looking good! i can't wait to see the finished product!

-steve

 

I must say that it looks very nice.
This is a post that I will need to copy, so when I do mine someday, I can look back at this.

 

Do we need to brake in the turbo kit...?

 

I have to ask -- when you drill and tap the pan -- what happens to the metal shavings that go into the pan ??

 

Just curious, what about the head gasket that reduces the compression ratio?

 

Thanks a lot for the compliments guys. It's a hell of a lot of work but the first time I hear the "whooosh" of the BOV and get planted against the seat it will all be worth it.

Rieger, There's no real break in. I just want to make sure that there are no leaks (oil, fuel, coolant, exhaust) and then after a few days make sure all the bolts and fittings are still torqued down.

Defender, I had the same concern based primarily on the article in I believe it was SCC last month "anatomy of a meltdown" where the explained how this guy didn't get all of the shavings out and they made their way into the cylinders and ate up his pistons. But from speaking to the guys at Speedcraft they said to do two things that make you not have to drop the pan. One, drill the return line directly above the oil drain bolt and two flush the pan out several times with brake cleaner. You get one of those little red hoses like on WD40 and stick it in through the oil drain opening and go to town spraying.

Chris2k, in order to save myself some typing I'll just refer you to a site: http://www.chrisdrivesafastcar.com and you can read his very thorough explanation there.

I'll update you all when I'm done.

-Larry

 

Larry , I guess that would work to get the shavings out. In 1980 I installed a BAE Turbo kit on a newly purchased 1980 280ZX, I recall that I did drop the pan with the install. The hole was not tapped on that install, instead there was nut on the inside of the pan wall and a gasket on the outside.

I guess as long as the pan is thick enough to tap enough threads there should be no problem; do they suggest the use of lock-tite on the fitting through the pan wall? You might consider re-inforcing the strength of the fitting some kind of epoxy on maybe JB-Weld built up around the fitting where it goes through the pan wall -- just a thought.

BTW - I drove that car till it had about 75K miles on it and then sold it - I never had any problem with the turbo, and it was one very fast 280 ZX !!!
The kits back then were much LESS sophisticated than now. I had to change the exhaust manifold, there was a pop-off valve built into that to relieve excesss pressure. I had to change the stock fuel pump to a VW Rabbit pump for more pressure; and I had to squash the fuel pressure regulator (a little) in a vice to increase the internal spring tension and therefore the fuel pressure. The boost kicked in on that unit at about 2000 RPM. Acceleration in third gear was the same as acceleration in first gear (it was a five speed). I could redline the tach in overdrive -- which was about 145 MPH.

Looking forwards to the continuing saga !!!

Eliot

 

BlackS2000Turbo:

Impressive that you're even willing to try this. Even more impressive that you're almost done. PM me if you want to have a look at mine. I'm probably the closest Speedcraft turbo to you.

 

BlacktS2000Turbo:
Suggestion: Try sticking a long cylindrical (about the size of a pencil) magnet in the oil drain plug hole while your tapping/drilling the oil return line that way whatever shavings fall off will stick to the magnet. Then, for peace of mind follow through with Speedcraft's suggestion regarding hosing down the oil pan with brake fluid. Hope the install goes well. PM me when your done. I'd like to check out the fit and finish of the kit.

 

I'm just wondering instead of risking the metal shavings will mess up the engine, why not just remove the oil pan and clean it throughly? I mean, it is not THAT hard to remove a Honda oil pan.
Per Vortech's instruction on the SC oil return line, they say you remove the oil pan...