First time z32 owner, have some questions

[KrispyKay]

Well, I recently picked up a N/A 1990 z32 that's absolutely gorgeous. Slightly modified, but to my liking. Picked it up with a bit over 96,000 miles and paperwork for over $4,000 in transmission and engine cleanup. Almost all the seals, belt, etc. were replaced. Unfortunately, the vacuum lines weren't.

With that said, there's a vacuum leak somewhere. Any place in particular I should start? There's only about 10 dozen vacuum lines in these things..lol
When I take the car out of gear at say a red light, the rpms go up and kinda bounce around until they settle down. The car drives fine otherwise and doesn't really bog out that I've noticed.

Issue #2; gas tank seems to build up pressure. Not sure if it's normal in these cars or not, but when I take the gas cap off to refuel there's a slight hiss each time of air escaping. When I first start the car, and pull out in 1st gear only using the clutch, once I release the clutch there's another hiss that sounds something like Darth Vader inhaling coming from the area of the rear passenger-side strut. Not sure if it's related or what..

Issue #3; the heat/ac doesn't work...not sure if it's just the blower motor or what but when I put the air/heat on the rpms raise a bit and there's a squeaking/screeching noise every now and then, which is why I figure it's just the blower motor.

Lastly, I'm more than likely going to swap the engine. Now, what are your guys' suggestions? The car is going to see a fair amount of track time, especially drifting. I'm thinking of something that I could get to about 400hp+ in the long run without having to build the motor/internals. I plan to do the swap myself with the help of a few friends so I'm not too worried about labor costs, but parts wise I'm looking to spend no more than something slightly north of $2000. I've heard that the vg30dett with full boltons and a good tune can make north of 400hp and handle that on stock internals.

So, the motors I have in mind; vg30dett, rb25, or 1jz.
Pros, cons? I'm gonna be indulging in all the info I can about these in the upcoming days, so bear with me lol

Here's a few pics:





whoops

[StockTurbosFTW]

That is a purdy looking Z! Can't help with all of your issues, but I know I seem to have pressure in the gas tank at times. When I am trying to fill up, it keeps tripping it so it stops fueling. Other than that, it hasn't seemed to have been an issue...

I think everyone here is going to be biased towards the vg30dett, but if 400 hp is your goal, it is fairly easy. Whether you use stock turbos or upgraded turbos, stock internals are fine. If you go with stock turbos (which might be best for drifting due to their small size) you will need nearly every bolt on to reach that. If you go with slightly bigger turbos, you can make the power a little more cheaply. Depending on the turbos, I would look at a list like this...

2.5" or 3" SZ Downpipes/Test Pipes/Catback
Selin Dual MAF intake
A more heavy duty clutch /w lightweight flywheel
UD pulley
Boost controller (with the intercoolers and injectors you could run 15-16 psi)
Upgraded intercoolers
Larger fuel injectors
Aluminum Driveshaft

I would check out these builds...
http://specialtyz.com/blog/?p=56
http://specialtyz.com/blog/?p=441
http://specialtyz.com/blog/?p=84

Check out all their blogs...

Good Luck!

[KrispyKay]

Well 400 for now...I'm sure I'm gonna want to go up another 100hp or so within a couple months lol
Thanks for the help, I'll check out those and a bunch of other builds as well!

[Afi]

Pretty nice Z! Do you have more pics especially of the interior?
By the way, I also have a little hiss from the gaz tank sound when I remove the cap.

[aerhead1]

Nice Z man. I'm about to put a Grip wheel in mine soon.

[KrispyKay]

Nice Z man. I'm about to put a Grip wheel in mine soon.

Yeah I love it...horn works too

Will take a few more pics of the interior tomorrow

[shuswapz32]

Mine hisses from the gas cap too. I'd check the hose and fittings for the brake booster first. The RPM's are supposed to rise when you have the A/C on to compensate for the A/C compressor running. As far as the screeching sound you have intermittently, sounds like the A/C compressor is kicking in and out like it should, but it's toast.

[KrispyKay]

It just had a brand new brake booster put on it, so that should be fine. Should probably post a list of what was done to the motor, will have to look around for the receipt.

[KrispyKay]

so kinda had it blow up on me today...not really, but my power steering stopped working as I was getting off the highway. Bit scary as I was going about 65 on an off ramp and couldn't really turn...
Turns out the pulley somehow came out...never heard of that happening before but I guess I'm gonna need a new one as well as a new PS pump. :/

[canadian booster]

crappy luck. i've learned to keep a stock set of tools in my Z at all times, screwdrivers, wrenches, clamps, sockets (10mm, 11mm, 12mm), etc although i wouldn't have anything handy to recover from that myself

..yes mm ..JDM ftw

if you're interested in drifting make sure to give a few rips in the Z before thinking about adding turbos and swaps, etc (cheaper to buy a TT car than swap btw..) i've seen a couple guys with NA z32s and they drift all over the place, they tell me it has enough low end torque that with some bolt on upgrades you're golden

guess it depends on your level, you'll also wanna get a feel for the car, it's not like clutch kicking an R32 around a corner

oh and lastly: timing belt. whether you do it yourself, or JUST do the belt, it's always recommended, if the timing belt blows, your engine is garbage

[KrispyKay]

crappy luck. i've learned to keep a stock set of tools in my Z at all times, screwdrivers, wrenches, clamps, sockets (10mm, 11mm, 12mm), etc although i wouldn't have anything handy to recover from that myself

..yes mm ..JDM ftw

if you're interested in drifting make sure to give a few rips in the Z before thinking about adding turbos and swaps, etc (cheaper to buy a TT car than swap btw..) i've seen a couple guys with NA z32s and they drift all over the place, they tell me it has enough low end torque that with some bolt on upgrades you're golden

guess it depends on your level, you'll also wanna get a feel for the car, it's not like clutch kicking an R32 around a corner

oh and lastly: timing belt. whether you do it yourself, or JUST do the belt, it's always recommended, if the timing belt blows, your engine is garbage

Yeah I've been "enjoying" the car quite a bit recently...maybe that's why the PS pump blew up haha
I do need to tighten my ebrake though.

The timing belt was replaced right before I got the car about 3 months ago. That along with tensioner, oil cam seals, front main seal, crankshaft sprocket, crankshaft washers, water pump, idler pulley studs, idler pulleys, vtc spring and o-ring gasket, rear main seal, rear oil pan gasket, and pcv valves...I think everything else should be good for the road ahead!

I'll most likely pick up a tt z32 from auction and just part out the leftovers..

[Ziggy1621]

Welcome to Nico! Your pics disappeared. Try doing them this way: how-to-post-pictures-using-photobucket-t521110.html