Spike243

I've done an ls/4l80 swap in a 280zx and I didn't have any issues with trans pan clearance. I'm not sure which chassis you are using so it may be different for you. I used a stock pan on mine and with a custom trans mount my pan is above the frame rails. Are your driveline angles looking good? I ask this in case the tail end of your transmission is sitting very low causing both clearance issues and angle issues. Like Spdrcr said, the 4l80 is tight. I had to do some serious clearance work to get things to fit and my exhaust exits below the engine bay.

Bit of a big update with my 280zx. I got a burst of motivation the past few months and decided that the stock rear end wasn't going to hold up to much abuse from turbo LS power. I got ahold of a solid axle ford 8.8 from a ford explorer (the nicer 31 spline version with limited slip). I shortened the drivers side tube down to match the passengers side axle, used a 2nd passengers side axle, cut all the brackets off the rear end and began installing. I used a jegs ladder bar and panhard bar kit and got everything mounted up in the car. I cut the old strut mounts off of the stock subframe and welded them onto the new rear end. Took it for a drive this weekend and everything fits nicely and the rear holds up super well. With the new rear end I also went with some Nitto Nt555r2 275/50/r15s in the rear. So much more traction than my previous, stock, setup. Oh and I forgot to mention that I replaced the stock "frame rails" with some 1x3 tubing to give myself a more solid mount for the rear end. Once I get some time ill post pictures and some more details.

Check out my post above for some pointers. I don't have a specific parts list but it gives you a general idea. Go on Jagsthatrun.com and use this (https://jagsthatrun.com/collections/datsun-zx/products/datsun-280zx-v8-motor-and-transmission-mounts) mounting kit and then but SBC-LS engine mount adapters for an easy solution to get the engine in the engine bay. The trans mount is tricky but you can make the JTR kit work with some custom drilling/cutting/fab. Once the engine and trans are in the rest can just be figured out one by one. Oh, here is the oil pan I used as well. I know that others have gotten different pans to work but here is what worked for me. https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/50228K2/10002/-1

Its been quite a project but I am very happy with the progress and the results so far. Yes, it is much easier to route the exhaust forward and to the the turbo rather than headers down both sides. I cut the lines and looped them together. I has the typical heavy steering now but its honestly not bad at all. If the car is moving then steering is easy. You can still turn the wheels while you are stopped but it just takes some effort. My long term plan for the rear end is to go with a ford 8.8. That should solve all traction and power handling issues. That's a project for next winter though.

Hey all, its been quite some time since I last posted and I wanted to give everyone an update. I have completed the turbo 5.3/4l80e swap in my 82 and i figured you guys would like to see some pictures of the swap. I've got some final clean up work to do in the engine bay but for the most part everything is complete. I will list a basic list of parts that I have used and tidbits of knowledge that may be useful to someone else that wants to pursue a similar swap. Engine - 2002 LM7 w/ unknown mileage Trans - 2004 4L80e 2wd from an express van. Converter - Stock 2004 4L80e converter for now. Cooler, fittings, lines - I bought 90 degree banjo fittings to allow for clearance on the cooler lines. Bought from Ebay. -6an stainless braided PTFE lines with a generic trans cooler. Trans dipstick - Spend the money and get a flexible dipstick. Clearance is tight and the flexible dipstick is worth the $100. I bought mine from Lokar and its 24 inches long. Shift kit - Transgo HD2 kit. My limited research tells me a 4L80e with the HD2 kit (or other dual feed style mods) will easily hold 600whp in a light car. Check out LS1tech.com for advice on shift kit install. Flexplate - 2003 silverado 6.0 flexplate. The flexplate spacing is different for different transmissions. Do some research and make sure that your torque converter will bolt up. Driveline - 4L80e slip yoke with 1350 u joint on one end, other end is 1310 u joint to adapt to stock r200. You will need an adapter flange from JTR to convert to a 1310 u joint. Diff - Stock R200 with 280zx turbo cvs. I also welded the diff for a short term traction fix. Oil Pan - Jegs 50228K2 Street and Strip LS swap oil pan. This low profile pan needed to clear the steering rack it comes with a remote filter but you have room for a pan with an integrated filter if you can get the clearance on the steering rack. Mounts - JTR 280zx V8 kit w/ trans mount. You will also need to get SBC to LS adapters. I used ICT Billet adapters and they work great. Fuel - Currently a Walbro 255 inline pump. I used 5/16 hose barbs to adapt to the stock lines. From the hardline up to the intake i used 5/16 to -6an compression fittings. Intake - LS1 intake. Truck intake is too tall to clear hood. I used aftermarket fuel rails and some 42lb injectors. -6an fuel line. Stock truck cable throttle body. Throttle cable - Lokar LS throttle cable. You can adapt this to the stock pedal and firewall fairly easily. Valve springs - PAC 1218 springs. Research tells me that the valve can float under boost/high rpm if you don't upgrade springs. Accessories - I used a 5th gen camaro water pump because it has better outlet/inlet locations for me. 5th gens/trucks share the same accessory spacing. I also used a low mount alternator relocation bracket. No power steering or AC. Cooling system - universal griffin radiator. I cant remember dimensions but I can measure if needed. Taurus 2 speed cooling fan modified to fit my radiator. I used a universal flexible radiator hose kit and its holding up so far. Timing cover - Motion raceworks gen 3 LS turbo timing cover. It has a -10an fitting welded in for the turbo oil drain. Harmonic balancer - ATP 20% underdrive pulley. I needed this to clear the timing cover drain. I recommend looking into crank pinning kits for LS engines if you are replacing the balancer. Manifolds - Stock truck manifolds with 2.5" v-bands welded on. Hotside - 2.5" stainless piping. I used a universal kit and made everything myself. T4 flange for the turbo. VSR 44mm wastegate. 3" stainless downpipe. Cold side - 2.5" piping with no name BOV and intercooler. I chose to place my IAT sensor in the piping before the throttle body. Turbo - ON3 perfromance 7875 (same as VSR 7875 i believe). Some people use Ebay GT45s also. Turbo Oil - -10an drain to timing cover. -4 and feed from a port on the drives side of the block towards the back of the engine. Its down low near where your oil filter would be. Coils - Stock truck coils. I used ICT billet relocation brackets and placed the coils on the frame rails because I was nervous about melting coils/plug wires in the stock locations. ECU/PCM - I used the stock PCM and converted the stock harness to be standalone. I HIGHLY recommend taking a look at LT1swap.com for instructions on this. Awesome info on that site. I also decided to run completely open loop for now and delete all stock O2 sensors. Tuned using HPtuners. Notes on the swap: I decided to cut out the radiator support and angle all of the coolers forward just to give myself more room for the turbo. I haven't come up with a plan for bracing that back up yet but I'll get to it eventually. I would highly recommend relocating the battery to the trunk to save on engine space and save the battery from heat. I moved my battery to the spare tire well and it fits perfect there. The stock transmission mount is cut out and removed. I drilled holes in the trans tunnel and bolted the JTR kit straight to the tunnel. It seems to be holding up well with no noticeable flex. I also recommend removing ALL unnecessary stock wiring that you can. You will save yourself so much heartache and engine bay space if you do this. Plus, you are going to have the engine out anyways so there's no better time do do it. I did end up cleaning up my mess of wires in the stock battery location. It doesn't look so mangled now. The trans tunnel takes a bit of "motivation" to get the 4l80 to fit. Nothing a hammer cant do thought. Space is most needed around the electrical connectors and the cooler fittings. Some work around the bell housing bolts is good too. Car runs very well right now on 8psi. I have maxed out my 42lb injectors and possibly the pump. Research tells me that it should be around 450whp and that is plenty to boil off the stock size 205s in second. I will try and add more info as I can and answer questions as much as possible.

This post is over 10 years old.

I have made some progress on the project lately. I ended up using the transmission mounts provided in the JTR 280zx small block swap kit. I had to drill holes in the tunnel and "massage" the tunnel with a hammer. I do not have the transmission fully bolted up but the mounts are finalized and I am doing some work on the transmission itself and the engine right now. I can say that a lot of "clearance" work has to be done to the tunnel to make everything fit nicely. I may be able to get the transmission and engine mounting finalized and pictures taken this weekend. I also got my turbo this week so I will be figuring out how to mount and pipe that bad boy soon.

What manifolds are those? I am in the process of doing a similar swap in a ZX and I am contemplating doing an up-forward thing with modified truck manifolds. Any insight would be much appreciated! Awesome swap by the way.

Just wanted to give everyone a little update on my swap progress. I got the JTR motor mounts installed, chevy smallblock to LS adaptors installed, and the engine sat in the engine bay. I need to do some adjustment to the engine position but so far everything is looking good! I am seriously toying with the idea of going turbo right away. I looked into using the truck manifolds and cutting the stock flange off and welding a Vband in its place. Does anyone have any insight on how to route exhaust in this case? I am thinking of going up-forward with the stock manifolds to the turbo and then from the turbo down the passenger's side of the block and then out. Any thoughts on this? I think that as of now, I have 2 big hurdles. Mounting the 4L80e I have (Not too sure how to make a mount the tunnel or to the framerails ). Routing of all exhaust Anyways, here are some pictures of the swap so far.

I am located in Laurel, MT. I can snap some pictures tonight if you would like. Anyting in particular you want to see?

Hey guys, I just pulled the engine/transmission out of my '82 turbo in preparation for an LS swap. I really have no idea what to price my setup at as a whole or as individual parts. Any pointers would be much appreciated. Engine '82 L28et with P90 head (both could use a rebuild before being used again but it running before I pulled it) Stock intake and exhaust manifolds Custom chevy coilpacks from megasquirt install Pallnet 11mm fuel rail with 440cc injectors (7mgte injectors) T3/T04E turbo (some damage to the wheel from an improperly tightened compressor nut) shaft has no play in it though. Transmission T5 (I think it is a borg warner but I'm a bit hazy on the specifics of the turbo engine transmissions). The synchros are wearing out on it but it runs through all the gears fine and ran good for me. Misc. Lower speedo cable Again, any insight would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Do you have the part # for that pan by chance? I'm looking into a swap on my s130 and I am trying to find what pans everyone has been using.

Just wanted to bump this topic and see where everyone was at with their progress. I am beginning the process of ls swapping my 82 and I am having similar feelings to Superj. It feels like I might be biting off more than I can chew but we will see. I already bought a 5.3 and I am currently looking for a 4L80e or a T56 (4L80e is more likely due to availability). It looks like there really isn't any other options on the oil pan huh? Do the other pans hang too low or what is the main problem? I am thinking about going with the Dirty Dingo mounts and trying to make those work. I will try and update everyone on my progress but like others, this is going to be a long and difficult process.

Bump to see progress on any of the mentioned options in this thread.