yamahondarider

I support this idea. But only if you happen to have the parts kicking around. As and owner of two '69 Cutlass's I can tell you that Olds engines are much more expensive to build and parts are harder to find. With that said, One of my Cutlass's is a parts car with a good running engine and trans and it has been very tempting to throw those in my 280Z.

Yeah I've been looking into the newer S chassis cars but apparently after fast n furious they shot up in price because every boy-racer on the east coast wants one, tears the motor out and then thinks he can pawn off the project he never finished for $3000. If I could get an S chassis for under $1500 without it being a title-less rotbox I'd drop the cash on it but so far my search has turned up nothing. I found a car that was in a fire for $300, I was gonna nab that but someone got it before I did.

I'm not worried about spending money on an oil pan, I'm worried about spending money where I don't have to. If i could flip the oil pan, why not? If I have to suck it up and spend the cash for one, thats the way the world works. Wanting to save money where possible doesn't suggest I'm not capable of an engine swap, it means I'll have more money for go-fast stuff after the conversion is done . Like I said, I don't even have a swap car picked out yet, and the purpose of this topic was to help me narrow down my choices, mainly now to front-sump vehicles unless I find a clean Z car for cheap (never gonna happen)

Understood, figured it was worth asking since I saw that video. Couldn't believe the guy just flipped the pan around and drilled new holes, I suppose his motor didn't last long then lol. I just can't believe it cost almost $400 for a swap oil pan for chist sakes. Not the most expensive part of the swap obviously but its $400 more than I can justify. I haven't bought the swap car yet, I'm starting to lean towards getting something that came with a front sump motor stock.

Hey guys, I'm thinking of taking on an RB swap since there is a JDM importer not far from where I am with some decent prices My main question is, can you simply flip around the oil pan and pickup? I've read this mentioned a couple times on other websites and there was a guy with a 240p video who mentioned he turned the pan around, "drilled new holes" turned the pickup around and then bolted it on. Is that something thats commonly done? Seems like a much more cost effective way of doing it than spending $389 on a swap pan. Hell, $389 is more than enough to do an upgraded fuel system including a cheap fuel cell! Or, more than enough to do a front mount intercooler kit, hell its more than enough for a SAFC tuner. I don't mind drilling new holes in the pan as long as its not gonna starve the engine, and the pickup tube can be easily flipped.

High right? looking at the motor? as in, drivers side? Forgive me if I'm wrong but doesnt the stock truck 5.3 PS/Alt bracket stuck the alternator up there?

Are they a straight bolt in? stock fuel rail? What did you do for pump and regulator? I know on Turbo LSX's MS1 runs via throttle position sensor, inlet air temp sensor, and coolant temp sensor, map sensor (built in) and a wideband for good tuning. Is it the same for a Z, or what did you use?

Sorry, I was a little unclear. By stock EFI system, I mean't stock intake and throttle body and injector clips with bigger injectors, tuned and controlled by Megasquirt with an MSD ignition with boost retard built in running the ignition system, none of the stock computer or harness (other than plugs) would be used. What kind of injectors could I replace the stockers with to support upwards of 250HP without breaking the bank? I heard that the injectors are the same or similar to GM injectors of the new age motors but I can't confirm that. Ideally, I'd like to be running a T3/T4 and if it bolts onto a stock turbo manifold I'll buy one, I'd then like to pipe it to an intercooler and back to the intake. I'd like to do 15-18 lbs of boost reliably. I don't need to make necksnapping horsepower but I'd like to be able to spin the tires in 1st and second gear and be pretty damn quick. Shouldn't be hard considering how light the car is.

Yeah I actually have been spending some time looking into it, looks like Megasquirt one is easy, and correct me if I'm wrong but aren't 280z injectors batch fire? aka, they all spray at once? I wouldn't take much to rig that one up and it looks like an average MSD with a boost reference would be plenty for spark control. Then I could basically run whatever turbo I want and use the stock EFI system, of course with bigger injectors (would ZX turbo injectors be suffiecient for a T3/T4 making around 15 lbs?). if I could get 300 WHP would of the 280 I would be incredibly happy. the fender tag says 175 and I'm sure its lost some since then so I could see this working out rather well.

megasquirt interests me. How hard is it to program? I haven't dug too far into it but it seems like a good way to control fuel injection and would work well for a turbo 5.3 LM7 build (for one of my other cars). I've read a lot into the LSX motors, especially the 5.3 LM7. the flow characteristics of that motor right out of the box is insane. With just a carb intake, 750 carb, MSD controlling the ignition, a cam and valve springs they made 433 horsepower at 6,800 RPMs. Insane little motor. They are cheap too, however cams are pretty damn expensive ($350) and thats over twice what a SBC cam goes for. Granted, much more bang for your buck.

Okay, things are starting to make sense now. I wasn't sure if a stock manifold could bolt up a T3/T4. I was under the impression that 76 L28 N/A motors had both AFM and TPS, and figured if using the stock computer for ignition only I'd need some sort of reference to the throttle position or engine RPM to have the computer control ignition timing. It does infact have a distributor. This may be more of a pain in the arse than its worth, but I have yet to find a single turbo ZX or complete engine setup around me that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I believe the motor has a cam in it already, it has a lump idle similar to that of a cammed V8 and the power really comes alive over 3000 RPMs and pulls to 6000 (the highest I've revved it to). The valve cover has definitely been off as its been repainted (very well actually) and the intake had also been painted, so I'm pretty sure someones had this motor apart before. Lots of new stuff under the hood. I know its an older restoration, that has since spend some time outdoors..... I may sell it and buy a roller or worse-off cheaper car to dump a small block into. Turbo isn't out of the question yet, but I've got a lot to think about.

Hey guys, I'm looking to get more power out of my L28 in my 76 280Z, its currently N/A. I've considered doing a chevy swap and as much as I want to, the motor is clean and appears to have been rebuilt in the past and everything just works flawlessly right now so I can't see yanking it. I may get some flack for this but rather than a L280ET swap out of a ZX I've considered another possiblity, an ebay T3/T4 manifold, an Ebay T3/T4 hybrid turbo, and plumb it into the stock throttle body either held wide open or butterfly removed. I'd then put a Holley 4 barrel in a draw-thru configuration and of course, use the throttle and all on that, essentially making the stock throttle body part of the piping. Another choice would be to replace the throttle body with a piece of tubing. Now this is all fine and dandy, but my other concern is ignition. Is there any way I could mount the TPS to a carburetor? And if I do so, could I just unplug the fuel injection harness and remove the AFM and let the computer control the stock ignition? If not, can I wire in an MSD box with boost retard to the stock distributer pickup to control ignition? That may be easier, however more expensive. Just wanting to bounce some ideas off you guys as I'm sure you know more about forced induction than me. I understand the parts I want to work with are not of the best quality however I'm willing to take that risk. If nothing else, it'd be a fun learning experience!

If I cut precisely, think I could make another cut making the bushing 2 piece and making my life 10x easier?

A bit late to the party but any chance you could post some pictures of the motor mounts? with or without the motor installed. I could only find 1 set of mounts sold here http://www.1uzfeswapkit.com/Steel-UHMW-Mount-for-the-1UZFE-MkIII-Supra-Engine-PAIR-0000-0007.htm Are those the mounts you used? And by flipped, did you use the motor part of the mount for the chassis, and chassis part of the supra mount for the motor? Or flipped from side to side? I'm considering this swap and if theres a bolt-in mount to slap the motor in there it'd definitely help me make up my mind. Lexus LS400's are cheap around here so a donor car is easy to get ahold of.

Cool, sound like a good fit. I did a search on google and found that a lot of bushings are one piece with a slit in one side of the rubber, did yours come like that or were they 2 piece? If they came one piece with a slit, how hard was it to get it on the rack?

Yeah I read about bushings needing to be modified, thanks for mentioning which brand, I may try someone other than energy suspension for a better fit. If I have to shave them no big deal. The rack is definitely the problem, its moving side to side, the video I linked showed it pretty well but its kinda hard to see. I had someone turn the wheel for me and check. No problems as far as tie rod ends go, most of the suspension bushings are new in the front, everything rubber in the rear is brand new.

Thats what I figured. Sucky thing is I'm going out of town not sure when I'll be back with the car to do this. eh, it'll get done eventually. All the bushings in the rear are brand new, the car is clean. Tie rod ends look good though, I'm not sure if they were done recently. Its not a -big- deal I just don't want to yank the rack and replace everything and have it aligned.

1976 280Z all stock. Yeah, its really bad. The car tracks straight though, its plenty driveable, but those bushings are s-h-o-t SHOT! So, how hard are they to replace? Pop the hood take off the 4 bolts holding the clamps on, lift the rack and slide new bushings under and over it? Or do I have to remove the rack? I read somewhere that unbolting the engine and jacking it up via oil pan is necessary to do this job with the rack in the car. I don't wanna ruin and replace my tie rod ends if I don't have to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98jtLinMdZ4&feature=youtu.be

I got the car with the dash lights not working and the stock radio was still installed and working fine, I pulled the stock radio (without cutting any harness wires, new one was completely rewired in). Their still not working, I blew a fuse running a jumper wire to one post of the dimmer switch, and didn't get a chance to run power to the other post. I also can't find any of my spare fuses.

Well I hooked up the connections on the relay and turned on the key, nothing happened, but when I started the car I heard a "beep....beep...beep...beep" and then it stopped so I'm assuming its a sort of key buzzer. Cool. Now if only my dash lights worked. I tried a spare (tested good) dimmer switch, not the problem. I don't seem to be getting power to the dimmer switch so I'm gonna run a jumper wire and see what happens.

Heres a picture of a relay block I found on eBay and I did some crappy editing but you get the idea Anyway, I found out the hard way that my blinkers were out (I knew, but hey, officer friendly thought I didn't) yes that is a one off fiberglass black dash While I was digging around fixing my blinkers I found this unmounted hanging relay and am not sure what it does however one wire was not connected. I connected it, and cannot find any differences (dash lights still don't work) so I don't know what it is but insight on this relay also would be much appreciated

Sorry guys I was out driving the Z all day (turns out that relay apparently isn't imparative for the car to run Anyway, I dun goofed and forgot to mention is a 1976 280Z That would make sense, the seat belt warning like was flickering in tune with the relays clicking (didn't hit me until now cause I disconnected the light before I noticed the relay acting up). Either way, the car hasn't given me trouble all day so I'm gonna leave it. I'll get a better shot of the whole panel tomorrow either way just in case, who knows, it could be the reason my dash lights don't work (although I think thats the dimmer switch).

Hey guys, I lost the key to my datsun, removed the electrical part of the switch from the lock cylinder and got it running. Yay. Now, my radio was acting funny, power on everything but no screen and it wouldnt turn off. Ohwell. My "fasten seat belts" light was flickering with no pattern so I disconnected it. Now, this relay under the passenger side dash above the fuse panel is clicking strangely even when the key is off. I don't know what this relay is for, and typing the numbers on google doesn't give me anything. The car sat for about 5 or 6 weeks before I just now fired it up. What does this relay do, where can I get a replacement, and can I drive the car without it? I'm assuming its shorting out. Never did this before. Heres a pic:

Hey guys, I lost the key to my datsun, removed the electrical part of the switch from the lock cylinder and got it running. Yay. Now, my radio was acting funny, power on everything but no screen and it wouldnt turn off. Ohwell. My "fasten seat belts" light was flickering with no pattern so I disconnected it. Now, this relay under the passenger side dash above the fuse panel is clicking strangely even when the key is off. I don't know what this relay is for, and typing the numbers on google doesn't give me anything. The car sat for about 5 or 6 weeks before I just now fired it up. What does this relay do, where can I get a replacement, and can I drive the car without it? I'm assuming its shorting out. Never did this before. Heres a pic:

A buddy of mine did the same exact thing for his bug only he used aluminum tape I may be driving my 76 280Z 700 miles one way soon. it has new brakes, new tires, plugs, ect its reliable I've driven it 180 miles round trip before without a hitch except its only a 4 speed and its straight piped, the exhaust gasses really get to you after a while