As the swap commenced, the decision was made to use forced induction to double the meager horsepower of the stock KA24DE. The engine block was bored .020 over in anticipation of custom made forged JE pistons. In addition to the full floating wrist pins, they were used to drop compression to a more boost friendly 8.0:1. With a stock forged crank and rods the bottom end of the KA24DE is quite stout from the factory, so these items were simply balanced for the rigors of high RPM usage. The head retains its stock ports, but benefits from the installation of Jim Wolf Technology (JWT) S-1 cams, JWT 8-way adjustable cam gears, new guides, and a 3-angle valve job. The factory exhaust manifold was ditched in favor of a custom tubular header fabricated by Steve Epperly to send the exhaust gases either through the HKS 40mm wastegate, or into the custom Turbonetics T3/T4E turbo. After the intake charge is compressed, it is routed through stainless piping and into a Starion intercooler. After the boosted air is cooled off, it heads for either the HKS Type 1 blow-off valve or into the stock throttle body and intake manifold. Since the stock 270cc injectors quickly proved themselves to not be up to the task of all this power, they were replaced. A Walbro 255 LPH in-tank fuel pump now feeds high-octane fuel through braided stainless lines into Nismo 740cc injectors. To expel spent gases, a custom 3" ceramic-coated downpipe feeds the mandrel bent 3" exhaust system. Quieting this cacophony is the job of a stainless Borla XR-1 muffler. To send the power rearward, a JWT 11 pound aluminum flywheel and ACT clutch attach the engine to the stock S13 5-speed transmission.
With a JWT modified ECU, the combo proved very potent. It mainly excelled at showing Kevin how poorly the stock rear suspension handles this kind of torque. As such, another visit was paid to Steve Epperly's shop to address the issue. On Steve's recommendation, the entire rear suspension (and part of the floor) was scrapped in favor of a one-off 4-link live axle set-up. Since the 510 wagon live axle is one of the stoutest third members Datsun ever built, it was called to duty for this application. To fit tires that were wide enough that they wouldn't just go up in smoke any time full throttle was applied, several changes were made. Steve took the wagon axle and swapped in a Nismo 3.89:1 LSD, S13 disc brakes, narrowed the axles and housing, and custom made a 1" sway bar. The final step in getting the 225/40-16 tires under the fenders without flares was to actually pull the entire quarter panel out approximately 1". This modification is so amazingly subtle that unless parked next to a stock fendered 510, it is all but invisible.