tloof55

I am doing a Nissan 2019 Maxima Gen 3 VQ35 swap into my 968 (good for about 340 WHP with headers & larger intake tubes & upgraded intake cam with same duration as stock exhaust cam). The ECU I am using requires a 2 pulse square wave input into an '07 Altima instrument cluster circuit board (that I plan to cut down & use the required circuitry with IC chip) in order to get a CAN communication signal sent out to a 2008 Infinity G35 MT Gen 2 type ECU that I plan to use so that the "drive by wire" cruise control system will work. I know that the 968 uses the left front wheel ABS sensor input into the ABS module (which is a 45 pulse/rev sine wave input), and that the ABS module outputs a 45 pulse/rev square wave to the FCU (frequency converter unit), which in turn conditions that ABS output signal to an 8 pulse/rev square wave input into the 968's speedometer for the speed signal to operate it.

My question is, does anyone on this site know what the signal output type is that comes out from the 968's speedometer to the ECU, cruise control unit, etc? In other words, is it the same 8 pulse/rev square wave as the input to the speedometer, or is it reconditioned to maybe a 2 pulse/rev square wave? I need to know in order to figure out what converter box I can get that will achieve the 2 pulse/rev square wave output I need!

jsheiry

Someone here may know the answer to your question but sure the forums/boards at Texas Performance Concepts probably have that answer readily available. They specialize in LS swap kits for the 944/944T/968 and most of those cars use the same cruise control module.as the 968

dlearl476

You should be banned for even contemplating such a travesty, much less posting it on an open forum.
Wanna Datsun? Buy a Datsun.

jsheiry

I myself only wonder why one would not go with the full intoxication of an LS motor hardly breathing at 375 hp with a full set of plans and pricing in the open market. That is a LOT of work to only wind up a different 4 cylinder than the one you got ! AND the one you got also can be wound up for 350-400 hp but have been known to make grown men cry over mystery failures. As one of my friends once said....Want to know how to make a small fortune getting 400 HP out of a 968....start with a LARGE fortune!

dlearl476

IMO, the only swap worthy of a 968 is a 400hp 1.8t. Keepin’ it in the family, so to speak.
http://www.motorwerksracing.com/pors...rsion-18t-swap

tloof55

The Nissan HR VQ35 V6 eng I'm using is 20 lb lighter than the stock Porsche 968 eng and makes virtually 400 crank HP (340 WHP) N/A with only headers, larger intake tubing, and UpRev ECU tuning! It has a 7600 RPM redline with an upgraded $220 oil pump, and sounds and revs just like an F1 race eng (which will sound just right in the 968 Porsche) and will give it the performance it should have had from Porsche all along!! The eng only cost me $900 and has only 8300 mi on it, and doesn't suffer all the problems that the 968 eng does. As for the LS V8 eng swap into the 968, it weighs about 150 lb more on the front end than the stock 968 eng (which will destroy the 968's great handling and 50/50 weight distribution), and has way too much torque for the 968's transaxle to handle safely! The LS swap also costs over 5 times more than my HR VQ35 swap will in comparison! Now maybe all of you can see the reasons for going this route.

Yogii

My grandmother would say, "you are penny wise and pound foolish".

Getting your Datsan motor to work well in the 968 sounds like a major PITA. Glad you got it cheap....

Ever think about putting that engine in an older Z?

-Yogii
AKA 968 Novice

tloof55

Yogii, I have extensive experience in swapping engs into other vehicles (V8 swap into an S10 truck, 240SX four cam KA24DE eng into my early '85 Nissan 720 pickup, etc). I also currently have the same VQ35 basic eng (Gen 1 version) that I swapped into my '03 Nissan SpecV with 6 spd manual tranny with LSD from a Maxima. I have made & sold over 35 SpecVQ swap plug & play conversion eng harnesses for others that have done the same, so I am very well versed with what all is required to do this swap! It turns out that the Gen 3 HR VQ35 eng is a perfect fit into the Porsche with relative minor modifications required (such as changing out to the '02-'04 rear sump Pathfinder oil pan and cutting the deep sump section off and welding on a 350Z aftermarket shallow but wider oil sump, and converting the intake manifold to the low profile '07-'08 350Z/G35 intake with dual throttle bodies). The stock '07-'08 350Z/G35 tubular exhaust manifolds, and better flowing aftermarket shorty headers will also fit into the 968's chassis with minor mods on the outlet collector. The brake booster on the 968 also has to be eliminated for the drivers side eng head clearance and replaced with a Ford hydroboost unit powered by the power steering pump on the eng (custom hose required that only costs about $60). The only other custom items are the eng mount brackets that attach to stock 350Z/G35 eng mounts to adapt to the Porsche crossmember, and the Porsche torque tube adapter to the Nissan VQ35 bell housing (I am using the Renegade LS adapter that I am redrilling to fit a removable AT Pathfinder VQ35 bell housing that will house the flywheel, clutch & pressure plate, and hydraulic throwout bearing).

The complete conversion isn't as much a PITA as you think, and absolutely isn't "pennywise & pound foolish", in fact it's just the opposite...it's super penny wise and pound smart since it will weigh slightly less than the stock 968's eng and is WAY less weight & cost than an LS conversion into the 968. It will actually perform equally well as the LS V8 but with far superior handling in comparison, and eliminates the high cost, high maintenance low performing 3.0 L stock 968 eng. You might want to reconsider your viewpoint on this issue!!

Yogii

55-

After you spend somewhere between 200-2,000 hours on the conversion, you will be left with a car that is worth 1/2 of what it would be with the original engine.

-BAT just had a nicely done 2002 that had the hot Honda i-Vortek engine and transmission transplanted into it. It's high bid was 1/2 of what an 02 with a tired M10.

Now if this is a dedicated race car.....Otherwise, will it pass California Smog?

I just finished watch these series of u-tubes about some guys who swap a VW 2.5 liter 5 cylinder engine into a 944. Maybe you are a better mechanic/fabricator than these guys-wouldn't take much.
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1Ank5WHWWI

Anyway, good luck with your project and let us know how it turns out...

-Yogii
AKA 968 Novice

jsheiry

Im curious as to why the 968 platform is a better platform for an enhanced Nissan motor than the Nissan 350 Z which needs no extensive conversion and has cup holders already installed? Dont get me wrong, I love the 968 platform but in many ways its a unique dinosaur and wonder why anyone that already has a 6 speed more modern performance platform to work from would choose this car instead ? With only 4500 of these cars brought to N America you can see why the established enthusiasts are less than enthused to see one with a Japanese engine. I love your optimism for the project but I would say look hard at all the shortcomings of the platform too, hatch delamination and no hatch parts, parts in general becoming more and more NLA, an 80's era designed interior that is cracking, fading, and was driver cockpit sparse on day 1, a steering rack that has only a few non leaking versions in existence out of 4500 (garage queen non driven cars do not count), pop up head lights that you either love or cringe, exterior body gaskets everywhere shrinking faster than they can make them, climate control from the 80's, torque tubes that need new bearings, wiring harnesses failing, to mention a few...Im subscribed to the psychosis but you may get out before its too late.

tloof55

Yogii & John,
Yes you both are correct in that it does take a bit of time to do an extremely clean & functional swap...no doubt about that, but I have a jump on all of that from all my previous experience and fabrication skills developed over the last 40 years (I have also built 2 amateur built experimental aircraft & restored several other certified airplanes and I have my own 4000 ft2 hanger workshop to work in). From a collectors viewpoint, yes an unmolested pristine very low mileage OEM 968 might be worth twice what a modified 968 is worth...assuming you could find such an individual wiling to pay that much for a 968, but I bet you could find many other buyers that would pay just as much for a highly refined swap like I'm doing! Regardless, I've owned my 968 cabrio for 14 years now (bought it in 2008) and I don't really ever plan to sell it since it is the only convertible that my 6'-3" tall body really fits well in...plus I love the 968 cabrio's looks since it kind of reminds me of a beautiful little 2 seat Ferrari convertible look alike (while a Nissan 350Z doesn't)! With the twin cam 4 valve per cylinder VQ35 HR V6 it will also sound just like a little Ferrari and have just the kind of power it deserves! Since my 968 only has about 75K miles on it right now I might just pickle the original eng & store it for the future some day to reinstall it back into my 968 assuming that the 968 series Porsche's actually become a high value collectors car and one of those mythical collectors shows up to pay a fortune for it! lol

No doubt it gets harder & harder to keep such an older vehicle in great shape & on the road due to a lack of parts availability, but keep in mind that you can still get most of the major body parts for the 968 since Porsche is still willing to make those parts unlike any other manufacturer (such as the 350Z which discontinued all parts after only 8 years after it was built...that's another reason why I love my 968), and rebuild parts are always still available for the entire chassis. As for the 968's lack of more modern comforts that newer cars have, I actually love the simplicity, functionality, and pure performance nature of the 968...same as old Ferrari's and similar to airplanes!!

Yogii

I meant a 240 or 260 Z.

-Yogii

tloof55

I don't like the look of the older Nissan Z cars, and I don't fit in them since they are designed for shorter people like most all of the older Japanese vehicles! Plus they don't handle as well as a 968 does. I still have people come up to me even today when I pull into a gas station to ask if my 968 is a brand new model that Porsche just came out with since it is such a beautiful timeless body design (as most Pininfarina body designs exhibit), and most have never seen a 968 Cabrio at all even in the past! You gotta love it when that happens!!

By the way, a VQ35 HR swapped 968 will easily pass California emissions as long as you install stock tubular exhaust manifolds with precats mounted to them and a stock ECU is used, and since it is a 2019 eng...but I live in Texas and vehicles older than 25 yrs old are exempt from all emission requirements!! Ha

Yogii

Well if you have not seen this, perhaps you will get a chuckle??


-Yogii

tloof55

Yeah, that video was funny! lol