GRM LS-Swaps a 350Z in 3 Days

Yep, you read that right. We're sitting in a hotel right now in beautiful Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey: The home of LOJ Conversions. Last night we drove a running, driving 350Z into the shop, then unloaded our home-built LS1 and a Tremec Magnum from American Powertrain

Details on what we've accomplished so far can be found at the car's Project Car Page. Our plan from here? Simple: Build a running, driving LS1-powered Nissan 350Z in just a few days. We booked the hotel room through the end of the week, but I'm so optimistic that I'm planning to cancel it after Wednesday night.

 We'll be posting updates as we work, as well as posting in this thread.

Think we can do it? 

More importantly, what does everybody want to know about the swap?

Interested to see how this goes. The 350z doesn't seem to have a ton of room in the engine bay with the VQ35 in there so I suspect things are going to be tight. It's a good thing the LS is smaller.

What are you planning to use as a transmission?

We’re using a Tremec Magnum from American Powertrain. 

Work has begun! We’re disassembling the car and adding LOJ pieces to the engine. 

About ready to bolt the trans to the engine. 

It’s as if the Corvette never existed

And we are weighing everything. 

I seem to recall a similar plan with the Factory Five 818. Git-R-Done and drive home in a couple of week-ends or weeks?

Pete

New drivetrain ready to go in. 

I don't see a weight for the engine and bellhousing. That's the important info from my perspective. When we asked you guys to weigh stuff posting the results was implicit in the request. 

smokindav said:

It’s as if the Corvette never existed

You know that a car consists of more than just the engine that's in it, right? An Exige uses a Corolla engine, so why bother with the hassles of the Lotus?

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Sure, and certainly the Miata with the Gen III/IV offers something that the Corvette does not.

But what does the 350Z offer that the Corvette does not? I ask not to challenge, but because I really don't know. 

Also in for component weights.

Had to go check: Both the wheelbase and the weights are pretty much the same for the 350z and the Vette. So, I am kinda in the same boat as Tuna. A faster 350Z for sure, but not faster than the Vette.

In the world of product innovation, we would call this kind of project "A monument to the engineers". Not necessarily a bad thing.

Pete

Maybe we'll find out!

- it's not a Corvette
- it's made out of steel
- it's not Made In America, other than the engine
- no leaf spring content
- it's not a Corvette

I've never actually been inside a 350Z, but I get the impression they're smaller than Corvettes. The seating position may suit some people better. I just don't know the cars that well, other than the fact that they sound like Chewbacca if you put an intake on them.

Instead of an alternative to a Corvette, maybe we look at it as an alternative to a 350Z with engine mods. It's amusing to me that "oh no, not another LS swap! Do something more interesting!" is the main complaint on the GRM FB page to this project, when simply going with a Corvette is the least interesting option of all by that metric.

tuna55 said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

But what does the 350Z offer that the Corvette does not? I ask not to challenge, but because I really don't know. 

 

Dated looks, somehow a crappier interior, less cargo room, comparably poor parts availability, and worse sight lines.  

I guess it does have a fixed roof fastback design, which the C5 never offered, and the C6 only offered in the Z06 which is quite a few more pesos.  So you have that going for you.  

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Don't misunderstand. I have never and will never criticize someone for doing a gen III/IV swap, it's going to make that 350Z way better, and I;d love to learn a bit on the way.

I just don't know why.

Plus, from an engineer, the Corvette's use of leaf springs is genius.

Good enough that Mercedes uses it on the Sprinter van! There are two vehicles I'll suspect you didn't think would share suspension designs.

A friend of mine has an LS3-powered 944. It never occurred to me to ask him why not just get a Corvette. It's its own car.

In reply to tuna55 :

The why is because of all those shops and companies listed in the first post. I guess we all get that which is what leaves the taste behind

DeadSkunk said:

I don't see a weight for the engine and bellhousing. That's the important info from my perspective. When we asked you guys to weigh stuff posting the results was implicit in the request. 

New engine with bell housing is right around 400

I think 350Zs are more popular than Vettes in the drifting world (don’t know if it’s for a logical reason or not), and LS motors are very popular in drifting nowadays, so that’s one use case.  Also, while C5 prices are coming down, I wouldn’t be surprised if you can have a nice LS powered 350Z for less or a similar price, if you do the work yourself.  If paying a shop, no.

Im interested in this.  I like the looks of the Z car better than a C5 (but not a C6), so this is the kind of car I’d daydream about, even if I’m unlikely to build one.

Ed Higginbotham said:

DeadSkunk said:

I don't see a weight for the engine and bellhousing. That's the important info from my perspective. When we asked you guys to weigh stuff posting the results was implicit in the request. 

New engine with bell housing is right around 400

Flywheel? Clutch? Accessories? Oil?

I've got 485 for an LS3 with all of the above.

Keith Tanner said:

Ed Higginbotham said:

DeadSkunk said:

I don't see a weight for the engine and bellhousing. That's the important info from my perspective. When we asked you guys to weigh stuff posting the results was implicit in the request. 

New engine with bell housing is right around 400

Flywheel? Clutch? Accessories? Oil?

I've got 485 for an LS3 with all of the above.

That’s with the flywheel, clutch, no accessories and no oil. 

So either the LS3 is heavier than the LS1 or the accessories and oil weighs 85 lbs My shipping notes say that the CTS-V accessory package we use runs 52.3 lbs shipping weight including the AC compressor.

But my big question...

Is GRM going to test the LS350Z with the stock brakes?  The "we can accelerate much faster, but can't slow down worth a damn" should be epic.  

Just don't get hurt during the test.

Nissan engine is out. 

Keith Tanner said:

So either the LS3 is heavier than the LS1 or the accessories and oil weighs 85 lbs My shipping notes say that the CTS-V accessory package we use runs 52.3 lbs shipping weight including the AC compressor.

Yeah, that is a big difference. The LS3 and LS1 are virtually identical in terms of weight. I suppose accessories and brackets may make up some of that. How were those weights obtained?

What about the outgoing powerplant?

How did each of you weigh those?