So here?s what happened to my car: When the previous owner had it, it was running lean and melted the pistons which spat oil out and then it was running dry which pretty much shattered the engine. It is repairable however it?ll need a new block and pretty much new everything so thinking buying a whole new engine and do a straight swap. As I am a chick, I dunno much about cars (YET), so wondering if I should leave it twin turbo or go NA with a single conversion (which the previous owner recommended). The trick is I wanna do as much of the work as possible myself, so just wondering what peoples suggestions are with fixing it up. So it just needs new engine, turbo/s, maybe suspension cause of a dickhead of a tow truck driver, and some repairs to the body where the actual shell of the car has been damaged and most likely will need to be welded or something. Will post pictures when my car yard clears up a bit lol. All suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
if u dont plan on spending big cash on rebuild etc just look for a good condition twin turbo motor and drop it in. easiest way out.
Check Eric's (drz400y) post in the For Sale Business Section. Offers pretty good priced rebuilt TT motors, provided your existing turbos are in good condition. Don't bother attempting a single turbo setup, the engineering will be a nightmare. That, or buy yourself a low k's front cut. Should come with all of the front suspension components that you'll need. However, add an additional $1500 (ballpark) for Major Service kit and hoses that will require replacing. There is a good *edit* USED TT motor for sale in WA (For Sale Z Related) complete with turbos as another option. http://www.aus300zx.com/forum/showthread.php?t=302135
Personaly I would be dropping a standard twin turbo motor in. Putting in a na motor with a single turbo conversion would be a pretty large undertaking. sounds like you have a fair bit of work ahead of you to get the car where you want it (dont we all). looking forward to following your progress.
Keep it TT. Remember the Z engine bay is tight. The plumbing will be a nightmare, and you probably will have to sacrifice air con etc to make space. You will also better appreciate the fast spool of TT over a more laggy single setup. Search tech section and threads there are plenty of reading to get amateurs (like myself) on their way to rebuilding turbos, calipers, 100K service, everything possible with a decent toolset. Post a thread if there is something you cant find. And... :worthless: of your :zlove: Put em up!!
Replace the engine don't even stuff about with 2nd hand engines. Just get drz400y to supply you with a reconditioned engine. Forum member Rollin probably offers a similar service. Not that much more expensive than buying an untested 2nd hand motor (which could grenade at any time anyway) which needs a plenum pull and 100K service anyway. You also get a warranty then. Best bet would be to trailer/transport it to Eric's workshop in Brisbane. The cost in doing this would be far cheaper than freighting the engine up there to Mackay then getting someone up there to reinstall it. That way you get a drive-in/drive-out price with a maximum price confirmed up-front. There are a few stories of inexperienced workshops replacing zed engines lately that have ended up costing many thousands of dollars to the owner as the job took longer than originally thought by the mech. You don't want to be paying someone to learn how to do it.
I want to do the work myself. The reason I got the 300 was for it to be my learning car, not just pay someone to do it all. My bf is a mechanic, and we're friends with about 3 or 4 back home so I'd bring it up here to do it myself.
Awesome. 300's are hard but not as hard as some people would like them to be. If you have mechanically minded people around you and this forum then you should have no significant problems. Unless you want MASSIVE top end power and lots of lag before then I would not do the single conversion. The fun of a 300 is that you can think of it like two 1.5ltr engines . . . make good use of them both. If your previous engine was a TT then just find a TT that you can rebuild. You sound like you would be much more happy with that option. Just remember that with any 300 the main issue is . . . . . $$$$$$$ LOL Peace
