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I have driven a nismo version on the track and was really surprised at how much the rear steers and moves around. I can also say I am not a fan of the auto rev match feature. Brakes were pretty good and the power was adequate enough to invoke traction control a few times. Those were just HPDE days not actually racing...

Hopefully you don’t have 260z carburetors as they were problematic. If you have round top 240z carbs your good to go.

At 26:25 minute they start talking about the headers...

I went with the LS swap mainly because of the weight. A fully dressed LS1/T56 is only 30lbs (13.6kg) more than the stock 2.8 liter with the T5 trans and the weight is centered more because it’s the transmission that is actually heavier. And with the quality of Hoke Performance LS swap kits it looks and fits like a factory made V8. The aluminum 5.3 can easily make 300hp at the wheels. I don’t know how easy it is to get LS1 parts in Germany but here they are everywhere here and they are cheap! I couldn’t get the power I have with a 1 or 2 JZ or RB without spending at least twice as much as I did.

What is the displacement tax threshold? You can get an aluminum 5.3 liter LS . Or even a 4.8 liter LS but those would be iron blocks.

The lower valance is different on the late 260 and 280. I got the carbon fiber version for the 280 on my 260. I got it from BRE, I think they are pretty much the same price and probably come from the same supplier.

It was SAE corrected for elevation so it should be 240 at sea level. I’ve heard that this dyno is a bit stingy with the numbers but my LS1 swap with forged internals ported heads and FAST 92 intake dynoed on the same dyno at 397hp. I expected about 25 more but at the end of the day it’s just a number and really only comparable to other runs on the same dyno.

My 3.0 liter was right about 240 at the crank. It can definitely be done. The combustion chamber design of the L series heads are 1968-1978 designs and most were made to meet exhaust emissions of that era. Today heads can incorporate high quench design which will reduce the pre ignition problems of those old open chamber designs. I had my head's combustion chambers welded and reshaped to match more modern designs. The cam also plays a huge role in how much compression you can run. The later the intake valve closes after BDC the less effective compression you will have. I have read several places that running 9.0-9.5:1 and running a full 35 degrees advance is just as good and more pump friendly than higher compression. Again, cam specs and compression ratios go hand and hand. The only reason i did 11.5:1 is because that's what Ron Isky recommended and it worked. It would run ok on 93 octane at my 5000 foot elevation but the gas station that sold it in my area quit selling it...so I had to mix race gas and pump gas...PITA. If your going to have Rebello or Datsun Spirit build it then I'd listen to their recommendations. My dad just had Datsun Spirit do his L28 and it's pretty awesome. It is fairly high strung but there is not a better sound than a hot L28 at full song.

250 hp out of 2.8 liter L series is a pretty lofty goal that will require a lot of head work and assembly detail that only a few shops have demonstrated. Rebello, Datsun Spirit both come to mind. I had a Rebello 3.0 bottom end and a local shop ported and heavily modified (welded chambers, bigger valves etc.) my head and I just broke 200 hp at the wheels. I ran 11.5:1 compression with an Isky 490/290 cam and had to constantly mix race fuel and pump gas which is a royal PITA! Sadly a valve seat failed 2 years ago in that engine so I decided to go with an LS1/T56 swap and holy crap is that fun! 397 hp at the rear wheels, pump gas, instant torque, no fussy cold start procedures .... Any way, as stated above, all the info you need is here at your fingertips. Keep in mind that a 250 hp L28 is a fairly high strung motor ...a 350 hp l28 is definitely high strung a possibly not very street friendly.

Fuel filter?

Hoke Performance but it’s not cheap. That’s what I used with Hawks Headers and I wouldn’t change a thing.

WOW! That looks awesome!

Why do you want the 5.3 specifically? I would (and did) prefer an aluminum 5.7, 6.0, 6.2. saves 100 lbs of the front of the car. Of course you are doing a 2+2 so weight savings might not be important to you.

WOW! That is beautiful! The rims and tires fit perfectly. What size and offset did you end up with?

Depends on which T56 you have. Mine has 2.66 first gear and with my 3.9 rear end and 24.85" tall tire and a shift point of 6800 rpm (my redline is 6900) first gear is 48.48 mph. In 6th gear top speed is calculated at 257 mph. Plugging in your 4.08 rear end I get 46.34 mph for 1st and 246 top speed for 6th. Obviously we can't pull 6th to those speeds but I don't think you need to worry about running out of gear. Trackspeed is right though...1st gear goes by in a second...no matter what rear end you use. I like my 3.9.

Here is my 3.0 liter dyno with Isky 490 cam and SU carbs. I have a later dyno that I can’t locate where I had the timing and carbs tuned much better. It looks pretty much the same but peaked 13hp more. And for Sh!ts and giggles my new LS1/T56 combo on the same dyno.

Getting that much RWHP out of 3.2 NA liters is going to be tough. It will be a high strung high compression engine that will probably require race gas. Going the turbo route makes things a lot easier but that is still asking a lot from 2.6 (guessing here as you didn’t state which RB) liters but completely doable and driveable but the RB’s I’ve seen making that much power have significant turbo lag. I also hate turbo lag but love the power. I use to poopoo the idea of putting a V8 in the Z chassis but after seeing a few beautiful LS1 swaps and riding in one I decided to go that route and have no regrets. It is so well mannered that it could be daily driven and power is instant, no turbo lag at all. I have more torque at 2000 rpm than my 3.0 liter had at full song. It put down 397 RWHP. It’s addicting! Maybe the Datsunworks head and twin turbos could get you there but your going in uncharted territory. I’d do it if I had the cash!

Depends on how much you want to deal with the wiring. I got a wiring harness from http://www.wiringspecialties.com/ls1wihaforda2.html and it was literally plug and play...started on the first try. It was really well made. The harness that came with my LS1 was hacked a few times and really brittle. I probably could have used it and even got a book to help figure out what I need and didn’t need but I figured by the time I replaced all the damaged connectors and wiring and added my time in I would be better off paying for the new harness.

Oh, the exhaust manifold/Headers. Just looking at it sure looks like the stock one will be a problem. It dumps right where our steering shaft exits the firewall.

I just looked up the crate LS3 and it listed the hp at 435 and tq at 425 so I’m not sure if your getting something different than that but all of the LS stock style and FAST intakes will fit except possibly the truck intake which a crate engine wouldn’t come with unless you specified it. You will need to change the oil pan as the one pictured is too far forward. Here is a picture of mine with the strut bars showing how low the engine sits in the chassis.

I used Hoke Performance 240Z mounts for my late 260Z (280 chassis)with an LS1/T56 and it works fine. Hoke's new 280Z mounts offer more room for the exhaust system, I used Hawks (American Racing) headers and had to downsize the exhaust from the header 3" out to 2 1/2" then back to 3" to feed through the mounts. The 280 mounts should easily fit a full 3" system. It didn't seem to effect my power output though. The steering shaft is a tight fit through the headers too. As far as I can tell it doesn't rub. The other problem I had was the LS1 alternator is different than the LS2 I had to trim the back plastic cover on the alternator just a bit to clear the motor mounts.

Made to dyno tuning. Ended up with 397hp@6200 and 352 lb ft@5700.

Hawks/American Racing Headers 1 7/8” long tubes. 3” duals to Y to 3” single to Magnaflow straight thru MF Performance muffler.

Finally! First and second start. A few things left to iron out but it runs and drives.

Almost finished with my LS1/T56 swap and have a question about the final wiring hookups. I have a Sikky wiring harness that made it really simple to integrate everything but a I few questions. The harness has a "Charge Cable" that hooks up to the back of the alternator as well as the single "sense" wire that is plugged into the alternator. The Camaro battery cables have an extra wire that looks like it connects to the alternator also. Do I need to have a connection directly from the battery to the alternator like that?