Ineptitude01

I'm with Hoov. Rebuilt units are just as good, and you've got a host of options. TO4E/B hybrid, Holset HX35, etc etc. Lots of happy HybridZ users out there, none of whom spent more than $600 on their turbo.

http://datsunzgarage.com/rebuild/ I must have read this page 100 times, and I still learn something new each time. This is the guy you want to listen to. zcarsource.com also offers full kits now, and I haven't tried those. I recommend steering clear of Black Dragon's full gasket set. I thought I'd try it, since it was $80, but oh boy did I get what I paid for. Total garbage. most of the gaskets were paper. My brand of choice for gaskets is ITM, at the moment. The full kit was about $150, and it was very nice.

I just did this, since I needed longer studs for a spacer. All 280ZX exhaust studs are M10 x 1.5 on the manifold side, and M10 x 1.25 on the turbo side. What I found is that if you're installing the spacer to clear a T3/T4 hybrid, longer studs in that configuration are almost impossible to find. I ended up with 1.5 pitch on both sides, just because of availability. Oh, and don't get these at the dealer. They're just about $10 each, as I remember. Ah, and I got the impression that you haven't attempted the removal yet. Do you have a winning technique to remove the studs? I just did all this, and I can tell you that using a long breaker bar with a pipe over it is an excellent way to snap studs. PB Blaster and an air wrench is a winner every time. WD40 in the hole, chase the thread with a M10 x 1.5 tap, and then you can get the stud in by hand. Easy peasy.

Man, this might just be me, but the way I see it, it's all about what's easy and what's cheap. And if you think about it, you've got the head off, and the block is just sitting there. It's not a long, hard road to put it on the stand, pull the pan off, and redo everything. Even if the engine IS a 75k'er, and hasn't been run hard, it won't cost you more than $150 to do the main and rod bearings, and piston rings. Sure, then you have to go through break in crap, but you also get the opportunity to do one of the most important things that you can do to any part of a car - get everything 100% clean. There's nothing quite like knowing that your shortblock is all new, and there's no 1980's oil residue left, you've seen the pistons, you've seen the ringlands, you've checked the crank journals, and you KNOW it's all perfect. I doubt you'll notice anything wrong with the engine if you just blast out the bores with compressed air and run it hard. I'm just a big big fan of knowing it's perfect, and when you take the easy path, and trust the PO's claims (wince), you might not get what you think you're getting. Besides, once you have it on the stand like that, you can paint it up real nice.

I'm a 'B' man myself. T04B Compressor with a 0.70 A/R and "H" trim wheel, watercooled center section, and stock hotside (0.63 A/R) with a Stage I turbine wheel. I haven't run the turbo yet, but I have it on HybridZ authority that others using this setup have enjoyed it. Tomorrow's the day, if it doesn't rain...

I need a dark blue 5 speed shift knob for a later 280ZX. Can anyone help me out? Thanks in advance.

I still have mine, and it's the one with the 'Turbo' up top. I'm gonna be using it, but the bottom half of the Z in ZX cracked off. I might need to get creative with plastic moulding to fix that. Not meaning to threadjack, but if anyone has a ruined one that can donate me a 'Z', I would appreciate (with money ) it very much. Ah, and if you wanna be really garish, consider this: The bottom red '280ZX' panel lights up with the brake lights. I was considering adding a similar arrangement of lights to the top and tying it into the hazard lights... So that when people pull off the road to let you by, and you flash your hazards as a thank you... Too much, you think?

Hoo boy, always remember, it's going to take 100x longer than you thought it was gonna take. My friend bought a crashed 2002 WRX that he intended to take the drivetrain from and put in an old FWD 1.8L Impreza L. When we first started the project, he looked at me and said "Corey, we're gonna be done in like 2 weeks". And now, here we are, a year and a half later... Mind you, that's with an engine, transmission, drivetrain, etc. that all bolts right up to the frame of every Subaru made in the last 30 years. And yeah, he was lazy, and really it was converting the interior to the WRX's (oh yes, we actually did that. Urrrgh) that made everything take so long, but what I'm trying to say is that it just... takes longer than it seems like it will. I've owned my project 280ZX Turbo for about a year now, and it went down for a total overhaul about 10 months ago. I only now have just gotten my rebuilt engine back in, and still have to finish my auto to manual conversion, make the intake pipe for the turbo, and finish the front suspension. And then hook everything up and hope it still works. And then add the 300ZXT ECU and MAF. And I, unlike my buddy, actually spend all my free time at work on this thing. I do all my own work, though, and I'm mostly doing this on weekends (fulltime student :'( ), so if you've got a shop you can take this to, and you're okay with the time and the money... No reason why not to. Bottom line: Try to be realistic, and then try being pessimistic about that timeframe and budget. You'll get close.

That's definitely more well travelled ground, and people on this forum can definitely help you out. Lots and lots of literature on that kind of thing. Don't get me wrong, VQ35 swaps have been done by members here, but it's far, far, far less common. I hope I speak for everyone when I say that I think it would be really cool (since we all love engine swaps, the crazier the better), but if this is your first swap, it might be easier to go with the devil you (or HybridZ, at least) knows. Everyone will cheer you on, in any case. You're braver than me, too. I looked at the V8 swap and backed down; stuck with rebuilding the L28ET and upgrading the turbo. Someday, when I have more money than brains, I'm thinking VH45DETT in a Z32 chassis. But hey, if a V8 is in your future right this very moment, you go for it.

In 3/4 of my ZXs, it's 6.5" in the rear. In the 83 Turbo, it's this weirdly mounted little speaker. I'd guess 3.5". The stock Clarion speakers sound great in my 82 NA, but I don't have a stock stereo (no matter how hard I try to get one! ) or wiring to the speakers, so I can't say for sure how nice they would otherwise be.

Hard to go wrong for $1000, if you've heard it running. Still... Better have the equipment or know someone who does, or you're gonna be a hurtin' pup when you need frame cutting and welding to seat the engine right, and make an oil pan that clears the crossmember, etc.

I used Gpopshop.com to get my hybrid built. They did an outstanding job. I sent them two stock T3 cores, both blown, and they tried as hard as possible to reuse parts from them rather than charging me for new. The shipped cost of my hybrid ended up being about $550. I would highly recommend these guys. They have competitive prices, and Jim and Gerry really know their stuff! They surpassed my expectations and added things I hadn't even considered before (watercooling, anyone?). I can't give you a 'running' assessment, since I just got my rebuilt engine back in the car last weekend, and the front suspension is off, but soon. Soon. More pictures here: http://ss.vix.com/~corey/Hybrid%20Turbo For anyone that's wondering Nissan T3/T4 Turbo T04B Compressor Housing .70AR "H" trim Compressor Wheel Nissan .63 Turbine Housing with wastegate assembly Stage 1 turbine wheel If you do contact these guys for a quote, tell 'em Corey Vixie sent you. They definitely remember me, since I bug them about once a week over something else. (Again, excellent customer service. ) Their site lists a basic rebuild at about $350, and they're definitely worth it. as you can see, everything was cleaned thoroughly and coated with the good stuff.

Yup. I concur. Glad to see that I'm not the only one dumb enough to try and swap auto to manual! You definitely don't have to swap the crank, but the spacer you have to take off will definitely look like it's part of the crank. it comes right off. Also, make SURE you put in a pilot bearing! Other than that, the only thing that really sucks is the pedalbox. I haven't found a good writeup for doing this whole thing, but that's what I'm looking at getting done on wednesday. When I do finally finish this nightmarish process, I think a certain member on this forum might want a writeup for his website *cough cough* xenon *cough*. Enix, PM me if you have any questions about this swap or if you want to help me with my writeup. I just finished doing a lot of this, and it was a pain, so I'd be happy to help someone else not suffer.

I don't wanna turn this into another T-5 versus Nissan 5sp thread, but I ended up putting my T-5 in my NA 280ZX, and with the 3.7 diff, the spread felt just perfect. It put me right in the powerband for pulling up my local twisties hard. In my Turbo, the T-5 and the 3.54 feels a little too high for my tastes. I end up lugging up hills in second that the NA would happily climb. All things considered, I'd base the differential off the way you intend to drive the car. The 3.54 in my Turbo works for me, but I feel like I would have been happier if it was a 3.7, just for climbing up and down twisty mountain roads.

I agree with junglist. I bought my car (82 Turbo) running for $300. It ran like crap, but the point is that the deals are out there.

So what should I expect to be safe until? 15psi like the AZCC page suggests? I was intending to run stock boost until the engine is broken in, and then raise to 10 or maybe 12 later on. This is my first engine build, so I wasn't trying to go real over the top.

I'm nearing the end of my 280ZX build, and the engine and trans are back in the car. Go figure it's only now that I start worrying my compressor may be too big. I had the stock turbo rebuilt as a hybrid, which is common enough in these parts, but I'm wondering if maybe I overdid it a little bit for what's essentially nothing more than a freshly rebuilt stock engine. Here are the turbo specs: Nissan T3/T4 Turbo T04B Compressor Housing .70AR "H" trim Compressor Wheel Nissan .63 Turbine Housing with wastegate assembly Stage 1 turbine wheel Water cooled center section I've looked around, and I can't seem to find anyone with a super similar turbo. Does anyone know how this is going to perform for me? I'm planning on a 2.5" crush bent exhaust, from the turbo back. (MSA style downpipe, no cat) I was looking on the AZCC site, at the turbo tips, and Goldilocks says "too demanding". Not sure how similar my turbo is to the one the map is based off for the T04B on there, though. http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/turbo/turbomaps/index.htm

You guys were absolutely right. Popped right off, and I had the rear main installed within 5 minutes. I feel pretty dumb now. >___< Thanks for the help. As of last night, the engine and trans are IN.

Ditto!

Turbo all the way. And in europe, turbodiesel is a much better option than it is in the states. Many more engine choices, and you don't have to deal with CARB sticking particulate filters on every god**** part of the thing. I'm casting my vote for the Subaru TDI engine. I know it'd basically be impossible to shoehorn into an S30 engine bay, but it'd be so cool. Other than that, I'd suggest almost any kind of turbodiesel. Sure, you don't have the high revving of a traditional sports car, but when you realize you have 500ft•lbs of torque to throw down, and you're pushing 30psi of boost... Maybe get the cummins 6.7L turbodiesel from the Ram 3500? My dad's got one of those, with the 6 speed manual. Such a blast to drive. I think the engine is taller than a Z car, though.

Man, I didn't even consider that this thing could be a spacer. There was some little disk, couldn't have been more than a 1/4" thick, and I thought that was it. I feel so much better now. I kept reading posts where everyone was going on and on about how easy it was. Come to think of it, the spacer makes sense, since the flexplate is so thin.

...You gotta be kidding me. I feel pretty dumb now. I'll try that tonight, and let you guys know how it goes. Does that spacer need to go back on when I'm putting the flywheel on?

I've tried just about every kind except Nissan. My current candidate is a Beck Arnley. The end of the crank isn't the same size all the way to the journal, no. Is that another spacer? It looks like it's made of the same material as the crank, and I didn't notice any kind of seam... It would have to have been pressed on flush, and I figured it wasn't anything like that. Does anyone have a picture of how it should look? I'm gonna feel real dumb if something like this is what's screwing me over.

Yeah, that was me. I kept bonking it with a rubber mallet, and it would eventually just rip. I guess the thing that was getting to me was the 'How to Rebuild Your Datsun/Nissan Z Engine' book just showing a guy slipping it over the crank. That's what killed the first one. I'll try that trick with the wood block this weekend, I suppose. You cut the hole in the middle to clear the very center of the crank, I'm assuming?

Okay, guys, I'm gonna swallow my pride and ask, since I've been searching and reading, and I've busted four of these. I have to be doing something wrong. Is there some kind of magic juju that I need to observe to get the rear main oil seal installed on an L28ET? The engine is an '82, and the car was auto, stock. I'm pretty sure I removed the spacer plate (1/4" thick disc that went on the end of the crank?). I've been lubricating/oiling the seals, and I can always get them to the same point: The interior rubber lip is over the end of the crank, and the hard part of the seal is very nearly flush with the metal, and then it just can't be forced on any more, and I'm scared to even tap it with a rubber mallet. Do I need to just man up and use a seal driver? PVC pipe cap + old seal + hammer?