Guest crawfoth Posted September 28, 2002 Share Posted September 28, 2002 I am about to buy my first z-car. It is an 80-280ZX in really good shape. A little rust on the body, but not nearlly as much as I expected. I need to know what is the best way to get more out of my z with a very small fund. About $2,000 to start with. I have test driven the car and the orig. motor in it needs a valve adjustment and a little tinkering here and there, but other than running that and running some old gas out of it, it seems to be in good shape. What can I do to get more out of the orig block? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeZguy Posted September 29, 2002 Share Posted September 29, 2002 Welcome to the (ZX) club, not enough of us it seems. Since this is your 1st Z, may I suggest that before you start building up the engine, you make sure the suspension,steering and brakes are up to the task. It's no fun going fast if ya can't turn or stop when ya need to. I have an 80'ZX in my harem also, which is going thru a "performance restoration" at this time. Like all the other Z's I've owned, the first thing I did was to check(and replace if needed) tie rods,ball joints, springs, shocks,(struts) and brake components. After that you can start on the motor. The best place to start is looking thru the pages in here.(L6 perfomance) It depends on if your going to want a turbo at some point, or stay with an "all motor" setup. These pages should help give you an idea which way you want to pursue, and what it will cost to get there. ....chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 29, 2002 Share Posted September 29, 2002 Congrats on the purchase! hopefully it'll give you lots of joy (and as little strife as possible!) like mentioned above - before working on the engine make sure the rest of the car is in really good nick and is safe to drive (and to take more power - for later ) I'd also advise (as might a lot of people here) to really look at all the options before investing any money in to the standard block if you're looking for huge performance figures in the future - I wouldn't recommend the standard L block unless you're prepared to invest a lot of money in to it or can do all the work yourself! A quick look around in the other forums on this site (V8s, alternative 6 cylinder, etc) will give you an idea of what other engines have been put in zeds and what the results were! I know quite a few people now who have invested a lot of money in to the standard L engine. Most of them have really enjoyed the process and the results - but in the end have wished they'd saved that money and swapped in a more performance geared engine (be that by displacement or technology) But all the same - there is plenty of fun to be had with the L28 - and if you aren't looking for too huge a power figure in the long run - you'll probably be best off sticking with it! have lots of fun with your new baby and welcome to the forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted September 30, 2002 Share Posted September 30, 2002 As has been mentioned, tires, suspension, and brakes first. Depending on what the car will be used for, this could just consist of new high-perf pads and new fluid. As far as the L6 goes, I think the best thing you could do is boost your compression with an N42 head from a 280z. That'd take you from ~8.5:1 to 9.8:1. More power, better fuel economy, and better exhaust note for when you open that up. To my mind, that'd be the place to start building L6 power, getting the compression ratio up. Well, that or swapping in a turbo. Surely someone out there has done a flat-top piston bottomend/turbo topend L6 motor, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockjaw Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 N42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 Dude, give it up! I know you *think* N42s are utter crap, but until you show us a 12-second or 235 rwhp N/A P79 car, you can't seriously expect anyone to believe the P79 is any better AT ALL. Until you provide some EVIDENCE, you don't have a case. Please note I am NOT saying that the N42 is superior, it's just what I would recommend to start out with, particularly for someone who is new to Zs, and possibly to engine work. Stock N42 on a stock flat-top bottom end. No machine work required. No chance for the monkeys to screw it up. My engine was WELL on its way to 185-190 rwhp at the dyno last year with a totally stock N42 and a 290/.503" Schneider cam (only made 177rwhp due to a busted spark plug causing power to break up above 5000). With headwork, new cam, and 44mm triples, it's at 235rwhp. So, why the regarding the N42? I'd be happy to post images of my dyno results if someone would tell me how. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo2001 Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 Hey Dan, LJ and I are about to have alomost same spec Z. overall weight about same, about same cam, LJ on P79 and me on E88 with larger valves(that's about same as N42) so we'll see and we'll let you know the fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted October 1, 2002 Share Posted October 1, 2002 That'll be interesting to see, for sure. Of course the only valid test would be to dyno the same motor first with one head and then with the other, with the same valve events and timed the same. Not something I believe anyone's prepared to do. Anyway, it's my belief that there probably ain't much between the two (shaved P79 and N42). I'll have to come and see you guys sometime, I have family in Birmingham (Birminigham?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crawfoth Posted October 2, 2002 Share Posted October 2, 2002 Hey Dan, what kinnda of cam are you running to get 235? 235 rwhp on a car that is that light would be plenty for what I am looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted October 3, 2002 Share Posted October 3, 2002 The cam is from Sunbelt in Atlanta. 302 duration/.550" lift. Designed to use relatively light valve springs. They did the whole valvetrain setup when the rebuilt and modded the head. Previously I had a Schneider 290/.503" that seemed to work fine as well. Neither of these cams does much below 3000 rpm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crawfoth Posted October 13, 2002 Share Posted October 13, 2002 OK.. Now here is a question for ya. What is the best cam that I can put in my stock 280zx block without doing any head work? Right now I am just looking at getting better injectors, a decent cam and slapping some headers on there and probably dualing my exhaust? What would I be looking at for performance and such. I know that this is a pretty broad question, but please bear with me. Thanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.