RainyZ

No problem, hope the build is coming along nicely.

If you are still looking for an engine shop, C&D engines in Kirkland is an awesome place. The owner Chuck is a great guy. He's currently building me a 200HP L28.

Exactly that, and there was a lot of spray off.

Well there were more problems than he listed. There was an exhaust leak from the header, none of the blinkers worked, seats were ripped, tacho didn't work, paint job wasn't a full body job, the steering wheel had some play to it and there was some rust he covered up on the floor pan. He was willing to drop the pice no lower than 4,500.

Six shooter, that actually happened to my Studebaker when I bought it. I got 30 minutes away and the oil pump gave out lol Yeah I've gotten use to Murphy's law "anything that can go wrong will go wrong" A good ride around the block should be fine indeed. It'll be interesting to get the feed back from my father when he meets up with the seller.

You bring up some very valid points. I especially like the quote. Since it isn't insured you are right in that it shouldn't be driven. But it would be a shame to purchase the Z just to find out the transmission won't go past 2nd gear or some similar problem until it's to late and you've broken down 10 miles down the road or the next day. So some sort of insurance on the car being able to run properly would be nice instead of just his word. I can understand someone being cautious of just another person looking for a joy ride. But hopefully on Sunday it goes well. Because I have to be cautious of what I could potentially be buying and it would suck if it blew up in my face. Understand what I'm getting at?

That would be one hell of a find Tony.. Anyone not willing to pay the price she was asking obviously didn't know a great deal. So an update on this craigslist find. Had someone talk to the guy and he wasn't willing to meet up until next weekend, but with a little persuading he said he'd call back tomorrow and set up a time for Sunday. Then the question came up about test driving the car and taking it to a mechanic.... The responce was "I don't want you to test drive it since I don't have it insured right now" so that was a red flag. However the car will be looked over on Sunday with a fine tooth comb and test driven to assure it is actually a functioning car. It is definitely being taken to a mechanic if this guy wants to actually sell the car.

Well if there is a "train wreck" under the body we will find out when it's on a lift. Will also be doing a compression check and just an overall systems check to find any discrepancies if there are any. From the pictures it looks like one hell of a deal..

That's some really high speed gear you have. The functionality of it all is really practical for your driving goals. I agree with you on saying that it is all on how I'm going to use the car. No point in buying an expensive system with all the bells and whistles if I don't use all it's potential. So I have some research to do while I have the Z checked out. Agreed mxgsfmdpx, so hopefully everything checks out and he will take a lowered offer. He did say OBO... 10K is no joking matter. But a no rust Z is always worth that extra dollar.

We will see after it gets taken to a shop and thrown up on a lift. That's some great information. I will stash one or two away in that case. So what's the best replacement in your opinion?

Thank you Tony. I was a little confused on what he meant when he told me that. The car is Washington

This 260z has no rust and had a new paint job as of two years ago. The engine is a l24 with SU carbs, the interior was just redone, and it has new konig rewinds with new tires. The only issue with the car is the tachometer not working due to the capacitor. So the question is simple, the seller is asking 5,500 what would you offer and what would you be wiling to pay in the end? Thank you in advance for any input that you give.

Here it is

Reman.com comes with the turbo but you are right and there are a lot of unknowns. Thankfully I do have a ton of time to look around and see what my options are. I can honestly say that I don't plan on buying anything until I'm either home or a few months before coming back. I was on Craigslist last night for Seattle and Junkers are way more expensive compared to the east coast. Hopefully in the next 3-4 years prices don't spike upwards for these engines! But for right now I just need to set up my game plan and start studying Z knowledge. Thanks for your input and setting me up for success.

I found the website remanufactured.com they seem to have a good set up going. For a 90% complete engine with warranty it's about 2,400. Then they will include the wiring and the last 10% for some extra so not to bad considering some people are starting to want 1,000 just for the l28et with nothing else.

Thanks for the feedback so far. The search bar has been helpful with other peoples swaps and other info. As for my background, most of my car knowledge came from working on my 63 studebaker so i like carbureted engines. This will be my first time doing a full on engine swap and working with a turbo. I'm going to take welding classes while I'm out here. I will download that reference once I get home tonight. My weakest point is electrical, I just get confused with all the wires and relays and what not. So I need to read up on that for sure, I do have plenty of time. So here's another personal question, once I get back I could buy a donor car or the engine with all the components I need or I could do a turn key crate engine. Which would you prefer to do? Seattlejester I'm up north in lake Stevens. A local friend will be a great tool. I really like what you had to say with grouping the task, it makes the project look neat and laid out which I'm crazy about. I'm here to learn so all this is great. The biggest thing I want is to have everything planned out with a plan b and plan c, that way I don't have to come on here and bother people with a "why won't my engine work" so hopefully it doesn't come down to that and I can ask a more educated question. By the way I hope the weather is nice over there for the weekend lol

Hey everybody, I am currently stationed in Okinawa Japan for the next 3-4 years. I bought my 280z in Mississippi while I was at MOS school. I then attempted to drive it home to Seattle... But just short of making it home the engine ceased up. So I towed it to my parents house where it is in the garage awaiting my return. So now you know the story, and now I'm here asking what can I do to get ready to strip apart the car and put in a l28et? What should I read and learn while I'm over here to make the engine swap enjoyable and not to stressful (it'll still be stressful). I'm also interested to know what any of you would do if you were in my position, how would you do it? Thank you for any replies, I hope to get to know you all with time. Take care and Semper Fi.