Nissan 430ZX: A Japanese Sports Car With An LV3 Swap
It’s a recipe that is almost as old as the automobile itself: The engine swap. Take a great car and replace its worn-out engine with something newer with better performance. You can find all sorts of engine and chassis combinations from the DIY project car crowd, from the immensely popular LS swap to something a little more unique, like a J35 V6 swap in a Honda S2000. Trevor Campbell decided his Nissan 300ZX could benefit from an engine swap, but wanted something different, which is why he went for an LV3 swap.
What Is An LV3?
If you haven’t heard of the LV3, you aren’t alone. The LV series of V6 engines is GM’s slept on truck engine. Much like the old 4.3 V6 design was a small-block 350 with two cylinders chopped off, the LV3 (and LV1) is a 4.3-liter V6 based on the Gen V LT 5.3 V8 from the 2014 and newer trucks. The old iron 4.3 was in production for almost thirty years (1985-2014) and had a reputation for being a trusty workhorse, even if it had the performance of a four-cylinder and the gas mileage of a big block.
The GM LV3 and LV1 V6, on the other hand, is an all-aluminum six-cylinder that borrows as much tech as it can from its Gen V LT V8 big brothers. Including coil-near-plug ignition, direct injection EFI, and cylinder heads that flow the same as the L83 5.3-liter V8. The result is a lightweight, compact, and robust workhorse that actually gets good gas mileage and was rated from the factory at 285 horsepower and 305 pound-feet of torque on 87-octane and 297 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque on E85.
The 4.3 shares the same 3.622-inch stroke as the 5.3 and 6.2 engines, but with a bore that’s slightly bigger than the old LS1 at 3.921-inches. Some have caught on to the LV3 swap and its performance potential, and even some aftermarket performance parts suppliers like Scoggin Dickey and Brian Tooley Racing make performance parts to increase the performance. You can find the LV V6 engines in 2014 to 2021 half-ton Silverados and Sierras and 2018 and newer GM commercial vans.
The Nissan Fairlady Z
The last 300ZX generation was made from 1990 to 1996 on Nissan’s Z32 chassis. These cars boasted excellent handling, a featherweight curb weight, and a low-drag body. You could either have the base engine, which was a 222-horsepower 3.0-liter DOHC naturally-aspirated Nissan V6, or the twin-turbo version that made 300 horsepower.
Trevor’s 1993 300ZX was born with the naturally aspirated V6 and a 5-speed manual, but he bought it for a steal due to its damaged engine. Instead of sourcing a replacement engine, he chose to tackle an LV3 swap for more displacement, power, and a more mod-friendly engine than the original engine.
An LV3 Swap In A Z32 Creates A Nissan 430ZX
The aluminum 90-degree V6, out of a 2014 Silverado in this case, fits well into the 300ZX’s engine bay, but getting everything mounted, hooked up, and running takes some ingenuity. Trevor made the engine mounts himself out of steel that uses the rubber donut-style mounts from an old Volvo for cushion. The stock truck oil pan on the GM V6 hangs far too low for a sports car, so a road race oil pan was sourced from Moroso. The accessory drive is off a 6th-gen LT1 Camaro with a custom-made bracket to use a Jeep Liberty power steering pump.
Instead of sourcing a manual transmission from another GM car or truck that could mate to the GM V6, Campbell instead made his own adapter plate to mate the Nissan 5-speed that was in the 300ZX to the LV3. He also redrilled the stock Nissan flywheel to fit the crankshaft bolt pattern on the 4.3 LV3, so no need for a custom clutch to mate the two. The stock 300ZX transmission, driveshaft, shifter, clutch, clutch hydraulics, and starter were all reused from the Nissan. This extra effort to custom-make his own transmission adapter paid off in the long run to keep the LV3 swap costs down.
Electrics for an LV3 swap are surprisingly simple. Because the LT-based GM V6 is wired in a very similar way to the Gen V LT V8s it’s based on, including the E92 ECU that controls it, a standalone engine harness and tuning options are easily obtainable. An exhaust system for the swap was also easier to solve than you might think. Since the V6 is a shorter Gen V V8, the exhaust manifold pattern on the cylinder heads is very similar. A pair of stock 6th-gen Camaro LT1 used manifolds was used. On the driver’s side manifold, the rear primary tube was cut off and welded shut, and the front primary tube on the passenger side was given the same treatment. This simple modification helped complete the dual exhaust system for the swap.
The intake manifold, on the other hand, proved to be more of a challenge. The stock truck intake manifold performs well, but is very tall. Trevor ran his 430ZX without a hood when the LV3 swap was first completed, but an intake swap was in his future to fit everything properly under the stock hood. As of writing this, there aren’t any aftermarket off-the-shelf intake manifold options for the LV V6 engines. Trevor’s solution is similar to what others have done for these engines: take a Gen V LT V8 intake manifold and chop it down to fit. The throttle body opening was changed to fit the stock V6 throttle body as well. The throttle body off a V8 engine could be used, but would be overkill. The modified low-profile sheet metal intake allowed him to refit the stock hood and hide his new powerplant.
What’s Next For The 430ZX?
As of right now, Trevor is enjoying his Nissan with the LV3 swap. With a curb weight of around 3,200 pounds, it doesn’t make much power to make this classic Japanese sports car scoot. How much power exactly? Well, the Nissan 430ZX hasn’t hit the dyno just yet. But with the intake manifold, free-flowing exhaust, and a BTR Truck Norris Jr cam, we wouldn’t be shocked to see around 400 horsepower at the flywheel. That’s almost double the amount it came with in 1994 and one hundred more than a stock twin-turbo model. Want to hear what it sounds like, or have more questions? Check out his YouTube channel where he talks about the swap and even has a ride-along video!
Want to see the power potential for these 4.3-liter GM V6 engines? Check out the turbo dyno video below!
