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MQ SWB Engine Conversion

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:17 pm
by 1981swbmqpatrol
G'day everybody i have a 1981 swb mq patrol and i want to change the engine over as the L28 cant hack what i put it through last weekend (currently running 5 cyl no idea why). i need something with some poke to spin my 33'' muddies through the mud without stalling. any info would be a great help as this poor bugger is only 17. :? :?: cheers

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:20 pm
by WICKED

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:38 pm
by 1981swbmqpatrol
would use a ford 6 but already learnt of there unreliability. i owned two falcons and they promptly died. ive found the head dont last as long as thye tyres on the back (still went till the buggers popped lol). do u now of any other conversions?

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:53 pm
by macca81
chuck in an SD33t, bolts straight it, and wont stall on you. will spin those 33s aswell

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:01 pm
by Wish I had coils
nothing wrong with a coon motor, There as strong as an ox. Could put a 2 sh!ty 3 in. Mate has a conversion i might be able to get for you, but u will need a five speed.

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:13 pm
by 1981swbmqpatrol
SD33t sounds good. what can you do to them to make em faster. exhaust is no wuckers i do the fricken things most of the day lol. thatnks for your help fella s

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:35 pm
by taspatrol
put a cooler on it and carefully wind some booost and fuel in to it

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 7:00 pm
by VXPSI
i have 3" zorst. pumping 15psi through it and its loving it. spins my 35.12.5 simex no problems

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 6:53 am
by V8Patrol
Wish I had coils wrote:Could put a 2 sh!ty 3 in. Mate has a conversion i might be able to get for you, but u will need a five speed.
?????????? a 5 spd box ???????????

Sure they do rev slightly on 31"s but on 33"s they are sweet, a 253 wouldnt pull 5th on 35"s tho............ unless its a bloodly long downhill run
:shock:

Kingy

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:28 am
by taspatrol
why would you put a 253 in a 4wd especialy a heavy 4wd if you want a v8 go for the efi 304 or if you have a company fuel card the 308

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:33 am
by q_ship
currntly doing a inj rb30 conversion. takes abit of work but what conversion doesnt.

what ever you decide, if its an aftermarket conversion then make sure you have a donor car. then you have all computers, wiring and the like.

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:29 pm
by Wish I had coils
There is some reason for the 5 speed something along the lines of 4 and 5 speed bellhouseing being different ? i think. correct me if i am wrong which i guess i am :D

253 are ok, mate had one in his old troppie went pretty good for a big bus.

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 6:29 pm
by chrispie123
being an l28 currently he wont have a drama with the 4 speed as it will clear the firewall, if it was a diesel it wouldnt

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 6:44 pm
by zer0
i got a sd33 engine with gear box and transfer up for sale old project mq that i am parting out all it needs turb and exhaust really and she is ready to go...

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 7:22 pm
by giantracing
i have a rb30 efi conversion with box and transfer here could put in mq seen it done with cheap turbo kit on it, all i can say is hold on...$1200

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:03 pm
by slosh
Can't you just bolt in an injected l28 or whatever came out of 260- 280zx? Guy I know has done a couple into Nissan vans, heaps of grunt and cheap to replace.

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:54 pm
by 1981swbmqpatrol
thanks for all the ideas fellas. am considering going the 308 as the old man wont let me use the piece of shit ford engines or the bloody oilburner coz he sick of bloody deisels (hes a h/d deiesl mechanic). whats really funny is my mum has a '84 lwb patrol with a hot l28 and it has no probs at all with power (sideways, 80ks, 2nd gear-auto box- shredding 32'' BFGs) and my poxy heap of crap struggles to climb relatively small hills.

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:21 pm
by taspatrol
my old l28 used to light up both rears but it also only did about 150km/tank but damn did it go they are a good motor

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 7:07 am
by V8Patrol
Wish I had coils wrote:There is some reason for the 5 speed something along the lines of 4 and 5 speed bellhouseing being different ?
The bolt patten ( bellhousing to gearbox) is identicle in both 4 & 5 spd boxes.
Obviously the bellhousing to engine pattern differs between the petrol and diesel motors........ greatly !!!



So why a 5 spd.... ????

2 reasons :armsup:

1/
the 5th gear is an actual overdrive gear !
( lowering engine revs considerably = better fuel ecconomy )

2/
The right 5spd box will give a much lower 1st gear
( better for crawl ratio when using bigger tyres )
(See the MQ/MK bible for ratios and box selection .... the differance is related to the diesel gearbox and whether the motor is turbo or non turbo )

Kingy

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 2:14 pm
by RMP&O
slosh wrote:Can't you just bolt in an injected l28 or whatever came out of 260- 280zx? Guy I know has done a couple into Nissan vans, heaps of grunt and cheap to replace.
Or just mod the existing L28...it is the same motor for the most part.

Got a friend or two with built L28's in their Datsun 510 (bluebird in Oz) that put out an easy 600hp. Twin turbo and many other mods...no probs at all for the old six to put out that kind of power. You just have to work the engine and use Z car stuff. Including FI, built bottom end, modded head, ect...wtf why not!? Many many things available for the old Z car L28 and it basically bolts on your Patrol L28. No idea why more people don't go for it in their Patrol, it is a bomb of a motor if done right! Way way lighter than a v8 and it is already in many Patrols! :armsup:

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 2:21 pm
by RMP&O
V8Patrol wrote:
Wish I had coils wrote:There is some reason for the 5 speed something along the lines of 4 and 5 speed bellhouseing being different ?
The bolt patten ( bellhousing to gearbox) is identicle in both 4 & 5 spd boxes.
Obviously the bellhousing to engine pattern differs between the petrol and diesel motors........ greatly !!!



So why a 5 spd.... ????

2 reasons :armsup:

1/
the 5th gear is an actual overdrive gear !
( lowering engine revs considerably = better fuel ecconomy )

2/
The right 5spd box will give a much lower 1st gear
( better for crawl ratio when using bigger tyres )
(See the MQ/MK bible for ratios and box selection .... the differance is related to the diesel gearbox and whether the motor is turbo or non turbo )

Kingy
When we fit the 5spd to my truck we used the plate (for lack of a better word) between motor and bellhousing from the 5spd truck. Ya it bolted right up but we had to use the 5spd belhousing and plate. This being SD33 N/A 4spd to SD33T 5spd.

From what I have seen the lowest 1st gear 5spd is a bitch to find. Only came in SD33 NA Patrols after 1983, not many of those and L28 Utes, even less of those. I have seen maybe one for sale in the last 2-3yrs and I had to buy the whole truck to get it. You only get about .50 of a lower 1st gear and iirc it isn't even that much. Better to just put your time, money and work into fitting a crawl box to the MQ. Then you can go from 2.22 (or there abouts) for a low 1st to easily 4.5 or much much lower. All has to be custom done but gets better results and in the end you have a true crawling 4wd! :armsup:

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 2:45 pm
by q_ship
if you want better crawl, fit a 60 series t.case like benny and get some crawler gears.

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 3:48 pm
by RMP&O
q_ship wrote:if you want better crawl, fit a 60 series t.case like benny and get some crawler gears.
ya but then you have Toyota junk in your truck. Screw that is my opinion! I am looking at fitting a crawl box like a Klune, retaining my stock drive train. Can it be done? Of course but ya it will likely be more expensive than just slapping some Toyota shit in there. No way I am doing that in my Patrol! :finger:

I would much rather fit Chevy gear in my Patrol than Toyota. :lol:

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 4:50 pm
by macca81
2 things in regards to the 5spd, find a nissan cabstar, they also have the lower 1st gear(hard to find tho, just as the above mentioned ones are)

also, is not the bellhousing shorter on the 5spd? and i think the P40 engine had a shorter bellhousing behind it also, because its a physicaly longer engine than either the L28 or SD33...

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:40 pm
by nick bj40
sorry 4 the hi jack but is it hard to fit a 60 transfer to a five speed?? like wat is required just a machined plate or some holes drilled and taped or somthing more involved??

p.s sorry again 4 the hijack....

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 11:05 pm
by 1981swbmqpatrol
looks like the go will be a 308 and the 4 speed box. just waiting on the dudes a t castlemaine or dellows to get back to me with the better kit (wotever one comes with more bits less to piss around with.) probly a coupla days before i heart from either tho so its sit tight and wait i guess start hunting for a donk.

Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 8:19 pm
by g60boy
just bung in another l28 (only takes a day :D ), till you can aford the convo.... marks adapters dont make 253/308 to mq/mk convo kits any more either.

my l24 pushes 36's :shock: with standed 4.6 gears... even in its tired old unhealthy state...