I'm back! Cam upgrade.

[red_dog007]

So, I am ordering some $3,000 to $4,000 worth of parts for my car here in the fallowing week.

I am going to get a Cam kit. Stage II maybe Stage III. I have the E31 head. Going to get the cam put in myself with the help of a buddy hopefully. Though, I was wanting to put in the larger 260/280 Z valves. For these larger valves, where can I find them by themselves? I have not been able to do so. Also, how much of a bore needs to be done on the valve ports when I take it to the shop to get the ports machined?

[whamo]

So, I am ordering some $3,000 to $4,000 worth of parts for my car here in the fallowing week.

I am going to get a Cam kit. Stage II maybe Stage III. I have the E31 head. Going to get the cam put in myself with the help of a buddy hopefully. Though, I was wanting to put in the larger 260/280 Z valves. For these larger valves, where can I find them by themselves? I have not been able to do so. Also, how much of a bore needs to be done on the valve ports when I take it to the shop to get the ports machined?

Are you having the head ported or just machined to accept the larger valves? Or both?

[whamo]

If you plan on having the head ported you should seek the advice of someone who has experience porting L6 nissan heads, or at least someone who has experience porting performance cylinder heads in general that has a flow bench. This is not something that the average machine shop does, or at least does well. A poor job of porting a head can decrease performance, bigger isnt always better. Cutting the valve seats for larger valves is something a competent machine shop can do, but to take advantage of the larger valves a blend of the bowl area behind the valve would be adviseable. An experienced head porter should be sought out for this task.

[e_racer1999]

Is this on an L24? If so, don't forget that the larger valves will require eyebrowing the block. What other mods are you doing? I'm running ~Stage IV and it's perfect for me (10:1 CR) And yes, you are going to need a lot of work by the right person to get that E31 in decent condition. Are you using the E31 simply for CR reasons? If so, the N42 will give you a slightly lower CR but won't require near as much work to flow properly. You could also go with a closed cc Maxima N47 for even more CR and large valves.

[jmortensen]

$3-4K isn't enough money to really build a good L6 if you're not doing all the labor yourself. You might try to find a built-up engine for sale.

[whamo]

3-4k in parts should make a fair start, f you already have the engine. Add in machine shop costs $1200-1500, a professional to port the head $400-$600 and you assemble it yourself. 6 grand plus your own labor, that stock 6 begins to look pretty nice, or a V8.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Well 3-4 k might be enough depending on his goals for the car. Perhaps he does not need larger valves if all he wants is a fun street car. With the cost of head work not trivial, perhaps you can use money else where to suit your needs.

Again, it comes down to what your goals for the car are.

[red_dog007]

$3k to $4k in parts for the whole car. Performance parts, interior parts, exterior parts. ect. ect.

I have a total of $6k'ish to play with.

The head needed to be removed because of a leaky gasket. All I was planning on doing is taking the head to a shop to get cleaned, not machined. While it is in the shop, I think that I will just have them install my cam kit that I am going to order. Was thinking of having them just port out the valves to use the higher flowing ones as well. Though if all needs to be done is the valve holes to be machined to fit the larger valves, I had rather just do that.

People say just take my head to any shop to get it done, but I already know that I want someone who has worked on these engines before. If I have to, I will take my head down to Atlanta to get the job done right. Though I think that I have actually found a Z shop in town, so I am going to call them tomorrow, might drop by as well. Hope that these guys are good.

That was really about it. I was wanting to put the cam kit in myself, but apparently don't have all the necessary tools to do so, so I am out of luck.

As for the block, yes it is an L24. Not quiet sure what I want to do to it, though I don't think that I will touch it now. Might weight. Still not sure if I want to get a diesel crank, L28 crank, or get an L28 block. Might even just leave the block stock if the E31 w/ Cam does me good.

Just looking for something fun on the streets and the back roads, but still livable for day to day. That is why I am not really looking at too much of an aggressive cam and might just end up with a Stage II cam w/ exhaust and stock carbs that me and a buddy are going to rebuild.

[JimmyZ]

That was really about it. I was wanting to put the cam kit in myself, but apparently don't have all the necessary tools to do so, so I am out of luck.

Valve spring compressor and some Dyechem to check lash pads. I think that's all that's needed. (Cam lube too)

FWIW/ You can make a valve spring compressor pretty cheap. It's another story when you are removing the valves instead of compressing them. It's much easier and faster to make/use a bench tool. The inner springs make things a little complicated when trying to get the collets out/in. (If you try and compress by gripping the springs)

Here's a pic of one I made for less than $5.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=15935&d=1168302531

[e_racer1999]

Man, if only you were here on the west coast I'd invite you to some of my parts.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

keep in mind that it may be better to bring the entire short block to the machine shop so they can degree in the cam. It makes a huge difference to how effective your cam will be. I think you have your head on straight about just going Stage II and making a fun daily driver. You will be very happy with that set up!

[240ZMan]

If you enjoy turning revs, I think you should consider going stage III on the cam. It's not as aggressive as the name suggests. Unless you routinely go around street corners in 3rd gear I think you'll find the tradeoff of slightly less low end torque vs. better high rpm breathing to be worth it. I have the equivalent reground cam and it could easily be a daily driver.