Hey all,
Thought I'd start a thread about my project so that I'm not hijacking any other threads whenever anyone asks me.

A little history:
I've swapped the VG30DE into the older Z31 chassis, with eventual plans to supercharge it. However I've run into a few hurdles getting everything working together. Specifically, for the last year, I've been trying to figure out what i want to do regarding a problem with the oil filter. I've had custom exhaust headers made up but the only way they could fit them in is if they took the oil filter bracket off. In doing so, I now have to figure out how to get oil out of the engine to filter it, and back into the engine.

Sounds easy, but when you've got less than an inch between the engine block and the exhaust header it gets rather hard to get something manufactured that will fit in there.

I've been playing with the idea of dry sumping the engine complete with electric oil pump. This should provide quite a few benefits:

1: No load on the crank to pump oil around the engine. Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch; It's going to put more load on the electrical system which will probably mean a more powerful alternator is needed, which will draw more power from the crank.
However, that being said, the oil pump will provide more power in much the same way an electric water pump does. By operating at a constant speed (rather than whatever rpms the crank is doing) it will mean that less power will be wasted pumping it faster than what it needs to be.

2: By removing the huge sump from the bottom of the engine, I can lower the engine down more in the engine bay, creating a lower centre of gravity at the front to privide better stability in cornering (especially under heavy oversteer :D).

3: The oil pump can be started a few seconds before starting the engine. ie. at the same time as the fuel pump, ensuring oil distribution at engine startup.

5: With the lower engine, i have a hope of fitting on the supercharger while keeping the bonnet looking stock. :D

So where am I now? I've got the engine on an engine stand, with the sump off, and I'm trying to take the oil pump off. Unfortunately it looks like the timing belt sprocket on the front of the crankshaft is quite securely rusted onto the crank, and I don't think I've got a hope in hell of getting it off without destroying my engine in the process.

-Mike

sorry about all the problems mikeman. i would really like to see you get this project running.

as for your problem...th dry sump sounds like a good idea but how much work?

as for your supercharger with the stock bonnet/hood. me and delerious saw pics of a centrifugal mounted in the exact place of the AC compressor. just an idea....

there's stuff you can get that eats thru rust... i'd definitely suggest giving that a try (gunk's liquid wrench worked for me) so you can get this thing back on the road!

just as a side note, there's a guy over on zcar.com that lowered his engine down using polyeurathane mounts and he said the difference in handling was incredible... he's still running the vg30et with stock oiling system and he says the clearance for everything is shiny.. if i were to continue modding my z31t i'd definitely consider doing something along those lines...

oh and k3 that was on a vg30e.. not DE :p

i hope u can get this all worked out mikeman. I too looked at drysumping my vg and in doing so realized id be pretty damn expensive and a bit of custom fab work mounting the pump and so on.....ive worked on more than a few drysumped motors and a crowded Z enginebay wont be easy. but then again im not as fumiliar with the Z31. Good luck.
as for the rust i say u just buy a bunch of that rust-eater and just spray it down like every hour for 2 days and youll be set lol

also for the rust...there is this stuff called PB buster or something like that. works great and is used by most industrial machine work companies. thats what the guys to break loose anything and everything at my place of employment. they say its better than any commercial strength stuff that they could be using.