GQ desert racing

[charlie77]

Dear All,

first of all, greetings from Slovenia, Europe. I am new to this forum and Nissan tech, so apologies for newbie questions in advance.

I am trying to prepare a GQ for competition in various desert races, taking place in Sahara desert. Please understand that I am an amateur and am not really planning to win; I would call it a great success if I finish :)

To the point. I am planning to take GQ SWB 2.8TD hardtop as a base, mainly due to its strong frame, axles, axle housings and rigid body. If it is good for rich arabs, drag racing in the dunes (http://www.t63ys.com), it will be good for me ;) ... You are probably suprised over the choice of 2.8TD, but this is only model easily available here in Slovenia.

I would greatly appreciate your experience and suggestions on combination of engine - transmission - tcase that could be used for a swap.

For example - Mopar Magnum 5.9 supercharged + NV4500 + Atlas II would get me a strong engine, transmission and tcase with output on passenger side... Are you aware of any other, cheaper combinations worth considering? Any powerul engines that would bolt to existing nissan transmission OR engine+tranny that would bolt to existing nissan tcase? Be aware that muscle engines with trannies of german origin (mercedes/AMG, BMW) are easier and cheaper to find here, but am not sure if they can be used for offroad application.

What do you think about strenght of original nissan tranny / tcase, compared to nv4500 / dana300 or atlas II?

Are there any chromemoly axle shafts available for h233? What about performance driveshafts, steering rods, etc..?

Thanks in advance.

[timespast]

might be worth checking in at pirate4x4.com they have a desert race section and will be better versed with atlas x-cases and the like

[charlie77]

thanks for hint, have posted question there as well :)

[OLRacing]

Have you considered a 6.0L chev V8 from a corvette, can be coupled straight to the original tranny with an adapter kit, readily available. Easy fitment, a company here in Australia, called Marks Adapters makes all the bits to easily adapt this type of engine to a GQ. Heaps of horse power, you can supercharge or turbo charge this motor. It has been done before an used to good results by the arab racers in the desert racing over there.

[charlie77]

Thanks for that info, it sounds like a good way to go.

How is with the strenght of original tranny and tbox? Will it cope with such amount of HP?

[tinker20]

Hi,

I´m from Germany.
In this forum here: http://www.offroad-forum.de/viewforum.php?f=13

..are some people who could help you too I think.
And if you don´t speak german, this shouldn´t be the problem.

Greetings,
Andreas