Sounds awesome!!!

 

Update.....I should be getting another engine this Sunday. Already have it lined up, and plan on trekking out there with the help of my brother. So I will put it on the engine stand, clean it up, replace seals and gaskets, paint it, and put it in my Z. I will update as I go. Until then......stay tuned.

 

Engine hoist is ready, and I have my parts list handy. Going to put my engine stand together tomorrow, then go and get my engine. Then probably in about a month or less. Have it running. Will take pics as I go. That is all for now....

 

Engine is on the hoist, and ready to go on the engine stand. My brother helped me get my '83 positioned to start pulling the motor out. Will have pics and such this week. More to come....

 

Yeah,keep us updated.

 

^ Will do.....speaking of which, probably going to start on it tomorrow morning. Or in a few hours. lol I will keep you all updated as always, with pics, and updates.

 

My brother came over yesterday, and helped me get the engine on the stand. And discovered, that it had to be rebuilt. I was a little bummed, but I'm going to build it up the most I can without boring it. It is rebuildable, and the cylinders are in good shape, with no scoring. This is just going to set me back a little longer than I had planned. But that is the risk you take buying a used engine. Especially one that has sat for 6 to 7 years. I would like to get a little more horsepower out of it. Put a performance cam, port and polish the intake. Also de web it, and take the sleeves out of the exhaust ports. Will keep reporting as we go. That is all for now....

 

Here are some pics of my progress, more to come...

Here are pics of my '83 before starting the rebuild process



Here are a few engine pics on the hoist, and then the teardown...




Will take more tomorrow when I get up. All the pistons are out of the engine, and they are in great shape. Just getting new rings, bearings, and a performance Competition cam. I want to give it a little more kick than stock. Maybe just 20 or a little more horsepower. I know it takes a lot of cash and time to build up an n/a. So I will be happy with a little more gain. Anyway more to come, and feel free to comment.

Also Shady....what all did you do to get your horsepower to 225? I know you mentioned it somewhere. But I don't remember where, and I don't know where to start. lol

Going to finish getting the manifolds off, then take the remainder of the things on the outside of the engine, and start cleaning it up for paint, and rebiulding. This will be my first engine I have ever rebuilt. So it is going to be a learning experience, and exiting to boot!

 

Well been really busy, and haven't really done much else with the car. I did start treating rust spots almost a month ago. The spare tire area has a pretty good size hole in it. So I will have to have some sheet metal welded in there, then rust treat and repaint it. I also was attending to my rust area near my passenger taillight. I am also going to strip the interior, and look for any other rust spots and take care of them. Quite a bit of work, but will hopefully start working on it again next weekend. This Easter weekend is booked.

I did find out, that I can use my P90 turbo head. Because it is practically new, and looks to have new parts, plus it was cleaned. The camshaft also looks fairly new. My brother is doing some testing on it, and will get back to me. So I will need to order headers for a square port head. I am going to take the crankshaft, and have it polished, and hopefully wont need to have it turned. Then just need to hone out the cylinders, and they should clean up nicely. Lots to do yet, but plugging away slowly.

And I will take pics when I get back to working on it. I am trying to take them as I work on it. Stay tuned....

Oh also I can no longer drive my Neon after this week. It failed smog, because of my engine light staying on. The wiring underneath the engine compartment is destroyed. After I get the Z up and running, I will put the Neon up, take the wiring harness out, and redo all the bad and melted wires. Because the wiring is so bad, the computer gets confused, and throws a "random multiple misfire code" When it doesn't have a misfire. Anyway, got my wife's older car passed smog. ('97 Dodge Stratus) So I will be driving that until I get my '83 Z running.

 

If you are going through all that trouble you should build it as a turbo engine, I have all the parts but you could probably get them from Jamal too. Might cost a little more, and take a little longer, but definitely worth it. Are you going to shave the head or leave the low cr?

 

I do not want to build a turbo engine, it is going to be my daily driver. I need something fairly economical, and the turbo is not. I can get high 20's or more with a healthy n/a. Which is what my Neon was getting. As far as I know...the turbo and n/a head are built the same. The c/r is mainly with the pistons, which mine are flat tops. And the turbo ones are dished, which brings the c/r down. And no, I am going to keep the head like it is. Because it looks to be rebuilt, it is very clean. The turbo will be in the future, just not now.

 

I'm pretty sure the cr on the p90 is a lot lower than the n/a. My stock turbo got 24mpg on my tx trip. But around town I couldn't keep my foot out of it.

 

^ Ok I will look more into it. I told my brother, I'll see what he says about it. If I can't use the P90, I will just buy a rebuilt n/a head like I did with my slicktop.

 

I doubt a built NA will get better gas milage than a similarly powered turbo car for A LOT less $$$

The P90 is different than the P79 - it's a better flowing head but it will drop your compression ratio with the same sized pistons compared to the P79. If you want to use a P90 you usually have to deck it then shim the cam towers, etc...

Swap the "A" grind cam into the P90 if you are running it as a NA. It's actually an upgrade when used as a turbo cam as well.

 

Is the "A" grind cam in the n/a head? Or is it a performance cam? Oh, and I am not going crazy with the build on the n/a. I just want a little more horsepower than stock. The turbo build will come later. I don't want a turbo as a daily driver. And I know what n/a's get mileage wise. I was getting high 20's with my '81 in the past. The main reason why I wanted to use the turbo P90 head, is because of money. The P90 is already rebuilt with a new or redone cam. I really don't know the history of it, but the valves and such are Nissan stamped, and very clean. And my original head off the engine I bought will need work and money into it. That is what I am looking at.

 

83? are you sure?

tail lights dont look like 83's unless they were replaced.

 

The one in this thread ('83 280zx n/a w/T-tops)...yes. Those are '82 & '83 tail lights. And as far as I know, they are the original ones from factory. The ones in my signature are '79 to '81 tail lights on my '82 slicktop.

 

Okay...my brother measured both heads, and they are identical with the valves and clearance. So I am going to get a Comp cam 280s, clean up the little stuff on the head's surface, and put it on the engine. So it is a green light now. Will start cleaning up my area this coming weekend. And get ready to pull the engine out of the car.

 

Well I have off this Saturday. So I will be pulling the engine out this weekend. I will take pics as I go. And after I get it out, I will clean up the engine bay, and other things. Stay tuned.....

 

Well the motor is out. It took me about 4 hours or so. I am pretty beat. I did take pictures, but I don't have time to put them on. Will try the next few days. I am sore everywhere. lol

 

ok now I am confused. If his car came with the P79 head that means he has the flat top pistons. Now I was told/read I couldn't use the P90 on my 79 because it has the dished. By this comparison the turbo motor should have the flat top pistons as well, so why would it lower his compression? Sorry if this is a stupid question. According to XenonS130; his chart shows the same CR for P79/P90. It would be 7.4 with dished and 8.8 with flat top. Oh and whats the decking and shimming you speak of? Couldn't I change my pistons to flat tops and use the P90 head with my NA cam? Maybe I am just reading something wrong

 

As promised.....here are some pics from last weekend. I did some little things this weekend but not a lot. More to come....


















After that cheap short movie. The engine is out, and on the ground. Will take more pics as I plug away at this project. Enjoy!

 

Awesome! Nice to see the progress.

 

No that's right - same compression but if you are modifying you're going to want to raise the compression on the NA to start making more power so you'll need to deck the head but when you deck the head you need to raise the cam gear back up so you don't have excess slack in the timing chain thus shimming the cam tower.

 

I know it has been a little while. But there wasn't much to say. Anyway, plans have changed some. I decided to get the suspension first. Which will be Tokico shocks and springs. Which unfortnately has gone up in price. They are now almost $600 when they used to be under $400. Unless somebody knows where I can get them cheaper.. It is the HPK255 kit.

After that I will go through the brakes and underneath the car. And also get a performance clutch. (Probably a Centerforce stage 2) Then check all the electrical after grounding things to the body. (because of the engine being out right now) Then after that I am going to get a remanufactured engine. I just don't have the time to rebuild an engine right now. And I want to get this running by winter at the latest. Of course the engine is 2k plus a core charge. Those have gone up in recent years. And if I want to put a cam in down the road. It is not hard to do. Then also I am getting new tires all around. (Still not sure if I am staying with the stock 14's or go to 15's. That is still in the works yet) Then go through the interior, clean it up make it better for daily driver status and such. Then take the car to a body guy, and take care of my spare tire cover (which has got a hole clear through) and by my right taillight. Which have rust pretty badly. Then when all is said and done, I will be close to 4k when the Z is ready for the road. Still cheaper than a new car. And then after everything I will have practically a new car.

So after I am done with the Z. The Neon will be next, fix the wiring. Then sell that, then my Firebird will be after that. That is all for now. More updates to come in the near future.