[SkyhawkCaptain]

The biggest issue I have with my fronty is the lack of power, I know it will tow a building but its get up and go leaves a little to be desired. Hell, even my girls 01 Xterra has more grunt that mine.

Which leaves the question of trying to mod and upgrade the hell out of the VG33. Besides the air box and exhaust and all of the "minor" things you are looking at upgraded cams, boring out the cylinders, etc.... And what (if possible in the first place) kind of increases could you expect to see? Is it even worth it vs the amount of money you would have to spend on some of these things?

So I was thinking the other day, I like the look of the 1st gens but wish they had the power of the 2nd gen. Anyone tried to drop a Vq40 into a first gen body?

 

[dubie2003]

You should search for the vg34 motor idea thread. It is rumored to give good numbers for a pretty cheap price.

Now for the VQ40 in a 1st gen, it should be possible. I would suggest that you google a vq35 in a 1st gen and see what blogs/threads/forums come up. It has been done and we are just a bored out VQ so it shouldn't be too much of a difference.

Your main issue will be that you probably need to be a 6m afterwards since the auto may give you issues. You will also need a 2nd gen gauge cluster since your 1st gens won't work with the new motor. There are other issues that just keep adding up and up.

In the end, to shoe-horn a VQ40 into a 1st gen you need money, time and the knowledge to customize and weld. If you are missing any of them, your project will fail.

I'd suggest the vg34e idea since that is a direct bolt up application.

 

[AndysLog]

there are full stand alones popping up all over for the vq series. my dumbass tried swapping to soon but vq you wont have to deal with all the trouble codes ect it will just run without most issues.

meaning you can wire your cluster in, auto trans is very possible, and while not being a cheap swap its very doable.

 

[SkyhawkCaptain]

Makes me wish I was more mechanically inclined. I can't really afford a 2nd gen (really wanted a king cab nismo) but got this mint desert runner that I couldn't pass up (especially since my blazer was falling apart).

I figured a vq40 wouldn't be that easy (the manual tranny would be awesome though, thats what was in the blazer and I miss it).

Ill give the 34 a whirl through google. You said it was a direct bolt up application?

 

[Mandangalo]

there are full stand alones popping up all over for the vq series. my dumbass tried swapping to soon but vq you wont have to deal with all the trouble codes ect it will just run without most issues.

meaning you can wire your cluster in, auto trans is very possible, and while not being a cheap swap its very doable.

what stand alones are you talking about?

 

[AndysLog]

mega squirt offers one, and some air plane some odd something.

ill do some looking. brb.

edit, found. ill dig into all my bookmarks on the project.
i spoke with them a while ago and they said vq40 is no problem.
ground start

 

[Mandangalo]

sweet. options other than uprev is always nice

 

[AndysLog]

opp heres their site.
the guy i spoke with i cant remember his name is very nice and knowledgeable also. if your still curious about vq this might be a route to go.
fever racing

 

[AndysLog]

megasquirt is a little more difficult but hahahah here.
death squirt

 

[dubie2003]

Makes me wish I was more mechanically inclined. I can't really afford a 2nd gen (really wanted a king cab nismo) but got this mint desert runner that I couldn't pass up (especially since my blazer was falling apart).

I figured a vq40 wouldn't be that easy (the manual tranny would be awesome though, thats what was in the blazer and I miss it).

Ill give the 34 a whirl through google. You said it was a direct bolt up application?

the VG34 is based on a VG33 block bored 60 over with VH45 pistons (you only need 6 and not the full 8 since the vg is a v6 and the vh is a v8) and you use all OEM internals. Nothing external is changed so its a direct bolt on application. I do advise you have the heads ported/polished with the intake also. Heck, should do cams too. Check on here and google for some good info. I came up with a ton when I searched it the other night just for the heck of it.

 

[SkyhawkCaptain]

Thanks for all the replies. Ive always been stuck with bad luck like this in cars. Either the body I want but not the powerplant or vice versa. Im gonna check these sites out and Ill report back shortly.