Hey guys,

Just joined the forum, hoping to chronicle my adventures with this build and also receive some guidance from you all. I am a small block Chevy guy, I don't know **** about Japanese cars. This car fell into my lap for nothing. My dad got it as part of a trade and it just sat there at my grandpaws house until I showed interest in it. Car has 101k miles on the original engine and drive-train, Sport Design model too (whatever that means)! It was in an accident and the engine jumped timing and bent two valves. I have the head at an engine shop getting resurfaced and the valve-train being gone through. My plan is to do a DIY NA-t setup and learn some stuff about boosting engines along the way. I have done a little reading into what this takes and came across this article. I'd like to end up around 400HP (reliably, would like to drive it a few times a week), which raises my concerns about the compression ratio and ignition system. I already bought a complete gasket set which I'm pretty sure is for the GE engine and will not lower the compression like I want. Where do I buy the one I need? Next I need to go ahead and order new plugs/wires/coil while this is all off (and anything else I'm not aware of that should be changed at this stage). That article also says I'll need different plugs than stock but will the engine run fine on those plugs he mentioned in the meantime without boost? It may be several months before I gather parts for the turbo build and I'd like to be able to drive the car during that time.

Anyway, looking forward to having a lot of fun with this car. I've been dreaming of having a boosted car since I was 15. This will be a lengthy thread as I have a lot of plans for this car! Go easy on me, I'm a network engineer by trade, so pretty dumb when it comes to engines.

 

It would be a good idea while it's apart to start replacing any seals while they're easy to get to. I would also replace any hard to reach hoses and vacuum lines.

 

Shot an email to Lonnie at SupraStore and he recommended I go with these plugs and wires

https://www.suprastore.com/sparplugkitb.html
https://www.suprastore.com/ngkspplwiset.html

Also the gasket, ouch! That's an expensive gasket
https://www.suprastore.com/n2thhegafor2.html

 

Hello and welcome. I happen to be in the middle of my NA-T build and can probably be of some assistance to you. I've pored in the time and research on most everything and have my complete setup except for the turbo itself that's been on back order from CX-Racing. If you read through my build thread you'll see where I've been already and the kit/supporting electronics and gauges I used. Also my cam swap if you're interested in that while the head is off.
I however am only going for 300-320ish whp on 8 psi. If you do the head-gasket and fuel injector/pump upgrade you can make a lot more through boost. I have bi-annual smog to deal with though. Also the trans cant handle much more than my planned power, hence why it's my limit. So consider that.
You mentioned wanting to rebuild the engine and drive it while you plan for a turbo setup. But running a thick head-gasket during that time will make for a dog of a car. Very under powered. The GE's only hope for power is it's compression ratio. So consider that too.

 

I ended up finding a place that can make me a custom gasket. But now that I think of it, I'll probably just put the stock sized one from the complete kit I got back on it for now. I really just wanted the car to move under it's own power to get it to my house. But I figure in the meantime I can be playing with suspension and wheels so I want it to run good. Just picked up the head today!

As for the trans, I don't plan on keeping the auto in it so as long as it's not a risk to anything else I'm not worried about that.

 

Everyone boosting a car for the first time should read Corky Bell's Maximum Boost, technical articles will make a lot more sense and you won't be dependent on other people to choose parts for you. Consider the $30 part of the cost of the build.