I have a 73 240z and am having the 2.8L block from an 82-ZX N/A rebuilt. i would like to use my E-88 head on top. the 82 block has flattop pistons and i just noticed last night that the 2.4L has valve cutouts on the pistons. is this going to cause an issue with swapping the blocks but keeping the E-88 head?
will i need to buy pistons in the new block with cutouts for the valves!? i dont have a lot of money and have already spent 600 on getting the block built. i plan to reassemble the rest myself. any help is greatly appreciated. thanks.

Scott

also i already have a 5 spd from an 80zx.

 

E88 head with F54 block? - 6 Cylinder Z Forums - HybridZ

You shouldn't have clearance issues.

By the way, the 73 E-88 was an emissions head and is generally considered to be inferior. You may be better off sticking with the P-79 that came on the motor. It has a better quench design to the chamber and it already has the right sized valves with the hardened seats.

 

when i bought the engine it was blown and the head was trashed so i worked a deal and just bought the block. i have been reading and i think i may try to find an E-31 of an early 71-72.

thanks for the input

 

If you are on a budget, the E88 should be fine unless you are trying to squeeze every last HP out of the motor. The money spent replacing the head you have could be used elsewhere and probably get better results. According to the Honsowetz book:

"The E88 is excellent for use on the L28...For street performance, no porting is required and only a moderate amount of polishing. Polish the combustion chambers and around the valve seats to break the machined edges. That's all that is required."

 

i have been doing a lot of reading and found that i have a later e-88. i believe came from a 260 as well as the carbs ( or possibly its just a real late 73). i have bell type su's. i was thinking of shaving the head about .015-.020 to counter the altitude her in ABQ, 5000ft. im not looking for a racecar or anything top end, i would just like a little more pep out of the girl without running into issue like valve clearance or low compression.

 

You might as welll work on a later head which has the larger valves. The first year E88 was exactly the same as the E31 ('71). Personally I would opt for the P90 and invest in the info you will find here-http://www.bandmzcars.com/headinfopage.html

 

i am pretty sure i have the 4th and final version of the e-88 wich i believe came from a 260 as well as my carbs as they are bell type su's. im really looking to a huge power gain but just a little more.

also a side note. i am having troubles with my back-up light switch not being engaged by the transmission. i have gone through every t/s tree i can and everything wiring related works fine. no issues there. i have a zx 5 spd and a 2 switches that both work fine when i press them by hand. when i install either in the tranny it wont engage when i put it in reverse. the car is sitting on jack stands, could this cause the issue? also i know i have the right switch.

 

Sounds like the switch button is not being engaged by the transmission. Does it thread all of the way in?

 

You can check this by testing for 12 volts into the switch and out when it is in reverse, (key on)

 

i think the transmission isnt engaging it. because it works just fine when i press the switch with it removed. i havent had BU lights for a while now so im just going to continue to go without. i should be getting my head back soon and reassembling the engine. i was wondering, since i dont think ill have clearance issuse with the head, what would be a good amount to shave off to compensate for the elvation here, ALB NM. we lose almost a whole point at 5000 ft. i would like to shoot 9:1

 

This will help you decide
RSR Static Compression Ratio Calculator

 

everything went well until the timing was 180 out and it misfired hard and blew the head gasket. i hope it didnt damage anything. only thing i know for sure is that there is coolant passing into the oil.

 

Sorry to hear that, most unfortunate. Sounds like you got the worst possible results. Timing is something that deserves careful attention to detail. Some lessons in life tend to really suck, I feel for you.

 

turns out i got a little ahead of myself and didnt tighten down the water pump all the way so it was leaking down onto the oil pump. after i dumped the oil pan i didnt find any coolant. also after moe troubleshooting i realized that i was 2 splines off on the oil pump/ distributor shaft. after i fixed that it fired right up and ran beast as hell. what a diff in power from the 2.4 ( and a clean rebuild!)

i just ordered my front air damn, 10-160mph speedo and white gauge faces. mirrors next although im not going to use the fender mirrors i bought. maybe down the road. il post pics at the end of may of the Z/'s current status.