83 280zx Idea Builder

[need2fix1000]

Hey all, just bought an 83 280zx na 5 speed. It's a fun little car, but that thundering 145hp needs some help. I've been thinking about it, and I can't seem to make up my mind as to how to go about building power.

At first, I was considering swapping in a VH45, until I found out that my spare transmission isn't the 83 turbo t5, but the 80-82 turbo nissan/datsun number, so I would have to source a new transmission as well.

I have: P90 head, turbo intake and exh manis, injectors, balance rails, valve cover (who knew?) rear diff, cv's, and driveshaft.

Head is cam-less, so, that's a new set of rockers, if I can find a cam for it, but with a port and polish, valve job, and good bumpstick, the top end should be taken care of.

First question: I know with a 2mm head gasket, the flat tops should be making roughly 9.2:1 compression. Good for off-boost response, but how much power can the stock bottom n/a rotating assembly hold? Assuming no knock and good AFR's.

Second question: 3.1 stroker kit, does anyone still do this? You can homebrew the stroker set with mixing and matching of parts, but nothing from the list looks like it would be done cheaply, as all are stock parts...(L24 rods with KA24 pistons, etc...)

Third question: How much boost (I know it's relative, but it gives a good ballpark on cfm) can one of these blocks take? Stock head bolts? Head Studs? O-ring necessary?

Fourth question: Wow, 14's are NOT in style anymore... anyone have some good ideas on rims/tires/brakes?

Thank you for letting me glean the vast amounts of knowledge you guys have!

[evildky]

Welcome to Nico

me I'm nto a fan of the VH it's overengineered and a pita to work on and unless you want to runt he slushbox you'll have to adapt it to a manual trans (the Z32 is typically run behind the VH's)

I am a fan of the L28ET mine was making around 350 whp (acctually thats just a guess as I managed to break 2 piston ring lands before getting it to a dyno where it put down 299whp with the aformentioned broken ring lands) when the 183k mile junkyard engine finally gave up the ghost

generally speaking the stock cast pistons can handle up to around 400 whp with propper tuning and good afr's (long story short I hadn't runed for 30 psi when I damaged mine) O ringing isn't somethign many people do arp headstuds and metal hg are needed at around 300 whp and are good to north of 600 whp, very few L28ET's in that range , as for cam you can run a stocker or an aftermarket grind, the great thing about these old engines is all the cam makers sell grinds for them and they are generally pretty cheap

strokers are fun I have a bud that built a couple (and I happen to have 2 of the LD cranks in my garage as I was planning ont hat route at 1 point) and they are im pressive, both of his were n/a but there are plenty of turbo L31's out there most of the turbo builds use custome forged pistons as the ka pistons are cast

the L28 week points are as follows
230 whp (ish) you'll need an intercoler to keep things form breaking
300whp (ish), fuel pump, fuel injectors, turbo, headgasket, headbolts, ecu all become limiting factors thsi is where ti gets expensive
400 whp (ish) the stock cast pitons will fail and the stock cam grond becomes a limiting factor
the rods, block and crank are known to exceed 600 whp in stock form but most guys in that range at least condition and ballance the rotating assembly, the block and the crank with 7 mains is dang near bulletproof, and the rods are huge when compaired to VG30DETT and VH rods

anotheroption I kinda wiht sh I had done is robello, they sell a stroker 3.1, the offsetgrind the stock crank and run aftermarket bushing'd rods and forged pistons in whatever CR you like , for around $3k I spent around $2500 for my ballanced and blueprinted L30 bottom end

as for wheels our offset has gotten popular in recent years, Konig rewinds, pannasports, revolutions sport max etc, just a matter fo budget, taste and weight

as for brakes your chassis started otu with far better brakes than the S30 so swaps aren't as common, Modern motorsport, arizona z car, msa are the best sources if there are any available for your chassis

[need2fix1000]

You are awesome.