actually made progress. The car is officially on all four wheels again.

I took the s130 steering column and shaved the stock mounting ears off. Then cleaned it and measured the C110 mounting in comparison. The columns are nearly identical in length, and all I had to do was measure from the top end where the wheel mounts.