FlatBlack

Thanks! Always down to chat about cars if you want to see it.

The LM7 is going in my friend's CJ7 to replace an old carbd 318

Azryael

Might have to take a trip up there just to see it!

A shame! I'm looking for either an LM7 or more ideally, and LS1/T56 combo ready to go for a swap I'm doing.

That CJ7 will surely enjoy the new power plant, though! With the NV3500 it'll be a great crawler too, assuming he likes to take it out.

FlatBlack

Ah you're in San Antonio. I was going to take it down yesterday to Autocross it in but it was too cold. If you ever make it to one of those events you'll probably see it out there.

LM7s are all over the junkyards here complete with harness and everything. Could probably get one fully dressed form the LKQ near me for ~$500 or less

The CJ is keeping its Jeep trans. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep the NV for another year or so or just bite the bullet and buy a T56 for when the L33 goes in.

Azryael

Don't get much a chance to get out to anything these days; too swamped with work, school, and projects around the house.

We've got an LKQ over in Schertz and over in New Braunfels, but I'll need to take a look. T56 or a TR6060 (since they're nearly the same money) will be what I'm rolling with.

Thought of looking for an NV3500 myself for my '98 Durango with the 5.9, but decided to leave it automatic for now.

Either way, you've got one cool car, and I hope I'll get a chance to check it out!

FlatBlack

Exciting development!! After years of searching, I found a reasonably priced T56. It's a LT1 trans that has an LS1 front plate and shaft, a macleod slave cylinder setup with a Wilwood master, and a billet 3/4 shift fork. Also has a Hurst shifter on it. I'm hoping to set up my cruise control on my DBW harness now that I have a VSS.

Just need the bellhousing and Fidanza and I can drop the new aluminum engine in.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...g?t=1484662039

Found a bellhousing, flywheel and clutch on ebay for the price of just the bellhousing so I jumped on it. Just need the Fidanza and I can do the swap - waiting on the tax return before I pull the trigger though

AOG

FlatBlack,
Great work! Awesome to see low-buck builds like yours. I'm doing an old E34 BMW swap. Current problem is that I'd like to have rack and pinion steering.

Can you or somebody else with a 240SX measure from inner joint to inner joint for me? Even an estimate by feel through the boots would be nice to know at this point. My tie rod is 23-5/8" so I'm looking for something as close to this as possible. A VW golf rack swap has been done, but I like the 240 rack mounting method better.

Thanks!
Steve

FlatBlack

Looks like it's just shy of 45" with the tie rods on it

http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....=1209046&jsn=9

http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....1209046&jsn=10

SHould be pretty easy to find the length of a stock inner tie rod to figure out the rack length but if you can't let me know and I can crawl under there

http://zilvia.net/f/showpost.php?p=4...postcount=4583

AOG

Hey alright! Thanks man! I was looking up the rock auto links and started thinking, "the drift guys gotta have all this stuff spec'ed out. I found the zilvia board, came back to your post here and whamo! You had a good link.

Looks like that top inner tie rod is the stock one being compared to a modified one. Approximately 11". So, 45" - 11" - 11" = 23" OK, so that's putting me into BMW E34 territory.

I thought I was being brilliant by ordering a 370Z rack off of eBay. It showed up here and is seriously 5" too long from joint to joint. Holy smokes! So that started the serious research that I'm now in.

You're helping me save lots of time, money, and headache if I can use this rack.

Also, looks like between the 2 rack links you sent me for RockAuto, there are 2 ratios (lock to lock number)

Don't make a special trip for me, but next time you're under the car and you can think about it please get me a measurement between the inner joints. I'm going to keep researching to see if I can find a definitive number.

Thanks a lot!
Steve

FlatBlack

Been a little bit, I'm getting married at the end of this month so I can't start a big project like putting the new engine/trans in. I did think of something that will solve a couple of issues - I'm converting to the GM column-mounted EPS setup. A couple of local racers did this last winter and they all had positive things to say about it.

I wanted to show how easy this was to fab up. I grabbed a 2005 Saturn Vue EPS motor and lower column and a S13 column from my local junkyard. The bottom column is optional I guess, but I really liked the telescoping porting of the Saturn column. This is going to allow me to pull the headers without having to take out the ENTIRE steering column/wheel assembly like I do now (The Hooker headers go on either side of the lower steering column and I have to pull the entire column to remove them).

The other cool thing is that I won't have to buy a bracket and Camaro or Corvette power Steering pump. This also gives me alot more room on the drivers side for... activities. (Might do a turbo down the line)

Here's how I chopped up the racks to make the hybrid Nissaturn rack:

Cut the Nissan column right behind the upper mounting bracket
Cut the inner shaft about 10" down on the larger OD portion
Cut the lower Saturn column on the telescoping larger diameter portion
Cut the lower Nissan column on the larger diameter portion above the lower u-joint

I'm not 100% sure about leg space after it's all mocked up, but I'm pretty sure it should fit. I'm going to have to remove the driver's side vent routing and I'm not sure if its going to clear the brake and clutch position switches. Just waiting on the EPS controller to get here and I can dig into it.

Stock racks:



Hybrid rack mocked up:

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...301_162148.jpg

Under-dash space:



Rear bracket

ryeguy2006a

iTrader: (27)

Pretty innovative with the EPS. Keep up the good work. You will love the t56 when you get it all installed. It will work perfectly with your rear gears too.

91 240

iTrader: (6)

Interesting concept with the EPS conversion. i had the same ps leaking issues with the rack fittings. Fueled Racing has fittings that are machined to allow full thread engagement. i haven't had any issues since.

Hopefully i can get my turbo 6.0 s13 back on road soon and may run into somewhere, i'm in Austin too.

i like the way you're doing this swap. Budget friendly yet thought out

Azryael

I'll be curious to hear your opinion and experience with the EPS once you get it set up and drive it for a while.

One less accessory that can leak fluid and cause more problems sure seems like a winner to me.

FlatBlack

Awesome! Would love to check your S13 out sometime. There's another guy in town with a maroon S13 coupe - he's putting together an iron 5.7 swap (bored out 5.3).

FlatBlack

It's tight but it fits

The motor is close to the pedals but I didn't hit it at all when I was messing around with the pedals in the car. I had to pull the air conditioning vent tube but it gave me plenty of space in the dash for that big motor. The clutch/brake pedal switches are the main clearance items. I trimmed up the forward part of the Nissan column to give me another inch or two to move the motor up. I'm going to try and mount the EPS directly to the Nissan tilt cage by drilling holes for the 3 stock EPS mount bolts.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...302_183157.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...302_183228.jpg

****

Got the front shaft welded up and the tilt cage drilled out - there's way more room for the pedal area with it properly bolted in. The rear mounting tab on the driver's side is hitting the brake pedal switch sensors, I think I'm going to cut off that one tab - I can mount to the other ear and it should be fine. I don't know of another way to easily relocate the pedal switches.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...232344_141.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...308_225356.jpg

FlatBlack

It's installed! Feels great and I love the adjustment. I think the sweet spot is going to be near the lowest setting of assist, the truck pump I was using made the steering feel isolated and the heavier wheel feels much better.

There was no space for the brake pedal light switches, so I cut off the driver's side mounting tab. I welded up a 2mm plate to the Nissan dogbone that I cut off the spare column and attached it to the remaining 'ear' mount of the motor. It feels solidly mounted with it. The lower column collapses with plenty of room to take it off the motor which will make header removal so much easier.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...309_181126.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...309_214631.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...311_121139.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...311_121200.jpg

Also - my Fidanza was delivered today. Such a sexy part, too bad it's hidden.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...172733_260.jpg

2muchboostNY

iTrader: (8)

Man truly loving your build and innovation. Havent seen too many people tackle the PS in the S-Chassis in such a creative manner.

2muchboostNY

iTrader: (8)

BTW mind pm-ing me the information to the local places that you pick up the motors/trans etc? I am slowly starting to piece my next swap together and have little experience with the local parts locations in the Austin area.

FlatBlack

This place is near my house so I go here often, but the trucks get picked clean pretty quick.

https://goo.gl/maps/wZYi6YG3uk62

I go out to Wrench-A-Part east of 130 if I need something that isn't at LKQ. They also have more diverse cars. I found an S13 there last week and got the column which was cool.

https://goo.gl/maps/BA4GE3P3vqP2

I got my LM7 off craigslist fully dressed and pre-pulled for $500. The NV3500 and T56 were also CL specials. I usually cruise CL for deals in the evenings if I'm bored. I waited a long while to find a reasonably priced T56.

2muchboostNY

iTrader: (8)

Much appreciated bud...cheers! Been doing a lot of CL cruising myself these days.

FlatBlack

I'm borrowing a friend's welder so I'm doing some more side projects while I still have it.

Welded in tabs for a rear mount battery. Holy hell the battery is heavy, and it sits way in front of the FR wheel. The car is going to feel amazing after moving this and getting 120# off the nose with the aluminum engine swap.