Guest Anonymous Posted October 23, 2001 Share Posted October 23, 2001 I am about to purchase a 1981 280zx turbo. I found a really good deal on it. I have heard a lot about v8 conversions for the 280's and I was wondering what the cost would be, just for a good 350 with around 300hp? I just want more performance than the 280 has now. Also, what kind of gas milage could I get? It will be a daily driver. That is with a 5spd. Finally, would a 6spd be better than a 5spd? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labrat Posted October 23, 2001 Share Posted October 23, 2001 This is a swap you really need to think long and hard about, as there is not a lot of info covering it (yet) on this forum. Most of the swaps done here are to the older model Z cars, not ZX's. I am in the middle of such a swap myself, and have to rely on my own intuition more than documentation here. It's good for ideas, but you will have to work out some particulars for yourself. I don't want to discourage you in any way, but be aware that you will be blazing a trail, so to speak. I will try to add my experiences to the vast amount of knowledge on this forum, just to give a little more voice to the minority of ZX owners out there. You may even want to buy a 240 or 260 instead, since you haven't purchased the car yet. I didn't have that luxury, and a motor swap was definitely in order (threw my main pulley and it "remachined" my crank), so this was the cheapest and easiest way for me to even have a running car again. Hopefully it will all be worth it in the end though. A few things to watch out for in the meantime: Verify which steering configuration the car has and make sure you find headers to fit. There are three different versions, power rack n pinion, non power rack n pinion, and power parallelogram. Each one is mounted a little differently and the header has to miss whichever you got. You can't use the JTR method to set back the motor with the setback plates. The crossmember is 3 inches closer to the firewall in a ZX, so the motor mounts go right over the frame horns in front. This shouldn't affect handling too badly, however, as the ZX's are heavier overall anyway. The strut towers are slightly farther apart in a ZX, but that room is offset by the greater number of options that these cars had. Cruise control, power steering, A/C, all of this has to be factored in. I'm not trying to dissuade you from this, just trying to give you some of the information that I didn't have when i made my decision! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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