TrumpetRhapsody

Very nice. What kind of suspension are you running?

I've been thinking about doing the same thing. Was it tough? I'm no fabricator, and not that experienced a welder, but I think it might be doable.

Do they still have a website? I'm curious what kind of products they carry.

Nice glider. What model hacker is that? I guess I'll upload a couple of the heli while we're at it. No pics of the foamie yet. It's unpainted and not terribly pretty yet. Been flying it more than worrying about how it looks

A little bit of an old thread, but I came across it while searching for something and couldn't resist! I got into RC about a year ago. I've got a scratch-built 3D foam plane with 36" wingspan, and a 450 size electric 3D Helicopter. I fly both pretty well, a little 3D on both. I'm hoping to get a nice 40" RTF balsa 3D electric monster for xmas, lol. With all this car expenditure that's about to start I might have to push RC back a few years though.

Man that looks amazing. So thats just with several coats and wetsanding? No clearcoat or wax huh? Hmmm.... scheming

Been a little while since an update, how's it comin? I feel like i'm addicted to your car's progress How's the rebuilt turbo feelin? Any newsworthiness with gettin the MSnS tuned since the last vid? Messed with the cam anymore?

Just found this thread. I'm interested on how the finished product turned out. How did the door gaps come out?

K, thanks

I'm thinking about doing an electric cutout after the downpipe, but I'm worried about the possibility of fire. Is there somewhere safe/clearance friendly to dump, maybe a sidepipe or something?

Yeah, intercooled? and what do you estimate your whp to be?

Would a HX35 be easier to accomplish around 400hp or would the HY35 accomplish that just fine (with supporting mods of course)

Ahh yeah those will be helpful, thanks for clearing that up! I guess I was just hopeful that I found a debadged gem

So yeah I'm still new to the Z scene (don't even have one yet), so this is probably a dumb question. I was reading through some threads, and someone mentioned wanting someone else's "turbo hood". It struck me that I've seen some 280zx's without the little triangular hood air intake. This makes me beg the question: does the N/A hood not have it, and the turbo hood does? Or was he generalizing "turbo hood" to specify which car's hood he wanted? First pic: "triangular hood air intake" Second pic: example of hood without intake

I just came across this on ebay (please don't steal it! ) Now, my original plan was to grab a local 280zx (NA) and swap the turbo motor into it, but then I found this auction. I've always liked the 1st gen body better, but thought it was a less realistic goal for now than starting with a solid 280zx and just swapping engines. It looks like the yellow frame car is in very good condition. I'm assuming that I could just sandblast it and do some rust prevention, prime and paint it and it'd be good? Then I could just swap all the parts from the blue one onto the yellow one, and take my time to rebuild the engine. It doesn't sound too bad in my mind, but that's where I'm hoping yall can enlighten me. I just need some advice into the depth of a project like this. This summer I'll have the time and resources to do the work, and I'm willing to learn. I just want to know what to expect. As far as swapping the parts over, I should have all the tools I need (including welder just in case, and cherry picker), except a plasma-cutter (probably wouldn't need anyway) and a spring compressor to put the suspension on. What else am I not thinking about? Some insight into my skills: -Interior work is limited. I've replaced A-pillars, done some carpet work, taken dashes apart and so forth, that kind of stuff. But I only plan to swap in the dash and seats, and leave the rest bare. -Body work is limited, basic sanding and repainting, not too much dent work, but I could learn. -Engine work is pretty decent. I've pulled an engine to work on, and helped with a rebuild or two, so I know my way around. I'm a college student, so summers and weekends are the name of the game. Based on the condition of the cars, do yall think it's doable for someone in my position? I'm just kinda second guessing myself at this point, but I'm afraid if I wait till later it'll be hard to find a good deal like this in the future. Plus I'm itching to start a project car of some kind.

Ok so I've been doing more research on megaquirt, and other people's setups. Big-phil's holset style setup might be just what i'm looking for. My HP goals have been revamped to 350-400 recently, so the holset might be better and easier than a t3/04 conversion. Yeah?

Hmm I see. I dunno, from my point of view it would be much easier to just hold out and find a 280zxt. No offense intended, but swapping engines just seems a waste of money since the car comes with one, lol. I don't know how much you can pick up an engine like that for though. The guy that's selling it said he has $1400 in the brakes and $1400 in suspension, and they're asking $2950 for it, so basically selling the car for $150. I guess in that case buying a motor for it wouldn't be as big of a deal, but how would it affect my budget?

Is that $1400 grabbing parts from a junkyard/parts car or is that with aftermarket stuff? What numbers are you shooting for with that twin turbo setup? I noticed that you're also starting with a turbo motor, and I'd be starting with the NA motor, so it seems like I'd need some different internals. From what little I know, I expect the fuel system to be around $500-1K (megasquirt maybe?), the turbo(s) and intercooler and (custom?) piping i'm hoping to get away with about $2-3k, then probably another $500-1k for random other related parts. Does that seem to be on base? I'd be ecstatic about spending 3k over 5k if possible.

I'm looking at grabbing said car in the next couple of weeks, but before I do, I want to know what to expect from my plans for it: The name of the game is obviously turbo drop. I'd like to build it up to the 250-300whp range. I'm still deciding twin vs single, but that's not the main issue right now. For some background, before the swap I'll be putting in larger injectors, some sort of computerized fuel system and boost control. Once I get the budget for the swap, I'll drop in the turbo(s) and intercooling at the same time. What I need to know is this: -What kind of modifications/replacements will have to be done to the stock NA components to get them daily drivable and raceable with that amount of power? -What level of boost should I be shooting for to get into that HP range? -Would a direct component/engine swap from the 280zxt be more cost effective than going the aftermarket route? -I've toyed with the idea of the 3.1 stroker + turbo route, yes/no? -What kind of budget should I allow for this type of project? It needs to be fairly modest, considering I'm a college student and all . I'm hoping to aim around or under 5k, is that realistic? I'm know similar stuff has been asked before, but i've searched the forum and most people talk about swaps from the 280zxt, but don't get into the kind of specifics I'm looking for. Once I get the answers I need, and if I do indeed pick up the car, I'll start a build thread to catalog my progress. TIA! EDIT: I've added some pics of the car in question. I'd be removing the dash and fabbing something out of sheet metal, so its crappiness isn't an issue. The body I'd completely sand down and paint (thus taking care of those nasty rust spots pictured), and the interior i'd eventually sandblast and rubber coat.