450ZX - 1988 300zx w/ VH45DE Engine

1988 Nissan 300ZX Description

Hi. This is my 1988 300ZX (z31) with a VH45DE engine swap. It's an awesome car but it's time for me to move on to a different hobby (powered paragliding) and let someone else take it to the next level.
VH45DE V8 Engine Swap
Dry Sump Oil System
Stance Coilover Kit
Infiniti J30 Multilink Rear Suspension including viscous limited slip diff
MR2 Electric Power Steering Pump
Aluminum Corvette Front Calipers and CTS Rotors
Rear Mount Miata Battery
3" Mandrel Bent Exhaust with straight-through mufflers
ACT 6 Puck Sprung Hub Clutch
Maxima Electric Fans
Engine
The engine is a 94-96 I nfiniti Q45 4.5 liter V8 with a custom dry sump oil system. The VH45 is a dohc aluminum block v8 officially rated at 278hp and 294ftlb of torque. Most agree it puts out closer to 300hp. Last time she was on the dyno she did something like ~280hp to the wheels but I lost the chart so I can't currently prove it. The long block has been completely disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled with a turned crank and new Clevite 77 bearings. As you can see from the photos the engine is very clean inside and out. The valve covers, intake runners, intake, throttle body, and many other parts have been powder coated. The block, heads, and intake manifold are stock. Modifications were made to the stock exhaust manifolds to fit between the frame rails and custom brackets have been made to relocate the accessories and provide room for the dry sump pump.
The engine is controlled by a stock Q45 ecu which has been socketed and chipped. The stock VH engine harness was cleaned up and reworked to plug into the z31 body harness. The Nissan Consult plug is installed so Nistune software or any other Consult compatible diagnostic software with an adapter can be used to monitor the ecu, run tests, and reset codes.
The injectors are fresh remans and the fuel pump is a Walbro 255LPH unit.
The engine starts right up and runs great but I should mention that she does surge a bit at idle while she relearns the idle settings after the battery has been disconnected.
Check out this short video to get an idea of what the engine sounds like. The whining sound is the dry sump pump but it's only audible because of where the camera is located. YouTube Video
Dry Sump Oil System
I originally decided to go with the dry sump oil system for two reasons. First, I wanted the motor to sit low enough in the car that I could use the stock hood without any visible modification. Second, I had plans to use the car for track days and auto-x so I wanted an oil system that would handle the turns. The Moroso dry-sump pump sucks the oil out of the sump and into the holding tank where it's then fed back into the stock VH45 oil pump. There's a custom vacuum relief valve under the intake to limit crankcase vacuum and a tank breather hidden under the passenger side fender to catch oil/water vapor. The system holds about 10 qts of 5w-30 oil.
Transmission
The transmission is a 1988 300zx Turbo 5-speed with a custom aluminum adapter welded to the bell housing. Inside the bell housing you'll find a z32 RPS 250mm segmented aluminum flywheel and a 6 puck ACT sprung hub clutch. The stock VH45 engages the stock flywheel ring gear from the front so it occasionally takes a few turns of the key to get it to engage, but it always does.
Suspension
The front suspension consists of the stock spindles with the Stance Super Sport coilovers using the weld on mounts. The upper mounts are pillow balls with camber adjustment. The control arm bushings and tension rod bushings are urethane.
The rear suspension has a multi-link rear suspension from an Infiniti J30 and with Stance Super Sport coilovers and the stock viscous lsd. Custom mounting brackets were welded to the frame in the rear and the front of the subframe was modified to bolt to the stock z31 subframe bolts at the front. The parking brake works. The upper control arms have been replaced with Megan Racing aftermarket units and some of the bushings have been updated to urethane. Custom aluminum strut mounts attach the top of the rear coilovers to the stock shock mount location to give a few extra inches of height needed for the J30 rear end. The J30 suspension is the same design as the s13 and z32 so it should be better for drifting and racing.
The Stance Super Sport coilover kit consists of 9k front springs, 7k rear springs, and 15 way adjustable shocks. The kit alone costs around $1000.
Power Steering
Due to the limited space in the engine bay I chose to go with an MR2 electric steering pump. The pump itself is hidden behind the driver's side fender and a custom fluid reservoir sits where the stock windshield washer reservoir would normally go. The pump is controlled by the stock MR2 pump controller and uses the stock speed sensor and an M 2 steering sensor to modulate speed. The pump slows down at higher speeds for better highway feel but a switch allows it run full out for autocross events. Overall it works quite well but it can stall out on occasion if you're doing extremely tight turns at slow speeds.
Brakes
The front brakes use Corvette dual piston aluminum calipers to allow for larger rotors and better/cheaper brake pad options. A solid aluminum bracket adapts the calipers to the stock spindle mounts. The rotors are from a Cadillac CTS and they're held on center by aluminum wheel adapters.
The rear brakes are the stock J30 rotors and calipers.
Battery
The battery has been moved to the rear left fender near the tool kit. It's a Miata AGM battery mounted to an aluminum frame and includes a battery cutoff switch for safety and theft deterrence. It was last replaced September 2015 so it should be good for another 5 years.
Exhaust
The exhaust starts with the modified stock headers flowing into dual 2.25" pipes that Y into a 3" straight through Ultra Flo muffler about where the stock cat would be. From there it's 3" pipe all the way back to another Ultra Flo muffler in the stock muffler location. Everything uses aluminized mandrel bends. The two straight-through mufflers allow for a nice tone at idle, not too much noise at WOT, and great performance. You could easily replace one of the mufflers with a pipe if you prefer a bit more rumble.
Other Stuff
Maxima Fans and 300ZX Turbo dual core radiator keep the engine cool without a problem. The engine bay wiring was tucked and moved into the fender frames to clean things up and make room for the possible future installation of turbos. The wheels are 17x9 Mustang Cobra replicas with Dunlop Direzza 255/40R17 Z1 tires. At least the rear tires will need to be replaced before you drive it around much.
Extras
I have a ton of extra Z31 and VH45 parts that I've stockpiled over the years. The Z31 parts consist mostly of interior/exterior trim pieces, ac/heater parts, and smaller parts that it can never hurt to keep for spares. I also have a slightly damaged SS front lip, side skirts (not sure what year), and a fiberglass stock rear wing. As far as VH45 parts I have a about two long blocks worth of parts and all sorts of accessories (alternators, starters, injectors, an extra maf, etc). The parts can be part of the deal if you're interested.
Paint/Body
The body itself is very good shape for its age. There are a small few dents and dings but nothing that wouldn't get fixed with a small amount of body filler during a repaint. The only accident that I'm aware of is a girl backing into the front left fender/wheel in a parking lot 10+ years ago. Other than the left front fender, the body panels are original and the frame is straight and undamaged. The frame rails themselves are a little dented in the usual spots where the car gets jacked up but they look better than the rails on most other Zs I've seen. The paint is pretty decent for being almost 30 years old but it's about time for a paint job. The only rust I know of is on the rear hatch near the bottom of the glass which seems to be quite common. I had originally planned to paint the entire car a 350z shade of gunmetal grey so I painted the engine bay before finishing the engine install. The engine bay paint is quite nice but there are some areas that could use some touch up.
Interior
Like the exterior, I think it's in pretty decent shape for its age and the mileage. It would probably benefit from a detailing by someone who knows what they're doing. As far as known issues; the foam backing on the seats is flaking off, the rear carpet has been replaced with outdoor carpet, and the center console is starting to flake. The stock t-top shades are still intact and I even have the stock t-top bags. The ac vents and the controls still work although the heater valve isn't hooked up and the ac compressor isn't installed, so they don't do much. The radio is Pioneer CD unit with a USB input and a remote. The stock tool kit is still intact and the stock spare and canned air tank are still present.
Considerations
In the interest of being up front there are a few things any potential buyer should consider. The heater valve needs to be hooked up and there's no ac. The stock alarm has been unplugged but should still work. The stock headlight motors will lift the headlights but not lower them (probably wiring). There is no catalytic converter so the car should officially be for "Off-Road use only" unless you add one back on. The stock center gauges have been pulled out but I have a mechanical oil pressure gauge and an electric vacuum gauge(not hooked up) in a custom gauge pod where the ash tray would normally go. As expected, the ride with the coilovers is a bit stiff. I wouldn't want to drive it to work everyday but I'm sure there are plenty of people who wouldn't mind.
It's a fun car but my priorities have changed and it no longer makes sense to keep it. I hate seeing it sit in my garage collecting dust and I'd love for someone with a passion for Zs to pick up where I left off. A good paint job and some interior work and you have yourself one hell of a fun ride.
Warranty: Just in case it isn't obvious, there is no warranty.
Shipping: Shipping is on you. If you're not too far from Florida I could potentially trailer it to you for a reasonable fee.
If you have questions that aren't answered here, please contact me before bidding. There aren't too many 450zx Z31s on the internet so it shouldn't be hard to find me.
Thanks for looking!