The Long-Awaited (by me at least) NA build thread

[quote]Mitchd03 wrote: [quote=Careless]No oil filter should be tight enough where you can't get it off by hand, unless it hasnt been changed in 20 years.

that might be, but you can't depend on that when you work on other people's cars. having a tool that works well loosening filters is a must in the industry. personally this from Harbor Frieght works great: http://www.harborfreight.com/2-inch-to- … 36778.html

Someone clean up the oil filter garbage in this thread. (sorry to be a contributor).

build looks great!

This motor makes me hungry

When will it be installed with some results? I'm curious how it performs, dyno numbers, etc.

It is now sitting in the car. I went on vacation so I haven't had time. Looking to start up again this weekend or next. I have several issues to deal with including- but not limited to:
lengthening the driveshaft,
removing the injector resistors,
getting my damn oil pan to clear the crossmember,
mounting the new transmission to non-existant holes in the tunnel, and setting driveline angle,
all in addition to the normal work of installing an engine. At least there was a vg in the hole before I embarked on the rebuild, otherwise this would be more project than I have time for.

More pics to follow

Awesome! Can't wait to see what kind of power you are making.

Update:

I've had it in the car running for 2 days now and have been ironing out a few bugs. A few first impressions are 1) the starter works WAY harder to light up an 11:1 engine - and thats at 13* at 1,000 rpm base timing. (idle switch closed). Non-projected tip plugs I've heard are worth about -2deg of timing also.
2) I got ALL the "low-end" (well, from 2,500-3,500rpm) torque back that i lost with the big cams, and maybe a bit more. There is still nothing below 2,500.
3) Above 3500- 5000 it pulls much harder. I'm not revving it past that for now and its only been there 3 times. No pinging yet, and its hard to tell if my timing setting is conservative or not because of its refusal to idle below 900rpm. no smoking or oil leaks either.
4) the new trans gearing lessens the rpm drop during the 1-2 shift. Lovin that.
5) the pistons are a bit noisey when cold- louder than i'd like them to be, but they quiet down at operating temp. I'm glad I didn't put them at the .004" to .005" that BRC suggested.
6) the lighter rotating mass + high compression + closer gear ratios makes shifting quickly a requirement. I'm glad my used gearbox is up to the task…lucky.
7) oil pressure is a solid 70psi but does drop to 25 at a hot idle. I cant say that i'm thrilled with that. thats with straight 30 break-in oil that will be coming out within the next 50 miles.
I know the bearing clearances are good, mic-measured and then double checked with plasti-gauge, just in case. The turbo oil pump was used but I inspected it closely. I'll try to get a ride along vid and pictures of the complete engine bay soon. One huge surprise is that the header paint has not burned off. They still look great. I fully expected them look good for 10 minutes and then peel. 'course its only been 40 miles

25psi hot at idle is more than what the manual calls for. you're fine.

as for the starter… wondering if anyone makes a better start for these motors. there has to be.

The starter works fine but you can tell its laboring to spin everything. No real need for stronger starters in this application. There's like what 4 of us that are running higher than stock compression?

just sayin it might be worth looking out for in case the current one craps out.

why replace with something that's laboring when it could be effortless

500 miles on the clock, got the correct injectors in. It runs fantastic. Its first trip to 6500rpm yesterday, and its still pullin' hard. My 'new' oil pan and pickup work perfectly, I can stand on the brake pedal and the pressure remains a constant 70 psi. It now overpowers 1st gear at any RPM. before I could feather it 'till about 3k and bury the throttle w/ a little wheel spin. Now, even with the taller 1st, it will roast 'em everywhere. A short shift into 2nd and it tachs that gear also. It does feel like 30hp more but I look forward to some dyno time. edit: rolled on 2nd gear on a smooth flat dry road, and had tons of wheel spin. OK so RT615's suck in the cold, but it never did that before.
Speedo is dead accurate now, yay.

nice to find these old threads will help with the build

The headers at the top of the post look nice. Does anyone know why the Doug Thorley headers won't fit the VG30E?
http://www.dougthorleyheaders.com/nissan--infiniti&458