280z 302 sbf swap

[ISPKI]

Ah bummer. Has anyone ever looked into the rear differentials in Mazda's RX-8? They are helical torsen design and supposed to be fairly tough.

[Suchfun240z]

Sounds like a fun build... I have a 302 with a carb, it’s fun... I still have a long ways to go. 

[DespicableZ]

I'm getting closer to driving mine.  Turbo 302 out of a 93 GT, e-cam, Fitech efi on a 4 bbl carb manifold.  Working ignition and ??? Wiring bugs out that are causing the efi to wig out and kill it.  Curiously mostly when hot.

 

Nice to see other folks going down the non-ls road.  302 bits, and the T5s are pretty cheap and the $500 engine/ecu/3.75 spd trans combo was tough to beat.

[yellowoctupus]

Are your wiring issues ignition/spark related or fuel related?  Any thoughts of going EDIS to ditch the distributor?  (I'm not familiar with the FITech, but I'm assuming it can control an EDIS module??)

[Sasquatch]

Happened across this post while researching a possible 302 swap for my '80 280ZX and thought I'd try to add some helpful information regarding rear diff options. Mid to late '90s Thunderbirds, Cougars, and Lincoln Mark VIIIs all came with 8.8 IRS setups. Ford Explorer also came with an 8.8 IRS setup for a span of years. The Explorer is still IRS, but I'm not sure what diff it currently uses. Any of these diffs should be internally identical to the 8.8 solid axle, so locker options shouldn't be an issue.

[yellowoctupus]

Bit of a pain to find a locker for the 28spline IRS, but not impossible. 

[ISPKI]

On 4/5/2019 at 4:05 PM, Sasquatch said:

Happened across this post while researching a possible 302 swap for my '80 280ZX and thought I'd try to add some helpful information regarding rear diff options. Mid to late '90s Thunderbirds, Cougars, and Lincoln Mark VIIIs all came with 8.8 IRS setups. Ford Explorer also came with an 8.8 IRS setup for a span of years. The Explorer is still IRS, but I'm not sure what diff it currently uses. Any of these diffs should be internally identical to the 8.8 solid axle, so locker options shouldn't be an issue.

I wasnt aware that explorers had IRS ever. I have kept my eyes open for the 90s IRS 8.8 but they seem either extremely rare or expensive. I havent found any anywhere nearby in a long time of searching.

I have a co worker who is building an 850hp Z32 who has a contact with a number of open R200s for extremely cheap (around 150$ shipped) and refreshed LSD internals for another 175ish. Seems like it might be the best option for now but I am going to just run the R180 gingerly until it blows up before swapping.

As of right now, I have replaced my passenger side floor and am working on frame rails and seat rails. Driver side is on deck.

Once that is done I will be cleaning up the engine and getting it mounted.

A huge question mark that I have been trying to figure out is how to manage the engine. Either use the factory harness from the donor vehicle and try to work around not having the automatic or figure out another harness solution.

[woodmuncha]

I recently started working on a 1983 280zx and am currently looking for engine and transmition mounts that are compatible with a small block ford 302 5.0 v8 swap and if you could tell me which to look for that'd be great, thank you.

[yellowoctupus]

280zx will probably have to make up your own mounts.  ZX's are not a terribly popular swap car, unfortunately.  You might want to start your own topic to get attention to your project, rather than hijacking one about a different series Z car.  That said, welcome to HybridZ, we look forward to seeing some photos in a build post.