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The Project

6.5ltr Chevy V8 Diesel into a Nissan GQ LWB 1988 model

This Nissan is owned by Peter Impey, who is a man with a passion for four wheel driving. He was craving more power and improved fuel range from his vehicle so that longer outback trips such as the Simpson Desert crossing could be undertaken with greater safety. After much research and test driving by Peter and his brothers Jim and David the decision was made. The logical choice of course, a V8 diesel engine from Greg at Brunswick Diesels in WA.

The Original Quotation for fitting the 6.5ltr Diesel to 1988 GQ Patrol 4.2 Petrol 5 Speed

Customer Name: Peter Impey
6.5 Fully Rebuilt Engine	$9,000.00
Adaptor kit	$970.00
Mounts	$210.00
Flywheel	$355.00
Clutch kit	$395.00
Oil cooler	$450.00
Mount and Drive Kit	$1,330.00
Alternator (New)	$860.00
3" Mandrel Bent Exhaust	$1,200.00
Extras (see below)	$1,000.00
Labour	$3,000.00
Air cleaner assembly and fittings (Donaldson)	$550.00
Tachometer drive and tacho calibration
Engineers Report	$650.00
Radiator	???
EXTRA ACCESSORIES: Safari Snorkel Long Range 146ltr replacement Tank Body lift 1" Aux. Alternator, brackets and additional wiring Koni shockers and Heavy duty front springs OME steering damper OME caster bushes Rear Polyair bags 2 Optima batteries Battery monitor Spares including fuel pump, radiator hoses, drive belts, and filters.

The Engineers Report on this installation cost $650.00 however this can vary due to other modifications such as body lift, suspension, seats etc.

The only part pending on the above price is the radiator. The extra cost for this will depend on the condition of the old unit.

The fully rebuilt engines have 12 months or 20,000-klm warranty. Quotes are valid for 30 days from the above date.

Extras include fuel pump, belts, hoses, engine oil, coolant, fuel filter, oil filter, fuel hoses and clamps, heater hoses and clamps, electrical wiring and connectors, steel, nuts, bolts, paint etc.

Project photo's, etc - see below

The fully reconditioned engine as supplied by Greg is shown in this photo with some of the accessory installation parts fitted, a new starter, a 100 amp alternator/vacuum pump, power steering pump from a Nissan diesel, etc.
The original engine was a TB42 4.2ltr petrol running a dual fuel system. The vehicle was bought to us for the installation in November 2005. The photos below where taken over a period of about four weeks, bonnet off and the engine on its way out. The gas system was also removed.
With the engine removed some general cleaning of the inner guards and firewall was undertaken. The fuel lines were then transferred from the driver side of the vehicle to the passenger side as their was more room on this side to fit the CAV type fuel filter/water trap. The new clutch fork pivot was fitted in place of the original Nissan part. The 1" body lift is also fitted at this stage.
The new engine was then fitted with a new Chevy diesel flywheel and 12" Chevy diesel clutch. The input extension shaft supplied in the kit was used to align the clutch.
We fit new dowels into the housing on the gearbox side, this aligns the gearbox input shaft perfectly with the adaptor. The dowels fitted in the back of the engine align the crankshaft with the adaptor housing.
The original thrust bearing carrier is pressed into the back of the new thrust extension tube. The thrust bearing extension tube is then checked for burrs and is also fitted into the adjustable boss to make sure it slides freely.
The boss in the housing and the thrust bearing carrier are both lubricated prior to assembly, finally the thrust bearing is pressed onto the carrier.
The adaptor housing is then fitted to the gearbox and the clutch fork is relocated back onto the carrier and the retaining clip is fitted. We are now ready to check the input extension shaft position, this is to make sure that its pushed all the way onto the gearbox input shaft. The thrust bearing position is also measured in relation to the face of the adaptor, this measurement is then compared with the clutch finger height to make sure there is 6mm to 8mm clearance. This clearance is required to allow for the finger height to increase as the clutch wears.
We are now ready for the engine to be fitted. The engine mountings for this conversion consist of new engine brackets which bolt directly to the original Nissan engine mounting rubbers. The brackets are fitted to the engine first, all of the required bolts are supplied. This particular engine was drilled to accept 3/8"unc bolts later models are drilled and taped to accept M10 bolts. Note the cutout in the passenger side inner guard, this is to allow for the 120 amp alternator that supplies the auxiliary power system.

This photo is an example of a 25mm bump stop extension which is now supplied in all of our Chevy V8 Nissan kits. The extension is fitted to help prevent the front diff flange from hitting the starter motor, Along with this alteration heavy duty springs and caster bushes must be fitted, all of these things combined, contribute to a successful conversion. Note: This is not a photo of Peters front spring.
While on the job of upgrading the front springs in Peters Nissan, rear Poly Air Bags were fitted along with a set of Koni shockers all round.
The LPG tank was replaced with a 140ltr fuel tank from Long Range Automotive. To fill the fuel tanks we manufactured a Y piece in the filler and removed the ULP restrictor flap. A Facet fuel pump is used to transfer the fuel from this Auxiliary tank to the Main tank located next to the drive shaft. The main tank holds approximately 80ltrs of fuel. The fuel gauge is switched from from the dash to allow both tanks to be read. During the initial test drive we found that even with 20ltrs of fuel in the main tank air was being picked up by the fuel pump supplying the engine when cornering. To overcome the problem a surge tank was fitted, this can be seen in the photo below. The surge tank and pump shown below are part of our MFK1410 kit.

The exhaust system was hand built using mandrel bends for good gas flow. The engine pipes are 2" diameter and are combined into a 3" offset muffler, The engine pipes are supported by the original transmission bracket which takes all of the stress off the manifold connections. the rest of the muffler and tail pipe are supported on the original Nissan rubber mounting points. Flanges are used throughout the system for ease of servicing. Extra heat shields are fitted to the chassis and the body to keep the heat away from the fuel supply and return pipes.

After road testing we found that the exhaust had a resonance, this resonance could be felt in the vehicle as a deep vibration and made it uncomfortable for the driver and passengers. To over come this problem we fitted a flexible piece between the transmission and the muffler at the same time we fitted some heat proof laging.
The air cleaner is a 8" Donaldson plumbed into the engine via two rubber elbows and our air intake hat MFK1441. The Donaldson air cleaner is ducted to the snorkel via some 3" rubber hose and an adaptor fitted to the inner guard. We manufactured the adaptor using 3" exhaust tube and some 1.6mm flat. The radiator was upgraded to a heavy duty diesel type with some modifications required. The bottom outlet was changed to the driver side under the top outlet. A baffle was also fitted in the middle of the side tank, this baffle forces the water through the entire radiator. This modification allows both inlet and outlet fittings to be on the same side of the radiator. The vehicle was fitted with dual batteries however the one on the passenger side had to shifted rearward to make room for the new auxiliary alternator and the air intake from the new snorkel. The original batteries where around four years old and not able to keep a charge, they were replaced by two Optima batteries. To monitor the two batteries a Piranha battery monitor was fitted in the dash under the fuel gauge and fuel transfer switches.