pcakes55

Just my .02 if you go L28et and you're trying to be on a budget, buy ALL the supporting mods first before doing any motor work. I planned about $2k in all on my swap, and before I knew it I'm up to $2500 on building the longblock alone. Buy things like a suspension, brakes, front mount, good ECU, etc. and drive as is; Build the block down the road. It really sucks that I'm going to have a brand new motor and won't be able to drive the car until july-ish.

Anyone have luck running these ebay aluminum radiators w/ fan setups? For example, this one: Ebay Radiator

Looking for a decent front mount that will fit in a 240z, preferably same side inlet/outlets, and BOV/piping included. -Pat

I found some springs here: http://thmotorsports.com/tomei/tomei_valvetrain_valve_springs/13203r500/i-250025.aspx It's $290 for the "A-type", and $430 for the "C-type". Is there a big difference between the two? They don't give you any kind of spring rate.. I also found some here at MSA: http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PEM02/10-2011 They are $160 and are for Non-turbo applications. Don't stock turbo cams have less lift, therefor wouldn't that mean an N/A valve spring would have to be stronger than a turbo valve spring? Anyways, these are the two places that I could find who sells them. Anyone buy them from somewhere else?

http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php?/topic/88757-l28et-rebuild-parts/

Alright guys, I'm on a tight deadline and need to make a decision by this weekend. I'm boring my f54 block 1mm over (.040), and need to decide between forged or cast pistons. I'm shooting for 300-400 WHP on 15+ psi (based around builds I've seen on here), I know cast pistons have held up to that, but has anyone gone the cheap route for cast and now regrets it? I'm spending a lot on the motor anyways, I don't want to cheap out and regret it later unless forged is overkill for my power goals. I just want some personal input if anything-

That is a good deal, I'd jump on it. Just my .02..

Thanks for the response Zya, i forgot about Northern Auto. And I do need some parts, I'll PM you later with a list of some things i still need when I get home from work.

look up flatblack's thread on NA to turbo..it'll tell you just about everything you'll need.

Rockauto.com was the only place I could really find almost all the parts necessary for a rebuild, and at a decent price it seems. Is there anywhere else someone knows of? maybe even a place that sells a kit? I have found an old thread about a kit, but maybe some more up to date info is out there and has not been posted yet.

Free? You're so generous!

So just got some injectors by fedex today, and when I opened them up the plastic "caps" at the end where the fuel sprays out are either cracked to Sh*t or missing completely. I'm hoping these plastic caps are not vital, and are only there to protect the ends. Maybe I can get replacement caps? I don't know, hopefully someone can chime in. I'll post pics later when I get home from work. -Pat

Definately find an entire l28et swap or a turbo donor car..I was forced to buy an N/A and I'm in the process of turboing it; More of a PIA but it's doable. Goodluck, do all your research before buying any parts-

Oh yeah, this is a normal l28 crank btw; Not a VO7, etc.

Wow thats really unfortunate news lol. I never actually heard the motor run (i got a good deal on it, and he delivered it to me), but the guy said it ran great and his only reason for getting rid of it was he was doing a 350 swap; And everything else looks excellent (cyl walls, pistons, even the main/rod bearings have minimal wear). This was an N/A f54 for the record. The only other things I've noticed about the motor is that it's been bored .75mm over, and the crank is ground .25 under. Even though it's going to put me back $350 at the shop to have it the rotating assembly balanced, I was going to do it anyways. What can I use to deburr the crank anyways, just a file? Also, will the loss of weight affect the drivability? I intend on eventually tracking the car, but mostly just driving on the street until I'm done with school. This will sort of act on the same idea as a lightened flywheel, no?

So you're saying the machine shop (whoever built it before I had it) just did not finish the balance job?

This is how it looked when I pulled it out of my motor.

So, I'm not sure if this is normal, a performance mod to lighten the inertia of the counter weights (to make it rev faster?), or a SH*T job of balancing. Here are the pictures: There's no way this can be good..maybe (HOPEFULLY) I'm wrong.

sorry about picture size, photobucket = PIA.

Here are the pictures I snapped after I cleaned them up today:

Thanks for the quick responses guys- I beleive that the early 280zx came with dished in the N/A and yeilded ~8.3:1, and then starting in (82?) they switched to flat-tops which bumped the CR up to 8.8:1 for a little more power. I'm going from memory so maybe this is completely wrong. BUT, are the dished pistons found in the N/A the same as the dished found in the Turbo motors? I'd assume the aftermarket (.75mm over) pistons that are in my block yeild the same size "dish" as the stock, and if they are the same as the turbo pistons, then I can just re-use these for my turbo build. Bad/Good idea? (as long as clearance between pistons and walls are within spec, of course) I will also be using the P90 head, not the N/A.

So, I disassembled my motor (l28, f54 block) in class today, and come to find out it's been rebuilt not too long ago. The pistons are stamped ".75", and the bores measured out to "86.76mm" consistantly. So the block has been bored out .75mm over, clearly. But I'm trying to figure out if my pistons are dished or flat-tops. They are slightly recessed, but I can't seem to find out if the flat-tops came with a recess also, but just a smaller recess than the dished; Or are the flat-tops just completely flat with no recess. If these are indeed the dished pistons, I think I'll re-use them for my turbo build and save on $x-amount for forged low compression pistons. Can anyone clear this up for me? I will post pictures tomorrow if need be.

Do the N/A automatics share the same high-volume oil pump as the Turbo f54's? Or have I been misinformed.. Thanks

I forgot to add it will be turbo, not N/A. Probably running 15 and at times 20 PSI. I'm shooting for 350ish give or take whp, will that exceed the capabilities of the earlier block? And as for the p90 head; I wasnt sure if I could run the 280zxt ecu/wiring on with the n42 head. Also, I think the n42 head is a smaller combustion chamber, yeilding higher compression regardless regardless of the piston change? Thanks for any help guys, just trying to get the facts straight before starting to spend all my allowance.

Please dont say search, I've been at it for a few hours.. Anyways, I was wondering if there are any pros/cons to using the earlier n42 over the later f54 blocks, or if they're virtually the same just with different heads and internals. I plan on doing a total build regardless of which one i start with; it would just be purely magical if i can buy this $100 long block n42 instead of $500+ on f54. I also plan on running the 280zxt ecu, do i need a p90 head? ok, my head is going to explode with all these uncertainties, goodnight Hybridz