Didn't realize the car was in US. Photo shows RH drive so thought it was oz.

Yes for those in heavily-regulated states like California the year of the engine is important

No worries here, our 1200s are in states that do not require testing or certification. Hawaii has a yearly "safety testing" to make sure the lights, tires and window tint are safe. Washington state where the ute is only tests cars (for emission compliance) that are newer than 25 years old, WA has no safety or registration tests (WA has only 7 million people so no need for a lot of regulation)

Don't forget the engineering requirements for registration. If you use an engine made before lead free laws were introduced, 1/7/86, you'll have an easier time passing the emissions tests. VG?

http://www.engineswapdepot.com/wp-con ... 0-B2-with-a-VW-VR6-08.jpg



Dont know what else was done to the Miata but the factory vr6 engine is 143kg
which is lighter than a factory SR20DE both dressed

2474 lb vs 3370 lb Miata is more than 25% lighter curb weight than a 350Z. Now what happens when you put that VQ in a Datsun 1200 like Kuni did?

The vq35 has one awards but even a honda s2k beats a 350z
it is alot of capacity for such little torque and power
vq35de should be making 400hp stock, the vq37dd at least 430hp.
Ford V6 is doing better in heavier bodies.
The vg has that retro look and nice torque band for what it is.
I would rather go non-nissan than go to a vq35de
eg. Audi or VW VR32 or 36 they are super compact engines
and lighter than the VQ at 143kg fully dressed.
Problem is making an adaptor for a nissan box or better
the world class t5 s-10 stumpy or tremec.

my fave
https://www.engineswapdepot.com/?p=13757

nissan sivia drifter with vr6 turbos
https://s17-us2.ixquick.com/cgi-bin/se ... 2f7f1bf2f6c565a8112aab73d

http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp11/unk577/image.jpg2_2.jpg\
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachments ... 3.jpg?dateline=1443233645

I have a VQ and VG I borrowed a certified load cell from work. It's accurate to +/- lbs. We will see how light the VQ is. Seems massive!

I also have a L20 a SR20DET and a KA24E going to weigh them all.

Consider the VQ instead of the VG. It's lighter and makes twice the HP, and is very common engine. The hardest part of the VQ is custom exhaust is needed due to the twin cam heads being wider. And it comes standard with 6-speed gearbox

VG30E (SOHC) 160-179 hp
VQ30DE (DOHC) 235-289 hp

VQ Engine Swap

I looked into making mine different and you can be as different as you want depending how handy you are and how deep your pockets are... It also depends on where you live to how hard it will be to get engineered, NSW is a nightmare for different reasons but just because it gets a cert they can still defect you... guilty till proven otherwise.

I hear you on the might as well go V8 although I don't care for the v8 sound (unless its the new mustang 350 with the flat plane crank) I'll just stick with the VG since I love the sound.

When I get to the swap I'll try and start a thread. maybe within the next year or two.