I know everyone suggests to just sell the n/a and buy a TT.. but i decided that it would mean more to me if i did it myself. i'd appriciate it more and it'd be a good learning experience, but i also got attached to the car. so yeah. I bought a vg30de engine and heads for like 80$. i doesnt run and one of the cams is locked up from the feel of it. may just need WD40, who knows. so, i need suggestions on what to start with, i am building the engine and then dropping it in my 1990 n/a. i have no clue what cams to go with or what pistons. im thinking of boring it out a little and getting oversized pistons, just a thought. as i said this is a Multi-year project and isnt going to be finished for awhile. im a full time college student and just dont have the cash to do it all at once. I've read that some of you have built your own and youre experience is greatly appriciated, any help with this is welcome so i can make a list of what to buy thanks!

Best of luck with it, Anton can help some as he's just gone through a rebuild of his own TT engine. I'll keep an eye on this thread from time to time and help out when I can.

What are your goals for the finished project?

Anticipated budget?

Loverboy, as Tony said, I did the full rebuild on mine, below are a couple links to get you really thinking about what you need, I suggest that if you have never rebuilt an engine from bare block you spend the next 6 months ONLY reading (that's what I did) If you got any specific questions feel free to message me and I'll do my best to help. Clarify for me, did you buy the DE or the DETT, because there are some minor differences between the NA and TT Heads that will slightly limit you. other than that, i'd say you need to read through the engine mechanical section of the FSM and start putting a plan on paper first and foremost.

http://www.ztechz.net
everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-z32-t508377.html

thanks guys! I havent COMPLETELY rebuilt a engine from just a block before, closest i've come is taking one apart and putting it back together out of a 94 camaro, which i don't count for anything. I did buy the DE engine, i'm going to have to replace the oil squerters for sure. i know that much. My overall goals for the project is around 500hp at the flywheel, but as the build actually starts that may change. as of right now i don't have a budget, im not wanting to spend over 15 grand on it, im trying to stay reasonable (if thats even possible). I do have a question that may be dumb, but whats stopping me from throwing TT heads on the DE block? I do have a backup plan for the build though, if i cant get to my goal turbo, i'll build a N/A beast to keep for awhile and then buy a turbo lol but i really wanna make this turbo.

1. Nothing is stopping you from using TT heads on your DE, in fact the blocks are absolutely identical, and even the NA heads can be used on a TT build they just dont flow as well, pretty much the only differences are Pistons, Wrist Pins, Oil Squiters, and Oil Pan.
2. Building a "Beast Na" is possible but absolutely not worth the money, you will spend at least 2 to 3 times the cash to get to 500hp going NA as you would going Boosted. Good thing is, this engines when properly prepped love the boost.
3. You will need some basic tools such as a micrometer, bore gauge, and gapping tool. You will also need a torque wrench for reassembly.

alright, well after a little "light reading" the heads seem to be the same, though Nissan says other wise, this is going to be a little less expensive than i thought. I'm already planning on taking all of the DE internal componants out of the engine and getting to cleaned so i can make sure the block is sound. how do i go about changing the oil squerters out? i havent gotten a chance to tear into it and check them out yet. I do have to say, from what i've seen this isnt going to be the nightmare that i've heard about, though i know its still going to be rought to get done.

If you have the FSM (which you have access to here) its not bad at all. From what I've seen/heard the ports on the heads are slightly different but if you found info saying otherwise then iono. The oil squirters are held on by bolts, you just remove the bolts and pull the squirters out. all in all you are going to spend money on lots of little things like hoses and hardware. The gasket kit from Nissan is $300, a set of new weisco pistons w/ rings is $500, rod and main bearings will be around $300 IIRC and wrist pins shouldn't be more than $100 from Nissan, machine work and cleaning $200-$500 depending on who you know plus misc crap which WILL stack up to be at least a few hundred bucks so with $2000k you should be able to achieve a clean full rebuild (including some of the tools you'll need).

yeah the "everything you need to know about the z32" post said he couldnt find any difference and he's been using them interchangably. im pretty excited about it, if it all works and murphy's law doesnt happen then i'll have her done in about a year although i will be asking a crap ton of questions. thanks for ya'll help!

The heads are absolutely different. The blocks are the same.

If you're getting new forged pistons (as I would assume you would) the NA oil squirters are actually better, and many guys swap them in when doing forged piston builds.

You can get 500RWHP reliably from a bone stock VG30DETT block, but since you're rebuilding, doesn't hurt to step up to forged pistons.

Your $15K budget is lofty, and you could get 700RWHP for that kind of money. My advice would be to budget about $5K parts and labor for the engine and turbos, then use the rest for the supporting mods and suspension/brakes. Then you'd have a very nice Z32

BigTDogg (MA) wrote:The heads are absolutely different. The blocks are the same.

If you're getting new forged pistons (as I would assume you would) the NA oil squirters are actually better, and many guys swap them in when doing forged piston builds.

You can get 500RWHP reliably from a bone stock VG30DETT block, but since you're rebuilding, doesn't hurt to step up to forged pistons.

Your $15K budget is lofty, and you could get 700RWHP for that kind of money. My advice would be to budget about $5K parts and labor for the engine and turbos, then use the rest for the supporting mods and suspension/brakes. Then you'd have a very nice Z32

Yea +1 on the NA oil squirters

One thing you could do is just build the hell out of the engine and then come back to the suspension and brakes later on.. You will just have to take it easy... I am doing suspension and brakes later.. Once i'm finished (feb) i'll let you know how it feels having a high horse power Z with stock TT suspension and brakes.

The way I see it is i'm just going to be taking it easy until my suspension dump which will be when I get my income tax check. Then brakes will be later on.

yeah, sorry for the wait on a reply, i am for sure going with forged pistons. I was already planning on waiting on suspension and brakes, i was just going to keep the boost turned down a good bit to save my tires. Why would i not have to change out the oil squerters when going turbo?

so, seeing as the heads are completely different, obvious question time. Should I change out the cams, or should i leave them the same? I was also thinking about going with a upgraded forged and ballanced crank, just for the piece of mind that at high boost i wont be breaking a crank or something completely random like that.

My dad suggested getting it slightly over bored to remove the "glossing" effect on the cilenders (sorry for the spelling). What do ya'll think on that? I figured that the cilenders would be alright as long as there wasnt any major damage to the walls (scratches, nicks, ect...)

The only labor costs will be on cleaning the heads and cleaning the TT heads (i think), if i buy them used. I know it is HIGHLY recommended not to EVER go into a complete rebuild on your own, but one of the guys i go to church with rebuilds Maserati's as his hobby and worked for ford as a "engineer" for about 30 years. One of my other friends just graduated from mechanic school and my dad spent his highschool years rebuilding cars and has taught me as much as he can. So i think i should be good. I already know i'm going to be pouring money into this and it doesnt bother me, i'm just going into it knowing that. I want to be one of the few priviledged people to be able to say: "i'm the one who torqued every bolt on my mistress".

My parents said that if I can fence the farm for them they might help me fund this project so i may be getting at this faster then i thought, thank god. Thanks for your imput, i know Becky (my z32) appriciates it!

-Cams I believe are the same (don't quote me on this I never looked into it).
-NA oil squirters work best with aftermarket pistons, Stock TT pistons go with TT squirters.
-No need to bore it unless you are going all the way to 90mm and even then its not that big of a difference
-Your stock crank can handle over 1000hp no need for aftermarket.
-All in all the only rotating assembly that's worth it that I know of, would be a JUN Stroker kit ($14,000)
-There is absolutely NO reason why you cant do a full rebuild yourself, I learned most of what I know about engine by doing the work myself. My VG30DETT was the first engine I ever pulled apart. Since then I've worked on everything from Subaru boxers to Big Block Chevys with no hesitation. its all LEGOS once you've got the physics and mechanics behind it down.

alright, awesome. Do you know where I could get the TT heads? I haven't been able to find any yet.
I don't think i'm going to stroke it, too expensive.
I was thinking about getting Weisco pistons, are there better pistons i should get?
Any suggestions on parts/brands of parts would be great. Thanks

I know Z1 sells TT heads but they aren't cheap. You might also try getting a hold of IPP and see if Kyle can hook you up with a set. Weisco are good, CP are great too. I don't have any experience personally with either of them so I'll let someone else speak on that.

NolimitZ32 wrote:-Cams I believe are the same (don't quote me on this I never looked into it).

they are, between na and tt, i think the only differences are between autos and manuals

^ Though so (btw I knew the 5spd and auto were different

NolimitZ32 wrote: -No need to bore it unless you are going all the way to 90mm and even then its not that big of a difference
-All in all the only rotating assembly that's worth it that I know of, would be a JUN Stroker kit ($14,000)

depending on the cylinders, i would do a bore of 87.5mm just to clean it up, but yeah big bores don't do anything.
the jun kit is a waste of money, imo, there are better alternatives for your money.
a set of top-notch pistons and rods should be 2.5k at most:
cp/JE/tomei (which might be made by cp, and ex-JE engineers started cp anyway) pistons
and pauter/crower/carrillo rods....and crower makes a custom (more up-to-date) crankshaft for the vg for about 4.5k, i think.

I do have to say thats one hell've chunk of change for pistons.
I took the engine completely apart today, labled everything. The crank pulley was cracked at the ring that connects to the crank, but the crank it solid so i think i'm alright with it. It also smells like it got burnt out.. fml. It straight up smells horrible, so should i even use it or is that normal? if its good i'm planning on getting it cleaned and checked for faults and doing a slight overbore i guess.
I'm keeping the cams since they're the same between n/a and tt but i think i'll sell the n/a heads and pistons so i can get some money out of those.
i'm going to have to get the cam gears, i didnt get those with the engine, i'll post pictures of what all I have later on. I didn't get a whole lot but for $150 for the block and heads, tail lights and n/a auto ecu i aint complaining as long as the block's good.

I got to admit I'm over my head with picking out all these parts, gemme a wrench and I can get it apart and back together. I honestly don't know exactly what to buy to get where I want to be with this project.

vulcanrush wrote: depending on the cylinders, i would do a bore of 87.5mm just to clean it up, but yeah big bores don't do anything.
the jun kit is a waste of money, imo, there are better alternatives for your money.

Agreed. A light cleaning of the walls is all that's necessary. Wiesco and Eagles are plenty good enough for basic builds. Factory TT rods are forged.

I'm going to move this thread to General so that you can get more views, and so it can be linked into the new builds thread.

Z32Loverboy click this link and do what it tells you also try and think of a catchy title!

ok-so-i-had-an-idea-that-i-thought-woul ... 48872.html

alright cool thanks for the move guys, the more help the better.
what size turbo shouls i go with, whenever I get one?

z32loverboy wrote:alright cool thanks for the move guys, the more help the better.
what size turbo shouls i go with, whenever I get one?

IMHO, the JWT Sport 530's are tough to beat. Great response, very streetable. With breather mods (2.5" intake and IC pipes) the Sport 700's are an excellent choice. Garrett is also releasing their billet turbos this year, kits to follow.

alright, I know it's a good idea to go with forged pistons, but could i get away with oem TT pistons without roasting one or it is too iffy if they'll hold up? It was brought up that a bone stock vg30dett could make 500 rwhp. As you can see I'm wanting to cut cost a little, but if I can't... I can't and I'll deal with it.

z32loverboy wrote:alright, I know it's a good idea to go with forged pistons, but could i get away with oem TT pistons without roasting one or it is too iffy if they'll hold up? It was brought up that a bone stock vg30dett could make 500 rwhp. As you can see I'm wanting to cut cost a little, but if I can't... I can't and I'll deal with it.

a good tune is important, i think more important than any forged internals.
500rwhp isn't cheap
i wouldn't run a stock engine pushing that kind of power, a mint-condition factory engine, maybe, but these are 18-year-old engines.

vulcanrush wrote:

z32loverboy wrote:alright, I know it's a good idea to go with forged pistons, but could i get away with oem TT pistons without roasting one or it is too iffy if they'll hold up? It was brought up that a bone stock vg30dett could make 500 rwhp. As you can see I'm wanting to cut cost a little, but if I can't... I can't and I'll deal with it.

a good tune is important, i think more important than any forged internals.
500rwhp isn't cheap
i wouldn't run a stock engine pushing that kind of power, a mint-condition factory engine, maybe, but these are 18-year-old engines.

yeah, this engine's older than me. of course it was made in 1990, but still. forged pistons it is. since the n/a and tt connecting rods have the same nissan part number, i'm guessing i can use n/a or tt connecting rods. please correct me if I'm wrong on that

better question: are the oem TT connecting rods forged?
I read that on the back of the block there are two oil passages blocked on the n/a block, but i havent found them yet. Anyone know where exactly those are?

z32loverboy wrote:better question: are the oem TT connecting rods forged?

yes

alright, sweet. are the n/a forged as well?

Yes, the crank and rods are identical across the board. Not that we mind helping but you should really read this before asking any further questions. Lots of good info about the swap basics. http://www.z1motorsports.com/PDFs/NATTconversion.pdf

alright thanks. will do, its just alot of materiel and i've only gotten through about half what i have to read so far