phil280zxt

BTW, to my knowledge, the digital speedo's from 82 and 83 are also limited to 85 MPH displays, so that won't help you. I have converted my 85 MPH for a 130 MPH from a 79 280zx. It's a direct swap other then having to transfer the attachment which controls the cruise control along from old to new.

Congraulations!! and ..... From the father of two twin 14 year old boys....sleep time will never really returns!! You're just awake for different reasons!!

Nothing beats a nice set of snowflakes!! LOL

I gave him $70 bucks, he did try his best, but he should of stopped after having problems with the first weld. He blamed it on the "overseas" aluminum pipe having impurities. The second welder ran a few test beads on pieces of scrap I had left over and it was fine. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the second attempt will turn out better... You're right about the value of learning to weld yourself. Between the $1500 I paid to have the floor pans replaced and the $1000+ for the 3" inch SS catback pipe to finish off Jeffp's exhaust (they also installed the entire system for that price), I could have bought a nice welding rig with a decent air compressor thrown in. Then I could tackle my rust repair myself...hindsight is 20/20...

Yes it was, recommended by a local tuner shop. His voice mail proclaimed him as "the Master Manipulator of Molten Metal". Let's just say he won't be recommended any longer.

Well, you asked for pictures... Here is my second set of pipes ready to be delivered to the welder. and here's the way the original set came back to me from the first welder....I'm thinking of mounting them on the wall in the garage...

It being an automatic probably means that it underwent less abuse then if it was a manual transmissioned Z. BTW, all 81's were automatics. The conversion to a 5-speed is fairly straight forward, parts just bolt in. This also applies to the crank angle sensor. All you need to make the swap is an 82/83 turbo distributor and the matching oil pump shaft. The other major difference between the 81 and 82/83 turbos is that the dropping resistors for the injectors are in the harness rather then built into the ECU.

As an update on my intercooler project, I figured out the piping back in late July and cut up pieces of 2.25 mandrel bent aluminum pipe to fit. Then the search for a welder started. I followed the advice of a local tuner shop and dropped my pipe off with a weld shop. Two weeks later I was looking at a heap of ruined pipe. It looks like a two year old welded it. Since then I've found a new welder and had him run a few test welds on scrap pipe before reordering replacement pipe, only to have it backordered for another two weeks. Hopefully I'll get the new pipe cut, mocked up and welded by the weeekend!! Stay tuned for pictures!!

That's a great looking Z Cygnusx1! and thanks for the advice. I should have checked out closer at last year's convention. I think I finally have it laid out so it will work. I plan to start cutting pipe in the morning. If I pull this off, I'll make sure to post some pictures... it'll hurt when I take the hole saw to the radiator support....

The problem with a single side cooler is that not only are the inlet and outlet pipes are on the same side, but you also have to deal with the CAI, AFM and A/C compressor.

I've been staring at my ZX for over a week now trying to figure out how to route my intercooler piping. Over the past year, I've amassed quite a collection of Z intercooler piping examples, but I have not found any 280zx examples that managed to route the turbo output across to the passenger side, behind the radiator, and the return running from the driver's side of the intercooler into the throttlebody. Does anyone have a picture they'd like to share? I would like to retain my A/C and also have my CAI in front of the radiator. I've got an electric fan on order and have removed the OEM shroud and fan. My only real issue is how to crisscross the pipes from the turbo and throttlebody return. The pipes intersect directly over the AFM and there is not enough clearance. I've been able to lower the AFM an inch or so by bending the support bracket. Here's a shot of the Spearco intercooler I'm working with. Most 280zx owners seem to route the return back from the passenger side, but this route is longer and allows the engine heat to reheat the cooled air??

Poor Z....

Worked out great on my 81 zxt!! Eliminated most if not all of the squat on take off.

The ECU's in the 280ZX's are not that advanced. No eprom, reset or reboot options. I've been told of two fixes, one is to carefully bend each of the pins a little so they grip better, the other is to replace the original plugs with those from an 86 or newer 300ZX. They are identical and seem to fit much tighter.

I modified the stock POV to vent at 12 PSI rather then the stock 8-9 PSI. I currently run 10 PSI boost. I feel its cheap protection in case I ever over boost by accident. One bad adjustment of my electronic boost control and my engine could be toast.

I know your frustration, though my 280zxt has never misbehaved as badly as yours did today, I have not had the trim piece that covers the ECU installed for the past two years. It's too the point that I wiggle the connectors before every outing. I think I might bite the bullet and splice in the set of 300zx connectors I have laying around!!

The stock BOV on the L28ET is NOT vented to the atmoshere but is located on runner 4 of the intake manifold. Sounds like the PO added an aftermarket BOV to the car. On 280zxt's the air ingested through the AFM is metered and the fuel charge is set based on the amount of air. Any BOV should be recirculated back into the intake track so as not to produce an over rich condition after venting. Most people recirculate the vented intake charge just in front of the turbo, into the AFM to turbo boot. I'm sure other people will chime in on what to inspect on the turbo motor besides the compression. You should verify that the turbo shaft has little or no shaft play. Make sure that you get all the related hardware while you're at it. The turbo harness and ECU come to mind. If the donor is a auto turbo, the oil cooler is also nice to have, but you'll also need the oil filter base fitting and associated hoses.

My first car was a 72 Chevy Vega GT, green with a white stripe. Fun little car, didn't quite have the power plant this one has though!! LOL

The kit for sale on Ebay includes 16 T-bolt clamps. My intercooler inlet and outlets are 2.75, so I will start with two reducers from the intercooler, a coupler off of the throttle body and one off of the J-pipe. I also have a 2.25 HKS BOV flange wich is already welded to a length of 2.25 pipe, so I'll need two straight couplers there. I realize that I need a couple of hump couplers somewhere also, maybe the BOV pipe will be a good place for one of them. The rest hopefully will be welded. So......any opinions on the quality of the couplers, pipe and clamps in the Ebay ad?? I would like to buy the matching additional parts from the same vendor, so your opinions on 3 versus 4 ply and 2mm pipe are important. Thanks again!!

My first car was a Chevy Vega GT in green just like the one parked next to your car in the pictures.

I was planning on using couplers. I'll obviously need elbows, reducers, humps, etc.

I'm shopping for silicone hose for my intercooler install and I've noticed that it is available in either 3 or 4 ply. Is 3 ply silicone adequate for moderate (10 - 15 psi) boost levels? Should I be concerned about the temperature ratings? The 3 ply hose I'm looking at is rated at -65 to 350 degrees, the 4 ply up to 650 degrees. I also plan on using aluminum pipe for bends and straight sections. Should I be concerned with the thickness of aluminun pipe? Is 2 mm adequate? Anyone have experience or opinions on this vendors universal kit? Ebay Hose Thanks,

Anyone know how these products stand up to winter road salt?

Lurch, you are correct, the 81 turbo ECU is also considered an ECCS. The major difference is that the 81 turbo model had dropping resistors for the injectors located in the wiring harness. In 82, Nissan incorporated the resistors into the ECU. So, you can't use an 81 turbo ECU with an 82 or 83 harness because you will be missing the dropping resistors. The difference was that all 8 turbo's were automatic transmissions. However, you can run an auto ECU on a manual tranny with out any problems. The revs fall off faster between shifts when you use the auto ECU is the only difference I noticed.

Guilty as charged...