VG30ET Swap finally begun!

Ok I've finally began my VG30et swap and now i've got some pressure to finish. (I got not car to drive until i get this thing done :) )

I do have some questions for problems i'm encountering.

Situation: My original plan was putting the VGET into my SE. Due to some evil curbs and deer thats no longer possible so i picked up an 87 CA20 and will use my SE for parts. Along with the Z31 parts car I already have.

Questions:
1) When I looked at the rear end it looked like the Diff was smaller than my SE. Does an 87 CA20 with IRS have the R180 diff or is it the same? Because if its the 180 then i gotta swap my SE rear end sooner rather than later because of the custom driveshaft I need made up.

2) If I gotta swap out the rear, will the halfshafts from my SE bolt up to the hub on the CA20? I dont want to have to convert my rear wheel to 5 lug if I can avoid it.

I cant quite remember my other questions right now but i'll post up when i remember them.

I do have some nice info though. It looks like the mechanical speedo cables are all the same wether its VG or CA. My SE cable broke and the cable from my Z has a conversion to digital guage cluster. I tested the CA speedo cable on the Z31 tranny and its fits perfectly. So I just saved myself $75.

Awesome! Hurry up and finish it so we can know what to do when we start on Henge's car! :laugh:

As far as your questions:

Yeah, the CA20's came with the R180 diff. The R200 will bolt in with the R200 halfshafts, and I'm not completely sure, but I think they will bolt up to the 4-lug CA20 hubs.

Good luck and keep us up to date!!!

just swap the rear end and axles off your se to the ca20e

Drop your entire rear assembly, just like this:

http://www.club-s12.org/Dan/S12_Turbo/2004/ClearOut2.JPG

Then lift it up into place on the 87 CA20 car. Fastest and simplest way to do it. And then you'll have 5-bolt hubs on your rear end.

That was my exact thought Dan. Swap the entire rear carrage from the SE over to the CA car. This would allow you to replace the frame bushings also. I highly recomend this seeing as you are putting more than double the HP into a car that is 17 years old.

Yeah, the CA20's came with the R180 diff. The R200 will bolt in with the R200 halfshafts, and I'm not completely sure, but I think they will bolt up to the 4-lug CA20 hubs.
They should, i would imagine that R200 equiped S12s used the same 6 bolt shafts that R200 equiped Z31s use. Z31 shafts are a bolt up.

I can tell you for sure that the SE has the 6 bolt shafts. I would assume the the CA18ET R200 cars would have the same setup, but who knows because they use a different hub.

Fastest and simplest way to do it. And then you'll have 5-bolt hubs on your rear end.
It sounds like he doesn't want to upgrade to 5 bolt hubs. However, I think it would be very wise to swap to 5 bolt hubs front and rear. The 5 bolt hubs in the front allow some pretty good brake upgrades.

I want to stick with the 4-lug setup at the moment. Reasons:

1) I'm getting a sweet deal on 8 deep dish meshies.
2) Not too worried about the brakes atm because i'm getting new ones. (calipers, rotors.. everything)
3)I've had the 4-lug up front and 5 lug at the rear setup for quite a while and its a huge PITA

But mainly because of the meshies :)

I've started swapping the diffs and the half shafts and it looks like they bolt up nicely. I've also begun swapping the springs from the CA20 with t VG ones and its surprising. The VG springs are shorter by about 1.5" but alot stiffer. As far as the rear is concerned I think I'm going to stick with the Hypercoil 500lbs springs and swap over the 5-way adjustable Tokiko Illuminas that were on the Z.

Heres some pics of the progress:

New Shell:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/i/h/ihk100/200/swap/IMG_0153.jpg
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/i/h/ihk100/200/swap/IMG_0155.jpg

Shell now:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/i/h/ihk100/200/swap/IMG_0168.jpg
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/i/h/ihk100/200/swap/IMG_0169.jpg

CA20e Out:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/i/h/ihk100/200/swap/IMG_0172.jpg
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/i/h/ihk100/200/swap/IMG_0173.jpg

Z Crossmember:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/i/h/ihk100/200/swap/IMG_0170.jpg
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/i/h/ihk100/200/swap/IMG_0171.jpg

My Driveway now:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/i/h/ihk100/200/swap/IMG_0174.jpg

PS: can somebody put this in the Hybrid section I put it in VG30 tech by accident., thanks.

If you still have a 300zx parts car the rear end from that may be a good upgrade for the future. The diff has a 3:54 ratio and bigger brakes. though the 3:90 from the v6 S12 is not too bad. Keep me posted I am doing the same swap next summer. Right now I am in the middle of installing the vg30et into 1987 pathfinder.

Why would you want a 3.54 rear end over a 3.90 though? Besides fuel mileage, I can't see the advantage...

Get some pics up of the mesh wheels man! :mrgreen:

Sounds like the build up is going great!

Because of the turbo. It creates more torque so you don't need the extra gearing off the line. Therefore you can have a higher top end.

i dont know about you, but driving in 5th gear @ 75mph @4K rpm is not my kind of fun. I want something that hits 100+mph without having to get close to the redline. Thats just my opinion. I know a few hardcore RWD bmw guys are pushing fo the 3.73 and even lower for the higer HP guys like the 3.23. I would like a 3.73 or somethign around there too, these high rpms at high low speeds is anoying.

Make sure you match the speedo pinion that goes into the tranny with the same rear end, otherwise your speedometer won't be correct. IE if you're gonna use the 4.11:1 rear end, you need the pinion from the CA20 tranny. If you're gonna use the Z31 rear diff then you will need the Z31's tranny pinion.