looking for engine conversion

[danny_sway]

hay all

currently running a 88 vl exec while in year 12 i have spent time to make it look awsume with a new set of rims, respray of the bumpers to a bright glossy crome and made sure when i piked this particular car it had a straight sprey job, the only thing now is it looks awsome and the only engine mods it has is the custom cold air intake through the guard and all that. The way i see it why spend money on engine mods now when it isnt a turbo? i am looking at doin a turbo conversion soon after i finish exams and start working next year so just doing some research. the rb30e that is in it now had just ticked over 330,000 k's and although it still runs like a dream due to some constant TLC i can see it is probobly goin to start having major problems soon. I am tossing up atm weather to chuck in a rb26dett which i have seen for no less than 5g with a 5spd supra gearbox, or wetaher to chucnk in a rb30et which i could prob get my hands on for 2g and just in the stock 5spd gear box either from the rb30et or possibly the rb20t which i from what i hear has a much smother change and does manage to cope with the bigger engine. anythoughts? cost efectivness? is the rb26dett worth the extra $$$ would it be much more hassle ot convert?
thanks

[Steve-0]

i'd say go a 5.0L! buy a wrecked 8 and chuck everything across, easy conversion

[danny_sway]

im on P plates in victoria cant have a v8 at all
any other thoughts really wants a turb's just not sure which way to go

[VS Omega]

You can have a 5.0 litre on your P's mate, what you can't have is a series 2 VT V8 and newer because it has a 5.7 litre LS1, 5.0 litre VL doesn't make very much power so the power to weight is legal..

I'd say go the V8 as well

[Bax]

I'd say to be realistic and not to have too high hopes. Keep your goals simple and you may even want to consider buying a new vlt itself.

As the countless threads around here say about the turbo conversion, its not just the engine that you have to do. You've obviously thought ahead about the gearbox, but you should really consider Brakes and the rear 28 spline setup and disc rear.

Personally I don't think the rb20det gearbox would live up too that much punishment from the rb30et - It's the equivalent of the rb30e gearbox maybe a touch stronger, but torque kills boxes. And the rb30et has alot more then the rb20.
So I'd definately look into an mx7 or r33 5speed box. So right there your looking at around 2 thousand dollars.

the rb26dett.. 5k with a gearbox... hmm, sounds reasonable, but once again, I can see that jumping its way upwards of 10k to get it all in and ready. And at the end of the day its still a non calais, non factory car. Sure it may be clean. But its really not worth it.

At your age - I wouldn't go getting into huge projects. I'd get something complete and get some experience with the type of car before you move on and upgrade as you start getting some decent income etc. Just my opinion.