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Comments on my plans for NA L28 race engine build


turbogrill

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Hi,

 

I am planning to build a race car engine for my 280zx endurance Chumpcar racer. It's all amateur hobby racing and nothing professional, still it would suck very much if it breaks during a race. I am doing this 50% for power and 50% for reliability. I am a beginner hobby mechanic.

 

I got all the OHC Nissan books :)

 

My goals:

 - 100% for 10hours without blowing up several times a year.

 - Usable range 3500 - 7000 RPM (To keep cost down and keep some reliability)

 - 200HP crank (but 250 would be fantastic)

 

Engine will consist of the following:

 - Megasquirt fuel only (can't do timing due to race regulations)

 - Race camshaft (Schneider 284-92F is a good candidate, 284/292 (236/244 @ 0.05"). 488/.504 lift)

 - MSA Headers 

 - F54 block 

 - N47 head (worth spending $650 for a Lonewolf porting?)

 - Some exhaust (2"?)

 

I have a F54 block that comes with pistons but no head. This is what I plan to do:

 

1. Replace piston rings

2. Replace main and rod bearings

3. Replace all gaskets

4. New waterpump

5. New oilpump

6. New cam springs

7. New rocker arms

8. Should I get new pistons (block comes with pistons)?

9. Should I get a new Timing kit?

 

Is there anything I should add to my todo list? 

Does the cam make sense? 

 

Is there something that is specially hard that I should leave to a professional? First time I ever mess with engine internals.

 

I am not super tight on budget but forged pistons is way out of my budget.

 

Many thanks

Edited by turbogrill
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You don't need forged pistons for the kind of rpms you're planning on. If they aren't damaged, I'd reuse the stock pistons. Spend the money on a valve job. Loose bottom end + tight top end = hp. You might want to do a reground cam vs Schneider. I really like their springs, but their cams seem to have a habit of losing a lobe. Might be due to new oil formulations, but the other possibility is the cams are too soft, in which case a reground stock cam is a good option.

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200 crank hp will not be a problem to reach.

I have just dynoed my new engine and its not perfectly tuned.

It made 180 whp, dont know what crank hp that is but i guess around 220.

N42 +1mm block with flattops and a E88 head with no port job.

Tripple 45

Msa stage 3 cam

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200 crank hp will not be a problem to reach.

I have just dynoed my new engine and its not perfectly tuned.

It made 180 whp, dont know what crank hp that is but i guess around 220.

N42 +1mm block with flattops and a E88 head with no port job.

Tripple 45

Msa stage 3 cam

Nice build. Care to share the curve? Curious to she how the power is delivered.

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Easy peasy.  Do you need to run on pump gas? You can do a lot better with some serious compression and different head.

 

Otherwise the N47 is fine for pump gas.  Build engine like the book and verify every single tolerance.  Stock flat top pistons are fine.  Shoot for a little over 10:1 compression.  The higher you go, the more octane boost you will need to keep the N47 from pinging on 93.  Pocket port clean up the head so there is a smooth blend into the valve seat.  Good valve job.  Balance out the rockers/lash pads.  Use the most open intake/throttle body set up you can afford and port match manifold to gasket to head.  Run 2.5 or 3 open exhaust with a good header.  If 2.5 use mandrel bends, if 3 muffler shop bends are fine. Personally I would go with a milder cam to keep from moving the power band up and try to keep the rev limit around 6500-6700.

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