Engine Mock-Up
I started by cleaning up the engine bay and taking any miscellaneous things off the engine. Once I got the engine in place it was amazing how small it looked in the 240z... its a tight squeeze width wise but it really looked at home.
I wanted to fit the engine with as little modification to the car and engine as possible. The goal was to get the engine to sit in place without modifying the sump or the plenum. After starting to lower it in place it was clear that there would be several areas of interference.
With the rear TB location on the plenum, the factory 240z hood latch was the first thing that needed to be removed, followed by the 240z transmission cross member mounts which protruded too far into the transmission tunnel to allow for the much larger 350z 6 speed transmission.
The next issues were with the front sump oil pan which landed on the 240z suspension cross member. To clear the cross member the engine would have to move back about 1.5", which was not possible without a new intake plenum. While modifying the VQ oil pan was an option, I wanted to avoid it if possible. I started trimming a spare cross member and thought that it would prove to be a good solution if strengthened properly.
It was clear that it would be very difficult to get the A/C compressor to fit in the stock VQ location due to interference with the steering shaft.
At the end of the day I was happy with the engine fitment and the few issues seemed to be pretty easy to work around.