Hey guys, i have a NA 1990 300ZX 2+2 and is a project car. So far i have the body work done, primed up ready for paint, and the interior is completely gutted ready to get re-done. As for the motor Theres obviously a lot of options available. One that was given to me was to refurbish the NA i have in there now (172K miles) and after i refurbish the engine the option was brought up of turboing that engine by grabbing the VG30DETT fuel injectors, turbos, intercool setup, etc. That was the "cheap" way of getting to some descent horsepower. Then the option of putting an RB26DETT was brought up. beautiful, powerful engine, however is it worth the money of fabricating the RB25 RWD transmission to the 26 or converting the whole car to AWD? I'm so stuck in between the two i am honestly at a stand still and don't know what I want to . Im starting a car club with a buddy of mine with his SR20 swapped 240SX S13 so i want something that will stand out even if it means throwing an extra G or 2 for people to remember the car . If somebody has SPECIFICS of what parts to get for either RWD and AWD and as to which one will be better in the long run. prices, parts, labors not a problem, mods, etc. PLEASE HELP!!!

 

Feel free to search, as this has been asked many times.

https://www.zdriver.com/forums/300zx...-z32-na-35097/

 

thanks but neither links helped. i've read up on google before lol. im looking for specifics needed for an AWD conversion and a RWD conversion and which is even worth it if moneys not a problem.

 

First Google result for "AWD Z32":

Z32 Vg30dett Awd - Z32 Series - 300ZX - HybridZ

Moar Google-Machine results:

for those who want an awd z32 - Car Forums and Automotive Chat

AWD in 300zx : 300ZX (Z32) Technical

If money isn't a problem, drop the car off at a chop shop and tell them what you want. I can think of 492370775297845 other things I'd rather spend $10k-$20k on than a Z32 AWD conversion... but that's just me.

 

If I wanted an AWD 300ZX, I'd just get an Impreza. But if we're talking about keeping it RWD, why not do a TT swap? Engine that's meant for the car AND really fun. And if you can do it yourself not too expensive either.

 

How about refurbishing the engine I have now and putting turbos and intercooler setup? save some money?

 

As in using the NA engine? Though I don't personally have experience with this, it comes up pretty often on Z forums. It's way more work and probably more expensive to get the NA engine up to snuff to handle boost, even stock levels. The stock TT engine is all ready to go with turbos and can handle lots of power, in excess of 500 hp in some cases.

So it's basically take out the engine, take it apart and change the internals, then add the extra piping and crap, change the electronics, then stuff it all back in there (turbo'd NA)

OR

take out the old, stuff the new assembly in there, and possibly sell the old engine (TT swap).

Of course you will most likely run into some issues even with the simple/easy route, but to me it seems like the best choice.

 

oo00oOoo-MmmmMmm-GgeGGEGggeee

They said it couldn't be done...

er wait...

been done...

oops...

nvm...

 

I'm going to be doing most of the work with a good friend/mechanic of mine. We have an engine harness and the stand. the refurbishment kit is $600. the engines coming out next week so i figured while the engines open and being refurbished, I can upgrade as I go. Forged pistons, bored cylinders, turbo kit, intercooler. However my biggest question is if i'm looking at a turbo kit such as this one, GT675RS Turbo Kit what kind of intercooler setup would i go for and how much would that be. As of right now my mechanic is saying somewhere towards 5G's to get it to where i would like it to be. 400HP+. This is a project and i'm gonna be doing this on a $400 a week budget. as in buying and installing as I go. any feelings on this?

 

And maybe even looking into a single turbo instead of a twin turbo..?????

 

I'm pretty sure you could do 400+ hp for significantly less than $5000 if you TT swap, including the swap. Again, no experience to back this up, just what I've read around. About single turbo though, twin seems best for V engines, it's much easier to achieve "symmetrical" air flow in that confined space. And the GT675RS turbo might be a bit overkill. If you want to use the car around town and stuff it's nicer to have something that spools sooner, otherwise it's a bit of a waste.

 

I was thinking instead of swapping engines and building it up from there, buy the referbishment kit ($630) and while I have the engine broken down, bore out the block and put upgraded turbos (maybe T28?). My mechanic threw me towards this turbo 1990 Nissan 300ZX GReddy Turbo Kit I would like some input on this turbo because I have no experience to compare turbos. It's so hard deciding exactly what i want to do because I want to make sure everything works together. Reason why I don't want to buy a TT and swap it is because I would want to refurbish that just to kind of build up the engine with fresh gaskets and all of that.

 

I guess you didn't get what I was saying. The work you have to do to make the NA engine turbo-worthy is just not practical. The easiest and best option is to do a TT swap. Once you have a stock TT engine, there's not much you'd have to do to achieve your hp goal.

 

I hear what your saying. I've been leaning more towards not turboing my engine but building it from the bottom up and making it all motor. im looking at this kit on z1motorsports.com Z1 Ultimate VG30DETT engine rebuild kit with the options at the bottom at 88 mm. bore size. N/A compression ratio (10.5:1) no upgraded rods, piston ring compressor, det sensor harness, not sure about the head gasket, 90-94 fuel rail to plenum seals, ARP Head and main studs, both idler pulleys, underdrive and overdrive pulleys, and upgraded idler studs. Going all motor no turbos, obviously with machine work needed, what else would one need or is this the smart way to go by buying a kit with almost all bottom end already there? or should i look separately. i would imagine its more expensive that way, but i want to make sure I know exactly what I want and have a plan for my engine before i start purchasing kits and sending my block off to the machine shop. Thanks in advance for taking a look at all of this.