Recently, my grandmother lost her ability to walk without a walker, so she gave me her car. She knows she can't drive anymore. I had become attatched to her car, an '84 maxima wagon, since I was a little boy growing up. She always told me that she was going to give it to me when she got old because I loved it so much. I even learned to drive in it. Well, I drove it home today.
The car is a 1984 Datsun/Nissan maxima station wagon. It's got an inline 6 with an automatic transmission. It has all the fancy options (power everything, sunroof, a/c that STILL blows cold air!). The car has 78 thousand miles on the odometer, but it's slower than a box of turds so I think it needs a tuneup.

Anyways, it seems like any other older car out there, except she would always tell me that it's some rare special color. It's a light baby blue metallic, and she said that there were only a handful of that color maximas (especially wagons) that had this color in '84. Is this true? Do I have a rare car? I could care less otherwise, because it's my new 'beater' car.

I have a 1990 talon Tsi that I'm fixing up as my current fast car. It's got all the turbo goodies (70 lb/min turbo, built motor by me, anything else you can think of), but I'm planning on selling it because Mitsubishi is going under, and that means the parts are going to become even More expensive than they are now.

What my main concern is the classic value of this car. Since I'm selling my modded-out-the-**** DSM soon, Should I toy with my new maxima and make it go fast? If I were to modify the maxima, I would keep Everything as original as possible, only I would rebuild the motor with some low compression pistons, heavy duty rods, ARP fasteneres, and basically everything to make a stout motor for boost. Then I'd find a turbo manifold, and run some boost through the motor to make a quick little wagon. The only thing is that I would try to keep it as OEM looking as possible.
Is this a plausible idea? Or is the car a Gem that should be left alone?

 

you need to talk to Sarin about that one, but just remember that your car is 21 years old, it's seen its days, and there's only so much you'll be able to do. first thing I'd suggest doing is a good tune up. good plugs, wires, cap, rotor, everything. timing belt too - this is EXTREMELY important. if you plan on keeping this car, replace the timing belt NOW because it's 17,000 miles overdue. Also, get some seafoam or air intake cleaner and clean the carbon from the throttle body and intake. get a set of NGK plugs for that car. stay away from Bosch and their garbage platinum plugs unless you want a constant misfire and sh*tty performance.

several years ago I started a thread about an inline 6 in these cars because someone had told me nissan used one in their maxima wagons, I never thought they did, and everyone here said he didn't know his a** from a hole in the ground. so you actually have an inline 6? cool!

 

IIRC, the L24E in used a chain. If you want to make this fast....keeping it looking fairly stock will make it the ultimate sleeper. I only suggest doing suspension work so you don't have a bouncy fast wagon.

As for the rarity, I don't think the color itself is rare. My uncle had an 84 sedan in the two-tone version of that. It's the fact that a 1st gen wagon is rare as it is now.

As for boost. May I make a recommendation. Instead of rebuilding this motor, my suggestion is to to the L28ET from the 280zx turbo, build that motor and swap that in. Granted there is some work to be done, but there is a member on here that has already done it. I believe it's cray54. Next thing to consider is how much boost you want to run in this car. I'm pretty sure 8-12psi is pretty obtainable...and with 6 cylinders will go a long way. However you probably want to upgrade the turbo. Maybe a nice t3/t4 hybrid will do well for a motor this size....probably will want an AR that is slightly smaller than .63 ar. Also might do some upgraded injectors to give you some capacity....maybe around the 240cc range....maybe higher if you want some insane boost.

S

 

i'm quite certain that every 1st gen anything (sedan or wagon) had the same inline 6 and on top of that RWD

damn i wish nissan hadn't gone to FWD for the newer maximas

 

Oh ok. I guess my grandma was working up something that really wasn't that important.

I spent up until about 4am this morning searching around on Zcar.com and a few other sites, and a motor swap really isn't an option. There are absolutely No Z cars around here, and I'd feel better buying new parts. I read that the rod journals on my L24E crankshaft are 44mm, opposed to the regular L24's 49mm. Is this going to limit me to only using the rods that are in my car right now? How stout are the L24E rods anyway?
How are the pistons? Let's say I rebuild the bottom end with ARP main and rod studs, shotpeen/polish/cryotreat the rods, and cryo the stock pistons, is 300 whp a safe goal? I've read that a cam from a 240Z really wakes this motor up as well. I'm not worried about how much boost to run, becaues that's all dependant on the turbo. I'm going to find a set of ARP head studs that will fit this motor, and use them to torque the head down at about 80 ft/lbs with a good headgasket. I'm just worried about the pistons and rods being able to withstand 300 whp.

I should have said that I already have the turbo and setup I'm going to use. I have two turbos laying around: a MHI big 16G (42 lbs/min), and a CT26 from a Supra. The 16G has a 7cm turbine housing (unsure of the a/r of this size on a TD05 turbine wheel), so the choke point on this 2.4L 6 cylinder might be too soon. I'd hate to put this turbo on, and have it yield insanely high exhaust manifold pressure, in addition to not letting me get my 300 whp goal. I have no clue about the CT26, but it was given to me, and after some reasearch I found out that it's pretty stout on its own. I've got 6 450cc low impedance injectors laying around from a few other DSM part cars I've had, so Injection is covered. The Megasquirt standalone unit that I'm going to use has a Target AFR feature, so (wth the use of my wideband) all I have to do is enter the AFR I want the engine to be at cruise and idle, and the ECU operates in closed loop mode to continually adjust to the AFR I input. Now that I mention that, how is timing in this car controlled? Mechanical, vacuum, or electric advance? ECU controlled?

So in summary, I want to keep the stock block in the car simply because sourcing a swap and rigging it in there will be more effort than I want to spend. The internals of the engine are what I want to upgrade. I haven't found anyone who makes aftermarket pistons, so I'm going to assume no one does. Does anyone have any specs as far as the stock piston bore diameter, wristpin height, rod length, etc? I'm a machinist, so if I can find other OEM internals with the same dimensions (and happen to be stronger), I can make them fit.

 

the engine sounds pickled... tune it up but if it only has 78,000 miles it most likely sat a long time.

one of my ex friends who is horrificly dumb, bought a car from some one who was very old with the same piticular thing, elderly person low mileage car....only thing is when they have low mileage they tend to forget the little things, like changing the oil. i had warned him not to buy it but he did any way.....come to find out he blew the engine, the elderly person he bought it from NEVER changed the oil....the car had 80,000 miles on it and had done an incredible ammount of damage...

so with that said, i'm not saying your grandmother wasnt good at taking care of her car how ever keep it in mind and you may want to check out things like cylindar walls and sludge, get more into it than just pluds wires and rotors

 

It's had the fluids changed since she bought it in '85. I used to help my grandpa change the oil/filter on it, so I know the engine is in good shape internally. Things like spark plugs/wires/dist cap/rotor/air filter have never been changed, though. It runs Great and doesn't burn any oil, but I bet it still has the original spark plugs in it. I don't have time to work on it right away, or I'd have everything done.

 

With how well built Nissan/Datsun motors are, I can honestly assume that 300whp is very doable. (There are guys here pushing 300-400whp on stock internals). With those upgrades, 300whp is cake. The only thing I forsee was being weak on any L series car is the head gaskets. They are notorious for blowing them, so you should investigate a good alternative. I would recommend getting L24ET dished pistons..even if they are the stock ones....you got the motor taken apart anyway.....this will lower the compression, and will probably be a bit stronger then the stock ones.

As for the turbo....that really is researching and finding the one you feel is best for you needs. I'm one who is into t3/t4's, t04b, t04e, etc....and they work perfect on my 3.0 liter V6 as long as I get the ar right. The fuel injectors I forsee you using might be excessive. For your range, I wouldn't go past 370cc honestly. That would be more than enough for your power range. But then again, if you have em, and can get them to fit, more power to you.

As for the timing....I believe it's ECU controlled. I can't remember...but I think the 1st gen had a version of the Bosch Jetronic...but not sure of which one. Only way to tell is to probably look at the distrbutor and see if the is a mechanical/vacuum advance on it.

As for going the stock block....that's cool. I figure I'd let you know there is a turbo version of the block out there which will give you a small displacement bump up to 2.8 liters, and has a good chunk of the internal work already done for you. Either way, I think you'll do fine whatever way you go because it looks like you know what your getting into. Man, if I wish we had more knowledgeable people like you asking about this stuff. Do you realize how sick I get of some kid that is 16 that want to turbo his car...and doesn't have one clue about anything????

S

 

haha thanks man! Out of the three other forums I posted this on (NABR, zcar.com, and hybridz), your answer has probably been the most helpful! Everywhere else, people are telling me the L24E I have is bad, and they are all trying to either persuade me to swap in an L28 or not to build up this motor. I have found that if I take a more detailed, technical approach, that I will get some good help sooner or later.

I haven't actually looked for the T pistons, but a thought came across my head. There is a cryotreating facility in Inola (about 8 miles from Tulsa). If I can't find the turbo pistons, I'm probably going to cryotreat my stock ones and have the crown coated in ceramic or "Calico". mid8:1 compression isn't going to be too bad for boost, and I think with a good tune I can manage to run somewhat safe timing without knock. I run 8.6:1 compression on my DSM, and I can get good timing and power numbers on pumpgas. The two main things I'm worrying about with adapting to use with the megasquirt is a Knock sensor and Timing control. I'm going to Need a knock sensor if I want to play it safe. I already have the EGT, boost/vac, oil pressure, and fuel pressure gauges ready to go in.

I'm thinking of picking up a t04b/t3 to use, but nothing bigger than a 50 trim compressor. I have been a Holset diehard, but Garret has always been a close second to me (as long as it's the True garret with the 360 degree thrust vs. the cheap 270degree). That way, I can find a turbine housing to bolt up to everything that is in the .63-.80 A/r range.
I figured my 450's were overkill, but It's always good to have a low injector duty cycle, especially when I get that bad batch of gas. The megasquirt has dead time control for larger injectors, so as long as the 450's can not run out of fuel, I'll be good. That way I can lower the base fuel pressure and get more flow out of my pump at a lower psi. A cheap rising rate FPR will help bump up the fuel pressure under boost. If it comes down to it, maybe I could rig up a MSD window switch to a pressure valve which activates a MSD fuel pump voltage booster....... NAH, that's way too complicated for this little project.
Oh, speaking of fuel, would an addon inline pump that flows 140LPH @ 75 psi be enough to net me 300whp? I was thinking it might be cutting it close on its own, but I was going to install it as a booster pump inline with the stocker.

I hate to sound like I never stop talking, but I haven't been able to find a source for ARP hardware for my engine. Does ARP make headstuds/main studs/rod bolts specifically for the L engines? Someone told me that the Diesel main studs would beef up the bottom end a bit. I kind of want to avoid putting used studs in my motor because of the stretch, so do you think it would be possible to get the measurement of the stock fastener hardware and use the same sized ARP equivalent? I have faith that the headgasket will be good as long as I have a Perfect mill on the head/block and I use ARP studs to hold it down. I have a stock composite HG on my dsm held down by ARP's @ 80 ft/lbs, and it holds just fine.

anyways, thanks for everybody's input. I have a general baseline plan laid out, and now I'm just worried about getting the deatils just right. Glad to know that there are some people who I can see eye to eye with.

 

Well one suggestion I would do if you do use you're existing motor...at least do a compression test and maybe a leakdown test. That's a good way to tell the real condition of the motor, at least then you can get an idea if there is other work you need to do (new rings, maybe rebuild the head, you know that fun stuff). At least give yourself somewhat of a clean slate to work with.

Isn't Holset usually the manufacturer that most diesel engine makers use? If I remember right, they have this awesome variable turbo that has a variable nozzle size based on conditions. I saw a little video on that, pretty awesome. Holset makes some pretty heavy duty turbos for sure.

I say 370cc injectors are probably the biggest you want to use, and if you do like the rising rate FPR, I'm really like the BEGI/Cartech FMU. As for things like the knocksensor...it should be hard to attach an aftermarket one to the motor.

Hmmm well you have a couple options with the fuel pump. I know most of the s/c 4th gen guys have kits that come with a T-Rex Aux Fuel pump....and that works fine. I don't see any reason it won't work in this case. You could also look into a Walbro high flow pump...or if you can get it to fix, a Z32TT Fuel pump.

S

 

Thanks,
I'm definately going to rebuild the motor before I put the turbo on. I've called the place that does cryotreating, but they haven't called me back yet. I think cryotreating and coating the pistons will do well.

Yeah, holset is the european turbo king. Their US application consists of being on the dodge cummins trucks, among other things. They are also used widely on marine apps. I love them so much that I put a H1C turbo on my talon. Yeah, their VGT turbo rocks out too...

I understand that a 370cc injector would be the best, but the megasquirt controls the pulse width and duty cycle to obtain the A/F. It runs in closed loop, and doesn't have a constant fuel map where different sized injectors would cause a problem. I would get the exact same A/F with larger ones as with smaller ones, the only difference being the duty cycle and pulse width in ms would be smaller to get the same results. With the larger ones, they don't open for as long and don't open as frequently. I'd hate to put some smaller injectors on and be running a 85% duty cycle at stock fuel pressure, vs. running 70% or so at a lower fuel pressure. I could use 1000cc injectors with the megasquirt, and it would run exactly the same. The only reason being that the larger the injector, the more horsepower you are capable of making without the fuel system being a restriction. They won't have to work as hard as the smaller ones.

That's why I want to do an inline pump because I don't want to have to rely on getting a walbro to fit in the tank.

 

Cool...I get what you mean....lower duty cycle=more capacity in terms of upgradability. Do you have any more information on the megasquirt system? I'm not very familiar with it and would like to know more.

S

 

all i have to say is:

DISHED PISTONS ROCK!

they made a HUGE difference in my '65 Chevy C10

 

Well, the car's been in storage all of these years and I am fixing to drag it out and prepare it for daily driver duties.

https://i.imgur.com/9ZO9a.jpg

 

Get a vanity plate that reads G-RIDE.

Meaning "Grandmas car".

 

there's plenty that can be done to that motor or should I say for that vehicle! I would first of all find or purchase a L28 or build a stroker L28 which is 3098cc using the LD28 crankshaft, l24 rods and 89mm piston......That should make your ride scoot with ease along with sidefdraft carbs, headers, electronic ignition and a mild cam...should make this a fun to drive "DD"..........

 

You know how to take any platform from scratch and make it fun.