280zwitha383

IMO when you can't take it on the road without getting pulled over..... I guess I'm not into the whole race car mentality. Is the purpose of a car not to take you places? When you have to tow the car somewhere to use it it loses its purpose. Then it just becomes a really expensive hobby that you can't show off on the road. Get the rig on the street and show some people what's up. Unless you're into the whole reliable, perfect idle, fuel efficient mentalilty (another lie in my opinion).

If you want to forget weight distribution stroke the engine or get a 400 small block if you can find one and if you're going old school chevy. I don't have the stupid gear box that you have to work around in my '82 ZX but other than that the swap was very simple and the ZX cars handle 450hp/450ft-lbs almost like they were meant for it. Kinda crazy, the mounts practically bolt up. The oil pressure sending unit will screw in with an L pipe and the temperature sending unit will screw right into the head with a little teflon. It's really kinda scary.

I would ballpark your 350 at 300hp give or take 15hp (assuming headers and aftermarket intake). But that's just my opinion. If I were you, I would drop it in and have fun with it. You can always go big later. For a long time just getting the thing on the road is the battle. JTR suggests the same if I remember correctly. You will whip a lot of arse with "just a mild 350" in a Z. One thing to think about however might be to change out the cam later on. I'm not sure if I'm correct about this, but I've been in a vehicle with an RV cam and it wasn't very impressive seems to me that the 4X4 guys like them for lots of torgue and little hp which is the opposite of what you want right now in your Z. A 350 will give you enough torque no matter what cam you put in it (within reason) but I think you'll want a cam more suitable for higher rpm especially with a manual tranny. I would ask the owner of a good local machine shop what cam he would suggest. If I'm wrong about the RV cam someone please chime in but that's just my experience.

I'm going to have to Ditto sims. Go for it! You will love it without a doubt. (assuming you finish it.....)

Well, if anything the carb is either pretty close or too small. It's a 670cfm Holley Street Avenger rated by them to 400hp. I'm pretty sure with my setup I'm making more than 400hp. Thanks for the suggestion though. The timing was the problem.

Bingo JT1, thanks for the advice. I just timed it by ear but I guess I hit the second rpm jump instead of the first. Now it runs great Also, just fyi, I have read that the older style pumps without return lines can overpower a lower hp engine since the pressure builds. That was not my problem however.

Any chevy buffs know if the fuel pumps without the return line are lower psi? I'm thinking maybe they came on cars with 2 barrel carbs and they don't put out enough.... I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I get the car back from the window shop.

It's a Holley 670 Street Avenger. I've adjusted the floats but I haven't tried dumming the timing down any which I might try. I even thought the timing was not advanced enough. What gets me is you can throw the throttle back and it revs without hesitation. I'm going to try a different fuel pump tomorrow or Thursday because I'm thinking maybe I've got one with lower psi since it doesn't have a return line in it.

Well, I need a little help. I recently got my 383 going in my 280zx and got the exhaust and pretty much everything worked out minus a leak or two. Anyway, when I'm below lets say 2,500 rpm it surges almost like it is missing but all the plug wires are good as well as plugs (I would assume since they're both new). I'm wondering if the fuel pump is not supplying enough fuel at low speeds. It would seem that it would be the same at high speeds but once I get on it goes quite nicely. I'm running a stock fuel pump (mechanical) and I have the return line plugged off and the line to the vacuum canister open, I have tried them both open and at first I had them connected so they would leak. I have checked firing order, fuel filter, lifters, and distributor. I have used the carburetor before also so I don't think it's the problem. I have a complete running 350 in my truck that could be used to swap parts also. Any advice as to what's causing my problems and what to do with the other lines coming from the fuel tank. Thanks a lot guys.

I would have to disagree with the suggestion to get a 240. He already has the shell and the only thing that is iffy (assuming he has R&P steering) on the 280zx swap is the headers which you can get from JTR for $210 or $310 depending on whether you want them coated or not, I'm not certain but you might be able to run stock truck manifolds where the driver's side exits to the rear. The engine mounts are easier to fabricate (much easier) and depending on what transmission you use it could be possible to buy the tranny mount from MSA since it uses the stock posts. Other than that it's really a piece of cake. Plus he hopefully already has an R200 rearend. One other factor is depending on what engine he uses, it is possible to run a mechanical fuel pump. That could possibly save some change itself. As far as doing any swap for a total of $2500 it's possible but not probable. Hypothetically I'll break it down and I guess see what it comes out to if you took the easy way and bought most stuff from JTR: - From JTR Mounts - $250 Speedo and flange - $100(?) Radiator and mounting - $290 Headers - $180 if 1 1/2 or $210 for 1 5/8 up to $280 & $310 for coating S&H - let's say $50 If you buy the coated 1 5/8 headers that comes out to exactly $1000 Other things you have to get: Driveshaft and yoke - $300 Exhaust - $300 to $500 depending on dual or single out Here's where you come in: Getting an engine and transmission set up for $700 is doable if you were to get a used one and just run it In reality there is no way that with these figure you wouldn't have an "etc." fund. You'll be going to the hardware store more than you think and 5, 10, 15 bucks adds up after about the 10th time. My advice, if you don't have the money don't start the swap. You will always spend more than you plan. If you think down the line you will have more money for it then maybe. Also keep in mind that swapping engines in these cars doesn't happen overnight. At the very least I would say allow 2 months unless you're just at it everyday; and in 2 months it might be possible that your budget will allow you to spend a little more. Just think it through before you start buying stuff and with that budget stay away from chrome!

I would say you can definitely get more hp out of the 350 vortec. The only problem with it is the valve lift limit of the heads which is somewhere around .450-.470 depending on who you ask. I think with the roller cam setup you might have a hard time finding an aftermarket performance cam that has lifts lower than that. However, if you go ahead and do the machine work on the heads and get better springs 400hp seems to be the norm. I would think that if you're going through all of that trouble you may as well buy a 350 vortec from a junkyard and build it up yourself (or pay a machine shop to build it). I would bet it would be cheaper than the crate engine and if you swap out cams and machine the heads on the crate engine you will void the warranty.... Also you would have higher compression on an engine you built with yourself (I would think you could go closer to 9.5:1 as opposed to the 9:1 on the crate engine).The price that I come up with out of Jegs for your engine is 3500. If you were to get a 350 vortec from a junkyard (assuming you have local junkyards and that there would be a chevy engine in one of them) they would probably sell it to you for say $700. With machine work and even assembly I would say you could probably come out about $1000 richer and have a good 70hp on the crate engine if a rebuild is an option for you.

Beleive me, I'm going to keep a very close eye on it. Plus I don't have a/c so there's no way in heck I'm driving this thing in the 100 degree weather. Yes, a mechanical fuel pump will fit. With the ZX, the engine can only be set back a maximum of 2 inches (atleast with the JTR ZX mounts). These are completely different than the set-back plates that JTR sells for 70-78. The three holes are slotted where the mount bolts up to the engine so you can basically set it back if you want or even set it forward if you wanted to (if you use a mechanical fuel pump I think the most you can set it back is 1 inch).

Well now you have me curious. How do you get an honest 620 hp and claim that you would get 200 more hp than a chevy engine built the same way. Is it because you can spin the thing a lot faster because of the larger main caps?

Hitman, there are two things that strike me when reading your post. The first is that a 406 is not a stroked chevy engine. It is a 400 small block with a .30 over bore. The other thing is your footer. How can you claim goodbye Mr. Bowtie when the only thing that is Ford on your engine is the block if even that. If everything else is aftermarket then your engine is no longer a "Ford" engine and anyone who put the same money (and turbo) in a similar block of any making would have the same power. It just doesn't make sense unless you just don't like Chevy engines. I will say however that besides the Chevy/Ford biases, you have a very nice setup

Don't know if someone already answered or if this is the answer to your question because I didn't read the whole thread but: I think the condition that you are describing is called overscavenging. It is where the exhaust valve is still open on the intake stroke and in essence the cold air from the intake is sucked out the exhaust which obviously wastes some cold air. I would say there's really no chance of this happening with a stock engine and cam. However, with a large exhaust lift, high ratio rocker arms, and heads that flow well on the exhaust side (and probably a good set of headers) this condition is quite possible and maybe even likely.

Well first I'm pissed because I already typed all this and I guess somehow I hit back and it all got erased Anyway here's the skinny. I was hoping that all of you knowledgeable people could give me an idea of how this will run and anything I might have overlooked or goofed on. Here's the rundown: 4 bolt late model block 383 eagle rotating assembly with 5.7" rods balanced of course Forged Speed Pro 10:1 pistons Stock oil pump and pan SLP51010 cam (similar to Comp's 276XR) .502/.510 lift intake dur. 280 degrees Stock roller lifters and pushrods Harland(?) Sharp 1.6 roller rocker arms Dart 215cc Iron Eagle Heads 2.08 intake valves 1.437" springs good to .600" Victor Jr. intake portmatched along with heads Holley 670cfm Street Avenger (maybe too small but I already had it) Possibly the new In-jeg-tor scoop since I don't think it'll clear the hood Stock mechanical fuel pump Stock but new 280zx radiator and shroud Ford :cringe: '96 Taurus 3 speed fan :cringe again: JTR mounting kit, speedo cable, diff flange, and of course the manual 2500 stall converter TH350 Jackson Racing tranny B&M ratchet shifter No Driveshaft yet Stock 3.90 R200 differential with stock u-joints and halfshafts Stock Walmart tires Things I already know: Super Unleaded Gas only High rpms because of gear and no overdrive Marginal cooling but I think it's worth a shot Keeping stock tires for a while so I can enjoy the engine and break traction -rather than breaking u-joints or halfshafts Things I'm working on: Possibly trading a guy some parts for an LSD R200 and CV's What headers to buy from JTR, either the 1 1/2" or 1 5/8" primaries but -definitely coated Questions: How streetable will this engine be Is the stall too low What headers to buy I'm looking for some wise counsel on the whole setup so please tell me what you think and thanks for looking!

I was gaining on a newer BMW convertible (not into BMWs so I couldn't tell you what model it was) which I could tell was a standard. This was in my previously less than stock '82 280zx with 200k miles on it (also a standard). I waited until I could tell they got on it and then mashed it and started passing them. It surprised me I'll tell you that much. However, I also got the trash beat out of me by a '97 Firebird automatic (v6). I beat the crap out of it off the line but after about 50 he zoomed by. So go figure.

Thanks Mike. I have seen these headers and they will be my last resort. I already had some headers and I'm going to try and make them work first. I really think it's great that you're offering these headers and I'm waiting for that JTR ZX manual.

I was looking through the posts of the people who have done ZX swaps and what they did as far as driver's side exhaust with R@P. Anyway, all of the posts are close to 4 years old. So I thought I would ask if anyone has any new information about what headers fit or new approaches to the problem. I was very interested in the spacers that Ross had fabricated but I can't seem to touch base with him. Anyone else try a spacer (if so can you give me a rough estimate how much it would cost to have a shop fabricate the spacer) or is it the general concensus that the header should be bent/welded/or further modified. I'm getting edgy so if I can't get in contact with Ross I will probably flip the manifold to get it to the muffler shop or maybe I'll just start cutting.... Thanks!

Wow........

Just out of curiosity, how do you plan on getting 300hp out of your 283?

No, it will be a street car. However, its got a 383 with dart heads and a full roller setup. I'm sure it could easily break a lot of stuff. I'm planning on keeping the rearend stock as well as the tires for a while. I'm hoping that if anything breaks it will be traction. Atleast that's the plan until I get everything settled out with the swap.

Just wanted to throw my two cents in and say that you should see if the engine has a roller cam. If it already does then you should get the heads machined for the bigger lift and put an aftermarket cam in. That's an easy 400hp upgrade for well under $500 not very much work I would think. BUT, then you have to worry about your cam working well with the low compression pistons..... and thus it begins.

So you're thinking that it would not be cost effective? I have read gobs of posts about CV vs. U-joints and 280zxt CV's and 300zxt CV's, Splicer u-joints, stock u-joints blah blah blah. I was looking for a strong alternative perhaps that would be somewhat practical. I would think that converting the u-joints to a common Chevy u-joint would be more practical because they are bigger and probably have a better market. I wouldn't think that getting a shop to fab two halfshafts would be any more expensive than some of the conversions that some people have done. I'm just throwing the thought out there because I haven't seen anyone do it or even mention it. It does occur to me that if it was practical and doable that someone would have already done it, but I thought it was worth looking into. Also, does the pinion flange that JTR provides actually fit the bolt pattern on the halfshafts?