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Should I buy this 280zx for a donor car?


Qcsfinest280z

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Here is a link to the post.  And here is the information he sent me.  I live in charlotte nc and have not seen anything in the area that is a reasonable price.

 

http://blacksburg.craigslist.org/pts/4425060358.html

 

 
"Compression on the cylinders are around 105 psi (rebuild rec is below 100), new for the turbo engine is 120psi . Since it does smoke a little, I am thinking a head job to replace worn valve guides. I had it running about a year ago and drove it around the block a few times. Turbo would spool up.  ECU works as the car would not run if it was bad. I replaced the pigtails on the injector harness and a few other connections."
 
is $500 for the car a good price?
 

 

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Not exactly the answer i was looking for.  I guess a more specific question is should i hold out for a better running car or is $500 a decent price for the car.  I have been looking since feb and Ive only seen one l28et for sale at $1000 but it was the engine only.

 

Thanks,

Brandon

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Not exactly the answer i was looking for.  I guess a more specific question is should i hold out for a better running car or is $500 a decent price for the car.  I have been looking since feb and Ive only seen one l28et for sale at $1000 but it was the engine only.

 

Thanks,

Brandon

FWIW>>> the wheels are worth 150$ , they are"asking" $500 for the car , so they will take less for it.

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Is it just me, or does the car look like it's in too good of condition to be used as a parts car? I can see it's no where near perfect, but it looks pretty solid from the pictures.

 

In a case like this, since the engine needs a rebuild I would just rebuild the engine I have and if I was really worried about it use the turbo specific internals, even though I'm running a high boost turbo set-up on my stock N/A L28 currently...

 

The only (L28) turbo specific parts that are needed are the exhaust manifold, and well, nothing else really. Many of the other parts can be sourced from other vehicles, or would likely plan to upgrade/swap for something else anyway.

 

I have exactly 2 L28ET parts on my turbo L28, those are the exhaust manifold and the cam cover and the cam cover was only because I got a good deal on it at the time. The rest of the parts are from other cars or are aftermarket/home made.

 

That being said, if you want to do a completely stock L28ET swap, without changing anything, then using a donor is a good idea, as this will give you all of the mechanicals and the electrical to get a stock swap going. I find though that anybody that does a completely stock L28ET swap, they find they want to start upgrading things only a few months later, usually starting with the addition of an intercooler or swapping the ECM for a newer tunable ECM, where it then snow balls. This makes the stock swap seem almost pointless other than for some people to learn on, because of limited mechanical experience.

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Six_Shooter thats the first time Ive actually heard someone recommend it your way.  The motor i have now runs great although i swapped it in there too.  My goal is 225hp so I was planning on upgrading.  Im trying to plan it all out before I start but i figured at $500 its worth jumping on it.

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One last question. After searching this forum I read that people prefer the 82-83 turbo donor cars.  Are there major reasons for that?  I'm not in a rush on this swap so if I should hold out for those years I will.  Just saw that 81 was pretty cheap so I figured I should snag it.

 

Thanks for any help you can provide.

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Six_Shooter thats the first time Ive actually heard someone recommend it your way.  The motor i have now runs great although i swapped it in there too.  My goal is 225hp so I was planning on upgrading.  Im trying to plan it all out before I start but i figured at $500 its worth jumping on it.

 

Yeah, it really depends on your knowledge of what is required to install a turbo system.

 

For myself I have never used a pre-made turbo system or swapped an already turbocharged engine. My first turbo engine was an engine that there were no turbo parts available for, and had to make my own turbo headers, along with intercooler piping in a vehicle that other than for 3 years and using a different engine was not turbocharged from the factory. It took plenty of research and studying other turbocharged engines to know that I had everything in place for it to be correct.

 

For someone who has never dealt with a turbocharged engine before a stock swap can be a good idea and then upgrade piece by piece, I just usually choose to start with those upgrades. ;) lol

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