z_cars_rule

For the past 2 months my '81 has been smoking quite badly, the problem being shagged rings. Now being a "while I'm at it" sort of person i have decided to give the whole motor a freshen up. I am going 0.040 over bore with a 10:1 CR light port and polish with reseated valves new cam and full exauhst. and of course new bearing/gaskets Now to my question, when i get a new cam, do i need to replace my lash pads/rockers? do you think 150 rwhp is acheivable with this? Thanks for your time.

Hey and welcome. I bought my '81 280ZX when i was 15 and now 2 years later it has a fine body and nice interior and stereo. Now I have to rebuild the motor because my rings and bores are shagged, so i am going with a 0.040 overbore and upping the CR to about 10:1 with a new exaughts and cam. I think you should do something similar with your car, you should see a very nice gain in power and is should not be too costly or expensive. (depends on who you know )

Congrats on the new ride. Now you can cruise in style and comfort, while knowing that you have enough power to keep you entertained.

If you buy a R33 half cut, try mounting the brakes from it, i have seen it done fairly easily to silvias (same bolt pattern as us). The main thing you need to do is re-drill the rotors. Hope this helps a bit. PS, what state are you in, I'm from Oz too, and what car is the motor going in to?

How much rwhp could 500cc injectors support on a L28et?

Cool, thanks for the reply, i thiught it would be easy enough with those mods, and that gives me room to grow too.

Yeah I do realise that this is not the cheapest way of doing things, but because I live in Australia we didnt get the turbo version over here so I have to do it on my own. I should be able to cut down on some costs because my mate owns a workshop and we will be doing the overboring and cylinder head work there for a very low price but he is reliable (I have helped him with several tough street machines). Another mate of mine has a Dyno at his workshop so I can tune it easily My main costs will be buying the Turbo, ECU and pistons, everything else is not too bad cost wise. Thanks for the replies and keep em coming. P.S. What do you all think would be the most I could get out of this motor combo running 98 RON fuel?

When I said 400fwhp I was saying 400 Fly Wheel hp. Trust me, I am not that much of a n00b that I dont know that my 280 is RWD

Hi everyone. I have been reading the forums for a few years now and i thought that i might post what i have planned for next year. I have: 1981 280ZX 2+2 NA 5 spd planning: full rebuild including: -new crank, cam, etc bearing -spot peened and balanced crank and rods -0.060 overbore JE forged pistons with 10.9cc dish -custom stainless manifolds -stainless exauhst system with 2.5" DP and 3" system -biggest/most efficient IC w/custom piping -Stand alone ECU using MAP sensors -around 450cc - 550 cc injectors -rebuild g'box -LSD -around a T04E-50 with external waste gate -mild head work with cam I am looking at running 2 different programs which will allow for different timing advance curves and boost pressures for normal and fun driving. I would like to see around 400fwhp reliably. This car is just for me to have fun in. And yes i realise that i could do a V8 conversion or a more street friendly car for what this will cost me but i just love the feeling of a big turbo spooling. Have i forgotten anything motor wise? I am obviouly going to upgrade the suspension and wheels and maybe a roll cage.

welcome to the world of Z cars. Are you looking to be able to 'drift' a corner or just power out? If you use the feint drift approch a stock l28 will more than easily slide the arse out in the right gear. and in most cases it will also have a nice power over steer. I would say to get a l28 efi or carb, get a nice exauhst and get the whole thing well tuned with an LSD and you sould achieve your goal. I noticed how you said enough for now, well in this case i would go straight to the L28et now cos it will save you money in the long run.

i am currently in the process of converting my NA motor to turbo and was wondering, because i am planning on using a after market ECU could i use the factory NA intake manifold and just weld up the extra bits i dont need?

welcome. Thats a nice 280ZX, i have one of my own and trust me you will love it

how do you set it up for a certain rpm range? do you use a window switch oe something?

Thanks for all the fast replies. at this stage it looks like i will be shot peening them and getting new bolts put in. Is the NA crank the same as the Turbo or are they different in anyway?

Hi. I have a 1981 280ZX NA with a F54 Block and a N42 head. I am curently in the process of building this into a turbo motor. I will be purchasing a set of JE forged pistons and was wondering if my stock con-rods and crank would handle the added power of the turbo motor. I dont plan on going over the top, but i would like a nice fast street car. So if anyone has any recommendations as to shot-peening or putting in turbo rods please help me out. Thanks - Chris