hawaiian with questions

[daflyinghawaiin]

ALOHA GANG! IM VERY NEW HERE AND HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR DAYS TO FIND ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS. I HAVE RECENTLY AQUIRED A 1983 280ZX FROM LAS VEGAS. SHE IS IN SIN CITY Z CLUB AS THE WINDOW STICKER SAYS. HOWEVER..I AM HAVING A LOT OF DIFFICULTY FINDING THE RIGHT SPOT I SHOULD SAY FOR THE ENGINE TO RUN RIGHT. I GOT IT FROM MIKE A FRIEND HERE IN HAWAII THAT HAD HER SHIPPED OVER WHEN HE MOVED HERE FROM VEGAS. THEN SHE SAT FOR 4 YEARS. IM NOT A TURBO GUY AND NOT A "REAL" IMPORT GUY AS WELL. BUT IVE ALWAYS WANTED ONE OF THESE AND NOW I HAVE HER! SHE IS FEATURED IN ONE OF THE MOTORSPORT MAGAZINES YEARS AGO. SHE IS ALSO IN OTHER WEBSITES THAT I HAVE NOT HAD THE TIME TO RESEARCH YET.

 

SO.....MY QUESTION IS THIS. I HAVE ACCESS TO A FEW SBC ENGINES AS I AM A CHEVY GUY. AS WELL AS TRANSMISSIONS TOO, TH300 TH400 700R4 AND SO ON. HOWEVER...I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THERE IS A BELLHOUSING ADAPTER PLATE TO MOUNT A MILDLY BUILT SBC 350 TO THE STOCK 5 SPEED TRANS IN THE 83 280ZX? IF NOT...WHERE CAN I START TO FIND THE PARTS I NEED? I CAN FABRICATE AND WELD TOO SO IM NOT TOTALLY MINDLESS HERE BUT IM NOT AN IMPORT GUY TILL NOW! I LOVE THIS CAR! WANTED ONE SINCE THE OL DAYS IN HIGH SCHOOL IN THE 80'S.

 

OR IF SOMEONE CAN HELP ME TO GET THIS BUGGER RUNNING RIGHT THAT WOULD ROCK TOO! SHE HAS A FRESH ENGINE BUT ITS BEEN SITTING LIKE I MENTIONED. TURBO RUNS AND BUILDS PRESSURE...WASTEGATE IS ENORMOUS! SCARES THE CRAP OUT OF SOME PEOPLE. BUT IT RUNS GOOD WHEN COLD THEN REACHES ROUGHLY 180 DEGREES AND SPUTTERS OUT AND EITHER IT IS FLOODING OR SOMETHING CLOSE. I CAN SMELL GAS WHICH MAKES ME THINK FUEL LINES HEATING AND CRACKS START SUCKING AIR SO FUEL PUMP KEEPS PUMPING! I HOPE IM CLOSE. BUT..THIS CAR NEEDS HELP AND I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP IT ORIGINAL AS POSSIBLE...BUT, I AM ALSO WILLING TO DROP A SBC IN IT.

 

SO...PLEASE FEEL FREE TO HELP A HAWAIIAN IN NEED! HEHEHEHE! MAHALO, DAFLY

[CCLX-Z]

Congrats on your buy. These cars are great.I'll only speak about what I know stay away from the TH350 and TH400 your overall gear ratio is way too low. I have a TH350 and it sounds way too tight at 70 MPH. 2nd thing buy this book it is expensive but you will use it all the time you have your Z http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Datsun_Z_V-8.html

[daflyinghawaiin]

THIS IS THE 1983 280ZX TURBO THAT WAS IN VEGAS (WHITE ONE UP FRONT) AND NOW ITS IN HAWAII WITH ME. ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

 

1:SOMETIMES WILL START AND RUN AND THEN WARMS AND SPUTTERS AND DROPS OFF AND GETS FLOODED. MAYBE FUEL LINES?

2:MOST TIMES WILL NOT START OR HAVE SPARK IN PLUG WIRES..CHANGED COIL AND IT SEEMS INTERMITTENT.

3:TURBO WORKS WELL AND HAS DUAL ADJUSTMENT DIALS UNDER HOOD...ALSO HAS SECONDARY TURBO TUNING WITH A FLIP SWITCH INSTALLED INSIDE VEHICLE.

4:ENGINE IS NEWLY REBUILT AND WAS SAID TO HAVE BEEN TUNED TO BE ABLE TO RUN NEARLY 20LBS OF BOOST USING SECONDARY SWITCH. I GUESS WIDE OPEN?

5:HUGE WASTEGATE ON THIS CR THAT MAKES A CRAZY ASS SOUND!

6:DUE TO THE FACT THAT IM NOT AN IMPORT GUY...IM LOOKING FOR HELP TO MAKE THIS ENGINE RUN GOOD OR I WILL LOOK TO MAKE IT A HYBRID!

 

I HAVE THE SBC ENGINE AND AUTO TRANS AS WELL BUT WOULD LIKE TO KEEP THE 5 SPEED IN THERE. BUT NO KNOWLEDGE OF USING THE SAME TRANS THATS IN THE CAR NOW. A 5 SPEED MANUAL TRANS. IS THERE A BELL HOUSING ADAPTOR FOR THIS APPLICATION AND IS THERE A PLACE THAT I CAN FIND SPECS ON MOTOR MOUNTS AND SO ON.

 

ALOHA TO ALL! DAFLY

[NewZed]

3rd thing - turn the Caps Lock button off... Seriously, you'll get more responses.

[GOTHALOSISM]

I know that car, I'm part of sincityz. Too bad your still in hawaii.

[emeraldlion]

I would look at getting the inline 6 running well before attempting the whole v8 swap. Like NewZ said, please turn caps off first. Try searching the FAQ section and turbo sections. Sounds like the airflow meter could be bad or need adjusting, inappropriate fuel pressure, bad lines, all the above. Try to work the bugs out before running it too much. If you have a fuel issue and for some reason run into a lean situation it could make mean you would be swapping for that 350 sooner than you had hoped. If I had already had a turbo swapped car I probably would have stuck with the turbo 6. I was looking at a swap either way, and chose to go the sbc route.

[daflyinghawaiin]

I know that car, I'm part of sincityz. Too bad your still in hawaii... ALOHA GOTH and thanks everyone for your input on this subject. i really want it to stay factory stock with upgrades of course because to me a car of this stature should stay original or turn into a beast! but im trying to stick to the roots of the car. however..like i said im a old school chevy guy and build cars in my spare time. which led me to this site.

 

my son has a later model 240sx with the 350 swap in it and that thing is a rocket! th350 trans and 350 engine with a stall and shift kit. too much winding on the top end as u all have pointed out. thank you for that. hes got those racing seats with the full harness set up and all. but...im a 300lb hawaiian and i do not fit in those seats! i fit ON them though! lol...very uncomfortable to say the least especially when going really fast and not strapped in because they dont fit. i would say in my years of drag and chevy building...this 240sx woud prolly do high 11's or 12's or real close to that;

 

so goth...what can u tell me bout this car? any info? i know the engine build is on another website and was done in vegas. by the way... IM KEEPING THE SINCITYZ! STICKER IN THE WINDSHIELD! im not taking it off. there are a bunch of autographs under the hood of those that helped build the car. i want to keep that as well! its history and character to mee so they stay.

 

help please! DAFLY

[GOTHALOSISM]

I'll ask the club to see if any older members have any info on it for ya.

[rheckz]

As for transmison selection I am running a 2004r and it is perfect in gear ratios. Z cars are light

enough where you do not need the low first gear of a 700r4 plus the overdrive ratio is better and

they do not rob as much horsepower. They are the same length as a turbo 350, and remember Gm

installed the 2004R in the Grand Nationals there fastest production car of those years.

[emeraldlion]

2004-r is the same length as 6" tailshaft. If someone by chance had a 9" tailshaft it would not be. Mounting points are significantly different too, if you already had holes drilled for the 350 you would be drilling new holes.

[daflyinghawaiin]

Hi once again gang! I still have not gotten into the main problems in the engine due to the fact that i am really not an import engine guy at all. But i would really like to be able to keep it original. I purchased it last year and just have it stored because of my other projects. I would love some points on making this thing go again! Its weird i know that i purchased a car i dont know anything of the engine but, ive always wanted to own one (reminds me of the good old days) and the chance came up so i went ahead with the purchase. We have not done much yet. Mostly because i dont want to screw the engine up any more than i already have. I have looked for a mechanic who knows these engines without any luck in my search. I do have a sbc engine that i am thinking of installing but i would rather keep it original and numbers matching. Hit me with any and comments because its sitting in my garage not doing anything. Thanks, BOLO

[daflyinghawaiin]

Well gang i have been looking around locally for a tech to freshen up my wiring and so on here in hawaii. No can find anyone who will even touch it. Thats a major drawback to living in paradise folks. Hopefully i will get some much needed help from the members on this forum. many thanks before hand for you time and help. aloha, BOLO

[NewZed]

This might help with the wiring - http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/280z/1983/1983%20280zx%20FSM/

 

But the items below seem to show that there have been modifications.  Are you sure it even has the stock engine management?  Look for the computer and see if it says Megasquirt or Haltech or similar.  If it's aftermarket you'll be able to focus on how to get the specific EMS to work right.

 

There are no numbers to keep matched in a 1983 280ZXT.

 

 

3:TURBO WORKS WELL AND HAS DUAL ADJUSTMENT DIALS UNDER HOOD...ALSO HAS SECONDARY TURBO TUNING WITH A FLIP SWITCH INSTALLED INSIDE VEHICLE.
4:ENGINE IS NEWLY REBUILT AND WAS SAID TO HAVE BEEN TUNED TO BE ABLE TO RUN NEARLY 20LBS OF BOOST USING SECONDARY SWITCH. I GUESS WIDE OPEN?
5:HUGE WASTEGATE ON THIS CR THAT MAKES A CRAZY ASS SOUND!
 

[daflyinghawaiin]

Thanks for the link i will check it out. See what i mean? I am completely out of my element here with the japan cars. Its not a numbers matching car you say? Can you tell me more please? i got it because that is what i was informed. But its not a big deal if its not original. The engine has been worked but not to the point of installing the megasquirt set up. It was prepped for that is also what i was told. thank you for the help...BOLO

Edited August 7, 2013 by daflyinghawaiin

[daflyinghawaiin]

I do have several transmissions to choose from with the conversion. I have access to th350 and th400 also have several 700r4 as well. i have been contemplating the 700r4 due to the overdrive in 4th gear for long runs. But, i think it will need a lockout true? Have 350sbc with a mild cam and stock heads. Also have a 406 stroker that is just nasty! ran 9 sec runs in a vette before i pulled it for the conversion. thanmks again< BOLO

[daflyinghawaiin]

Some tell me that there is a place to get the mounts besides jtr. I would love to see them if at all possible please? I also did some s10 conversions so i have some extra engine mounts for that. I think it is very close to what i may need for the swap? Please inform. The engine in the car is supposed to be a freshly rebuilt motor. But it will not start and run completely. When i first got it it started and idled ok. But later after stored in the garage it did not start again. So it sat. Now i either need to go through the entire engine system which i really am not in my comfort zone as im a chevy guy. So im kind of in need of some serious tutoring. BOLO

Edited August 7, 2013 by daflyinghawaiin

[Mike kZ]

For question about the stock engine, go here http://forums.hybridz.org/forum/32-nissan-l6-forum/ . Mention this: " When I first got it started it idled ok. But later after stored in the garage it did not start again."