Any "Cheap Car Challenge" build ideas?
 

I'm setting my '82ZX up for a "Cheap Car Challenge" against some guys on a local tuner site. $1500 limit including purchase and mods, then we're going to have different events next June including drag strip, autocross, show and shine, driveability along with best gas mileage etc. Safety items like $250 for tires, stock replacement brake parts, and stock replacement steering parts don't count in the totals. So far I've only got around $350 into the car including purchace, seat covers, steering wheel cover, and rear floor carpet. We also get extra points if we don't spend the full $1500. Is there a noticeable power increase with the 60mm throttle body, port matched intake and a header on an otherwise stock engine? I'm getting ready looking for a junkyard throttle body and header now, but I don't want to run up my modifications total on parts that make me lose power, or don't make any improvements. I thought about doing a L28et swap, but I can't afford it right now, since I only work in the summertime (not to mention the local junkyards are highly over priced). I also plan on doing a more expensive swap next summer after the Challenge thing, once my paychecks start comming in again, so swapping now would just be double work. Any ideas for other cheap/free mods that show a real improvement? I thought about having my flywheel lightened to help it free up some response. Right now the car runs nearly perfect, it just runs like a stock '82 280ZX 5 speed lol. Since the Challenge is a bunch of tuner kids, some of them are doing ebay purchased engine swaps. One kid got a steal on a Toyota V8 off E-bay that he's planning on stuffing into a first generation Celica for the Challenge. I've been kicking around the nitrous idea to help on the drag strip, any thoughts on the most affordable dependable wet system available? I don't really expect to win the drag racing portion, or the show and shine, but I should do fairly well in the ride and handling events, and might actually win the gas mileage event (I'm getting around 30-32mpg right now). So give me some of your thoughts, ideas, or past cheap mod results.

You first need a hp goal... then work towards that. Anything above 180hp I STRONGLY suggest getting an L28ET. Also, there's TONS of threads on here about engine mods, so ya know... feel free to search and you'll discover a lot.

There's really not much to do on the n/a motor... just the basic mods that you can do on any motor:

Bore it, shave the head, port & polish, mild cam, header, 60mm tb, upgraded ignition... etc etc etc....

I've read about the different mods both here and on Hybrids. The problem I'm having is I read about a lot of people doing the throttle body swap and headers with aftermarket cams and headwork as you suggest, but not much talk of stuff that helps with an internally stock n/a engine. Keeping in line with the "Cheap Car Challenge" basic intentions, my goal is just to improve hp and throttle response as much as possible, with commonly available junk yard parts. I'm looking to only spend around $500-$750 total on the engine mods, leaving the balance of the $1500 limit for suspension and body work. Any machine work on the engine or a turbo swap would most likely blow the contest's $1500 budget limit. That's why I'm looking for strictly bolt on mods. I'm doing the body work myself so my only deduct will be materials, and it will just be primered not painted.

v8..........

i turboed my car fot only about 500 dollars. so if yah did that, u still got alot oh-money to play with. or does that include purchase of vehicle?


and note, thats turboed, not swaped in a turbo motor. other than all the electronics (besides the sesnsors on the motor already excliding the distributor and injectors) the motors are identical. besides a slight compression increase. but its truly nothing to worry about. as long as you know what your doing and how to keep it in the safe limits with proper mods

Yeah the $1500 does include purchase price. I have about $1000-$1100 left to spend without going over the limit.

if you are going to do this, here is the list. you have a 1982, that means you have a "p" series head, so that being said, you can shave .080" of the bottom of it for cheap, and the price of some gaskets. thatll be 200 ish for it al, and raises the comp ratio to 10.5:1. you can run pump gas and the stock computer. dont buy a header, just get 2.5" exhaust, 250 bux there. get a msd blaster2 coil. 50 bux. and get off ebay some lowering springs and a set of good shock. thats aboot 400 bux there. now stop. thats all you need to win it all against most 5.0 mustangs, in handling and quarter mile stuff. spend the rest on a macco paint job, so you can win the show and shine. then all you gotta do is enjoy the ride. the hardest job of it all is the head shave, youll need spacers for the cam towers, but if your savy, then you can make them yourself. you can also swap a "n" series head onto that block and acheive the same thing, but you wont have the head temp sensor, and it will screw things up if you dont use it. so maybe be creative and drill and tap the port into the "n" series head, that option may be cheaper. so your up to 900 bux in motor work, plus the paint, youll win, if you can drive! trust me, ive done all this on several z cars, its proven and works.

hmmm... shady, i like that idea, im.... wait, NVM i cant tell u guys this yet, its a surprise. but basically, i like that raising the compression idea. 10.5-1 huh, whats that do for us then bring the stock 140 up 20hp?

Sounds good, This is the type of responses I was hoping for. I have an extra head on my parts car I could pull and get shaved, then just swap it in a day or so once it's ready to go for less downtime. Would it be worth it with the increased compression, to go ahead and get the header and a bigger throttle body from the junk yard, and portmatch the intake manifold myself, or do the stock manifolds still flow enough to get the job done with the stock cam with just the raised compression? Not really as worried about the paint as I am performance, since everybody else is pretty much spending their entire budget stictly on purchase and performance. Paint will come later on down the road after the engine swap.

the big bore tb is really not ness. at the stage at which your at. even my $6000 n/a motor doesnt use the full potential of it. you need a custom computer setup and custom intake mainifold before that really is needed, same with the header. at the point there, the header really just makes it sound nicer. stock cam is fine on these cars, it always helps to get a bigger one, but not ness. for what your trying to accomplish. those upgrades usually boast aboot 160 ish at the rear wheels add a cam and header, prolly looking at 180. add the tb, then you can add 5hp, then the intake and comp, well then its gonna go up, dont know how much yet tho. im still working on that part.

Ok thanks, will post here when the Challenge is over and let you know how it turned out.