Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

hi i know this has probably been asked many times but i cant seem to find anything on it. i got a vl calais with a carby v8 and 3 speed auto and its on gas. im about to buy an r32 4 door skyline with front end damage. its got a rb20det and auto transmission.

my question is how hard is it to drop the r32 engine and gear box into the vl?

wat other bits do i need?

do i need to get exhaust made up or will r32 bolt up?

much appreciated.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/254191-vl-308-to-rb20det/
Share on other sites

wen its done i will be selling it. wanna get a house

It will probably cost you more to do it than the end sale price...

Why not just get rid of both and not wasteyour time???

Not being rude, but VLT's are pretty cheap. What makes you think a non-original 2 litre version of a VLT is going to be an attractive car???

(attractive meaning get a few bucks from its sale)

IE> If I were looking for a turbo VL, id be going for an original 3 litre version where insurance and the police wont give me a hard time about mod plates

I mean the rb20 is not the greatest motor for torque or outright power, then you put it in a heavy chassis...

Why replace the 308? They are a strong engine, parts are cheap, a few bolt ons (or if you can be bothered tearing the engine down) or a stroker kit and you can push great, usable numbers with amazing bottom end torque. This isn't to mention it has 2.5 times, or thereabouts, the capacity of an RB20.

My advice would be to look at a 308 to 328/355 stroker kit with SCAT crank and conrods. Like these http://www.pro-stroke.com.au/stroker_kits.html

or if you can't be arsed doing that go with edelbrock heads, intake manifold and a nice mild/hot (depending on your preference) crow cam.

Also convert to PULP.

Of course if there is a reason as to why you would do such a conversion other than "because" fair enough and good luck to you.

Why replace the 308? They are a strong engine, parts are cheap, a few bolt ons (or if you can be bothered tearing the engine down) or a stroker kit and you can push great, usable numbers with amazing bottom end torque. This isn't to mention it has 2.5 times, or thereabouts, the capacity of an RB20.

My advice would be to look at a 308 to 328/355 stroker kit with SCAT crank and conrods. Like these http://www.pro-stroke.com.au/stroker_kits.html

or if you can't be arsed doing that go with edelbrock heads, intake manifold and a nice mild/hot (depending on your preference) crow cam.

Also convert to PULP.

Of course if there is a reason as to why you would do such a conversion other than "because" fair enough and good luck to you.

this post is common sense

put a 5 speed gearbox behind it, or do you only have an auto license? (lol)

cheers for the info guys. didnt realise the rb20 was so disliked lol, the reason i gonna go the rb20 was because the car its comin from has done under 100k and and at a good price. but yeah i might leave it as it is.

how much are rb20det and gearbox worth these days?

like 1000-1500.

go on calaisturbo and look for the rb20 thread. lists all the parts you need for the conversion, and everyone whose been nothing but let down by it. theres just no low down torque for big, relatively heavy car. most people start with an RB30, and the conclusion was your beter off to turbo that, starting from a V8, i'd do as suggested above

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the R32 and VL have similar weight? It would be moreso the 3.08 V8 diff, or even the 3.45 VLT diff that will let down the rev happy RB20 - IIRC most of the whinging about them on CT was due to the unhealthy fixation with drag cars on that website. You will find a ton of info there about a conversion though, just beware the amount of wankers and schoolkids that tend to congregate on there.

on the rego sticker on the vl i had ages ago it was 1200ish kg. the rego sticker on my R32 said 1300ish kg. i remember when i had both of them, comparing the two and to my supprise the 32 was heavier.

edit: and yes, a straight swap with the rb20 and they dont go that well. once i put 4.11s in my vl (rb20 conversion) it went alot better.

Edited by QWK32

rego stickers are bs for weight. my mates soarer says its 1250 lol

i dont think there would be much in it, either way, but its still got no low down torque, especially when you look at results of turboing the RB30, or mod the v8

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • CTIS (Central Tire Inflation System) has existed since the 80's. I'm looking into buying a Hummer H1 and they generally included it. 
    • My idle is set at 950rpm though - Moving the timing around 20 degrees is not really what I'd call a calm idle. That said... neither is chop, by definition. The LS ECU likes to adjust timing to hold idle as opposed to air. It'd work, but generally speaking there'd be a discrepancy in the base idle and the IACV would want to move the timing around anyway to maintain said idle. I think I'm just going to keep the timing steady anyway. Preserve my engine mounts.  My aircon is now officially regassed. As the guy was reversing I noticed my reverse lights do not operate, along with my reverse cam. This is a bit distressing, because 100% of guides talk about which wire to connect to backup cams as "the goes with the [other color] wire". Often when doing conversions. Unfortunately the R34 colour wires aren't documented Unfortunately I had a T56 Magnum gearbox with it's reverse switch, which also isn't documented. Unfortunately there's definitely not documentation for people with both of these in the one car. Unfortunately I forgot. After many hours of this, I have a reverse cam and reverse lights again. The wire going through the trans tunnel to the reverse switch had broken. Upon inspection, it looks like this one wire had about 7 spade terminals and extensions in it.. for reasons I cannot possibly comprehend. I also spent the 750 hours required to clean up the wiring behind my head unit which now looks like this: This is a monumental improvement relative to what used to be there WRT triple gauges, head unit, traction control, wideband controller, and whatever the f**k OEM stuff still exists there in various states of connectivity/needed. Next step is to check in at the Exhaust shop to see/confirm how much clearance I have, to decide what mid mufflers or 'resonators' (which are just straight through, narrower mufflers) I can add and hopefully cut out a lot of exhaust leaks, pinhole, v-band or otherwise. But first step will be to 'take a look' before the next step.
    • Fark the AFM card and Nistune, Haltech Nexus S3, DBW, cruise control, flex fuel, dis dat.  
    • It's most likely the bolt/bush where the cover bolts back wore and allowed cover to move forward.
    • Still haven't put the injectors and R35 AFM in so we can tune the bloody thing for the HG highflow it got mid last year! I think I can forecast the upgrade path to a bigger twin scroll, external gate, Haltech, flex setup, Samsonas, dis dat, etc will be .... a while away!
×
×
  • Create New...