Chevy V8 in a Nissan,,,,,,the start

Gday Bilbo,sorry to hear bout the Cruiser,would hate it to happen to ours.Dont let Toyota make you believe that it had to be serviced by a Toyota dealer while under warranty.I looked into it when we got ours and found out that as long as its done by and ABN buisiness,your ok.Got that straight from Toyota.
Good luck with the engine conversion.

Onya bilbo. we shall require a full and detailed write up of how it goes with the V8 in it mate. hope all goes well.

rick.

AND--- we want to know where the Gold is!!!!
eerfree

Hi Les,
Linquip fitted our 6.5 three years ago, we are extremely happy with the total package. A friend of ours with a 2.8 litre GU was going to do the same, but was told by the guys at Linquip that he would also have to change the gear-box. They said the 2.8 basically runs a skyline gear box.

If that is the case you would have to upgrade to the bigger later model GU gearbox.
As I said on the post the other day - if you are getting your motor built from scratch spend the extra money and get it balanced ( its only money after all)!!!
All the best with your project, we are very happy with ours.
Running 35 inch tyres on a 2.5 tonne Cruiser we still get between 22 to 25 miles per gallon, and the 3 inch exhaust note is music to your ears.
regards,
Johnno

Nice work mate. I have a Brunswick converted 6.5 in my 75 series and it's great fun. Good to hear you're a fighter and have taken the bull by the horns. You can't let low life scumbags ruin things, just move onwards and upwards (keep searching though). Kitting out a 4x4 is half the fun anyway.

You will have to ditch the GU 2.8's gearbox but it sounds like thats already factored in. It's a big dollar conversion on the Nissan's ($5K more?) but you'll end up with a bullet proof rig.

Currently weighing up the pro's and con's of whacking a Chev 6.5 into my 100 series petrol as well, but finding it hard to justify the expense. Thay do sound nice though - puts a smile on my face every time I drive it.

Good on yea Les go find some.Might see you out there.will be there some where.

Thanks Brian,

Keep a loookout for metallic red Nissan with no "V8" badges on it but disappears over the horizon real quick ;)

Bilbo (Les)

Hey Les,

My retirement dream is to do a Nissan/v8Chev. conversion.

Please give us all some running updates on your conversion exercise as it goes along. You know the sort of thing I,m sure.

Date it goes into the workshop.
Progress reports.
Unexpected hiicups/ extra costs.
Final results/performance.

Allow some of us to realise our dreams through your wallet.

Ian

The Patrol was tilt-trayed to my place today. We spent about 3 hours cleaning it up. It looked like it had been used a chook shed inside! But vacuummed out and a quick all wash made a huge difference. I'll detail it later. The wash off revealed a few small stone chips but nothing major. It also looks like a good repair job has been done on a small bingle the rear driver's side door. But only an expert (who me??) could tell. A few scratches on the vynil trims on the back, but nothng broken.

What is immediately apparent is that a GU ST is not as sumptuously fitted out as GXL 'Cruiser. In fact it looks a bit spartan and dated by comparison. Plus it seems slightly smaller inside as well. But no matter. I'm only 5 foot 5 inches and it's a prospecting truck. My GXL 'Cruiser wasn't. It was a show pony - a very nice to drive show pony, I might add. But the Patrol is a tougher vehicle.

I've spoken to Brunswick and they recommend a normally apsirated (NA) 6.5 litre V8. But it will be a turbo-spec motor. So, if I don't like the NA motor I can have a turbo fitted later at a cost of $4000.00 approx.

Greg at Brunswick says the turbo Chevy is great when not towing, but pulling a van in hot weather up North, you have to keep an eye on the temp guage. This is an issue even with the biggest radiator they can fit. Normally aspirated motors are not a problem in this respect. Turbo motors have a higher combustion temps than NA motors. I'll go NA fer now.

It will be fitted with a GQ gearbox, like my old Maverick used to have. Unbreakable and a sweet gearchange compared to my GXL manual 'Criuser - which was a PIA, it's weak point I reckon. And a 12 inch H/D vacuum power assisted clutch

From a choice of diff ratios of 3.7 (high), 3.9, 4.1 4.3 (low) we've settled on a 3.9 ratio. That'll slow it down a bit from a standing start but will give me better fuel economy. I always found 1st gear on the standard GQ box a bit low anyway. Plus at almost 60 years of age, I'm no longer into draggin' cars away from traffic lights!

Heavier duty springs will be fitted all round with new shockies. The standard front springs on 2.8 engined Patrol are too soft for the weight of a V8 Chevy. The Patrol has done 270,000 kms so they're all prolly knackered anyway. The rear springs will be beefed up to accomodate towing my caravan.

Total cost for this lot? Ballpark figure is $25,000. This is $2,500.00 more than standard fitting as the 2.8 engine in the Patrol has a blown big-end and Greg just scraps these. No credit for the engine.

The 1999 GU ST Patrol itself cost me $12,000.00. So thus far I'm up to $37,000.00. Plus odds and sods like tilt-tray costs and stamp duty

At the same time, I'll have the "already in car" Nissan Cruise Control (yes you can do it on a Chevy V8) patched in to the Chevy and Tekonsha electric caravan braking fitted. I'll prolly fit an voltmeter and oil pressure gauge as, unlike the GXL, Patrols only have lights and no guages.

When it gets back to my place from Brunswick, I'll be fitting a second battery for me fridge, roof bars with solar panels. I'm not paying for another set of Outback Roller Drawer Systems that were in the GXL 'Cruiser, so I'll build my own set up just to get me out bush this season. I'll think about this when I get back with a bit of gold.

That's today weather report, more news in our late bulletin at 9.30 tonight,

Good night from me,

Bilbo