Hi guys,

I been at a crossroads on whether to ditch my Z and buy a new car...it's getting up there in age and miles! My cats a shot, due to oil consumption..I have at least 2 bad piston rings. So a rebuild a def needed...

I began looking into sikkys kits, and thinking of an ls2/3 conversion but my budget is hard at 10k...and the motor would throw it to around 12k

I had an other suggestion of twin turbo kit, but really I have not had much FI experience, and I know it wears on the motor heavily.

I know this is a pretty broad question..but what would you do with 10k to drop on your z? Purely mechanical, suspension is good, body is straight.

Maybe get crazy and do a cool colored car wrap once it's all done LOL

 

Just my devalued $.02....

Facing this situation - and forgetting about how much I LOVE my cars - I doubt I'd drop $10k into any of my Zs. This is PURELY from an economic perspective. Much rather upgrade the entire car to something newer or NEW. At the end of the day, if the car is presently worth, say, $8k (arbitrary number), by the time you invest the extra into it, you MIGHT get a couple grand more than today's value. MIGHT. The economics just don't work.

But that's just me.

Taking logic and rationality out of it, *I* would get and rebuild an HR engine (if pre-'07) - plus associated other stuff needed for transplant - then do a really strong, solid NA build (cams, exhaust, trick head work).

OR... IF, and only IF, I knew beforehand I'd have $$ in the budget, do nearly the same longblock build but spec'd for TT. (I'm pretty sure a proper build for FI would exceed that budget by an order of magnitude.

Point is, either way, more care and planning in the long block prep pays off for NA or FI.

Good luck with the conundrum!

 

Rather than get too involved in all that high HP ********, why not just rebuild your VQ and keep "ol faithful" in the game. Whether it's that or a rebuilt VQ, it's sure to be less than $10K and WAY less expensive than a new set of wheels.

 

I suppose that's an option, I would really love more power. Hence getting crazy ideas for shoe horning a v8 into this guy

Plus if anything happens..insurance baby!

 

Can't provide much input mechanically but I put some money ~$1K on my Z cause a) I love the car still and b) still not looking forward to new car monthly payments. Eventually I'll get there but I need the time to shop around.

 

Crazy ideas are rarely cheap. Gaining significant HP/TQ increases are rarely cheap! So...go back to your original crossroads goal of spending less than $10K on your Z and it's pretty clear you're dreaming. That's not a criticism- most of the board here (including me) are dreamers. But there's a time to get realistic as well and that's the advise I'm offering.

 

my buddy did a ls swap in his g35... and it was closer to $15k when he got done.

 

^That sounds more accurate. You will be able to save some money by going with a 5.3 and t5 transmission but the swap will still be over $10k.

 

Id say if you love the car and want to keep it, do a rebuild and maybe build it for na power while your at it, I'm sure you'll come in way under 10k too. But honestly think about chances are you bought the car for 10-15k... Why drop 10k into it when if you try to sell it afterwords you'll be lucky to get 15-17k for it, chances are you'll put 5-7k into that you'll never get back. Id just do a rebuild and save the money for something else...

Point is, if your going to be putting 10k into a car, it better be making you money.
Some words of wisdom for ya, that were given to me. But I'm also young trying to pay bills etc and don't have that extra income like you may have, but its still good to think about.

 

Modifying cars and being economical do not go hand-in-hand. Modifying your car(s) is a hobby; not an investment. If you love the Z and can see yourself enjoying it for years to come, then put the money into it and have fun with a personalized Z. If you do not want to deal with an "older" modified Z and all the potential issues that may ensue and would be happy driving a newer, stock car, then I think you have your answer.

 

Wow, thank you all so much for your input...big time bummer that it really is just coming short of target..