240sx to 500sx conversion (5.0 H.O. swap in progress)

[lost cause]

No updates yet, part that was supposed to show up, didn't show up, should be here tomorrow, which will mean I finally will have progress on the car again. Im shooting to have the clutch pedal, master cylinder, and trans tunnel hammered in by Tuesday.

I'm having to do alot more work, because this car was a non-abused Automatic, so I have to add a clutch pedal, and stuff to it. Its semi-easy because Nissan used the same firewalls for the auto and manuals, they just didn't drill the holes for the clutch assembly to mount up.

[lost cause]

Ok small update, finally wasn't sick, didn't have the kids, and had some motivation to work on the car....

I got the new Energy Suspension poly steering rack bushings put in..... what a pain.... Also got the dash removed so that I can get the Clutch master cylinder installed, and pulled the factory cluster, since it will be replaced with a load of gauges..... much easier than modifying a Mustang cluster to fit in the factory hole.

Only have one picture, which my brother snapped of me, while I was under the car cranking on the steering rack




Gonna work on it again tonight, and hopefully get to installing the motor by Friday if I can....

[heyitsmepugsley]

cant wait to see pics of the motor down in the car.

[setty2706]

Glad to see your making progress.... I am with pugsley i cant wait to see the pics of the engine in that car... That will be a fun street toy

[INSANEBA]

I've had S-10's and Rangers with v8's in them and had an absolute blast with them. I've always wanted an import car with a lumpy ass v8 in it, so I'm enjoying the hell outta this thread. Cant wait to see the finished product!

[Moody]

looking forward to see this thing running... its kinda like a monster miata but cooler cause its not a miata.

[cyah92]

Nice build u r deffintly on a mission

[lost cause]

Finally got the engine hoist over to my house, and got the transmission off.... figures, one of the starter bolts was rounded off, so I had to cut the head off and pull the bolt out the hard way....



The transmission could use some cleaning in here lol... Its ready to be disassembled so the hydraulic stuff can go on



My guess is, this is what is left of the clutch disk.... and misc debris, though it cant be from outside, because the transmission was sealed to the motor quite well....



Saving space in the garage for the night, the motor is sitting in the bay... its still off about 1 1/2" from its final position, but I still have to get the clutch off and removed, as well as get some bolts to stick in the header bolt holes so that I can drop the motor in the right way...


Shows how it is sitting without the transmission on the back, and a little high.... there is so much room around the motor, I am really surprised how small this motor looks in the car.




I kinda cracked the starter flange (where the upper bolt goes) when the starter wouldn't come out, seems it was seized in there pretty good, dunno why though, it works fine.... Are they pretty cheap? Should I replace it, or should I try fixing it?

Sorry for the lack of progress in the last couple weeks/month I have been slacking quite a bit.

The motor is not in its final position, because I am going to order a new clutch and then reassemble everything.

[lost cause]

Ordered my King Cobra Clutch kit for it tonight.... looks like I will be able to put this thing back together very very soon..... All that's left is...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Install clutch kit
2. Install Hydro T/O bearing
3. re-mount transmission on engine
4. Install engine and transmission
5. Make adapter for shifter relocation
6. Wire up motor to 240sx body harness
7. Install gauge setup (still pending on if the ARK MFD will work with this motor)
8. Measure and have driveshaft made
9. Buy radiator and mount
10. Put fluids in, and drive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Still alot left to do, not including putting a cage, and racing seats/harnesses in.... As well as taking the bald rear tires off and having more tires put on.

[lost cause]

Radiator and clutch arrived....

All aluminum Radiator


King Cobra Clutch with new pilot bearing, throwout bearing (don't need it)



I am getting excited

[lost cause]

Gonna have some major updates later tonight... I am currently working out how to install the RAM hydro throw out bearing, since my King cobra clutch pressure plate is touching the C clips, I guess I have to remove them, and then get my spacing right, and all will be done.

The motor is just a few minor steps from getting permanently mounted in the car.

[700hp04mystic]

looks good man, keep us posted with pics.

[blown96cobra]

man that looks like one hell of a tight fit

[lost cause]

here's some pics I snapped, my brother took most of the pictures, so I don't have all of them yet, but this is what I have.

I put a new rear main seal, and pilot bearing in. Didn't take pictures, didn't seem important enough to

I knew I needed a new clutch, the previous one was toast.... Here's what the flywheel looked like when I pulled it off.



So I sent that off to get re-surfaced, because there was no way I was going to get away with fixing it myself....

Took it to Auto Value here in Wilmington and here is the result



After a nice cleaning with brake parts cleaner, I installed the King Cobra clutch, and pressure plate. Everything went together pretty easily, and looks good installed.



After all that fun stuff, I got started on the hydraulic throw out bearing. Its made by RAM clutches, and seems to be pretty solid. It was kinda pricey, but for a swap like this, it was necessary, as the 240sx is hydraulic to begin with, and swapping to a cable would require a different clutch pedal.

After removing the old clutch fork, and throwout bearing, then removing the pivot ball, and original center section (don't know what its called) I installed the RAM center section, that is made for the hydraulic T/O bearing to slide on, and putt the hydraulic bearing on there for measurements.



This is what it looks like through the old clutch fork hole.



All in all, it went pretty easy, though I have to talk to tech support with the bearing, because the instructions say to get the clearance down to .150-.200" and I am at .500" . Obviously I need to use some shims, but I want to make sure that I am doing everything 100% right. The other small issue, is the fact that the bearings C clip hits my pressure plate fingers, which means I am going to have to remove them, in order for it to work properly.

After I get this done - Possibly by tomorrow - The motor will be getting mounted into the car and the next step of the process will begin.

On a positive note, I did look up the transmission code, and it is a 1992 WC T5....

[lost cause]

man that looks like one hell of a tight fit

believe it or not, it actually doesn't look all that bad when your looking at it in person.... If your ever in Wilmington and wanna stop by and look for yourself, just shoot me a P.M. It always helps to have a mustang guy there to tell me what I am doing wrong

[Stangman]

That oil filter looks really close to that frame rail!! Lol

[lost cause]

That oil filter looks really close to that frame rail!! Lol

I think I am going to do a relocation kit on it.... your right in a sense, even though there is enough room to get it off, it sits a little too close to make me happy... I am going to get the engine in its final location, bolted up, and see if it is better or worse.... If it doesn't improve, I will be ordering more parts...

[lost cause]

a couple more pictures from today, got em from my brother, who stayed clean through this whole ordeal lol....







just a few pictures of putting the Hydraulic T/O bearing on.... way more in depth than I originally thought.... the old sleeve held the race, which had to be removed, and relocated to the new sleeve, seemed the transmission is in pretty good shape.

[heyitsmepugsley]

we got some pics setty.lol

[BLOWN86CAPRI]

cool build,good luck with it