knikmudslinger Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 This is the engine cross member i put in to distribute the stress from the panhard bar and upper coil mounts. You can see some of my handy work from a BFH on the fire wall lol I was able to weld the vortec motor mounts to the existing nissan mount on the frame also the factory vortec exhaust Y pipe fits! Transmission cross member, pretty simple. Im pretty much using all the powertrain stuff from the S10 donor. I really wouldnt recommend doing it this way personally. Next time i think i'll build a bellhousing adapter plate for the nissan tranny I have more pictures coming soon of the engine installed and tranny and what not...Im not sure i want to show everyone my firewall job though its kinda crude lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Great stuff! Did you have to modifiy the cross member or did you just do that for added strength? Please keep posting pics, a great way for all to learn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knikmudslinger Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 Great stuff! Did you have to modifiy the cross member or did you just do that for added strength? Please keep posting pics, a great way for all to learn! It was just for added strength. I pretty much removed all the factory cross members that the original motor and tranny used and built my own for a better fit. but like I said earlier if I do this again I would try adapting the vortec to the nissan transmission. I created a lot of extra work for myself going this route! Its all a good learning experience for sure. Heres the motor installed. I was able to use the factory throttle cable by modifying the 4.3 bracket slightly. I removed the AC system and replaced the the AC duct behind the glove compartment with a non AC duct and that gave me room to run my wiring harness into the cab. The ECU is mounted right behind the glove box. Plenty of room between the motor and radiator. Actually there is more room all around! I modified the upper radiator hose to work with the nissan radiator. My only clearance issue was at the firewall. The distributor is kind of close... Its kind of hard to see but I only have about an inch between the distributor and the firewall. The right hand exhaust manifold is close to the fuel lines and firewall as well I will need to build a heat shield for it. There really isnt much room to play with as far as the elevation of the motor because of the right side manifold. Feel free to ask me any questions Im not really sure what everyone wants to see or know about but I'll do my best to help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Nice!!! Thanks for sharing!! It's always good to see what people come up with and hear their do's, dont's and should have's... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver97ex Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Great project, keep it coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 If it is tight at the firewall, why not move it forward a touch? Uh, I think the flywheel needs to be resurfaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knikmudslinger Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 If it is tight at the firewall, why not move it forward a touch? Uh, I think the flywheel needs to be resurfaced. well i thought of that but the distance from the bellhousing to the shifter is about 6 inches shorter than the nissan tranny i already had to notch the hole for the shifter about 2 inches and modify the shifter Yeah its a junkyard flywheel! lol Im still mocking the tranny up and working on a spacer that goes between the bellhousing and tranny. Because of the combo im using there are a few custom things that I need to build to make things work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismojunky Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 any updates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyril Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Congrats on the job so far , as it can be a trying time when doing a custom engine conversion . Trying to make everything fit can be a massive headache bit a few can always help . Have you got outside help or are you winging it on your own ? And if you've got more pics . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knikmudslinger Posted March 3, 2009 Author Share Posted March 3, 2009 Congrats on the job so far , as it can be a trying time when doing a custom engine conversion . Trying to make everything fit can be a massive headache bit a few can always help . Have you got outside help or are you winging it on your own ? And if you've got more pics . Im pretty much on my own. My brother helps me out now and then. the main thing holding the project up now is money...*sigh* I need to rebuild my rear axle and put electric fans in and a little bit of clutch work before I can take it out. Then I want to build custom bumpers and get a winch and lights on it, onboard air is in the works right now. I got a few other wild ideas I'll show you if I go through with them...anybody ever thought of running water on a muddin truck?! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 anybody ever thought of running water on a muddin truck?! lol I knew a guy who had hot and cold running water for trail showers. He had a tank with a smal 12v pump on it, then took soft copper tube and coiled it around his exhaust pipe for the hot feed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knikmudslinger Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 I have an old rv holding tank I want to use. Im going to use compressed air to to move the water and I found this really cool heat exchanger that came off a TDI Volkswagen bug its all stainless I should post a picture of it... Im getting anxious to finish this thing and go wheelin already!! I cant wait to start building the bumpers too! thats the fun part. Has anyone had good luck with the milemarker winches they're priced a lot lower than warn but I wish I knew how well they handled abuse.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91PathSE Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Does it run yet????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 I have an old rv holding tank I want to use. Im going to use compressed air to to move the water and I found this really cool heat exchanger that came off a TDI Volkswagen bug its all stainless I should post a picture of it... Im getting anxious to finish this thing and go wheelin already!! I cant wait to start building the bumpers too! thats the fun part. Has anyone had good luck with the milemarker winches they're priced a lot lower than warn but I wish I knew how well they handled abuse.. This is our winch review thread but no milemarkers listed. I know a few members have them and they seem to work fine, but not owning one I can't say... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knikmudslinger Posted May 26, 2009 Author Share Posted May 26, 2009 So I got the beast almost completed. I have a few more things to wire up and I need to fab a clutch slave mount up. A 2 or 3 inch body lift would be a big help if I could find one..Im going to try to get pictures up by the end of this week. Im not too impressed with the amount of problems the 4.3 is giving me: the EGR valve keeps sticking I cleaned it couple times...i dunno..then the fuel pressure regulator needed replaced, it needs a full tune up as well but I guess thats what you get with a junkyard motor..it revs up really slow for some reason I think it might be from using the nissan fuel pump instead of the chevy one. I checked the for sale listings for a body lift n didnt find one available if anyone knows where to find one new or used let me know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavefromOZ Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Rugged Rocks or 4x4parts have them, not sure where else over there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 In addition to those Dave mentioned you can also check local off road shops they should be able to order one without a problem. Some parts stores can too, depending on the store/chain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balmer Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Body lifts - Performance Accesories, performanceaccesories.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fondo Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Nice build... You might wanna look into changing out your intake manifold gaskets with some steel framed fel pro's or ac delco equivalent. The thin paper gaskets used from the factory are known to deteriorate over time and allow coolant to seep into the motor causing major issues down the road. Another thing you might already be aware of is the fuel pressure regulator and internal fuel supply and return lines (gm dubbed as "nut kit") all of which are located inside the upper intake plenum. Once you remove the intake plenum it will be easy to tell if something is leaking judging by how clean it is from the gasoline washing all the carbon off. Just some things to be aware of if you are in it for the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramithepimp77 Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 I skimmed through this post and didn't see this... probably because I'm old... KINDA Are you using your original tranny or the chevy tranny? If you are going with the Chevy tranny how do they hold up? Rami Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 So I got the beast almost completed. I have a few more things to wire up and I need to fab a clutch slave mount up. A 2 or 3 inch body lift would be a big help if I could find one..Im going to try to get pictures up by the end of this week. Im not too impressed with the amount of problems the 4.3 is giving me: the EGR valve keeps sticking I cleaned it couple times...i dunno..then the fuel pressure regulator needed replaced, it needs a full tune up as well but I guess thats what you get with a junkyard motor..it revs up really slow for some reason I think it might be from using the nissan fuel pump instead of the chevy one. I checked the for sale listings for a body lift n didnt find one available if anyone knows where to find one new or used let me know I think there is a mod out there that allows you to remove the EGR, the newer 4.3s don't even have them. The 4.3 CPI need a lot of fuel pressure to run, I suspect you will need a GM fuel pump - and they are not cheap! The one on my 99 Jimmy was nearly 400 with my discount. Keep going, great thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fondo Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 ^^^ What he said... The spider injector needs something like 55+lbs of pressure to push the fuel through the poppets (injector ends). But like bow tied said those pumps ain't cheap and your better off going with an oem replacement rather some cheap off brand. Better to pay now and do it once than have to do it again in few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoneZ Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 For the fuel pump you might want to look into one from sx performance, They are very high grade pumps regulators and filters they supply and work very well with gm products, also walbro pumps work great with gm products and are a more standard style pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der_Vier Posted October 9, 2010 Share Posted October 9, 2010 This ever get finished? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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