Nissan V8 Ute

doddzee · Post by **doddzee** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 7:13 pm

This is my new project after i decided to give modding my pajero a miss i went and bought myself a nissan as i was already familier with safaris as me and my dad had already built up one V8 Swb Safari.

Its an 88 4.2 desiel which came with a bit of panel damage, a pto and a set of 33inch saveros. Which i picked up for $3500

http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/images/ ... age011.jpg

The day after i got it i choped the back off and started the cab-chassis coversion. Here a few pics of my progress so far:

http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/images/ ... GP1312.jpg
http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/images/ ... age000.jpg
http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/images/ ... GP1563.jpg
http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/images/ ... GP1560.jpg

I already have a set of 35x13.5x15 maxxis mudzillas on beadlocks and a factory diff lock rear diff for it which i am swapping over at the moment.

Things to do:
- Custom front and rear bars including roll bar
- 350 Chev or similar
- 5 inch lift (already have the rear springs)
- Stainless snorkel

No doubt there will be alto more to do along the way

tomsoffroad · Post by **tomsoffroad** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 10:36 pm

Cool. You've probably chopped off 2 or 3 ton :!:

Gonna be legal or is it a toy?

De-Ranged · Post by **De-Ranged** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 3:03 am

Good start
If you'r putting a cage in the cab I'd have thought you'd do that befor finishing the back of the cab :wink:

alot easyer to weld it outside the cab

More pics, we like projects round here

Cheers Reece

eatenfuller · Post by **eatenfuller** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 5:27 am

cool truck mate good to see people goin the full 9 yards and no pissin around

why dont you look at a nissan alloy v8 they run rings around lexus and sml block chevs and has anybody pulled one down ?the amount of mad engineering and factory race enhancements is amazing :lol:

doddzee · Post by **doddzee** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 7:10 am

I will be legal (well hope so).

I wasnt planing on doine an internal cage at the moment i was just going to do a external roll bar behined the cab as there isnt much room in the front of these things anyway. If i do anymore roll protection ill probly go exo.

Ive done a bit of reasarch onto what V8 to put in and from what i have found the nissan v8 dont seem to produce enough torque. Going chev there are also adaptor kits availble from aussie so the hole job will become that bit easier. There are 5 safaris/patrols in out club that have got chevs in them so from what i have seen its the way to go.

Couple of other thigs i will be doing is a body lift and spacing foward the front raidus arms so the tyres miss the guards.

SupraLux · Post by **SupraLux** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:45 am

A body lift? :lol:

whats left to lift???

Thats a fine looking weapon... good to see you're not afraid to cut things off... I like that kind of engineering

Are you gonna use the 4-tonne boat-anchor Nissan gearbox and TC? now you've considerably cut down on weight would something like the old indestructable 720 TC (they are separate from the gearbox - fun a short driveshaft between) on the back of something like a Supra 5-speed be a better option for weight?

Just a thought.

Steve

doddzee · Post by **doddzee** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 9:01 am

Yip ill be using the manual nissan box. They are heavy but are strong and i want to use the pto. i have a spare from a partol i wrecked a few months ago as well.

If i find a V8 with gearbox attached i might look into using that and adapting a transfer case onto it. This has been done on one of the V8 patrols in my club and works well.

Anyone got any ideas on what i can do with the bulldozer blade (pto) on the front to improve mt approach angle i was thinking of setting it back a bit and lifting a bit when the body lift is done but i think i may run into some problems with the drive shaft.

lilpigzuk · Post by **lilpigzuk** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 10:30 am

Where abouts are you?
Theres a cut down patrol doing the trials circuit with the nissan V8 in it, From what I have seen it does seem to haul arse :wink:

doddzee · Post by **doddzee** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:00 am

Im in wellington

I have seen that trials nissan go and it does haul ass!

It just seems to be alot of work to fit one of those rather than a chev.

I bit of info on what is required:

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modul ... hp?t=60728

4WDbits · Post by **4WDbits** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:01 am

Which Nissan V8s are being suggested, (says he with tiring petrol 6 Patrol). I understand the VH45DE is a wide V and hard to fit in and the VH41DE is light on cubes. Does anyone know how the newer VK45DE or VK45DD will fit? I always thought chevs where a good option, many adapters and cheapish parts.

eatenfuller · Post by **eatenfuller** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 12:14 pm

believe it or not boys cubes isnt everything...................i run a v series 4ltre in my lux ,ive built this from scratch ground up you name it ive done it :!:

,i can rev this this to 9k yes i said 9k all day every day :!:

i was running total lube and decided to pull it down last year just to see any defects from the reving i give it :wink:

and theres not a single defect on the bearings no burrs or harse scores

also size wise they measure close to 1uz diamensions :wink:

and i dont see chev running a gurdled bottom FACTORY :wink:

DieselBoy · Post by **DieselBoy** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 12:55 pm

NJV6 · Post by **NJV6** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 4:42 pm

doddzee wrote:Anyone got any ideas on what i can do with the bulldozer blade (pto) on the front to improve mt approach angle i was thinking of setting it back a bit and lifting a bit when the body lift is done but i think i may run into some problems with the drive shaft.

There's a guy on here (Tommo) who is in our club who has altered his PTO winch and set it back a fair way. It can be done with a body lift without problems then the driveshaft cut and shortened or i think thats what he did, as it wasn't striaght for a start and ground out a U joint.

doddzee · Post by **doddzee** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 7:30 pm

I think mounting the pto as far back and as high as i can is wha i will have to do. I have a look at what it would take to mount it behind the cab and there was not enough room and it would sit below the chassis rails.

doddzee · Post by **doddzee** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 2:53 pm

I have been a little slack over the past couple of weeks but i hve got a bit done the cab is almost complete just a bit of bogging and then paint and its finished. The interior is back in except fot the steering wheel and gauges.

The diff lock rear end is in and so are the rear springs which make it sit farily high it will some down once the bar work is complete.

I have also done the 40mm body lift and stripped the pto finding it needs a couple of new bearings and seals. I am now thinking about rear mounting the radiator and setting the winch right back improve approach angles.

Heres a couple of pics:

http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/images/ ... GP1577.jpg
http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/images/ ... GP1579.jpg
http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/images/ ... GP1655.jpg
http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/images/ ... GP1653.jpg

DieselBoy · Post by **DieselBoy** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 3:23 pm

SupraLux · Post by **SupraLux** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:25 pm

The metalwork is looking very impressive. Just a thought, but it might be worth letting the cert guy have a look at your roof-work before you start bogging and painting it as he might not like it all hidden away when he gets to check it... they're funny about roofs being as that they form a major part of the structural strength of the vehicle.

Keep up the good work, most impressive... for a Nissan

Steve

doddzee · Post by **doddzee** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 7:16 am

Yeah that probly would have been a good idea. Wish i had of thought of that before i bogged it last night :!:

doddzee · Post by **doddzee** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:55 pm

Thought it was about time i updated this.

I have made i little progress over the last couple of months and decided to do a few more things to it.

The body is pretty much done after 3 weeks of rust work but i do need a new drivers door as that was pretty stuffed. Paint still to come.
I have now extended the wheelbase 10" to 104.5" to give it better weight distribution and stability when going up and down hills. I will be putting an a-frame in wile i am at it.
I have also sold the diesel motor and have bought a 1998 Holden Vt 5.0, the 5.7 was a bit out of my price range and this one only cost me a couple of hundred more than what i got for the TD42.
My bullbar has been built it has moved the pto back 80mm and up 75mm fron where it originally sat and has given me a fairly good aproach angle which will get better when i put the lifted springs in the front. Its a bit ulgy but will be strong enough for all the trees i will be knocking into.
I have also bought sone EFS 4" rear springs from 4wdbits which look like they will do the job. I am waiting for my roll bar hoop to be bent up as my shitty chinies bender wouldnt do it, then i can start on the tube tray.
I am also looking at selling the mudzillas i have for it and buying a set of 37" Irocks.

Here is a few pics

A-frame pivoit i got made up.

New springs, trailing arms and shorteded lwb driveshaft

New diff location

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 8:05 pm

Who made up the trailing arms?

Dave

krawlr · Post by **krawlr** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 5:30 am

im pretty sure brian howat made those dave.............he is a well known 4wd nut in nz.........he owns that red rangie ute that was on the front page.

but dooddze might want to confirm this....

krawlr · Post by **krawlr** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 5:34 am

looking goog doodz ,i think youre doin the right thing by extending youre wheel base shell work wonders...

and whats the 304 holden out of vr/vs she should pull the numbers no probs,you cant beat the sound of any v8 in the bush screaming ,just wonderful

turoa · Post by **turoa** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 6:00 am

krawlr, its from a VT

doddzee · Post by **doddzee** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 6:59 am

Yip Brian Howat made the trailing arms, shortened the driveshaft and made the piviot.

The motor is a 308 out of a VT, will be running a link plus and 3" exhaust so it should have enough power, i have talked to some people in aussie that have done the same conversion and they said its awsome. :twisted:

SupraLux · Post by **SupraLux** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 8:23 am

It certainly looks awesome... wish I could justify fitting something like that in the MU... but I suspect it would just get me in big trouble

Keep up the good work... and the photos

Its gonna be a weapon

Steve

krawlr · Post by **krawlr** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:47 am

who told you it was a 308?

doddzee · Post by **doddzee** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 12:39 pm

308 is how it was it said in the add when i bought it, numbers stuck in my head.

Ill just call it a 5.0L or 4987cc :wink:

wish I could justify fitting something like that in the MU... but I suspect it would just get me in big trouble

No need to justify it steve, just do it all the Mu needs now is the rumble of a V8

monaro427 · Post by **monaro427** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 12:45 pm

the motor being a 5 litre shaould be a 304 which i had in my manual commodore,

krawlr · Post by **krawlr** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 3:00 pm

yes they are 304 ,the were DE-STROKED in 89 :wink:

period.

youle be happy with that thou............

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 5:33 pm

That winch/bullbar setup looks good, did you do this yourself? Need to get rid of the grader blade on the front of mine :roll: