280zx turbo?

[samcarr11]

I have an '82 280zx non turbo, and i was wondering if it could be converted to a turbo car. I have read many yes and nos. I dont know which to trust. So my question is can it be done? If so what will i need to change?

[evildky]

Yes it can be done, it's not hard. The easiest way to get a complete donor, then simply swap over the complete engine, harness and ecu and call it a day. If however you want to keep your engine or cant find a complete donor you'll need:
Turbo manifold
turbo
downpipe
oil pan
oil "T"
Oil line
Injectors
ecu
wire harness
injectors
distributor
distributor driveshaft
AFM
"J" pipe (or some piping and an intercooler)

wash rinse repeat!

[samcarr11]

Will I need to swap pistons to dished pistons to lower the compression or are flat tip pistons ok?

[evildky]

The flat top block came with a low compression p79 head. While it has a higher compression ratio than the turbo (8.5:1 vs 7.3:1) it's still safe at low boost levels. The P90 head is a better flowing head with the same CR as the turbo head, the dished pistons are in every 75-81 block as well as the 82-83 n/a. It's just easier to swap the block than the pistons and if you can find a complete donor you'll get the better head and the dished pistons.

Now if you want to make power the higher compression is a good place to start. Many people run 8.5 up to about 9.5:1 cr's for high hp builds. This requires an intercooler and engine management upgrades. But if you want 200 whp the high compression and stock parts plus and intercooler will do the job.

[samcarr11]

What kind of engine management upgrades?

[samcarr11]

well I just found out the my 280zx has had the compression raised to 10:1
Also the the block has been shaved and head has been shaved...

[evildky]

it would take a lot of shaving to raise the compression of a p79 to 10:1, you would have about 1/4" and that would have to be made up in the cam towers and lash pads. It would also be really stupid to raise the compression of one of the worst cylinder heads they made. a flat top block plus an N42 head nets 9.5:1 wiht no machine work or shimming.

I like megasquirt, some opt for the z31 ecu swap with a romulator, SDS is still fairly popular.

[samcarr11]

I also found out that its been board 20 over...

[evildky]

if it's overbored what pistons are in it? dished? flat? domed?

[samcarr11]

Flat..