[james008]

H260 also came in some P40 vans, which I think yours may have originally been.
Good news is theres a pretty good chance it has a 130L fuel tank, and depending on how the mounts were moved/modified for the V8 + auto conversion, may be a lot closer to where you need them to convert to SD.

With the body lift you may run into issues with the transfer lever hitting the trans tunnel, but it looks like the original trans tunnel plate has been swapped for an L28 auto one, so you may be okay... just work it out when the time comes. The hole in the plate can be enlarged, or the transfer lever heated and bent to suit.

 

[james008]

Made a lot of progress on it, good work.
Always good to see another old Patrol being done up.

Thanks James, I've still got some explaining to do, ran out of time last night, but I'll address your point now. I'm pretty sure it was a factory l28 auto, it says l28 on the vin plate, and it definitely doesn't have a 130L fuel tank, only the small one up the back, so I'm still unsure of how the H260 got there, but it's good anyhow. If I ever want better ratios I've got a H233 in the red ute I can swap under to get better highway RPM anyway.

That is surprising. Given the combination of H260 and barn doors that would usually mean P40, guess since it had an engine conversion its not surprising other things have been changed.

Have you worked out the diff ratio? H233B cars in Australia were 4.375 or 4.625, but a H260 means that it may have 4.88 or 4.11 ratio.

Edit: some more pics of how it all fits together. The turbo SD has slightly different spacing on the harmonic balancer so can only use one belt on the alternator
View attachment 534901

SD Pulley set ups are almost hilariously bad.
The pullies changed on crank or water pump, or alternator bracket changed with nearly every single combination of no A/C or P/S, A/C but no P/S, P/S but no A/C and A/C and P/S, oh, and between 12 and 24v too. Also there are a couple of different offsets for the A/C tensioner pulley which for whatever reason bolts through the thermostat housing.

But the belt groove spacing on the crank pulley is for Power Steer, and judging by the head bolts that engine originally had A/C, and the water pump pulley is from a manual steer car.
The red ute has the cyl head adjuster bracket for power steer, but not the water pump pulley.

 

[james008]

That's interesting info, I'm assuming your personal experience is worth more than the Gregory's manual we got, they probably only looked at one or 2 models anyway, but in the book it says the H233 only came in 4.675, and the H260 only came in 4.875. If it is true that there are lower ratios I'll be happiest with a 4.11. In the ute (H233) at 50kph, I could sit easily in 5th gear and comfortably drive along, which probably means the ratios aren't great for highway driving and long trips. I don't know the RPM it was at though as the N/A MQ SD33's don't have a tacho. If the Gregory's book is right then the 260 in the wagon will be worse than the ute, which isn't ideal.

I've also read online that MQ/MK patrols only came with the H233, not the H233B (when I was searching for possible locker options), which would probably mean the ratio rules for the 233B don't apply the same as the 233. This is all speculation on my end though so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit:
Actually I've just read through the info on the MQ-Patrol.com page about diffs and you must be right (unsurprisingly) about the other ratios available. It does make me wonder why the Gregory's manual only lists the one for each, but nevermind for now. I'll test the ratio this afternoon and post what I've found then, finger's crossed for a 4.11 and not a 4.88 🤞

Yeah the Gregory's is definitely wrong. 3 of my cars with H233Bs and 4.3's will attest to that lol. And as you have since found out the H260 did indeed come in a 4.11.
In terms of gearing, 33's and 4.11s will bring the revs down to around 2200rpm, give or take depending on exact tyre diameter. The SD should still have enough power to make it up most hills without dropping a gear, but a good exhaust and a little more boost and fuel will help it out, especially once it has some weight in it or you're towing.
An N/A SD (assuming it still has 31's and 4.6 diffs) will be doing near on 2600rpm @ 100km/h, they are geared very short.

Yeah I've read that too. I do not believe it. I also vaguely remember reading a suggestion that the Nissan service manual was wrong, because it states the rear diff is a H233B.
The ONLY mention I have found of a H233 (non B) even existing in Nissan documentation is some parts descriptions, translated from Japanese, in Nissan FAST. But other parts descriptions with interchangeable parts numbers do not mention a diff code at all, so I don't place too much weight on that being proof lol.

 

[james008]

That noise is exactly why my muffler fell off all by itself.

 

[james008]

Keep the brown interior. It's an 80s car, may as well embrace the 80s inside and out.

As @rgren2 said, your SD won't need a cat. The entirety of emissions control on a turbo SD is a PCV valve lol.

I've run my SD for years without a muffler, it's not exactly quiet, but not obnoxiously loud either. SD sounds good as far as inline 6 diesels go.

 

[james008]

Death wobbles and cracked shackle mounts, pretty standard for MQ/MK lol.

The wobbles are a bit of fun when you're not expecting them, and can be a bit of a pain to track down. I'd usually say start with the last thing you touched, but I can't imagine a steering damper exaggerating the wobbles.... while you have your springs dropped, have a good look at the other spring bushes. Pretty important that they are okay obviously as they locate the entire front end.
Then just work through steering, front knuckles and hubs etc etc...

Also with the rtc damper, make sure the spring is adjusted correctly. I had a steering pull for longer than I am willing to admit because I never checked it...

 

[james008]

You'll lose a bit of the old HT-15B whistle with an intercooler. Luckily that is the only redeeming feature of standard turbo, so its the perfect excuse to upgrade.
Also a good excuse to upgrade the air box. Pre filter housing isn't a great design, nor does it seal terribly well. I personally would like to use a filter box based around a VT-VZ LS, VE-VF LS or BA-FG Barra turbo panel filter. More than enough flow, easily available and cheap.

Shackle/spring bushes must have been pretty bad to cause a wobble. Doing king pins and checking old ball joints is still a good idea, with new bushes replacing anything else that may become an issue is a good idea.

 

[james008]

One cheaper option I've considered is a holden/buick 3.8 with the 4spd auto. I do have the divorced transfercase and tailshafts to match, and have experience with the engine. People in the US seem to think they're an awesome motor and it seems plenty of P-platers beat them to death with few issues, so perhaps it'd tug the 2.2 tonne MK along alright?

I wouldn't think the transmission would be an issue, if it's the same 4l60E that is used behind the LS motors then people put them in GU's with V8's and no issue, so it'd be alright with the 3.8 I think.

Or a ford 4.0 Barra, would only be N/A though because
a) expense,
b) not trying to be stupid here.

The other option is bolting all the turbo gear to the N/A engine I've got in the shed, then I lose out on the good benefits of the turbo motor though, and can forget about chasing somewhat reliable power.

Glad you decided to keep the old pig, doesn't matter what you replace it with, you'd have missed it.

I looked into the 3.8 option, engine and trans are cheap, but its the other costs that add up, wiring, ECU, mounts, fuel system upgrades etc.
There's a bloke down in Tas that's working on a Barra to MK 5spd adapter, you'll need an L28 gearbox input shaft which would be worthwhile since . Barra is a nicer donk than a 3.8, much smoother and more torque lower down. More potential for future upgrades too, and if you're sold on an auto, there are adapters for Barra to GM tranmissions so theres no risk of having to use a BTR lol.
But once you go down the rabbit hole of changing mounts and wiring with a divorced transfer, your only limits are imagination and money, the Patrol is already designed to fit an I6 and 5spd box and has a wide engine bay, so plenty of engines will physically fit.

New cyl heads are still available from Nissan for the SD. They don't come cheap though, if you really get stuck I do have a couple of heads that hold pressure but they have cracks so couldn't guarantee they'll last. Also if the head on your N/A is alright you can drill the steam ports into it, if its an early one and doesn't have them.

 

[james008]

Yeah in the end I couldn't bring myself to sell it, I think I've got the MQ flu
I'll definitely go with best case scenario which is that I can use my engine, my head, new gaskets, until I know otherwise. I do have the divorced transfer that the wagon came with still here so someday maybe there'll be an opportunity, who knows? Ooh maybe that's for when electric conversions become cheap and commonplace on old cars...

I didn't know new heads were still available, not sure I'm ready to hear the cost of one though haha, if it comes to needing a new head I likely won't be getting one from Mr Nissan, even if that is the best long-term solution, just too much upfront cost for my current income. That Barra adapter definitely has me listening, seems like a cool opportunity, again depending on price.

Anyway, this is where I'm at now:
View attachment 545101
I got most of the stuff disconnected from the head, intending to take it off while the engine was still in the car to inspect it before I get an engine crane, but the day before yesterday I went and picked up a second hand 2 ton crane for $200, so not too bad in my eyes. The engine will come out first, then I'll take the head off.

On a side note, I've already found a way that I'll probably make more power just with a gasket kit:
View attachment 545102
I don't know what ebay brand of gaskets the previous owner of this engine used, but clearly the head gasket and rear main are leaking,
AND THE MANIFOLD GASKET DOESN'T EVEN LINE UP WITH THE FRIGGIN PORTS!?!?
Someone didn't do much measuring when they designed their mass-produce gasket kit 😠
Hopefully some genuine gaskets will have the exhaust freed up a little.
Man, I couldn't believe it when I saw that, the camera doesn't do justice to how much of the port is covered up, and how much of a "wall" of gasket there is just blocking off exhaust flow.

On I side note, I've now learned that the intake manifold doesn't flow nicely into the ports either, they're this far apart (elongated ones covered in silicon):
View attachment 545103
And the manifold treats the 2 ports as one, so there's not a smooth transition from the intake manifold into the actual intake ports, it just hits the wall in the middle and has to find it's own way in, so I'm considering trying to make some kind of splitter to go in the manifold that directs the air either way, doesn't have to be perfect, anything will be better than the factory setup. The other option is when I get Dats cool fab to mount up the zd turbo and make up an exhuast, maybe I can inquire about a custom intake manifold to see the price of that.
On the other hand, maybe the factory manifold design is fine and I'm overreacting, but I understand the basics of how air likes to flow and I'm thinking there should at least be a rounded edge there for the air to flow around.

Here's what's come out so far:
View attachment 545104
When I put it all back together, I'm going to try something that probably won't be too popular, but I want to give it a go anyway. When I got the wagon, it came with the radiator, which the P/O used with the 351, and it had a set of thermo fans attached to it. 1 big one taking up probably 2/3 of the rad, and 2 smaller ones taking up the rest. I want to try those out instead of the factory clutch fan.
I know a clutch fan will always bring more air than an electric thermo, but I've never had a fan shroud on this radiator, and when the thermostat was stuck open the water temps barely went over 60* around town, and didn't go much higher on my Fraser trip. So I figure this engine isn't in any danger of overheating, and given that the thermos have their own shroud they'll definitely pull an equal amount of air though the radiator to the shroudless clutch fan. On the highway I'll comfortably be able to just turn the fans off, and when 4wding I can leave probably just the small ones on. It's just something I'm going to try since I've got all the stuff already here able to be bolted on, and I'll see how it goes. I'll also have some kind of water temp sensor with a controller that can turn them on automatically when it gets to certain temps, but I've got to figure out how I'm going to do that yet.

They are an easy old rig to get attached to. In between being complete piles of junk, they can be pretty good.

I won't tell ya how much a new head is, but it makes a Barra conversion look pretty good, no matter what it ends up costing. But if curiosity gets the best of you the latest revision P/N is 11041-C8702 and Nizzbits, Amayama, Impex etc will be able to give you a price.

Those aftermarket generic perforated manifold gaskets are junk, the fit is crap as you've discovered and they'll blow if you look at them the wrong way which I assume is why someone has used RTV on them, still appears to have leaked though. It is worthwhile getting both manifolds machined while they are off as they rely on the same studs/nuts/washers to seal.
Genuine is the way to for head/manifold gaskets. 11044-C8701 and 14035-C8701 respectively for latest revisions of P/N.