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Z32 RB26 swap


Turbology

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Good Morning Guys!
 
Hope everyone is having a great week so far. Glad to find the forum, looks cool from what I've seen. Anyhow, I owe my love of turbos to a local Z32 many years back. It was silver and slammed to the ground with an obnoxious GT-style wing, but the first time I heard those TurboXS RFL blow-off valves, I was hooked for life.
 
Fast forward to the present, where I have the unique opportunity to inexpensively acquire an R34 piston and rod RB26 with quite a few goodies including Tomei valvetrain parts, Garrett GT28s, ID 1000s and an A'PEXi Power FC. While I would love to build a GT-R, too many local guys own R32s now, and an R34 is plain out of financial reach.
 
Being that I have always liked the Z32, I thought it might be rad to build a restomod '260Z' of sorts with an RB26. Yes, I know it's cheaper and easier to just buy a stock TT or TT swap an NA car and make power, but that's not the point. I love the 2JZ and RB26, but I want to swim in the same gene pool at least.
 
All that being said, I have a few questions that I'm hopeful you zexperts can answer. Please excuse my perceived ignorance, I do not have nearly as much Z32 knowledge as I would like. I am hopeful to patiently and diligently learn more about the chassis from your collective knowledge and expertise.

I did some searching for each of my questions, but I could not seem to find any conclusive answers, unless my ADD was in overdrive and I simply read too quickly. :ph34r:

 

  • Seems the 1/8" difference in length is negligible and the RB26 will bolt-up to a Z32 trans using an RB25 bell housing, but what have you guys done for a shifter solution?
  • What clutch and flywheel combination would I need, RB26 flywheel and standard Z32 clutch assembly?
  • Will RB25 motor mounts bolt-on to the RB26?
  • Will an RB25 oil pan and modified pick-up bolt-on to the RB26?
  • Anybody have experience with the Wiring Specialties PNP merged harness?
 
I can get the RB25 bell housing from Raw Brokerage for relatively cheap. Can anybody vouch for McKinney vs. CX Racing eitherway? I've read good and bad about both. I believe a member on here also makes RB swap oil pans? Lastly, any feedback on Wiring Specialties?
 
Many thanks in advance for your time and consideration, I appreciate it. My apologies for the soliloquy, my brain just did a mental keg stand to get everything out! :P
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You'd use the flywheel and clutch designed for the bellhousing if you can. 

 

As for the oil pan, Pat1 is on this site and does custom oil pans for members here. You send him a stock oil pan and he mills it off and build a custom rear sump. 

 

I'd personally go with Mckinney, because I've had to modify enough CX racing products that I know they are probably going to be problematic from the get go. 

 

I just got a wiring specialties harness for my 280zx getting an SR20 swap, and all I have to say is that everything plugged in. Haven't started it yet so not sure if it works, but it looks great.

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All very helpful information, thanks for taking the time to reply! Let me provide a little more back story so you perhaps my oil pan question makes a bit more sense.

I put together an RB30 3.4 stroker with a complete Tomei Phase 2 head for a friend's R34 GT-R, so his stock motor is available to me for a great deal. He will be keeping the stock oil pan for his build.

So, I don't have one at my disposal, which is why I was curious about the CX Racing one that's available with their mount kit. But given your words of caution, maybe it's just better to find a used RB25 pan.

Great to hear about Wiring Specialties, I like that they are in the same state and having seen some of their display engines at Formula Drift, the quality did seem good from what I could see.

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Good Morning Guys!
 
Hope everyone is having a great week so far. Glad to find the forum, looks cool from what I've seen. Anyhow, I owe my love of turbos to a local Z32 many years back. It was silver and slammed to the ground with an obnoxious GT-style wing, but the first time I heard those TurboXS RFL blow-off valves, I was hooked for life.
 
Fast forward to the present, where I have the unique opportunity to inexpensively acquire an R34 piston and rod RB26 with quite a few goodies including Tomei valvetrain parts, Garrett GT28s, ID 1000s and an A'PEXi Power FC. While I would love to build a GT-R, too many local guys own R32s now, and an R34 is plain out of financial reach.
 
Being that I have always liked the Z32, I thought it might be rad to build a restomod '260Z' of sorts with an RB26. Yes, I know it's cheaper and easier to just buy a stock TT or TT swap an NA car and make power, but that's not the point. I love the 2JZ and RB26, but I want to swim in the same gene pool at least.
 
All that being said, I have a few questions that I'm hopeful you zexperts can answer. Please excuse my perceived ignorance, I do not have nearly as much Z32 knowledge as I would like. I am hopeful to patiently and diligently learn more about the chassis from your collective knowledge and expertise.

 

I did some searching for each of my questions, but I could not seem to find any conclusive answers, unless my ADD was in overdrive and I simply read too quickly. :ph34r:

 

  • Seems the 1/8" difference in length is negligible and the RB26 will bolt-up to a Z32 trans using an RB25 bell housing, but what have you guys done for a shifter solution?
  • What clutch and flywheel combination would I need, RB26 flywheel and standard Z32 clutch assembly?
  • Will RB25 motor mounts bolt-on to the RB26?
  • Will an RB25 oil pan and modified pick-up bolt-on to the RB26?
  • Anybody have experience with the Wiring Specialties PNP merged harness?
 
I can get the RB25 bell housing from Raw Brokerage for relatively cheap. Can anybody vouch for McKinney vs. CX Racing eitherway? I've read good and bad about both. I believe a member on here also makes RB swap oil pans? Lastly, any feedback on Wiring Specialties?
 
Many thanks in advance for your time and consideration, I appreciate it. My apologies for the soliloquy, my brain just did a mental keg stand to get everything out! :P

 

 

Shifter should stay in the same spot, as you're using the Z32 rear housing and mount.

 

Clutch will be RB26. Spline is the same, so there are no mods required if you are using RB26 front case.

 

Questions about RB25 are both yes.

 

 

I still have one aluminum rear sump pan for dropping 26 into S30. Will part with it for $200 plus freight. You must fab pick up, and desired sump baffling. Probably need modding to go into Z32, as well.

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How much can you find the bell housing for?  Just curious, cause I have a RB26 one here, not doing anything.

 

Also if you are going standalone (which I recommend), then you would reuse the Z32 harness.  That's the way I would do it anyway.

 

There are plenty of people running RB25's on the Z32 ECU.  But the only issue I would foresee for you would be the ITB's of the 26.

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