My name is Neil, I live in a suburbs of NW Atlanta and going to retire as an Engineer for a large aerospace firm this year. I am not only an Engineer but also a Welder and Machinist too, which turns out to be a dangerous combination. I have been road racing cars via the SCCA for over 40 years. I have two National Championships as a crew chief on a GT4 car. Currently, I am driving a Radical Prosport on track days. Married with one daughter who will be going to UGA this fall.
I was approached by a coworker to see if I was interested in a 1999 Pathfinder with a bad transmission. At first he wanted too much for the vehicle considering it needed an automatic gearbox. I turned down the vehicle at first. I drive a 350Z everyday and I thought it would be good to have a 4 wheel drive vehicle to go to the gun club since it is down a dirt road. So I started looking for a Land Rover. Time went by and I never really found what I was looking for. I happened to be talking to the fellow that owned the Pathfinder one day and he mentioned he had reduced his price to a value I could live with, so I brought it home. Glad I did, Nissan parts are a lot cheaper than Land Rover.
First up fix the transmission.....
I have been thinking of the same thing, but I do not have a problem with the cheap ebay turbos. I have a friend that makes turbo kits for Polaris Razors and he told me twin very small turbos would be best for boost at lower RPM's. The smaller turbos spool faster. He also said leave the compression at stock levels since the higher exhaust pressure would spool the turbos quicker. Lower compression is for engines that will be twisted higher. Even with these two things he thinks the turbos will come up no sooner than 2000 rpm.