L28ET Price?

[athoma46]

Just wanted some input from other folks who have purchased their L28ET motor. A local seller on craigslist listed a 1981 280zx L28ET motor and transmission (automatic) for sale. I contacted the seller and he advised me that their is no ECU and from the pictures no wiring harness either. Miles are unknown, but he said it was pulled from a wrecked 280ZX a few months back, and is in good working condition. His asking price is $1000.00 firm. Just wanted some opinions on his asking price? I don't know if this is too high considering it's missing the ECU and harness. Any input is appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Metro]

For just the engine and trans, that seems pretty steep. You can get a complete running 280zx for around that price or less. I paid $600 for the rusted out '81 280zx I used for my swap back in '05. Checking my local craigslist and I see a running 280zx turbo with 5speed for $1,200.

 

That being said, if you've been watching craigslist and this is all you can find in your area, well then I guess $1000 is how much a L28et costs..

Edited March 8, 2013 by Metro

[athoma46]

Thanks for the reply. I thought it was a bit steep as well, especially considering a wiring harness and ECU would need to be sourced.

[mattb3562]

Like Metro said, I believe you should get an engine alone for around $500, but better yet, a running car for around 15.

[BluDestiny]

Lol I paid $400 for one that had a blown headgasket and drove. It was an 81 auto as well. I actually parted most of it out. I think I made $1000 from parting it out. 

 

Now I've actually pieced together a turbo swap (minus the engine and intake) and I think it's cost me around $800 for almost everything. I actually have 2 harness' and ECU's though, and I had the injectors sent to RC for cleaning and flow testing, also has a lot of parts cleaned and painted and the Turbo mani coated and wrapped. 

[rayaapp2]

Last car I bought was $500 and I drove it home.

Last long block I bought from a wrecking yard was $1000.

PNP was like $350 dressed.

Sold my last L28et with complete harness(the whole harness stripped front to rear), fuel pump, FPM, ECU, VAFM, running with T5 and driveshaft for $1200. 251K miles on the clock but had been refreshed including a new stock turbo.

 

What ever you can find a good motor for is what is reasonable for an engine that is getting hard to find. Sometimes you can find a steal of a deal. I traded a header for a long block less than a year ago. Sometimes you wont find anything local for a year though and one pops up for a grand.

 

Its not like you can find them abundantly anymore so kind of up to you. You might get lucky and find one for less like some of us or you might find the price has sky rocketed!

[Tony D]

Muahahahahahaha "and out in he container of dreams we found..."

[aarang]

Got a complete L28ET, harness,ECU, ZXT CV shafts, drive line for $99 on sale last year at Pick-N-Pull

[Heroez]

Be patient, nobody is going to buy it for a grand. I got a l28et long block for 250 not long ago, everything minus turbo, wires and ECU. 120k wrecked car. Over the years picked up a wire harness, couple ecus and AFMs, FPM and bits, ms2 with harness and stim. Ford 6x coilpack, bmw IAC, air charge cooler etc. If you are patient you can pick up all kinds of deals. Maybe even piece one together. Dished short block this week, P90 next month. I dont think T square is going to open up a container any time soon and flood the market with nissan gold.

[palauoriginal]

I picked up an running l28et a couple months ago for $1000. It had upgraded injectors, harness,ecu,flywheel, afm, 300zx turbo and a rebuilt head.

The price seemed fair to me.

[Ben's Z]

I paid $750 for an old wore out rusty 154k 83 280zxt with an automatic. Head ended up being garbage, so yes I probably paid a little too much.  I was able to sell the swastika wheels for $180, and got another $200 in scrap with the car whacked up in to 3 pieces, so not too bad. 

Edited March 11, 2013 by Ben's Z

[Gollum]

Paid $200 for my last longblock. Complete from Oil Pan to valve cover. Included turbo manifold, but not the turbo. Included Intake manifold, plus injectors, but no wiring harness. No ECU. No Trans.

 

But I DID have to pull it myself at the seller's house while he sat there drinking beers and having a good ol' time not getting his hands dirty.

 

It's getting HARD to find the really good deals, and setups like what ray sold, a complete engine READY TO GO are getting pricey.

 

At some point I have to start asking "is it cheaper to make your own turbo conversion?" Really, what's the main part that nobody wants to make? The exhaust manifold. Everything else is easy stuff to deal with. You can use ANY intake, especially if you're adding an intercooler and throwing out the j-pipe. You can use ANY turbo that fits your exhaust mani. You can use ANY injectors and EFI as long as you tune it.

 

If you had a welder and were decently competent with it you could weld up a manifold from mandrel bends bought just about anywhere these days. So lemme pull some numbers out of my ass:

 

Parts you NEED off a turbo or to replicate

 

Turbo Manifold: $150 w/tax & shipping

Bends $14 each, buy 5 and see if you can make two!: $100

http://www.mandrel-bends.com/catalog/mandrel-bends-34/mild-steel-10-11-gauge-112/1-63-mild-steel-2-50-radius-11-gauge-180-deg-mandrel-bend-2022.html

Most expensive flange I saw, T6: $25

http://www.mandrel-bends.com/catalog/flanges-gaskets-36/turbo-flanges-62/t6-turbo-divided-inlet-flange-1-2-mild-steel-2612.html

Flange at head side, cut up a throw away header someone has: $20

 

Turbo: $250

And that's being GENEROUS. You can find a million turbos in that price range that will work just as well, if not better, than the stock T3...

 

Ignition System: $150

Any stock Nissan setup from a NA engine won't do, so don't try it! You NEED ignition retard under boost so you'll either need to get a coil that MS or some other EMS is controlling, or you'll need to get a standalone ignition system like MSD makes, or megajolt, etc

 

Fuel System: $800

There's a million subparts to this that I won't get into. But even if you're doing MS2 and building it yourself you'll still need to buy a wiring harness, or make one yourself. You'll need something triggering MS, you'll need a IAT sensor, a CHT sensor, relays, etc, etc, etc. I do plan on doing a MS3X conversion this year and will be setting aside $1500 and I'm not sure I'll be able to get COP running in the price range as LSx coils aren't exactly cheap.

 

Parts that go into a swap

 

Intercooler: $250

You be buying this either way and there's a million kits on ebay. 

 

Downpipe: $75

Considerably easier to make than a manifold, and shouldn't even cost this much in materials.

 

Exhaust: $100

Unless you're really lazy at this point just make it yourself as you've already done all the hard bits, and might cost less than this in reality, just like the DP.

 

BOV: $20-150

Spend what you want to spend, but most of them do the same freakin' job and do it just fine. I'm partial to recirculating types, but that's me.

 

Injectors: $400

Spend less than that and you're mileage may vary. Stock injectors most people like to replace anyways, as they start to choke pretty good above 250whp. They can make it to 300 but it's going to take a lot of fuel pressure added.

 

Injector rail: $100

This is a cosmetic upgrade, make no mistake about it. But that said, most of us do it.

 

Clutch Kit: $250

Get a good clutch or you'll be sorry. If you've sprung for a lightweight flywheel this is even MORE important.

 

I could go on and on. There's tires that'll most likely need upgrading, heat wrap or shields to protect things from the turbo heat, and on and on.

 

But the key points here, is that the main cost of REPLICATING what you really NEED from the turbo engine is CHEAP other than the EFI. The reality though is that the stock EFI is just about WORTHLESS this day in age, and you'll most likely be replacing it anyways. Once you've settled in your mind that you're going to ditch the stock EFI down the road, just do yourself the favor and make a turbo manifold and call it done, and say "screw you" to everyone that wants $1k+ for an engine that's mostly worthless....

 

Or you can just pay $1k for a motor and drop it in with very little added cost and be happy with it. But I guarantee that eventually 99% of us will want more power, and then the cycle of all sorts of add on costs will start to creep up. First it'll be just a boost controller. Then it'll be a RRFPR. Then it'll be an intercooler. Then it'll be a clutch. Then it'll be MS. Then it'll be injectors. Then it'll be fuel pump. Then it'll be turbo...

 

...or you could spend about half the money and do it ONCE, and DO IT RIGHT....

 

My $.02

[Tony D]

"Turbo: $250

And that's being GENEROUS. You can find a million turbos in that price range that will work just as well, if not better, than the stock T3..."

 

SHHHHHHH! I got a milk crate of the stockers I have to unload! Don't tell them about the Chinese GT30's out there!

[athoma46]

Wow, it looks like there are a lot of different avenues people pursued in obtaining their motor. Again I appreciate all of the feedback and insight.

I think I might wait and see if he'll come down on the price, if not I'll stick with the stock L28 motor and enjoy it for another year. I was itching for an engine swap and saw the opportunity arise however I'm in no rush. The motor's rarity is indeed a factor!

[Tony D]

You know, as mentioned, you can just hang a turbo on what you got...

 

I did that in 1985 to my N/A L28 and well over 40,000 miles later still going strong... Last I checked it was 40K miles, before I was doing 26k miles a year commuting with it... did that for 2...maybe 3 years before I got a company vehicle. I think all told that L28NA has compiled 78,000 commuter miles plus the original 40K before my VW Van was moved to retirement as driving a canyon daily to work was a LOT more fun in the Z! Maybe 110,000 N/A converted - to - Turbo miles on it (12psi normal, 17 regularly on the weekends, and 21 psi on occasion...)

 

Think about it.

[SDgoods]

I asked the same thing  a while back.  it comes down to what YOU are willing to pay for a given engine. Of course there are 'going rates'  but what is it worth to you to have to piece together an engine or get a complete package?  ^^ FWIW In Socal when I was looking i couldn't find anything nearly as low as  A lot of these said prices.   Just plan it all out and do your research and see what works better for you, to piece it together or buy as a package

 

[Heroez]

If you look once, at one time period, pickings will be slim. If you are looking regular all the time, you will see the good deals and they dont hang around long. Recently saw a running LD28 maxima in my area for 500 bucks. The ad was gone the next day.

[Dat260Z]

I paid $400 for an entire car 82 automatic with 116k miles .. Wasn't running but I'm doing a full build nothing really stock except the obvious , block /internals/ exhaust manifold and a few other items. Just look around

 

I say not running but it ran on propane

Edited October 23, 2013 by Dat260Z

[2turboZ]

You know, as mentioned, you can just hang a turbo on what you got...

 

I did that in 1985 to my N/A L28 and well over 40,000 miles later still going strong... Last I checked it was 40K miles, before I was doing 26k miles a year commuting with it... did that for 2...maybe 3 years before I got a company vehicle. I think all told that L28NA has compiled 78,000 commuter miles plus the original 40K before my VW Van was moved to retirement as driving a canyon daily to work was a LOT more fun in the Z! Maybe 110,000 N/A converted - to - Turbo miles on it (12psi normal, 17 regularly on the weekends, and 21 psi on occasion...)

 

Think about it.

 

I hate to dredge up an old thread, but that is what happens when you search.  You find things that make you go Hmmmm.

 

So Tony, can you give a little more detail on this build?  What was the base head and block, what did you have to do in order to run that boost besides "hanging a turbo on".

 

I have been looking for an L28et and I have a line on a couple, but nothing close.  If I could run 10-14 PSi on the N42 block and head with proper fuel and spark management I would put my energy into that for now and wait for the turbo motor to come along later.    

Edited July 2, 2015 by 2turboZ