vq40de first gen frontier swap

[nd240sx3]

well im goin to start off by saying i know this isnt an s-chassis or z but its basically a s-chassis in truck form since for now it contains the drive line similar to the 240sx.. also i will be crossing over some vq35de and vq35hr parts to the vq40.. let me also state that this isnt goin to be a quick build... my fronty is my only vehicle and i still have to tear down the vq40 and do a minor rebuild before i pull the ka24de out to start the swap...
i will document the vq40 build here... once the build is complete and i find a cheap beater i will begin the swap... let me just say that the vq40 is a very difficult to find performance parts for... ive been researching and researching interchangeability of parts from the vq35de, vq35hr and vq40... so much misinformation on the web its ridiculous.. there is no aftermarket performance piston or rod company that make pistons or rods yet, exception of a custom set made by cp that's way outta my price range so i will be keeping the stock rods and pistons and just re ringing the 135k vq40.. i will be using vq35hr stock head studs, since they hold more pressure then arp studs for vq35de..(reg arp not l19) i will also be using vq35hr head gaskets..once the heads are off i will be able to figure out if i need to have the block coolant ports grinded down for the hr head gaskets, i will be using king rod and main bearings once they are released sometime this month.. some background on the truck.. i got bored with the s-chassis. my last build was great but i wanted something different so i sold it. http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=397304
i finally found the right chassis for me the first gen frontier.. since ive had it the head gasket went at 260k.. so i figured why not do some s-chassis cross over by using a s14 head and 232/248 dual exhaust cam swap..http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=584174..
this has been great until i got a phone call from a friend who works at nissan, offering up a FREE complete vq40de with harness and ecu from a 2011 frontier.. so i picked it up.. only issue at the time was the water pump failed dramatically mixing water and oil... not a prob except later after ripping it down i found the original owner failed to change the oil periodically..leaving me with a sludgy mess to clean up...
here are a couple pics i took of the vq40 when i picked it up and the start of the tear down..









i disassembled the vq40de today... its worse then i expected but not as bad as it could of been.. the engine was pulled do to a faulty water pump at 135k miles... it was making a horrible sound.. so now for some pics and a video of the broken water pump









bad water pump


















the block was taken to the machine shop for a little machine work... im goin to use vq35hr head gaskets and head studs so the block needs to be machined for better water flow as instructed by jim wolfs site.

here are some examples.. i will show the final product when i get it back


before


after

[nd240sx3]

Well I got everything back from the machine shop. king rod and main bearings are in... everything looks so much better...Now just need to find the time to reassemble it..

Crank polished


Block honed and coolant passages modified for vq35hr headgaskets


Modified coolant passage


Other side


Very clean block... numerous hours spent cleaning oil ports that were clogged from lack of oil changes [URL=http://s1380.photobucket.com/user/katillidie1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20150224_215806_zpsgm3ybw2y.jpg.html][/URL
]


Sub oil pan 98% clean with new oil relief valve ( no pic sorry) installed since original was blown out

[rellik27]

Looks interesting keep up the good work and updates

[Scott@FontanaNissan]

Looking good! in for results!