Sanchez Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 So I'm building a street engine on a budget and crunched alot of numbers to get this combo. Would the fine people here at HybridZ consider this an engine worthy of a performance restoration? F54 block, .120 over with L28 crank L24 rods and KA24 pistons. E31 head with 280z valves and hardened seats, light port and polish. Mild Stage II cam with SU carbs (might go triples if I can get the funds). Let me know what you think, thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Why the KA pistons and L24 rods? You can probably get similar hp from L28 pistons bored out 1mm and a shaved p90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted April 15, 2013 Author Share Posted April 15, 2013 I would like to get the 3.0 liters roughly without going the stroker route. And I already have the E31, I calculated this to have just under 9.5:1 compression ratio which will give me a decent weekend racer for use at the speed way and will run on the 93 octane we have in St. Louis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motomanmike Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 I'm interested in how it turns out either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emoximuu Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Looks similar to my plans except I'm using a n42. In my research, I've found that a n42 is better for NA because of the none saimesed block. But to each their own. I'm not trying to do anything extreme just have a fun car to drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted April 16, 2013 Author Share Posted April 16, 2013 All of the information I found about the blocks seemed to conflict to the point where I just went with the one I could get cheapest. I am glad to see that somebody is building a similar engine because I could find absolutley no information regarding this build, we should keep in touch while building our engines. I plan on doing a write up on my build as well cause I think this will be a nice, streetable, alternative to a stroker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted April 16, 2013 Author Share Posted April 16, 2013 All of the information I found about the blocks seemed to conflict to the point where I just went with the one I could get cheapest. I am glad to see that somebody is building a similar engine because I could find absolutley no information regarding this build, we should keep in touch while building our engines. I plan on doing a write up on my build as well cause I think this will be a nice, streetable, alternative to a stroker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Surprisingly enough, I had the exact same build planned, and I mean exact: E31 head, N42 valves F54 block Stock KA24 pistons L24 rods SU carbs What killed that plan for me was budget and future upgrades. I had an E31 head, but having some of the chambers worked and the new valves installed with appropriate seats was looking at about 900-1000, having the block bored out, boiled, tumbled, and decked with a torque plate was about 1000, I had L24 rods, the pistons would be a few hundred, and I had the carbs (yes the first machine shop I went to charges quite a bit). All in all that would run about 3k after new gaskets and seals to have a middle of the road engine. Even with all that machine work, you would still be running stock ka24 pistons. To purchase nice forged ones would cost over a grand (keep in mind you have to buy two sets of 4), and the SU's would idle horribly (on my L28, the SU's have to idle at 10.5-11.0 to keep it from leaning out during partial throttle). Short of boring them out or running new needle profiles (I have sm's but don't have them installed) you would have a hard time idling especially with a lumpy cam. So throw in a set of tripples and you are adding another grand or at least a couple hundred for a used set. In the short of it, it would cost about roughly 5 grand to have a decent 3.0 liter, and for 5k you can have pretty much your pick of any engine out there. Unless you have the money to go for it, or a hookup at the machine shop, or happen to have all the parts, I would steer clear for the time being. I'm very happy with my rebuilt N42/N42 L28, and it's nice to know I can go turbo with just a few parts. A built 3.0 block will be in my future, but for how much it would cost, I think I can have a lot of fun in the meantime. That's my 0.02, but if you decide to go for it, please post results! I'm very curious to see what the other path would have produced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted April 16, 2013 Author Share Posted April 16, 2013 Thanks for the insight. From getting quotes near me I came out to just over 500 for both block and head work, not getting any deep cleaning cause I will do that my self, and pistons will all be stock KA24 that I can get for cheap. The rods will be pretty cheap to. Luckily there is a great Z car garage/store called Zee-works near me and he has no P90 heads but he has a couple E31. Im gonna go for this and try to run up a total price sheet to see if it will fit my budget. If it doesnt I may just keep the stock bore and use an E31 on the F54 and try to lower the compression from 10.2:1 to my hopeful 9.2:1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Your prices seem unrealistic at best. The kind of machining your are talking about-boring over .120 has to be done right. I will be watching to see how this turns out. Aren't you the guy that was having problems getting your SU's to run right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted April 16, 2013 Author Share Posted April 16, 2013 That cost is for light machining only, I estimate another 1000-1500 on parts (valves, cam, pistons, etc.). Yes I am having trouble with tuning my SU's but after hours of troubleshooting I have discovered that it is my 40 year L24 that has sticking valves and the like. The SU's are fine its all in the engine hence my focus on the L28. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 Thanks for all of the help, but my engine has just been decided fir me. Immediately after purchasing the E31 a local Z car enthuasiast (spelling ?) offered me a complete P79/F54 setup with trans and efi and exhaust for it, so this is my new project. Now I need to find out how to squeeze the most HP and Torque out of this engine. A moderator can feel free to close this thread if they do that on Hybridz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Tune - tune - tune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazeum Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 (edited) "tune - tune -tune" means => right AFR across the rpm band + proper ignition Good ignition is not cheap either. You can recurve a stock unit, get a MSD AL2 box with programable timing, Electromotive kit or Megajolt + many other options I've forgotten. That's 500-1000$ to be added to the list. Edited April 18, 2013 by Lazeum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 Thanks for all of the help. I sure you can tell by now that I am having trouble with my whole car build itself, and It does not help that I am clearly very indesicive. I am now dead set on either fixing this P79 for a street driven high horsepower NA motor or hopefully somebody will respond to my parts wanted post about buying or trading for a turbo head with peripherals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazeum Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 3 years ago, I wasn't satisfied with my setup (F54 / N42 & flat tops). I've looked at many options, I ended up sending an email to engine builders. We had some discussions about my expectations (street engine, torque at low rpm) & we've defined my new setup accordingly. It was not cheap but I'm sure to have a combo with parts that match each other. Cam, head, comp ratio, they all go together. I've done the bottom end locally, head was done & setup by Braap. The new combo is so much better than previous one, I've never looked back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 I was going to say, for that kind of money, you might be able to buy something already built from Rebello or kamerari<sp?> or something. that's closer to 4-5 grand tho if not more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randallwayne221 Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 My engine consist of, F54 block 3.2L Flat top pistons w/molly rings Mild to high cam 280durr 490lift. head port and pollished. MN47 closed chamber head Tripple webbers 10:7:1 CR MSA headers with 2.25in free flow exhaust. 83' Turbo 5speed custom 11lb flywheel with aluminium drive shaft. not in car yet.still getting body pained.what would my horsepower be close to??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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