VQ35DE (350z) swapped FC RX7

Hello, I am somewhat new to GRM, but I feel this is the best place for my build.  I have been at this project on and off for roughly two years with some breaks here and there. I got the car locally and ended up trading a salvage title e28 535i for it to find out later that the 13b had severe overheating issues. So, instead of being responsible and fixing it, I took it to a local track day called, "Stateline Drift" and immediatly overheated... a few times. Needless to say, the plans for a new engine began.

I tossed around the idea of a 20b, too expensive. Iron block V8's, JZ, RB, VG were all too heavy. LS swaps are everywhere already & SR's weren't enough of an upgrade to justify the cost. So what engines were left? VQ35DE. Almost 100hp/ltr, aluminum block, half the price of an LS1 and something like 40 lbs heavier than the stock 13b. Being only 3 cylinders long, nearly the entire engine is behind the front subframe which makes for great handling.

Here are some pictures of the current parts installed and to be installed: BC BR Type coilovers with 11k/9k swift springs. Abercrombie motorsports steering angle kit and PBM solid diff (not pictured) and subframe mounts. A picture of the car before the project T2 rear end with the solid mounts installed Suspension installed Full 2ND hand BN Sports widebody, likely a replica the VQ with megan headers (still front sump in this picture) Much more to come in the next couple hours...

Subbd for awesomeness.

This is gonna be awesome

I am interested.

What is the bolt for on the balljoint?

In reply to wvumtnbkr:

Bolts into the backside of the knuckle. Unless your mistaking the tie rod end for the ball joint?

So, as far as I am aware this swap has never been done, and if it has, it is nowhere to be found on the internet. There HAS been I believe two different people document a VQ30 maxima rx7 swap, but unfortunately hasnt been any help to me. The biggest issue anyone will run into when doing this swap is that the RX7's 13b is rear sump, and the VQ35 is front sump. After alot of research and reading, I found out that the 2000-2002 Nissan Pathfinder has a rear sump VQ. So, i searched every junkyard and everywhere online for an upper and lower oil pan, to no avail. My buddy Jeremy is doing the whole swap and did the cage ended up sourcing all the parts from a local Nissan dealership at cost. A lot of credit goes to him for making this happen, he's a quality builder and very knowledgeable when it comes swaps. long story short, the pan went on without a hitch! The engine is now complete and will be getting lowered in for mounts this weekend. now for the goods... Almost finished Formula D legal cage, just needs dimple die'd Sorry the pics are so big, I don't feel like resizing all of them.

Here is the current status of the car and more parts.

Had to do a power steering swap. T2 four piston front calipers and new rotors. Bigger/better brakes are the plan, but not until forced induction. XTD 6 puck unsprung clutch w/ lightweight flywheel. (Temporary until the turbo goes in, which should be in the fall sometime) 18x10.5 +15 Enkei RPF1'S... I plan on running 18x9 or 9.5 up front. PBM hydro, plan on dual rear calipers. A lot of beer and time spent on chipping out the sound deadening. Mockup, nothing is bolted on.

Megan headers Rear sump pan Rake?!?!

Finally back in the garage! Ready for the engine.

In reply to Boso_FC:

See how this stock ball joint doesn't have that tab and bolt. What is the one on your ball joints for?

ZOMG I LOVE THAT WIDEBODY KIT

BTW, dry ice is your friend for the insulation stuff. It breaks off VERY easily if you just put some dry ice on it and freeze it.

I did my entire interior in about 15 minutes with a rubber mallet.

Rob R.

wvumtnbkr wrote: In reply to Boso_FC: See how this stock ball joint doesn't have that tab and bolt. What is the one on your ball joints for?

I was going to say the same thing. the one in the build photo looks extra long too.

Subbing for pure interest!

In reply to fidelity101:

yea, mine are long and offset as well. I hacked mine up and put a "triangle" of steel in them to move the ball joint out and forward to get more camber and caster. Works awesome!

Still not sure what that hardware is for on these. Maybe steering limiter?

I am guessing this steering kit thing is involved with the weirdness of that component. This thing is going to be set up for drifting I guess?

Love to see someone swapping that engine, though. I've always wondered about them.

In reply to wvumtnbkr:

Oh, my bad. Yeah the ball joints have been extended, and the bolt on them is a steering stop. Otherwise the wheels would turn right into the inner fender/wheel well. It is adjustable. This car was originally built for drift, but id also like to road course race it too. Thanks for all the interest guys!

I may do this swap in teh very near future. Please keep the details coming.

P.S. the front brakes you have are turbo front brakes. They are also any S4 rx7 with 5 bolt wheel front brakes. The S5 GTUS and turbo and GXL and VERT also had those brakes.

It doesn't make a difference other than I can see spending less money from certain vendors by getting the GXL hardware as opposed to the Turbo hardware.

In reply to wvumtnbkr:

Yes, when ordering there were only two options for calipers, and oddly enough it was between "hard suspension" or "normal suspension" to decide which caliper I'd get. Not 4 lug or 5 lug. I knew s5's had them, but I didn't know any 5 lug s4 did, like the gtu. This is my 6th FC, and still learning haha. I'll be updating how the engine goes in this weekend. Just got the rest of my misc oil pan parts today... dip stick tube etc.

Grate build and that cage is for real! Hope my v8 swap "comon" swap will have the nive cage and wheels one day... I will be following this build looks like it will be fun!

In reply to Skervey:

Nothing against V8 swaps. some days I wish I had just gone that route. I am fortunate enough to not have to pay out the ass for all the custom parts to mount the VQ, so that's what I chose... although it still hasn't been light on the wallet. I'm following your build skervey, looks like a clean fc!

Nice build.

So, um, is that a 510 in your garage?

If I haven't seen it, its new to me! Awesome build, watching for completion.

The VQ is a really underrated engine, although I still see pulls going for a lot of money. This is a cool swap.

If you live where I live, you have a few months of "sound deadening removal" season when the white stuff's on the ground anyway. Just go outside and hit it with a hammer until it's either all gone or your hands can no longer grasp a hammer from all the pain.

In reply to ssswitch:

Haha, yeach that's exactly what we do in the PNW. And You can get long blocks for under $1k and the tranny for around 800

In reply to Junkyard_Dog:

Yeah, that's my buddy's 510 project.