Hi,

I did a general search to try and find something similar but couldn't find anything directly pertaining to my question. I was wondering if people could offer some suggestions on what would be some good mods to do while I'm getting my engine swapped on my 2004 G35 Coupe MT.

I already got the engine which is going in the car and bought a BLOX 5/16" plenum spacer. Car has cat back exhaust, Injen cold air intake.

I guess what I'm really looking for here is; if I was going to modify the car, what would make sense (from a cost effective perspective) to do now that the engine is being pulled?

Thanks in advance!

 

annnddd I posted in the wrong spot! Sorry can this be deleted reposted in the right spot :S

 

Hi,

I did a general search to try and find something similar but couldn't find anything directly pertaining to my question. I was wondering if people could offer some suggestions on what would be some good mods to do while I'm getting my engine swapped on my 2004 G35 Coupe MT.

I already got the engine which is going in the car and bought a BLOX 5/16" plenum spacer. Car has cat back exhaust, Injen cold air intake.

I guess what I'm really looking for here is; if I was going to modify the car, what would make sense (from a cost effective perspective) to do now that the engine is being pulled?

Thanks in advance!

 

It depends on what your goals are. You didn't say what they are so it's difficult to answer. You also didn't say what your motor swap entails either so that leaves more questions.

 

I guess you raise a good point and that's part of the problem, I'm not sure what I really want but I did buy this car with the engine blown already and bought another shell with a good engine with the intention for it to be a weekend/ summer car. Never drove this particular car yet but have had two G35 coupes in the past, seems I keep getting pulled back to them.

So I would be interested in finding out any modifications that would create noticeable power gains or performance gains that would be cheaper to do while the engine is being swapped (when compared to being done on a G with the engine in place). I'm not doing the swap or work myself and wouldn't be doing any mods myself hence why I'm looking to see if there is anything that might be nice to do now as apposed to later.

 

We did strip the shell down to the metal though that was fun lol

 

Nice warehouse

 

Sweet garage/shop space you have there! Do you own that or is that something a buddy is letting you borrow after hours for your project?

I wish I had friends out this way who did projects like this to help with.

Mods and parts replacements to do now if you plan to ever do them: Clutch/flywheel, headers, motor mounts, radiator. Probably a good time to check/replace the valve cover seals on the motor that's going in as well as spark plugs.

That donor car looks like it's been through some rough times and took a hit on the passengers side judging by the rust on the unibody over there. Check out the bottom of the donor motor to make sure there are no leaks or damage to or around the oil pan. Now would be the time to swap in your other oil pan if the one on there is damaged in any way from bottoming out, or put on a new gasket if the current one is leaking.

Anything internal to the motor is obviously going to be easier to do with it out of the car as well but that all depends on your budget, access to precision tools, and personal mechanical know-how.

Were you able to see and hear the donor motor run yet so you can know if there are any inherent problems with it that may also need to be addressed(CEL for cam sensors, etc)?

 

+1.

Go forced induction.

 

clean up the internals new clutch/flywheel, prepare for Fi and go turbo. don't fck around with a bunch of bolt ons

 

Just built a brand new industrial warehouse for investors, now have it for lease so figured I would take advantage of the space while I can, that is why I picked up these G's!

Unfortunately when I received the donor car all we could do was scan for codes (none came up) and when we turned over the engine it ran but only for a few second and shut off. Everything was disconnected from the front end because this car was a write-off from an accident on the side then someone bought it for the entire front clip then I bought it for the engine. The guy who took the front clip told me it was running fine before he took the front clip, my shop looked it over and said there shouldn't be an issues the engine shutting off may have been because of everything disconnected/ (safety feature)? No codes was a good sign. I am no mechanic so I figure they are making the right judgement call but I am guessing if this engine has problems it will be no where near as bad as the other car (timing chain is off and bouncing around in the engine is what I was told? You can hear a lot of clunking if car is turned over).

Ok so check
- Oil Pan to replace or new gasket
- Check or replace Clutch/Flywheel -> I was told flywheel and clutch were replaced and only year old but I guess would be good time for shop to check that is true lol
- Headers --> have people noticed real gains from swapping out headers?
- Motor Mounts --> What is the benefit of this? Just to avoid having to repair those in the future?
- Radiator
- Valve cover seals (with stock or upgrade?)
- Spark plugs (with stock or upgrade?)

Thanks again!

 

What's your budget?

Sell the VQ and swap in an LS.

 

I don't believe there are noticeable gains with many of the bolt on mods most do like: headers, exhaust, plenum spacer, intakes and tunes. If you want something noticeable then boost is the only real answer other than an LS swap. If it were me I would do a basic rebuild throw a set of cams in it and do the usual bolt ons and be done with it.

 

I recommend a set of HR exhaust manifolds if the engine will be out. Low cost and OEM quality. I ran a set on my RevUp for a couple years before recently switching to LTHs. I was extremely happy with the gains from HR headers + tune, but I don't know if it will have as much impact on a non-RevUp. At the end of the day it's an easy mod (if engine is out) that'll make your car sound good and give a little more top-end. Defiantly get an Osiris tune.

 

Yea the budget is pretty low, not looking to do anything crazy just want a nice summer driver. Looks like I have a lot of options to consider now with the feedback, thanks guys. I'll post some pics/updates on the car as they come along and be sure to make mention what mods I ended up going with and how I found the results.