Guest Zpeed Posted May 28, 2001 Share Posted May 28, 2001 Well since i relised i do not have the experiance to convert to a v8, i'm getting my L28 hopefully soon, to be ready to be put in during october, so i would like to know your oppinions on a good L28 setup, meaning heads etc boring, i read earlier today at zdriver that getting a L28 block boring it 0.20 over with a e33 head and a 3.9 lsd diff with the 5 speed will work well. with a 2.5" free flow exhaust with turbo muffler, but also i've heard about getting the P90 head, but not sure whats the differnce, i'm not looking for anything crayz, but like between 200 and 250hp, this is my first car so i do not want to kill myself before i can get into bigger projects. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lambsr Posted May 29, 2001 Share Posted May 29, 2001 I've been around Z's a long time, and I've never seen such a thing as an 'E33' L-series 6-cyl head - must be something from US/Canada markets. The heads generally available in Oz are: E31 (rare), E30, E88, N42 and P90. The first thing you need to decide is the type of fuel you intend running, because this will determine CR. Since you aiming for 200+HP, you'll probably be running premium unleaded so a max CR of around 9.5:1 will be desirable (allowing for a bit of a safety margin). Going higher is possible, but you may need to keep an eye on the timeing. The most common combo for acheiving these sorts of power levels on an L28 is: Mildly ported N42 head Flat-top pistons Wade 72 or 74 deg cam (or similar) I would also recommend having the crank and rods crack checked and balanced, along with flywheel and harmonic balancer. Replacing the rod bolts with stronger items is very highly recommended (mandatory, AFAIC). For street work only, the stock sump and harmonic balancer are adequate, but would need upgrading for the track (baffled sump). 240Z Hitachi SU's are quite adequate for the 200HP range with the right needles and actually would probably be better than triples for a largely street driven car. On the P90 (turbo ??) head, I can't think of any good reason to use this on an NA L28 (non-stroker). This head has a big comb chamber (53cc) compared to the N42 (44.6cc), so to acheive any decent increase in CR you would need to use domed pistons (expensive). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zpeed Posted May 29, 2001 Share Posted May 29, 2001 how much would you say that would cost, and where in melbourne would you recomend to get this done, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lambsr Posted May 30, 2001 Share Posted May 30, 2001 Are you planning on doing some assembly yourself, or pay someone to do the lot ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zpeed Posted May 30, 2001 Share Posted May 30, 2001 yes i'll be mostly doing everything myself, i have help from cousins and father if i get stuck anywhere, i relised that 200hp - 250hp might be a little out of my league so i'm going for about 190 210 which i read was not as hard as that. i was reading the zhome.com site ( http://www.zhome.com/rnt/L28conversion/engine.html ) about L28 conversion which said the 3.9 diff, the 5 speed which i already have, and a P79 head, but as you said that we don't have the P79 head i'll be going for the N42 head then, with the 2 1/4 exhaust, and getting some hitachi carbs as you stated, which i will have ordred and will be getting by the end of the June, for 350, with only around 50,000kms since rebuild, so i believe that will be susficiant. thanks for the info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lambsr Posted May 30, 2001 Share Posted May 30, 2001 Hmmm, I could have sold you a good set for less than that.....but anyway...... I get all (or most) of my engine machining work done by Orger Engineering in Bayswater....they are very professional. I've also had some crank work done by Crankshaft Rebuilders in Blackburn. Costs will depend on the condition of the engine you have. L-series cranks and blocks are pretty strong and don't seem to wear at a high rate, but you should measure everything up to begin with to ensure you can get a handle on what needs to be done. As a rough guide, this is what you can expect in terms of some of the potential costs: Pistons+rings - $300 Rebore+ hone - $130 Bearings - $120 Full Gasket set - $150 (for reason. quality) Crank Grind - $150 Cam Grind - $100 Face Rockers - $100 Lash Pads - $140 Valve Springs - $100 Clean head and block - $80 Face valves+ seats - $100 Block plugs - $20 Crack check crank - $25 Crack check rods - $60 ARP rod bolts - $100 Fit rod bolts/resize rods - $60 Fit and align pistons - $60 Then theres things like surfacing the head and perhaps the block; porting; setting up the head (lash pads); etc, etc.... I know someone that has some new f/top pistons he may sell...I'll find out. If you want help I live in F/Tree Gully and can show you first hand some of the problems you may encounter. BTW, is yours a genuine 260Z 'box ?? I've seen some people get ripped off when they don't know how to tell the diff from the 240K/280ZX type (although even that's not a gaurantee). Either way, I'd advise removing the extension housing to check the mainshaft nut which is notorious for coming loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zpeed Posted May 30, 2001 Share Posted May 30, 2001 i wouldn't have even done this yet, but my head needs to get redone, so i'm getting a new engine for reliabilty and also performance. thanks for the prices, how much did you sell your su's for, is $350 to much, i've seen prices of like $550. i live in sydenham area, if you don't know where that is, i live basically 5 minutes from calder park. and basically i've got about 2000 - 2500, but i still gotta get a engine, i rang around today to get a full engine, drivetrain and rear end from 82 280zx 2+2 which was 500, which was redone about 80,000 ago, but it is auto, i belive i can use my 5 speed, which will just bolt on. i'll be getting all this withing the month so lets hope it will all work out for me and thanks if you could find out about the flat top pistons, will be a big bonus, thanks once again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lambsr Posted June 4, 2001 Share Posted June 4, 2001 You have mail re: pistons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 5, 2001 Share Posted June 5, 2001 Nathan, I think that's a good call on going 6 instead of 8 for a first project. There's heaps to learn in simply rebuilding/improving an engine and yep you can do an 8 conversion next time, if you still want to. And with the sort of HP you're aiming for there I think you'll find the car heaps more fun to drive over standard. Good luck, Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zpeed Posted June 5, 2001 Share Posted June 5, 2001 thanks mark i appriciate it, after i get the engine done, hopefully before i turn 18, then i can have some fun with it, ahh, i'm first geting some experiance changine engine with my cousin, putting a 202 with a 4 speed into a torana, which will be fun... thanks alot for all your help guys, if i have any problems i'll be back here again... thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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