LD28 turbo installation

[gojozoom]

Hi guys,

I'm new to this forum, and would need some technical advise.

I have a 1986 Nissan Laurel C32 with the reliable LD28 engine in mint condition (both the car and the engine). My only problem with the old lady is that she's a bit lazy for today's traffic, so i decided to spend some $ and consider some engine overhaul options. I don't want to make a race car, I'd stick with the nice 80's luxury atmosphere. I had a conversation with my mechanic about a full engine replacement, but I was advised that the work would hit the $5000 mark easily (including the transmission). Well, I have a budget of $3K so I need other alternatives if there's any... For example, I'd be happy with a turbo and inter-cooler installation, which -according to other forums- can be done 'easily'. My questions are :

1.) Do you think/know if a turbo and an inter-cooler could be installed on a LD28?
2.) Do you know any guys around Wellington who could do that?
3.) Do you have any ideas about the approx. costs of such an 'operation'?

Your help is greatly appreciated!

PS: Where can I upload some photos about her?

[dirtyleppa]

1st off, welcome to the club man. good to see you are doing some research and talking to people about what you want to achieve with your car. will save alot of time and money in the future.

as far as uploading pics, why not start a project thread in the members ride section.

as far as modifications go, and with your budget in mind, i would personally go with your idea of a turbo LD28. it should be a good addition to the engine as long as you dont run stupid boost, and get it tuned by someone who knows there way around a diesel.
adding an intercooler, exhaust aswell as a good tune and service should make a good amount of difference while still being reasonably economical and good to drive around town

as for engine swaps, you could probably find a cheap rb20det, box, loom etc to throw in, but i think you would be pushing your budget with that. you could possibly also try an N/A rb30e swap, but i reckon that would be pretty thisrty.

let us know how you get on and very interested to see how it comes out

[gingofthesouth]

Welcome. You are never gonna get the performance you want with the diesel really. Like already has been mentioned I would suggest looking for an RB20det with tranny etc. If you can do most the work yourself you should be able to get it done around your budget. If you are paying others to do it then the turbo on the diesel will be your only option. However from my experience they do not offer much extra performance-wise. Be better to go get your injectors cleaned and service everything from the rear diff oil to the transmission fluid. Should give you extra performance.

[MR1200]

do a conversion yourself u will save fark loads 4 3k you cud have an rb25 cracking 200 rear wheel kilowatts easy

[gojozoom]

Many thanks for the info guys!

Unfortunately I'm an IT engineer and have nothing to do with engines - however, somewhere inside, I always wanted to be a mechanic, as we all do....Anyway, this work has to be done by someone else, which limits my options budget-wise. As per gingofthesouth's advise I will start with a full "cleanup". My current gearbox is an auto and I'm looking into replacing that to a 5 gear manual as well, which won't give me more power but it'll make better use of what I have. I'll dig deeper into the turbo story, talk to a couple of gurus around and will come back with my findings. The info might be use for others too... Some say that the turbo conversion could make 130HP from the default 86HP....we'll see... I'll also upload some pics soon.

Thanks again,
Daniel

[Mikewazowski]

Best of luck with that dude. If you do decide to try your hand at something, there are plenty of people on here who will be able to give you advice on how to go about it.

[Bartman]

A bloke my dad knows son has a turbo'd LD28 in a VL commy. He runs like 20psi of boost. I say turbo the LD and love it!

[datman310]

my dad has a ld28 vl and he reckoned his mate years ago had a turbo one and he reckoned it layd a mean skid! you could possibly run a supercharger? sc12 or sc14 maybe?