Poor Man's L28ET

[itsaprothing]

I've been trying to find a thread about anybody putting a turbo on their NA motor with very little modification but can't find anything on it. I keep finding threads that lead to just buying a junkyard L28ET or sourcing one from a donor car.

 

I have an 81 L28 that has a little less than 80,000 miles and a CT26 turbo laying around from a supra and have been wanting to try and put them together.

 

MegaSquirt is looking mandatory. I also read about getting a 2mm steel head gasket to make up for compression? Aftermarket fuel rail?

 

I have other random goodies for a turbo set up that i've found from the junkyard like intercoolers, BOV from an eclipse, etc.

 

but I just want to know what needs to be done to the actual motor to be able to run like 7psi. nothing crazy.

 

any input is great thanks.

[MJLamberson]

You put on the

1. stock injectors off a zxt,

2.the zxt afm,

3. the zxt Dizzy,

4. the zxt wiring harness with ECU... (Make sure these are all from the same year)

5. zxt exhaust manifold

 

then the basics like J pipe and down pipe with couplers and stuff.

 

Next you spend hours and hours staring at the wiring diagrams and reading the write ups, PMing people that have done it.

 

I recommend an air/fuel ratio gauge and a boost gauge. Good for 5 WHP each and 7 if they are unusualy large.

[cockerstar]

Fuel management is going to be your main issue.

megasquirt, throttle body (can't pressurize the stock afm iirc), new injectors, fuel pump, fuel rail, turbo exhaust manifold (is the CT26 a T3 turbo?), down pipe, etc. With that you should be able to get the engine running and tuned. You don't need all of the fuel stuff to get the car running, but you're going to run into issues after a little bit.

 

The actual engine should take 7psi of boost just fine as long as you are meeting all of the demands that the extra stress puts out (see fuel management). I can't remember who specifically, but someone is/was running 17psi on stock n/a internals. Nissan overbuilt these engines like no other. Eventually, your weak link is going to be the cast pistons, but you aren't going to run into that until you crank the boost up quite a bit.

 

Search! The info on what is needed is out there

 

 

edit: looks like MJLamberson beat me to the punch, but he went about answering your question a little bit differently. You could go with all of the stock l28et stuff, but since you don't have any of it yet I would seriously go with megasquirt. You're going to end up buying it very shortly into your adventure once you get the car running and decide that 7psi isn't enough!

[MJLamberson]

You're going to end up buying it very shortly into your adventure once you get the car running and decide that 7psi isn't enough!

 

 

Hes right, I just got my l28et running earlier today, and it seams way faster then stock, But Im already feeling the urge to crank it up.

[Daeron]

Have you looked at the price of an aftermarket 2mm headgasket? http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PEM09/10-2458

 

$160, I'll save you the trouble. If I had a turbo 280ZX in my local junkyard, I could buy the complete longblock assembly for less than that, and you are still looking at about 8:1 compression (just a hair below) with an 81 stock motor and a 2mm headgasket.

 

MUST KEEP OUT of high boost or those cast pistons will be holed in no time; also megasquirt is almost a must if you really want some longevity.

 

Honestly if I were you, I would try to MS and turbo the stock engine WITHOUT dropping the compression with the 2mm headgasket (its only around 8.6:1 as it was when it left the factory; who knows if your engine is a little worn down) and save up money for some nice new pistons and a cam. Once you hole a piston or blow something up, throw in the cam and pistons, and then when you have maxed out the potential in THAT setup you get to go bigger turbo.

 

Naturally you will need more fuel along the way, bigger intercoolers, hotter spark, and eventually you will want to re ring and change the bearings, may as well hog the bores out while youre at it (getting new pistons anyway right?)

[510six]

You will need an adaptor from the CT26`s oddball flange to the T3 flange on the zxt exhaust manifold. The CT26 is a small T4/T4 turbo and makes decent low/ mid range power, but will max out at around 300 rwh.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MR2-T3T4-ADAPTER-OEM-CT26-T3-T4-TURBO-35-38-WASTEGATE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem110315400969QQitemZ110315400969QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

[Bernardd]

For 7 psi I would run the stock efi with the cold start injector providing extra fuel (methonal injection work as well) and reducing the timing by a couple of degrees. To mount the turbo you can make an adaptor that mounts to the existing manifold then to the turbo. You'll also need to make a feed to the turbo and the drain which means drilling into the oil pan.

[itsaprothing]

so stock L28 internals plus the l28ET goodies should work with 7 psi? as long as I manage my fuel right?

 

which megasquirt kit would be best? and what other megasquirt accessories will be needed?

[Clifton]

so stock L28 internals plus the l28ET goodies should work with 7 psi? as long as I manage my fuel right?

 

And manage your timing, especially with n/a pistons.