sr20det twin cam or rb20det

[destro79]

any suggestions on swapping these motors into a datsun compared to building a non turbo 79 280zx n/a motor to turbo?

[78zstyle]

Its a lot easier to just make your N/A engine turbo.

 

A lot cheaper too.

[dexter72]

Ditto. Find your turbo parts on here or craigslist. Buy a megasquirt unit and parts. Figure out what turbo you want to use, have exhaust made up and your basically done. You may need to upgrade your clutch and rear diff.

[johnc]

Engine choice for a hybrid swap is an emotional decision that only you can make.  Please do a  bunch of searching/research.

[ihiryu]

RB20 for me.  The 8K redline and ease of the swap itself was the selling point.  Virtually buy motor and oil pan, and everything swaps in.  I did my RB20 swap for virtually the cost of just the SR20 motorset

[feifongwong3]

RB20 for me.  The 8K redline and ease of the swap itself was the selling point.  Virtually buy motor and oil pan, and everything swaps in.  I did my RB20 swap for virtually the cost of just the SR20 motorset

I agree, the RB20 drops in almost effortlessly, and will be a totally different car in the end. Plus why go to a 4 cyl?

[R3VO 3VOM]

Me personally, I would say go the route that 78zstyle and dexter72 said to go. Just turbo your N/A or swap in a turbo motor. They are dirt cheap and are a direct swap (meaning they were made for your car) and they can make some good power if you pair all the right stuff together.

I have an RB20 swap in a '76 and it has taught me so much. Definitely definitely do your research before deciding. Unless you are good at wiring or have someone to do it for you I wouldn't recommend it. Each swap, unless you pay for the harness to be made (like me, because I'm lazy) is a lot of wire tracing and a lot of time. It can be done, but it will take a lot of staring at wiring diagrams to figure out where all the wires need to go. But again, this is all my opinion.  

Edited January 13, 2013 by R3VO 3VOM

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

I definitely agree with all posted above. Most importantly do your research, and build your whole setup on paper first, before you buy ANYTHING. That'll save you hundreds in the end.

 

I am currently converting my 76 n42 L28 to a turbocharged application. (I'm swapping oil pan/pump/shaft/pickup today so it's fairly fresh in my mind).  It is fairly straight forward. If you do end up going the L series route, feel free to PM me as I have fairly extensive notes on the subject.

Edited January 13, 2013 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[Xnke]

Swapping any Nissan JECS, ECCS, or NAPS ecu into any car requires 4 wires to be hooked up, if you have the engine harness and ECU to match the engine...

 

I have never, and will never understand the fear of wiring harnesses.

 

That said....Why would you ever want to go to a 4-cylinder over an equal displacement six?? Especially when the six will come out less costly in the end, and have a better upgrade path. RB20, once installed, can easily be swapped for RB25, wheras you're stuck with the SR20 when you're done with that swap.

[R3VO 3VOM]

It may only require 4 wires but if you want everything to work (gauges ect) its a little more involved.

And when someones been under the dash before you messing around makes it even harder.

[R3VO 3VOM]

Either way you need to know what you're getting into before you do it (parts, steps involved) because blowing an ECU would not be fun.

[destro79]

thank you for the advise, it has helped i will just stick with turbo my n/a, just not sure about the build yet, thinking for internals so far is dished pistons and the p90a head, i read up that the intake doesn't matter much though but im worndering about the block i know the f 54 block has webbing to help strengthen the motor but would it make a difference for the n42 block? all suggestions for the build will be appriciated, thank you for your time everybody.

[R3VO 3VOM]

I'd say head to the L6 section of the forum. There are numerous turbo builds there. I'm certain you're not the first to ask about building one.

[Gollum]

Goals Goals Goals Goals

 

If we don't know your goals for the build how can we actually help?

 

Is this a street car?

 

Will it see track use?

What kind of track use?

 

What kind of budget are we talking about?

 

What kind of level of performance are we talking about?

Fast as a new mustang? Fast as a Corvette? Fast as an enzo?

 

What's your experience level?

Have you done engine swaps before?

Can you weld?

Rebuilt a motor before?

 

What access to tools do you have?

Have a cherry picker?

Welder?

Grinder?

Decent Bench?

Assortment of jacks and stands?

The list goes on here...

 

JohnC's response is quickly becoming a drone response. I almost think he might have a script that makes that post for him... And there's a GOOD reason why. For any of us to make the decision of which engine to go with for you is WRONG. That's like having us tell you who you should marry. It's YOUR choice to be made. Sure one girl might have the goods in bed, but the other one might cook, clean, AND make decent money... We can't tell you which is "right".

 

 

Now, all that said... ANY of the datsun longblock combos, including your stock '79 getup will make an EASY 300whp turbocharged. And that's without any porting, aftermarket cam, special intake, etc.

 

Basic list of parts I'd suggest:

 

Turbo manifold

Turbo (T3/T4 hybrid works well for a street setup)

300cc+ injectors, 400+ preferred

Any 'ol intercooler that fits

Turbo intake will make integration with HVAC easier

36-1 Trigger wheel + Sensor

MS 2, or 3

Coils (LSx work great, or EDIS-6 is fine too)

MS Wire Harness

Laptop with serial port

Manual Boost Controller

 

That's most of what you'll want to get started. It's important to not even consider using the stock EFI to turbocharge your current engine. The ignition timing will be WAY wrong and there's no good way to fix it without computer tenability. The stock turbo dizzy is easy to hookup to MS allowing you to use the factory coil (as long as you have the turbo vehicle's ignitor or convert to a GM HEI box). The downside is that the turbo dizzy is getting hard to find for cheap, and you can easily just install a trigger wheel and sensor and have something that's a cleaner install, possibly cheaper, and much more reliable of signal. 

 

 

But, if you have very little tuning experience and it kind of scares you, just buy the RB or SR, whichever you prefer. They're both fine motors. They'll make power with much less brain input.

[destro79]

thank you for response gollum, its is my only car so i would be building the motor outside than swapping in, im goin to stick with the l28et, i would of course be driving it daily but would like decent power for the track, both 1/4 mile and drifting, i would be using an f54 block out of my 82 with a p90a cylinder head eventually, could use some advise on what would be good to keep connected to intake manifold when it comes to vacuum, and of course locating parts.

[69sroadster]

I'd be silly and try to stick to the inline 6 too having done the SR swap...mostly now for the awesome sound of the 6 vs the 4.

[palauoriginal]

I don't think either will provide the torque(or sound) that the l28 turbo will bring. But the more i research and look the swap over the rb20 looks more and more like a bargain. Especially since more swaps are being done on various platforms. The z really isn't that heavy for the 2 liters to push around.

But Gollum's post sums up what you should be thinking about before even working on your car.

[logr]

I replaced the crank in an L28 NA the other day. It broke off just in front of the rear seal. It was making around 275 hp on 110. It also gets a good solid 8mpg or so on very expensive fuel. You might do some more research. An RB just doesn't have the aftermarket support of other engines and they are known to have other issues. I don't quite understand going to a longer heavier 2L when there are other options but just make sure of your direction and have at it.

 

If you don't want an SR, you might consider a KADET.

[vale2489]

I don't know why everyone rips on the sound of a 4 banger...yes a six is more robust, but an sr20det (with stock exhaust manifold) has a distinct head turning "growl" not as peaky or as obnoxious as other turbo 4's. As far as sexy sounding sixes, l28et's are about as blah as you can get...slightly better than a tractor, the turbo "whistle" is it's only saving grace in salvaging audible interest. Having messed with sr's and et's I lean towards sr's from a performance aspect (stock vs stock) and weight savings. I dont see how wiring and tuning ms is much easier than wiring in an sr...if you had enough know how to setup up ms and properly tune your setup wiring up hybrid swaps shouldn't be a deal breaker.

[m1ghtymaxXx]

If overall performance is the goal, it's hard to be beat a lightweight but powerful aluminum four nestled up against the firewall. The RB sure ads to the the exotic factor, but the advantages over a turbo L28 might not be worth the time and expense if budget is a concern. Just my 2 cents.