found a $25 89' engine

[tk240]

well me and a friend found an 1/89' 240 coupe in a junkyard on top of a pile of cars...after talking to the owner of the scrap yard he got it down and the tear down began. started pulling the motor one afternoon got caught in the pouring rain middle way through just for a $25 engine. we would like to build the engine to a 300-400hp range maybe more if funds are good..... i was wondering if the engine is a high compression engine?also if anyone has any advice on this build let me know

[240sk]

i don't think no 25 dollar motor is gonna be a high compression unless you put serious work into it... you could just put a turbo on and run like 7psi... or this is what i am doing to my ka24de... i bought a nitrous kit.. you could run a 50 shot or something like that... before i spent the money trying to make 400 on a ka24e i would just buy a motor swap sr20 rb20 rb25. if would be cool to have a ka24e with 400 but that would take a lot of money.

[Gabes13]

engine comes with ~9.1:1 c/r from the factory if thats what you mean by high compression

[tk240]

thanks pandapants that was what i ment sorry for the confusion

i think that motor was a good find for $25 engine. the car looked pretty well taken care of new plugs wires etc. well the block and the head is about to be sent to the maachine shop to be checked

[WDRacing]

i don't think no 25 dollar motor is gonna be a high compression unless you put serious work into it... you could just put a turbo on and run like 7psi... or this is what i am doing to my ka24de... i bought a nitrous kit.. you could run a 50 shot or something like that... before i spent the money trying to make 400 on a ka24e i would just buy a motor swap sr20 rb20 rb25. if would be cool to have a ka24e with 400 but that would take a lot of money.

Did you read anything he typed? He's aiming for 300-400 hp and is going to rebuild the motor. He was asking if it was a high compression motor. That means in factory trim does it have high compression...not, do you think someone made it a high compression motor and then tossed it in the junkyard.

Why is the KA24E hard to make reach 400? He just got a motor for 25 bucks...why would he buy an SR or RB? The E just needs a turbo kit with a turbo that supports that power range and engine management just like ANY motor does...

Please read and learn before you post advice.

well me and a friend found an 1/89' 240 coupe in a junkyard on top of a pile of cars...after talking to the owner of the scrap yard he got it down and the tear down began. started pulling the motor one afternoon got caught in the pouring rain middle way through just for a $25 engine. we would like to build the engine to a 300-400hp range maybe more if funds are good..... i was wondering if the engine is a high compression engine?also if anyone has any advice on this build let me know

The KA24E in 89 had 9.1:1 compression but switched to 8.6:1 mid year. If the car has a IAT sensor it has the 8.6, otherwise it's the 9.1:1. Not that it's relevant unless you're keeping the stock pistons, which I would replace if the goal is 400.

As far as the rebuild itself goes, whats your budget? Hard to give advice without knowing what we're working with.

WD

[tk240]

well were running on about a 3k budget give or take a few.....

[WDRacing]

Well your best bet would be to rebuild it with stock parts and invest the rest in a good turbo setup, tuning and the other details. Address cooling, monitoring and safety and it should stay running forever. Although personally I'd stay at 350WHP or under on a stock build just for safeties sake.

WD

[tk240]

should i go forged pistons or change the compression ratio? or any head work etc.?

[WDRacing]

Run through a budget with no forged internals and one with...only you can do the math bro.

[240sxvaj]

well were running on about a 3k budget give or take a few.....

Kind of risky when trying to make 400whp w/ stock internals on a 3k budget. I think 3k is good to get that motor built by a shop, unless you're doing it yourself(cheaper). but parting a turbo kit to make that kind of power is going to cost max another 3k to be reliable, you can always find cheaper alternatives if you know how to weld and buy everything used. Its do able though.

i'm saying this based on my experience.

GL

[shimizu_17]

cheap + fast = usually does not work out

400hp with a 3k budget seems unrealistic to me unless you can fabricate, weld, able to work on engines well, and find awesome prices on your stuff. Im not saying it cant be done but I just dont see it being possible. especially if your talking about 400hp on pump gas

[tk240]

we dont have to make 400 were talking about hopefully getting about 300-400 horsepower. welll so far out of our 3k budget weve spent 25 bucks so were doing pretty good so far... i saw a post of a guy making his own turbo manifold, i have an extra manifold laying around so its worth a try. any other things that can be done with stock parts? or any sites with cheap parts for this build?

[Biggamehit]

hahah my last motor cost 60 dollars....

sr20 FTW hahaha

perfect compression and been beating on it with 8psi for about a year now.

[240sk]

Did you read anything he typed? He's aiming for 300-400 hp and is going to rebuild the motor. He was asking if it was a high compression motor. That means in factory trim does it have high compression...not, do you think someone made it a high compression motor and then tossed it in the junkyard.

Why is the KA24E hard to make reach 400? He just got a motor for 25 bucks...why would he buy an SR or RB? The E just needs a turbo kit with a turbo that supports that power range and engine management just like ANY motor does...

Please read and learn before you post advice.

The KA24E in 89 had 9.1:1 compression but switched to 8.6:1 mid year. If the car has a IAT sensor it has the 8.6, otherwise it's the 9.1:1. Not that it's relevant unless you're keeping the stock pistons, which I would replace if the goal is 400.

As far as the rebuild itself goes, whats your budget? Hard to give advice without knowing what we're working with.

WD

i did read maybe to need to read my post before you try to say i can't read...i said you would have to put work in to it for it to be... how does that sound like i said it was already a built motor.. also if i thought it was a built motors which i didn't why would i say run 7psi. and why would he rebuild a ka24e motor put pistons and all that crap along with finding a good turbo kit... when he could get a sr20 (way better motor) and not rebuild it and but upgrade the turbo along with other thingsif his goal was not 300 to 400...i would say otherwise. he said he had a 3k budget... that would buy a sr20.. and he would have extra money to upgrade the motor.. a wouldn't spend 3k on a ka24e... but if he wants that set up then go for it...
Modified by 240sk at 12:24 AM 7/26/2008

[ka-t 300]

Here we go again about how the sr is beter than the ka !!!! The ka has been proven to be the best bang for the buck it just requires good tuning as does any motor. I dynoed 265 hp and 280 tourqe at 10 psi now i'm runing 13 psi right now and been turbod for 2 years now on the all stock except upgraded clutch all original motor that came in my car. I went turbo at 152,000 and have 172,000, and i'm not the only one on here that has done this. I have a built motor with pauter rods and wiesco pistons wating to go in but i'm golden for now. If you know what your doing do it right get it tuned properly ka is the way. I have a jim wolf tune that is conservative. the sr is a good motor i was going to go that way when all the hype was going on but in my opinion it's not any better than the ka. I didn't know any thing about a turbo system when i started. it took me a year and a half to learn , buy all the pats and install but i took my time and did it right.
Modified by ka-t 300 at 7:55 AM 7/26/2008

[addisonblck]

^ i like ka's take wat your given but puss out like the other jdm boys lol

op: ur goal is def reach able......check in the diy part in the kat section.....plenty of goodies there....if not there then itll lead you to other good stuff g/l

[tk240]

okso our engine has been confirmed to have the 9.1:1 C/R. would this C/R be safe to run a turbo?

not sure but have been thinking about having the engine bored not sure how much, but what would everyone recomend?

[shimizu_17]

If i had 3,000 bucks and was just tryin to make the 300rwhp range id just use the money on a good tune, fuel system, and turbo. Even if you got 9:1 compression as long as its tuned good it should be able to handle 300hp if your engine is in good shape.

if i had to make a single slammer go fast with 3k id do

1. holset h1c turbo 16cm housing2. emance ecu tune3. Z32 maf4. ebay i/c core, ebay piping5. custom log mani or buy the jgs one that you weld yourself 6. walbro 255 fuel pump and 550cc injectors from a rx7 T2 (forgot which year was suppose to be used but I know there is a year or 2 that is direct drop in to single cam S13's)7. a wideband (find a used plxm300 for like 150-180 shipped)8. everythin else you need downpipe, oil lines, intake. wastegate if needed, used bov, used safc for minor adjustment and to help with idle issues with running a atmospheric bov if you decide to get one, etc.

All this getting up and running well should be in 2-3k range I imagine
Modified by shimizu_17 at 10:09 AM 7/26/2008

[480sx]

when he could get a sr20 (way better motor)

This coming from a guy with a NOS kit. No real experience with either motors, and from the sounds of it should still be in his lurking phase of Nico, not into the 'im going to make an *** out of myself by posting about things i know little to nothing about' phase.

OP - 9.1 is fine for a turbo charged car. Its anything past 9.5 on pump gas that i would worry about. Its really all in the tune man. Cheap out on anything BUT the tune. Dont bore your motor out more than .020 over. The cylinder walls on the Ka dont like being bored out over .040 over, and your not going to get any performance gains out of .020. You bore this motor out to get fresh cylinder walls, not to increase its performance.

EDIT - The list above is good, that leaves you with a lot of money to spend on your engine build. Get a rock solid forged motor, then upgrade to a bigger turbo and larger injectors to hit 400 hp.

[240sk]

i was gonna turbo my motor and was going to go with the holset set up and did a lot of research but i dont have the money...and im just saying why would you spend 3k on a motor that has 135 hp stock... i saw on ebay sr20 red tops for under 2000. i would get the sr if i had 3k to spend... if i did not have 3k then i would just stick with the ka... like i was gonna try and yeah the ka is a better bang for the buck but he has 3k... or he could go with a rb20 that is even cheaper than the sr20... like a said i would boost the ka but he has 3k.. and about the post comment... sorry i dont have thousands of post.. i like nico and its great for research.... but i will never break a thousand post.. but im done trying to compare the two. if you want to spend 3k on your ka then go for it like i said earlier..

[240sxvaj]

i was gonna turbo my motor and was going to go with the holset set up and did a lot of research but i dont have the money...and im just saying why would you spend 3k on a motor that has 135 hp stock... i saw on ebay sr20 red tops for under 2000. i would get the sr if i had 3k to spend... if i did not have 3k then i would just stick with the ka... like i was gonna try and yeah the ka is a better bang for the buck but he has 3k... or he could go with a rb20 that is even cheaper than the sr20... like a said i would boost the ka but he has 3k.. and about the post comment... sorry i dont have thousands of post.. i like nico and its great for research.... but i will never break a thousand post.. but im done trying to compare the two. if you want to spend 3k on your ka then go for it like i said earlier..

Too bad you already started, my ka24de-t stock maf, afcneo stock t25, stock boost(7-8psi boost creep), etc...made 247whp 241wtq on pump 91 gas. good power at that boost huh... just join us and give in.

its costing me the about the same price as sr20 to have a built block and mild head work done. the point is i'm bullet proof and will i'm not JDM Hype.

[shimizu_17]

i was gonna turbo my motor and was going to go with the holset set up and did a lot of research but i dont have the money...and im just saying why would you spend 3k on a motor that has 135 hp stock... i saw on ebay sr20 red tops for under 2000. i would get the sr if i had 3k to spend... if i did not have 3k then i would just stick with the ka... like i was gonna try and yeah the ka is a better bang for the buck but he has 3k... or he could go with a rb20 that is even cheaper than the sr20... like a said i would boost the ka but he has 3k.. and about the post comment... sorry i dont have thousands of post.. i like nico and its great for research.... but i will never break a thousand post.. but im done trying to compare the two. if you want to spend 3k on your ka then go for it like i said earlier..

Aftermarket support for the rb20 blows. Why would a holset turbo setup cost to much? Holset turbo's on ebay are like 200 shipped. A SR front clip is like 2400 on average. Then usually most people change out the gaskets, and everything else, overall spending closer to 3k total for 200rwhp. Im not doggin on the SR at all cause its a great engine but bang for buck I would have to say the KA is better.

[ka-t 300]

Thats true its a choice and i hope you meet your goals either way you go. like i said both are good motors, it's an old war though that the sr is a better motor, but if you do it right you will get more power for your 3k. good luck with you project

[ka-t 300]

but im done trying to compare the two. if you want to spend 3k on your ka then go for it like i said earlier.. [/QUOTE]

^^^ reguarding this on my last reply ^^^

[240sk]

but im done trying to compare the two. if you want to spend 3k on your ka then go for it like i said earlier..

^^^ reguarding this on my last reply ^^^[/QUOTE] it is and old war... i have nothing against the ka. i was gonna boost mine..
Modified by 240sk at 4:01 PM 7/26/2008

[240sk]

Too bad you already started, my ka24de-t stock maf, afcneo stock t25, stock boost(7-8psi boost creep), etc...made 247whp 241wtq on pump 91 gas. good power at that boost huh... just join us and give in.

its costing me the about the same price as sr20 to have a built block and mild head work done. the point is i'm bullet proof and will i'm not JDM Hype.

ha man i am giving in... but yeah i was gonna go with the turbo... but i was gonna go with the holset hx35 but they were always over 300.. then i was gonna get a jgs long tube mani and i believe that is close to 400... when i started adding it up i couldn't afford it... i have plans in the future to go turbo tho... when i have more cash..

[tk240]

should i go forged pistons or change the compression ratio? or any head work etc.?

[shimizu_17]

do a compression test see how good the engine is first.

[240sxvaj]

should i go forged pistons or change the compression ratio? or any head work etc.?

Get a compression test and let us know how it is. if the compression is good then i say just turbo it and make sure to have good tuning to make it last. later if you blow a piston or something then get it built. I think the motors life depends on how good of condition it was in and how much you abuse it. you wont regrett going ka-t, maybe stress if you dont get it to run right the first few tries.

[WDRacing]

i did read maybe to need to read my post before you try to say i can't read...i said you would have to put work in to it for it to be... how does that sound like i said it was already a built motor.. also if i thought it was a built motors which i didn't why would i say run 7psi. and why would he rebuild a ka24e motor put pistons and all that crap along with finding a good turbo kit... when he could get a sr20 (way better motor) and not rebuild it and but upgrade the turbo along with other thingsif his goal was not 300 to 400...i would say otherwise. he said he had a 3k budget... that would buy a sr20.. and he would have extra money to upgrade the motor.. a wouldn't spend 3k on a ka24e... but if he wants that set up then go for it...

Modified by 240sk at 12:24 AM 7/26/2008

Two things you don't ever want to do...

Talk about the SR being better then the KA in a forum dedicated to the KA and talking about things that you have no REAL WORLD experience with.

My post was on the money...

It's my job is to make sure the information that is posted here is factual...period. Give me a 3k budget on ANY KA and I'll own your SR...ALL DAY EVERY DAY. But we're not talking about the SR anymore...he bought the KA, is going to boost the KA and we're going to help him do it the best way possible. Point? What you said was wrong and reflects on your knowledge level pertaining to the KA. In short, if don't know...don't post. Or atleast don't be upset when someone corrects you.

If you re-read this thread you'll see how off topic you made it go by posting what you did and the manner you did it.

Pay attention, use some friggin grammar and stay on topic.

WD