ericp501 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 So I've been keeping an eye out for a L28et to swap into my 76 280z. So this weekend I decided to go to a few junkyards in my area cause.. why not. I couldn't believe it, at the 3rd place I stopped at an old yard all the way in the back, was a 280zx turbo.. exactly what I was looking for! It gets better.. The engine looked absolutely amazing, super clean with a newer battery in the car, last inspect 4 years ago, only 79k miles!!! I'm new to this particle yard which is full of overgrown grass, and crazy old cars, a true rotting junk yard. I find the old guy that runs the yard to ask him how much the motor with the wire harness would be. $700.. WHAT!? that seemed crazy expensive.. what about the whole car? $1,500 WHAT?! Tell him I'll think about it.. I think about it all night and decide I really want that motor, I'll take the whole car for $1,500 part it out and see if I can get close to breaking even. I call the yard the next day and talk to a very nice lady who says they're closed but she'll let the old guy know I'd like to come in. As far as the old guy knows I'm coming at noon to pull the engine myself figure 4-5 hours. I end up running a little late so I call the office again to give them a heads up. When I get there the old guy has no shirt on and yells at me "WHAT IS YOUR F*KING WATCH BROKEN?!".. I try to apologize and explain myself only for him to cut me off again and say "I'VE HEARD THAT BULLS*T ALL MY LIFE". He sees I have a piece of paper in my hand that says Bill of Sale and he says "WHAT THE F' IS THAT BULLS*T". I tell him I plan to just take the whole car now and wanted a bill of sale for the purchase.. (You'd think at this point he'd stop being such a huge jerk seeing as how instead of making $700 while I pull the engine over the next 4-5 hours, he'll make $1,500 and I'll be out of there in about 30 mins).. Nope he continues to be a total jerk, yelling at me about being to close to other cars, and to stop messing with the car until I own it. I finally had enough and told the guy that $1,500 for a junkyard car is a stupid high price, and I was willing to pay it just cause I've been looking for so long. But after the way that guy acted he could tell me the car was $100 and I'd still have to walk away because he's such a jerk.. to which he said "YOU DON'T WANT IT, I DON'T GIVE A F*K, THE INTERNET WILL F*KING BUY IT.. IDIOT" I hate to know that perfect engine I just happened to find is going to rot away cause that guy is trying to charge these sky high prices, and is literally one of the most rude people I've ever come across in my life.. I guess its back to trying to find the perfect L28 for my swap.. Any suggestions on where to look? I've checked all my local yards and I'm keeping an eye on Craigslist and eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 (edited) Amazing to think people like that exist. Where in NJ are you? I bought a 280ZXT for $600 in 2008. Running, about 110k miles. Starting to think I got lucky. I just did a search on car-part.com (highly recommended), and found a grand total of nine 280ZXTs. NINE. Your best bet may be to keep a look out on CL for a ZXT parts car, or just turbo your NA L28. I guess they're getting hard to find. For the record though, $700 for complete low miles engine with harness I think is pretty fair. Maybe slightly on the high side, but I'd pay it. Edited October 31, 2016 by rturbo 930 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyknot Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Have you got a friend or a friends Dad who could go by the yard and strike a deal with him? Having explosive anger myself I know how both of you feel, he probably regretted immediately. Or he could just be a dick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericp501 Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 I really wanted to leave it in the donor car all setup so I could get it running properly knowing that when I swap it I have a good running motor. If it wasn't running right after the swap I'd know it's the result of the swap itself and not the actual engine and I'm just spinning tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericp501 Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 There it is.. $700 to have just the motor pulled, no wires, and no telling what type of hack job they'd do pulling it. I would not spend any time at that yard pulling the motor myself and I just don't think the full car is worth it, everything is rotted and rusted, interior is shot. Is it worth $700 to have this engine pulled not knowing anything about the history of the motor.. Or do I just hold off and wait for something to come up for like $2500 that runs, pull the motor and part the rest? My project car is prob 3 years from completion so I'm not desperate for the motor by any means.. Just don't want a diamond in the rough getting away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSM Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 You could always go back, try and apologize and see if you can work a deal. Sometimes people have bad days, angry wives, etc. At this point you have nothing to lose. What he may yell at you again... Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericp501 Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 Fair point. There's another guy in the yard who is very nice. He's actually the one who would pull the engine anyway. Maybe I can go back and work with just him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grillhands Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 If you do take the engine you should plan on throwing some money in it to rebuild it. That's gonna be a few hundred towards the swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericp501 Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 (edited) If you do take the engine you should plan on throwing some money in it to rebuild it. That's gonna be a few hundred towards the swap. Exactly.. I'll be doing that no matter what. So is it really worth dealing with this guy and in my opinion over paying by about $200-$300 just cause it's local, lower mileage and clean? Something else has to come up in the next year or 2 Edited November 1, 2016 by ericp501 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Playing devil's advocate I wonder what a "little late" is. Last guy I dealt with texted me with running a "little late" two hours into our meet time, took another 4 to show up. You might want to third party this if you are set on the motor. Although I am not finding the immediate appeal here. Low mileage might be ok, but without an inspection, comp test, oil condition etc it could have a hole in the bore for all you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericp501 Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 I said noon with the intention to pull the motor myself (figure 4-5 hours).. Called at 11:30 to say I was gonna be late and will get there at 1 and just take the whole car (30 mins.). So if I got there at noon he'd be there till 5pm for $600, if I got there at 1 he'd be there till 1:30 for $1,500. I got there just before 1. Guy was a total jerk. I might ask the nice mechanic who would pull the motor if I could be there for the first 30 mins to just give the motor a good once over. I'd pay him for his time of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericp501 Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 I went to another old yard today, had about 20 old Z's all rotting away, no turbos and the guy at the yard said he hadn't seen one in years. Kinda pushed me a bit toward this motor again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blu240z Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 1500 is a steal I would've bought it even if he was a jerk these turbo drive trains are getting harder to find. I just sold one for 2k it was only on craigslist for 2 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 I went to another old yard today, had about 20 old Z's all rotting away, no turbos and the guy at the yard said he hadn't seen one in years. Kinda pushed me a bit toward this motor again By any chance was this one in/near the pine barrens? I went to one maybe 8 years ago, and I was really surprised at how many Zs they had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grillhands Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Where in NJ are you? I'm in Edison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Hahaha.. .this was funny to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirkland1980 Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 I think most people who own junk yards really just love junk and really hate selling anything. I went to a junk yard and wanted to buy a carburetor off a car but the guy wouldn't sell it. I'm thinking what kind of junk yard won't sell their inventory? Another yard I went to the guy wanted to bitch about how a parked. I was the only customer there and the distributor I bought was already pulled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 If you gave him a heads up then it seems you may have caught him at a time of turmoil. It is true people with more personal junk yards usually have grand plans for things they have and end up with just too many projects. Some feel like someone's offer to buy something is an affront to their ability to finish the project. If it really is spare pickings you might want to get a friend to pick it up for you, granted with all the things you may have to replace it might be just as affordable to buy a used turbo manifold, rebuild your motor for lower compression and pickup a new turbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgsheen Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Hahaha.. .this was funny to read. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowlerMonkey Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 http://www.lowmileageparts.com/default.aspx select nissan and go to page 3 and 4 not sure if it's real of bs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.