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250hp engine swap for $1500?


turbogrill

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Hi,

 

My racing league just updated the rules to be very favorable for a 1980 280zx NA engine swap (Chumpcar).

 

If I do a 250hp engine swap I still have plenty of room for suspension upgrades and not get any penalites. So I can almost double my horsepower (135 to 250hp). Not sure if'ts rear or crank, but it's good either way.

(They have a complicated formula that is exponential, I can't do 270hp without a ton of penalty laps. I guess they have a target PWR in mind).

 

Anyhow, there is a little catch:

 

- Engine swaps include stock long block, stock exhaust manifolds, stock motor mounts, starter, ECU and wiring. Any custom adapters required to fit engine are included, but not optional items (i.e. headers). 
- Maximum swap cost is $1500 (Engine and adapters).

 

My concern is the price, good thing is that I am allowed to rebuild the engine. So If I spend $1500 on a "broken" engine I could still rebuild it with stock components and be within the rules.

 

Possible? Comments?

 

(The engine can't be 1980 L28, maybe a 1981+ can work)....

Edited by turbogrill
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All you need is a 280zx turbo donor, or just the turbo, injectors, ecu, harness, exhaust manifold and oil pan. thats 180 hp stock, crank up the boost and you can get 200 whp pretty easy, add an intercooler and you can get about 250 whp. any more than that and you'll need to upsize injectors and deal with some sort of upgraded management, and likely head studs, and MLS gasket. Or you can get some dumpy v8 of your choice and a spool of welding wire and get to work.

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All you need is a 280zx turbo donor, or just the turbo, injectors, ecu, harness, exhaust manifold and oil pan. thats 180 hp stock, crank up the boost and you can get 200 whp pretty easy, add an intercooler and you can get about 250 whp. any more than that and you'll need to upsize injectors and deal with some sort of upgraded management, and likely head studs, and MLS gasket. Or you can get some dumpy v8 of your choice and a spool of welding wire and get to work.

 

Umm why do you need head studs and MLS head gasket for 250 HP? The only thing the MLS is going to get you at that HP levels is broken ring lands or bent rods instead of just a blown head gasket when the engine detonates.

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An NA 2jz-ge might fit the bill pretty nicely, although I am not sure how you would work out the transmission portion, possibly a stock w58 or the automatic would be the easiest. 220ish rated crank hp. Although people struggle to put these together with much bigger budgets and such, not sure if feasible realistically. 

 

Realistically though given the nature of the difficulty of the swap I would just go for the turbo "swap." You can manually crank up the boost and run extra fuel pressure to compensate if you were trying to squeeze every drop out of it. Or just run it as is with an intercooler to cool the charge and make the motor happier. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

A cheap LS (5.3l's are cheap and bulletproof at that power level) tuned for torque with tall gears. 250HP can be a ton of torque and make for a relaxed driver pretty easily. 

 

EDIT: Is the 250HP rated or dyno'd? Be tough to do an LS if that's rated power; if it's dyno'd you could tune it for torque and put a restrictor plate on it. The 1999 4.8l is 255HP factory though (according to Wikipedia). 

 

EDIT Again: I'm an idiot, this is in the L6 forum so that's probably what you are looking for. I'll leave my stupidity for posterity, but feel free to ignore me. 

Edited by CobaltFire
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