Nissan cube z11

[ianlea73]

I've decided that having an r34 skyline just isn't enough jdm in my life so I bought this.



Which when purchased from my mate looked like this.




He had started to get an engine rattle & loss of power & carried on driving it until the engine finally died.
He started to pull it apart & have it as a project but life changes & he offered it to me.
So bought, collected & home. Pulled the old boat anchor out in about 4 hours & cleaned up the engine bay.





I've sourced a replacement engine from a Nissan note & with a few parts swapped it should be back running soon.

[Dez]

Been there, done that. HG went 2 days after purchase.



Looks like an identical model, same wheels and grille. Ours has the brown interior.
I also used a note engine in the end. I can run you through exactly what you need to change if you don’t already know?

[ianlea73]

Yarp mine has the brown interior too.
I have read a few things online like the flywheel adapter, fuel rail swap, alternator from the cube & a few other bits.
If I've missed anything then yes please, any info is invaluable.
Thanks Dez

[brothersgrimm]

Love these things and I'm not into the JDM scene at all! Good luck with the engine swap!

[Dez]

Aug 28, 2020 11:56:39 GMT ianlea73 said:

Yarp mine has the brown interior too.
I have read a few things online like the flywheel adapter, fuel rail swap, alternator from the cube & a few other bits.
If I've missed anything then yes please, any info is invaluable.
Thanks Dez

Here’s what I wrote at the time-
I’ve just done one today, CR14DE engine, and these are the bits that came up on mine (‘12 note engine into a ‘03 auto cube).

1. Obviously you have to swap the flywheel to the flexplate for the auto, but you also have to swap the sandwich plate as they’re different, and move one of the engine dowels to do this. (Is also read about a ‘crank Adapter’, no idea what they were on about as mine didn’t have anything like that).

2. The dipstick was different, the cube one is fatter at the top so doesn’t fit in the note tube, and is a different length. Not a problem if the note one is ok but mine was broken so I had to swap the tubes over.

3. You have to swap the entire engine loom as the connector to the rest of the car is different. All other connectors were the same, except the oil pressure sender (above the oil filter) so you have to swap this too. This is hard to get undone without the right odd-shaped socket, I ended up removing the water rail and using a spanner.

4. The fuel rail is different- the inlet hose is at the opposite end on the note one. I swapped the whole lot including the injectors.

5. I’d been told by more than one person the inlet manifold and airbox were different. On mine they were 100% identical.

6. All other parts I swapped over from the cube engine anyway as they were known good. The bracketry around the back corner of the head near the oil filler is different, other than that the ancillaries all seem to be interchangeable. I used the original cube alternator and AC pump, to do this you need to get a note drive belt or change the crank pulley, as the note belt is one rib narrower than the cube one, so the cube belt won’t fit on the note pulley. It’s easier to grab a belt than change the pulley so that’s why I did it that way.

[ianlea73]

Great info cheers chap.

[75swb]

Looks mean, following with interest. Good luck with the swap, sounds a similar level of compatability to my golf engine into a transporter swap. Not that it matters when you're rolling a cool JDM cube but will there be an increased fuel efficiency or power increase to be gained from the newer engine?

[Dez]

Nah, they’re an identical engine.
They stopped making the timing chains out of toffee and the headgaskets don’t seem to go as much (but that mayjust be down to having less heat cycles on them being from newer donors) but They’re still dog slow and terrible on fuel 😂

[ianlea73]

While waiting on the engine I decided to fully strip the interior for a valet & remove the dash trim for a repaint.











Bought myself a set of BBS solitude wheels & started giving them a quick refurb.

[ianlea73]

Colour coded the dash trim in nutmeg brown using plastikote from wickes. Really pleased with the finish. Fitted a double din to fill the gap in the centre trim.



Finally found the time to swap parts, sensors etc onto the Note engine, mount the gearbox & fitted the loom. Then with help from a mate, the engine went in today. Hope to get it all buttoned up tomorrow.

[ianlea73]

Fingers crossed, mot on wednesday.
Then valet exterior ready to sell on.

[ianlea73]

Good news the cube has 12 months Mot.

[cuberider]

Where can I find that front bumper will it fit a 2012 Nissan Cube In the US

[fr€$h&m1nt¥]

Aug 3, 2021 4:33:15 GMT cuberider said:

Where can I find that front bumper will it fit a 2012 Nissan Cube In the US

No, they’re completely different car.