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I am about to start putting stuff together, so I figured I need a build thread. I've got a S13 240SX, well the original SOHC motor was still plugging along, but half of the exhaust manifold bolts were sheared off flat at the cylinder head, and it was getting really buzzy and loud it got where I couldn't drive it. I knew if I ever pulled this motor it wouldn't go back in, and I'd have to pull it to drill those out, so here we are.
My goals for this car are really just to be a fun beater car, faster than it used to be and at least as reliable as it already was, without spending too much money on it. I don't care about maximum power, a V8 with double the displacement is gonna be awesome no matter what.
Trying to be cheap, so I've got most of my parts off Craigslist second-hand, rebuilt T56 with a scatter shield, mystery LM7. Motor doesn't have EGR, it's drive by cable, I think it's from an 02? I'd like to stick with OEM exhaust manifolds, but I don't think any fit. The long tube headers are all ridiculously expensive. The truck intake and alternator don't fit under the hood, but it's too expensive to switch, I guess I will just go hoodless for now, unless someone just upgraded from their LS1 intake manifold and wants to let it go cheap
Pics or it didn't happen:
This post comes immediately after the first, but is what I've done since I got the motor. I was so careful getting all the exhaust manifold bolts out, and I lost the last one. Then to make things worse I broke the drill bit off in the head trying to drill it out for a helicoil. Pulled the head, took it to the machine shop, they finished the job for me. Not happy about having to do the head gasket, this wasn't supposed to have to come apart at all! While I was here, I did the intake manifold gaskets, valley cover gaskets, knock sensor gaskets, rear knock sensor, & knock sensor harness, and RTVed them in there. I also broke the oil pressure sensor off while I was working back there, it's the tall kind with a single pin. I bought a new one from Advance, but the threads that go into the motor are too long and they bottom out before the crush gasket touches. What part # do I need? I read here that the PCM doesn't even read the oil pressure...that can't be right?!
Pic 1, all torn down
Pic 2, all buttoned up
Check out SilviaV8 there are some nice write-ups there that people have done for their S13's. As far as intake, an LS1 is much cheaper than LS6 and will fit under your hood. Works well just not as well as the LS6 but you are going budget and not max power. Dont quote me on this but allegedly the LS2 Corvette Manifolds work well but you will need to massage the setup to get around the steering shaft.
Thanks, I know the LS1 makes less power, I don't mind that, but gosh they are still $400+ on ebay with fuel injectors and rail, and I can't re-use my truck rail or injectors right? I can spend less than that getting the hood modified to fit it and repainted.
Yeah all the info I've found on C5 manifolds is the same, it should work or may need some fabrication... Hooker lists the 8501HKR manifolds in the 240SX LS swap, they may work too... but I called them and they couldn't promise it. Guess it all comes down to how much I wanna spend.
What's going on! I'm currently installing an L33 in my S13 but I've had a LM7 in there for the past year and a half. The C5 manifolds don't work, they come down right at the engine mounts.
Got some pictures of the C5 manifolds here in this post https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...l#post19061903
Stupid Photobucket killed all my links - just click on the broken picture icon and it'll open up in a new tab
Thanks. So do those block huggers fit? That's what I was leaning toward, but when Hooker couldn't verify they work, I figured I'd go with Sikky ones. I am supposed to meet a guy and buy some today...
Thanks. So do those block huggers fit? That's what I was leaning toward, but when Hooker couldn't verify they work, I figured I'd go with Sikky ones. I am supposed to meet a guy and buy some today...
Not 100% sure but I can't imagine they wouldn't.
If I remember tonight I'll try and measure how far away the steering column sits from the block/heads.
When I first starting getting everything together I was imagining just welding my own up. Buy a welder and materials cheaper than buying a bolt in kit.
Now that all the parts are here and reality has kicked in, I'm gonna be using the Sikky kit. I actually ordered the cheapo ISR kit, but it was backordered 8 weeks.
Get another 240! I've been driving 240's for years, started driving them before "Tokyo Drift" came out, when you could get one running with no major issues, unmolested, for $1000 or less. Lightweight, rear drive, great handling, reliable, and parts are cheap.
Here's an update, I've got the motor put together and ready to go in the car. Replaced the rear main seal and barbell, got the sikky oil pan and mounts on, and got everything put together and ready to go in. I used the rear cover alignment tool from SacCityCorvette, great tool and made the job easy.
Rear main seal alignment tool from SacCityCorvette
I also posted this in the newb forum, but I got these clutch lines second hand and don't know what to do with them. They don't really look like fluid would flow through them? Anyone know what to do?
Well I got everything put together and couldn't get the motor in the car, it was 90% in and the bumper was hitting the engine hoist and the bellhousing wasn't clearing the steering rack. I may be able to pick the engine up a little further forward so it tilts over more, it seems like that is how most people are getting them in. I may also have to remove the bumper for better clearance, though most people haven't mentioned having to do that.
Its a tight fit bud and it takes some finagling to drop the motor in. Also remember to hammer out the trans tunnel quite a bit. The fit is super tight in the trans tunnel. I would also suggest adding some corrosion protection where you hammer and if its a street driven car, add some heat barrier in the tunnel between the trans and chassis. On my S14 LS1 the heat transfer through the trans tunnel was pretty bad in comparison to the fire wall where I had installed some thermal barrier.
Spent three more hours dropping it in, having it hit, pulling it out, and hammering more... still can't get it in! The engine bay has a ton of room but this dang transmission rubs somewhere every time. The mounts are like .25" from sliding into their slots... I had to unbolt the power steering hard lines too because the QT bellhousing kept hitting them. It goes all the way in until that last inch or so and then it starts to rub, I've hammered way more than the .5-1" the Sikky instructions say!
Take a look at the Hooker instructions, too - like 2muchboost said, it's a tight fit. The T56 was way tighter than the NV3500 on my car. Also - I was having a hell of a time mounting the L33 myself, then I remembered to put a jack on the end of the transmission - that really helped it slide in.
Do you have the bumper and crash bar off the car? There would be 0% chance to install the engine in my car without removing those.
The power steering lines are a huge pain in the *** - another reason why I went with the EPS.
Last edited by FlatBlack; Aug 1, 2017 at 01:51 PM.
It's in! Still touching in one spot, gotta figure out how to make some clearance without pulling it out again. Yes I took the bumper and crash bar off, and jacked the trans up. I'd like to go EPS too but gotta save up for it. The only way I could get it on was to unbolt the mounts, loosely bolt them in the crossmember, then slide the engine into place and bolt the mounts back to the engine. Also those hooker manifolds do not fit the driver side, it comes down right on the steering shaft. Fits fine on passenger side. Both fit really well pointing the other way... No turbos here though... I wonder if the c6 manifold would fit? It needs to come down around the third cylinder.
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LM7 240SX Build 
