Guest Anonymous Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 Hello there. I have a mint 81 n/a and I have recently bought a pos 82 turbo in the hopes of an engine swap. Now what I would like to do is leave the n/a block alone and just swap heads, manifolds, electronics, ect. Would this be a good idea? or a stupid idea. I'm aware of the differences in compression and pistons. But I also know that it is possible. I dont plan on boosting insane amounts (maybe 10-12) I'm just sick of running high 15's. Also, I'm very poor. I have to save money to do the college thing. I would just like some opinions as to a good, cheap, reliable course of action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 If you have the whole thing there, you would be better off with the whole engine swapped. Since you wont have to buy a new headgasket, you should break even if not come out ahead with the cost of renting a cherry picker, mine cost me $24 a day. Once you go past stock boost levels, the NA piston ringlands are at risk of death, detonation or not. They are cast pistons to begin with, so you'd be pushing your luck even more with weakening the piston further, by using a stock block. It has of course been done though, its just risky, at least one person has blown the bottom end that I've seen on this site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icice9 Posted April 9, 2003 Share Posted April 9, 2003 i agree with Mudge... im doing the same thing to my Z.. i just bought a 83 280ZX turbo but im planning on rebuilding the turbo engine before i swap it out... i guess it would also depend on the condition of your turbo engine.. if theres nothing wrong with the turbo engine then id just swap engines instead of doing it half assed and swapping the head... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockjaw Posted April 12, 2003 Share Posted April 12, 2003 The blocks are the same, you will have no issue's with the block, its the turbo pistons that are what you want. You can do the conversion on the engine in your car and it should be ok, just make sure you keep the boost in check. The rings are chrome just like in the turbo engine, provided you have the flat top motor. You may look into getting the 2mm thick headgasket and running that as a precaution, but I would not be afraid to boost a stock ZX engine. Plenty of people have done it. Whatever you do, run a nissan headgasket or the thicker one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted April 12, 2003 Share Posted April 12, 2003 How long are you going to be happy with stock boost levels? Because you wont want to be putting 15 PSI on that NA block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockjaw Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 The NA and turbo blocks are the same in the ZX from 81 to 83. And so you know I have a regular ZX block, a ZX crank, and 240 rods, and I have been running 15 to 22 psi on it since it was built, 5+ years ago. The nissan block, no matter turbo or not, is not a weak link. Turbo Tom was making 300+ hp and running big boost on the regular Z block with no issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thepenguin99 Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 Lockjaw, are you using custom pistons or ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 The block is hardly ever a limitation for anyone, many stock V8 blocks can take 1000 HP before they split, some of the older ones can take even more - thats not the point, and I hope nobody thought that it was. However a stronger block, especially in the L will have reinforcements to help avoid twisting forces, but yes the block is not the weak link here not by far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo2001 Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 My L26 held 20+psi for a about 300ft until I got out of it I've been running 12-14psi on stock turbo with 2mm HS abd ARP head studs and no more blown head gasket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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