Project S13K

The transformation of Ben Schwartz's S13 Nissan to a Nissan/Honda hybrid.

In the Dec. '07 issue of 2NR, we offered a complimentary "cock tease" of sorts to our avid readers by giving them a glimpse of a rather unique project performed by Design Craft Fabrication of Lake Forest, Calif. Gary Castillo, owner and scapegoat of the S13K project began building the most controversial and heart-wrenching hybrid swap to date: A project that consists of a S13 Nissan chassis with the heart of a Honda S2000. With disgruntled Nissan and S2K wannabes claiming their cars were the ultimate KA24 and F22C machines in the world, we were rather surprised to find a large cult following of the project. Many of who, constantly blew up our phone lines and e-mailed us with random guesses on how the build would evolve, all the while pleading and begging for more information.

In asking why driver and vehicle owner, Ben Schwartz, decided to try his luck with the S2000 powerplant in more detail, he said, "I chose to go with this swap for several reasons. The most important reason is reliability. Honda motors are just great engines to begin with. To give you guys an example, I'll tell you a little story about the RS-R S2000. That car was used in competition for four years; it was first driven by Alex Pfeiffer then driven by Tyler McQuarrie. The motor used all factory internals, rods, pistons, cams and valvetrain. The only thing changed was a headgasket. Now in those four years of competition use, the only problem that car ever had was a blown headgasket. Now, for those of you who know Alex, he drives hard, so this motor was by no means 'babied.' I don't know of any SR20 that has been abused for four years with all factory internals and still runs with full compression pushing 400 hp."

Well folks, the wait is finally over. Project S13K has entered its completion stage. We follow up with Design Craft as they tackle the all important wiring segment, shifter and turbo setup, just three days before the S13 vert takes its maiden drift voyage down the racetrack in New Jersey.

Brian Crower forced induction camshafts along with a set of BC duel valvesprings. Titanium retainers keep the F22C humming along; its lifetime is spent periodically bouncing off the rev limiter when on the track.

Schwartz's personal S13 vert has seen its final days powered by a Nissan powerplant as it prepares to undergo a transformation with the aid of a Honda S2000 powerplant.

Design Craft's confidence in the engineering and reliability of the F22c engine leaves the team to leave the bottom end completely stock, while adding on miscellaneous parts to accommodate the new turbo setup.

The most frequent question we received by our readers via e-mails and forum postings was that of vehicle wiring. It's no surprise that the most feared scenario within any motor swap is the complexity of rewiring the engine harness to work in perfect harmony. For many, the thought of combining Nissan and Honda together into a singe car would be a wire nightmare from hell. However, we find the complete opposite when Castillo spent time in breaking down the wiring system of the S13K. Using a '03 S2K engine harness, Castillo reveals that the only section that has been modified on the harness is the injector section for the RC's 650cc and the section that goes from the ECU out to the main fuel relay. The S2K harness only comes with B and C connectors, but the A connector and D connector, which control many of the optional accessories, such as A/C, fan output, immobilizer, brake switch and tach output, aren't necessarily needed when conducting the swap. The vehicle speed input to the ECU is perhaps the most important piece needed from the A connector. Design Craft is using the AEM EMS unit to control vehicle input speed, eliminating the need to wire up the factory input to control the VTEC.

Design Craft Fabrication enlisted the help of DC Sports in donating a one-off 4-to-1 equal length manifold comprised of stainless steel. The manifold was a custom made unit, previously left over from Stephen Papadakis's AEM sponsored S2000 drift car and flanged to fit a TiAL 38mm external wastegate. "Because of the spacing on the passenger side of the 240, combined with the new F22C engine in place creates such an open area, you can pretty much fit any type of specifically designed S2K turbo manifold of any brand along with a S2K downpipe and it will fit without any clearance problems," Castillo said.

Those who are familiar with the S2K engine bay have noticed how the firewall tapers inwards toward the cockpit. This creates a tighter space to work with, as the S13 chassis lacks the taper design. Design Craft fabricated the necessary custom downpipe and exhaust system for the S13K. Schwartz best summed things up by saying, "The exhaust is on the passenger side, meaning there isn't a steering rack to get in the way of the down pipe, I know that doesn't sound like much but its a problem many LHD S chassis's have with turbos and manifolds."

An inside look at the engine bay.

As we mentioned in our previous issue the shifter was off by four inches from the original shifter location hole. Design Craft pushed the shifter location back by four inches but had to make a whole new linkage setup in the process. Adjusting the shifter to feel exactly like the factory unit was accomplished with the intuitive skills of Castillo.

A set of custom fabricated 231/44-inch charge pipes and 211/44-inch outlet pipes feed the GReddy S13 intercooler.

With a multiple array of turbos available on the market today, Design Craft opted to use a Garrett GT2860RS otherwise known as the "disco potato." The 62-trim ball bearing turbo sports a 47.2mm turbine wheel diameter with a .60 AR housing ratio and was used specifically to push out a maximum 350 whp without sacrificing any midrange and offered excellent top end power. The unit, received from Garrett, came with polished compressor housing and ceramic-coated exhaust housing for improved heat dissipation and performance.