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Pigeon-Rat - Opel gambler build

1966 Opel rekord mounted to 1990 Nissan pathfinder.
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Long overdue update. Finally got my hands on a supercharged xterra. I decided the best way to get the swap figured out was to pull the engine and the entire wiring harness and put together a run stand. If I can make it run here, I should be able to make it run in the pigeonrat.

View attachment 20210829_214412.mp4

Got it to fire on starting fluid!

I haven't been able to get the fuel pump to come on yet, but it appears that is all that is keeping it from running.

Btw, anyone have access to a full wiring diagram for a 2002 supercharged xterra? Or know where to get one? It would be super helpful when I start pulling out wires.
 
Thats pretty cool Josh!
have you tried some Xterra forums?
 
Super cool build.

I just found this tonight, my only dissappointment is that I am already caught up.

Martin
 
Thanks man!

I was able to verify today that the signal is getting to the fuel pump connector. Weird thing is, it only comes on during "start", and for a few seconds after. I expected it to come on during "run" as well. Maybe if the engine starts, it stays on. Have to figure that out.

However, the reason the pump doesn't actually come on, is I broke the connector on the tank.
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I already knew I broke the hose attachment, but I didnt realize I'd broken the wire connector too. (Circled on the left).

So, I'll have to replace this piece, but I can't get the connections off on the underside.
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The brown one looks like the type you need to slide a tool into, but there is no room to do it. The black one is new to me. Can't figure out how its supposed to release.

Any help?
 
The one on the left is similar to Ford stuff. Squeeze the two tabs above that I circled in red and that should depress the locks tabs I circled in green. Some times they just get crappy with age and you gotta push in on the tab itself in the green circle. Just looking at this pic for the line on the right I'd say you squeeze the two tabs circled in yellow. Have you tried searching fuel pump replacement videos on YouTube for this vehicle?
Fuel.png
 
Yeah, been looking at videos today. Looks like you are right on the brown one. On the black one they just left it on because they couldn't get it off. :doah:
I did see how to pull it up further out of the tank though, so maybe I can disconnect the other end. :dunno: I'll try again after work.
 
Plastic quick connect stuff like that is all nice for assembly and the first few years then it just gets brittle and old and doesn't work right. I just did some heater hoses with stupid plastic quick connect fittings and had to just break them due to not releasing correctly. Ran into that on fuel lines a lot too.
 
I got it running!

View attachment 20210831_213247.mp4

I messed with the connectors for a bit, then realized the top part was already broken, so I just broke off the bottom as well, then removed the connectors easily.
With that done I hooked the lines back up (not using the white plastic part) and she started right up!

I need to finish the last of my blazerbash prep now, but I'll get to cleaning up the harness when I get back.
 
It's about time I provided an update to this build.

I've got the engine back together after the rebuild and I got it back on the stand and running again.
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Once I verified that everything was working correctly, I pulled the harness off of it and stabbed the engine.

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Then it was back to wiring hell to integrate the new engine harness and ECM into the existing pigeonrat harness.

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Since I was into it, I took the time to remove everything from the original pathfinder harness that I wasn't using anymore. (rear hatch wiper, defrost. door locks. anti-theft. OBD1 computer. etc)
With all of that out of the way, I added in the stuff I needed from the Xterra. I had to extend all of the wires for the ECM since I am going to install it under the passenger seat.
This took a lot of time and patients for sure. LS swap wiring is very well documented and fairly easy at this point. Xterra to Pathfinder to Opel VG33ER swaps are significantly less popular and less will documented. :)

Most of the wiring work is done now, so I reinstalled it in pigeonrat so I can make the battery and alternator connections.
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Since I cut away all of the structure in front of the firewall, other than the frame, I need to build up something to hang the front fenders and grill. I also want to make it substantial enough to mount suspension components off of so that I can add more travel.
The plan is to build some hoops over both sides from 1.75 DOM
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Should look similar to the orange line in both pics, with a crossover tube to tie them both together. It'll probably have to go behind the supercharger, but I won't know for sure until I get working on it.
The red lines will extend forward and land on the body mounts. The should end up on the sides of the radiator, provide some protection up front and give me something to build off of to hand the front body work.

I'm hoping to start the engine in the next few days. Hopefully I didn't screw up anything while integrating all of these wires.

20220205_233209.jpg
 
Exhaust is time consuming! I was tempted to put an flex piece in my crossover too. I think it's definitely a good idea for a setup like yours.
 
mrk5 said:
Exhaust is time consuming! I was tempted to put an flex piece in my crossover too. I think it's definitely a good idea for a setup like yours.
Click to expand...
I probably wouldn't have thought of it on my own, but when I saw the discussion of them on your build, I remembered that the stock cross tube had one, so I decided that made too much sense not to do.
 
I finished up the wiring for the engine compartment yesterday... mostly. I need to add a better ground connection from the block to the frame (kept tripping the circuit breaker last night), but otherwise wiring is finished.

I moved the battery into the rear seat footwell.
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battery box.PNG

That gets a bunch of weight off of the front end, and also clears out a lot of room.

My goal was to keep as much stuff out of the engine bay as possible in order to make room for suspension upgrades later. Also I wanted to make it easier to access the engine and remove the fenders.

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It's kinda hard to see in the pics, but the areas above the front tires is completely clear, so plenty of room for suspension stuff later.

I have everything tucked away now and as far as the engine swap is concerned, it's done! ...ish

I do have a lot of work left to do around the windshield and firewall. When we put this thing together originally I really thought it was going to last a year, then be scrap. Since I'm enjoying it so much, now that the interior and windshield are out, it's time to fix a lot of stuff that I half-assed last time.
 
A huge step forward! I was able to pull it out and drive it.

View attachment 20220404_205138.mp4

However...

Went out to start it yesterday, and it won't turn over. :(

I can't get the key to activate the starter. It's weird because I can hear the starter relay clicking. I checked with a test light and power is coming through the relay. I can disconnect the relay and supply power to the wire (that goes to the starter) and that kicks the starter over just fine. Also, I disconnected the 1,2 pins on the relay and connected them directly to power and ground, and that kicks over the starter too.

I think I am still battling ground issues. The key switch supplies power to the relay and the ground is routed through a switch on the clutch. My working hypothesis is that the connection to ground on the other side of the switch is there, but not connected well enough. I hope I can trace it down tonight.
 
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