87 Hardbody Upgrades

[AnthonyM]

Hi, I am looking to get some much needed power out of my 1987 Nissan Kingcab 4x4, it has the Z24i (8 plugs) and its a 5spd. Just to let you know my truck has a hard time passing cars at 80 km/h on the highway...My thoughts were to install the following:-Flowmaster Exhuast-Headers -Webber 38 with air cleaner-Hot Cam-MSD Ignition-MSD Dual Blaster 2 Coils-Electric Fans

I just have a few questions..

Can anyone give me a estimate of what type of power/torque increase I can expect?

Will the Weber 38 kit on 4x4parts.com built on to my tbi engine? and if so is it worth replacing the tbi?

Should I bother getting msd ignition and coils or will there be no point with these limited mods?

Is converting to electric fans worth it?

And finally is there anything else I should consider?

Thanks for any help you can offer

[Desert Rat]

I'd never swap out FI for a carb, but that's just me. The fans will help, but be sure your alternator is up to the task....the alternators in these things are fairly low output...like under 70amp, and fans can take up to 30 amps by themselves.

Intake and exhaust will also help. Pacesetter makes a header for your engine, I believe. Save the money on an aftermarket exhaust and just have a local muffler shop (not Midas or Meineke, but a mom/pop place) fab you up a 2.25" exhaust with a free flowing muffler of your choice.

You're not going to get huge gains no matter what you do (unless you go nuts and turbo the thing), but this stuff will help. also, on a 20 year old truck, give it a good tuneup....plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and clean the injectors by running a can of seafoam through the gas. You're also not going to get significant gains in HP with the ignition upgrades, provided your stock ignition system is in good working order.

[AnthonyM]

Hmm well I will definately look into a high output alternator, I think mine is fine but theres nothing wrong with a little more juice!

On the Carb/FI topic I feel that the tbi setup is too limiting, and from what i've read poeople have had good gains swapping in the weber 38...but they just swapped out their old carb rather than tbi soo I don't even know if the kit will bolt up or not.

From what i've heard pacesetter headers tend to be of lower quality compared to others such as dough thorely..?

I've looked into the msd topic a little more and from what I understand is that I won't likely gain any power but I will get a smoother running engine...

The Flowmaster is more for the sound then anything...

Also I recently did a tune up:Oil and Filter Air FilterPlug/Coil WiresPlugsDistributor Cap and RotorFuel FilterThermostat

It's a good running engine, its just underpowered.

I'm pretty sure I would like to give the weber kit a go but I just don't know if it will match up or not, otherwise I might look into dual side draft carbs...
Modified by AnthonyM at 9:02 PM 8/29/2007