Ben

I've chatted with Simon via e-mail a few times & my parents talked to him at length at the NDSOC nationals in Shepparton a couple of years back. I still don't know how he's made the engine bay that damn tidy.....

That particular engine is still an assembled short-block in the shed..... But it should make it smoother & happier to rev. I looked at the how-to-modify book & basically did al the little things that didn't cost much. (I've been studying that book for about 15 years. Originally trying to wring some more grunt from dad's L16. He fixed that problem by fitting the FJ20E) Things to do that were easy included; balancing, the rotating masses, de-burring the block (up to a point) and I spent about $150 on getting the head mildly ported & the sharp edges taken out of the chambers (including unshrouding the valves). Other things that I recommend are getting all new uni's for the driveline & perhaps re-conditioning the diff if required. A nice heavy-duty clutch is also a good idea (but not too heavy) At the end of the day it may only be a little more powerful, but it will be a better-than-stock engine. My current L28 turbo has had no-such attention given to it. It was bought with 220,000km on the clock & received a basic re-condition, (honing & valve-grind) before being driven 3000 km more & then fitted with the T3. I should have balanced it & given the head a bit of attention, but no matter. It seems happy enough 60,000km later....

Always replace the guides, tensioner & chain. The sprockets will probably be ok, but mileage will determine that. Match-port the head & balance the bottom end. (The balancing is the priority of those two) I balanced my L24 bottom end with nothing more than a quality digital scale, an Excel spreadsheet, a bench sander & some 300-grit for finishing. I didn't remove all the flashing from the rods & then balance, I simply removed the flashing as the balance. The overall weight would be a few grams heavier, but it was a very straighforward process & I got the assembled rotating masses to within 0.5 grams of each other(piston, pin, rod, bolts, nuts). The initial weight difference between the lightest & heaviest was almost 10 grams.... As a breakdown, there was 1 gram between the bolt assemblies & 2-3 for the pistons & pins. The rest was the rods themselves.

I have no idea what head casting the L20AET had, but if it's anything like the L20AE, then the valves & ports are like pea-shooters.... As for my TT project, well it's still underway (slowly) I've got my P90 head back now from being ported cc'd & flowed. It's not a cheap project, the exhaust manifold was $1500, the wastegate $800 & the head-work $1000. I have yet to buy pistons & prep the block & rods. The intake manifold is also ported/flowed & I still plan on using my AiResearch intercooler (which should be good for about 400HP of flow). The trimming which is currently underway will cost me the best part of $2k and I want to get the car 'finished' minus the big engine before the end of the year. It will probably take me all of next year to finish the engine (and there's at least $10k of investment left in that part).

Sorry guys, been away from the PC! That looks like the L20AET located at City Dismantlers to me. The L20AET was first released inthe C210 Skyline GT-ES turbo in the late 1970's. It was the first mass-produced Japanese turbocharged engine. It was also available in the HR30 Skyline GT-ES Turbos, alongside the FJ20ET models. It's only about 100kW though, and wouldn't fare to well against a fresh L26. The only things that it's really good for are the exhaust manifold, the distributor & the rocker-cover. I'd get a new turbo, and fit it to an appropriately decompressed L28E. The end result will be much more satisfying. The other thing to consider is that if it is the engine I think it is, it's been there since City Dismantlers opened many years ago! $1000 bucks is pretty expensive for those parts, and I'm not sure if a late model turbo will bolt-on to the factory manifold.

The middle 4 look like they came out of my lawnmower.....

Kinda, but it's a bit more murky than that. The earliest 280ZXT's actually ran the N42 block & head (the automatic '81's) When the BW T5 gearbox was sourced for the manual 280ZXT in '82 the F54/P90 combo was also available. Late 280ZX's & Patrols here in Australia have F54 blocks & I believe that some of the patrols have P90 heads. I have no idea what car my P90 came from, but it was locally delivered. With suitable chamber mods (or lower-comp pistons), a stock N42/N42 L28E can be force-fed without dramas up to around 300HP. How does 170kW's @15psi on LPG sound from an internally stock L28? (no it's not my car)

Hi Sam, I'm located in the southern suburbs. We should hook-up at some stage & have a look at your car. I await the approval of your gallery sumissions & will have a close look at what you post there. The N42 block is the 1st-generation L28 casting, with the F54 being the 2nd-generation block, used from around 1982 onwards. I don't want to comment on your engine without seeing some shots :classic: BUT, converting/building an L-turbo is a piece of cake!

The OEM shock in the majority of Nissans/Datsuns are Tokico's. Actually, they tend to manufacture the entire MacPherson strut! Anyway, I've used OEM Tokico's, KYB gas (black), Koni Special-D & KYB Super-street adjustables in my Zed & Skylines. The Super-Streets are about $700 AUD/pair (ouch), the KYB Gas are about $150 & the Koni's were about $400. In a street car the KYB gas were marvelous, slightly firmer than stock, but a lovely ride. The Super streets can be made damn stiff (I need different springs in my DR30, as it axle-tramps a bit under wheelspin conditions). The Koni's are very nice too, but they must be removed to adjust them. I've also driven 1100km in one day in a 260Z coupe with Bilsteins & they were pretty damn stiff. IMHO all the brands mentioned above a just fine for a weekend warrior through to a full-on racer, the important part is buying the correct model shock to suit your requirements. My KYB gas shocks wouldn't like to be thrashed around the track every weekend - they'd die a very premature death, but the Super-Streets would be a different story.

Yeah, welcome! My first question is: where are you located?

Ok let's clear this up! :classic: We're not talking about the Holden 253, 308 or the Chev 350 engine, we're talking about the Nissan VH45DE used in the Infiniti models. I was wondering what the heck we were talking about when it was said that the VH V8 was dodgy! ROFL And there's no way I'd put an Aussie Gen III in my Zed either!

Yes Mick, I was dobbing you in! Is the 4.4L V8 the "chev-style" engine (used in the 280ZXTT IMSA car)? It appears that I was a generation out in my engines.... I'm thinking that the GT-R V8 would be a good call too, but getting hold of one might be a little difficult, as AFAIK we will be getting the TT V6 only. Aside from that; $$$$$...... With the clearance issues, I wouldn't be suprised if the best way to go about it would be to fabricate a tube-frame replacement for the front suspension in order to remove the stut-tower & inner guard from the equation. But that equals lots of $$$ too. Maybe a 350Z VQ35 would be a better idea?

Three is an aussie with one of these conversions complete. He was posting in a thread a few days back about CV axles for the R200, so do a search.

see http://www.modern-motorsports.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5 for a kit which appears to do the trick.

Since we have been referring to clutch plates (rather than a viscous centre), it's all too easy. If your 260Z is already equipped with an R200, then all you will have to do is change over the tailshaft flange & bolt it in (the flange controls pinion-height so it has to be torqued correctly). If you have an R180 equipped 260Z, then you wil need all the mounting gear from a car that already has an R200.

I had the clutches in my Skyline's R200 replaced (the tolerances are very fine) & it's been shimmed up to 90ft/lbs breakaway. Any more than that (another 3 thousandths) and it was locked. (this diff was completely open when I got the car) My Z diff is set at 65ft/lbs with the original clutches just reversed. Get someone who knows clutch-type LSD's to build it for you. The OEM setting of ~45ft/lbs is too loose for a high-power performance application.

The Gloria/Cima & Leopard ran the VQ30DET. I reckon it'd be a good call, less real-estate required than the VG30DETT but just as much power. And for only $2700 - BARGAIN!

I use PULP in all my L engines (except the low-performance L20B we've got).... With our fuel anyway (91RON ULP, 96RON, LRP, 98RON PULP) they seem to just run nicer with the PULP fuel. And with a turbo, nothing less than 98RON (if it's tuned for less octane, you'll be able to put in more timing = better economy). You will get 'some' sinking of the valve seats over time, but it takes a LONG time. And by then you'll probably have planned to rebuild the engine for that new turbo & EFI system you've bought....:classic:

A few years back I was driving to work in the Z & thought to myself "damn the front of the car is all over the place". Got there & closed the bonnet.... ROFL I priced a new vented bonnet just yesterday - ~$700 AUD ex-japan. I'm ordering one next pay....

As u can see (just). <--- I have a vented bonnet on my 240Z, but it's an aftermarket one & the hinge mouting tabs need some re-work to make it fit properly :mad: I bought it as I figured that the radiant heat from a turbo might like to escape the engine bay!!! I have 2 original 240Z bonnets & 1 FRP bonnet. I plan on buying a genuine vented bonnet shortly & painting it satin-black. If the part is NLA I'll just re-spray one of the non-vented ones instead. The paint on the original bonnet survived the heat of a high-mount T04 so everything should be ok with a T3 in a near-OEM mounting position.

Charles - fix it, unless it's un-recognisable as a 240Z it's fixable!!!!