Guest My79280zx Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 Greetings all I have recently purchased a 1979 nissan 280zx, with the l28 in it, and am looking for a decent engine to change into it. I was considering a SR20DEt or the 300zx's beautiflu VG30DE. Im in australia, so the choice of engines is probably slightly limited. i was just looking for some comments suggestions regarding these two engines, or any other engines that might be worthy of the swap. It HAS to be a turbo though, not necessarily twin, cause i've heard singles are better at the top end of power output. plus i have problems with my Z driving. It pulls to the left a fair bit. i have had wheels aligned and balanced et al, but it still pulls, it DOES need new suspension, but it costs a fortune over here(Being struts and all, and 35 years old!), so it is a little while away yet. Im worried that it may be previos crash damage though, but i can't see any evidence of previous crash damage. Could it be a problem with the power steering unit perhaps? Plus, i suffer from complete lack of performance, my compression is pretty whacked, 6 cylinders, 5 different compression ratings, ive just had it tuned, but they didn't fix that, nice of 'em. this lack of performance is the real reason i want a new engine, but maybe the L28 has potential? haha yeah right... cheers all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 Let me be the first to tell you to upgrade your brakes, suspension and chassi before you go and put in a high performance motor. It sounds like you have some suspension issues to take car of for sure. A high power engine combined with a bad suspension = trouble! Same goes for brakes. The cahssi stiffening is only needed if you want your frame/body to stay straight. As far as a L28's power potential....how deep are your pockets? They better be really really deep if you want some power out of a 2.8L NA motor! Now if you go with a L28ET this is a different ball game. You could get 300HP pretty easy and it would be very streetable. Since your swappin a motor on a 280ZX there isnt as much info on mounts and basic swap info as there is for the Gen 1 S30's. Doesnt mean you cant do either one of those engine swaps, it just means there wont be step by step instructions for you to follow. You will have to fabricate and design your own mounts and trouble should clearance issues with out the knowledge of other peoples experice. However the people of Hybridz are more that knowledgable and more than willing to help you, just as long as you try searching the database first Guy P.S. Welcome aboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 Yea, if you want that stock l28 to perform you'd better have DEEP pockets. I highly recomend just putting in a different motor. Now, what motor to use? What are smog laws like over there. What can you modify leagally? They're really strict about that stuff here in the states. It's basically illeagal to put a skyline motor in a Z in califfornia, unless it's a track-only car. There are a ton of motors out there i can think of to put in a ZX. I own a 81 and a 80 ZX, the chassis being identical to yours. I don't see a motor swap for me in the near future since my motor is uber low milage. But i'm sure everyone here would be glad to help with the process. First thing first though, get that suspention fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest My79280zx Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 Thanks guys, i knew i had to upgrade all the driveline stuff, no big surprise. laws are reasonably strict over here, but i can make something work! exactly how difficult is it to swap an engine over? especially if i have a half cut, with all the bits and pieces. Up until about a year ago i didn't know what an alternator was,so..... I'd really like to do most of the work myself, excepting stuff like interior trimming, and paint/body work, any recommendations? other than marry a mechanics daughter? wait a minute, thats not such a bad idea.... oh yeah, my pockets are as deep as they need to be, but that doesn't neccesarily mean i want to spend loads of cash when i could get a better result with less cash, if you all follow my meaning... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drftn280zxt Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 NO kidding, hp out of an L28ET =deep pockets. Hopefull after college and a few years int oa career my pockets will be deep enough for my L28ET dream. (as long as girls stay out of the pic all should be good, done pretty good so far. (no girlfriends, and I'm 18 almost 19)). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 Hey man, welcom to the board, and the Z land! About your 'pulling' issue.. might sound silly, but are the air pressures the same in both front tires? Seams to be a thing with old Z's that they pull if the presures are off too much.. You might want to check all the bushings in the front end.. could be old and cracked rubber causing the suspension to sag or be loose, which in turn may make the car pull. As for the compression.. what were the numbers? ie; how much diffrence is there between them? imo, 5-10 psi difrence is tolerable across the board.. but more than that can be a bad thing.. I'd go with the 300zx turbo engine myself.. if I wasn't going V8 I have the 3.0L in my truck (not turbo) and it moves really good, considering it's a 4000 pound truck! I've seen a few in 1st gen Z's.. can't see why it woulnt work in a zx. Good luck man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 drftn280zx2+2, The statement in the earlier post was that it takes DEEP pockets to get high HP numbers from an L28 NA motor where an L28ET is relatively cheap and easy to get decent HP numbers from. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest My79280zx Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 so it comes down to the l28et motor, and the 3oozx twin turbo. anyone have a rough idea of numbers for those babys? ive also been recommended the RB25DET RB30DET anyone have any experience with these little numbers? datsun lover, i checked the tyre ratings first off, but i haven't checked the bushings yet, but hey, wouldn't surprise me if the suspension has NEVER been replaced in this baby..he he from memory, the compression rating is from 8 to 12, cant find the diagnostic print out yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hat1324 Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 so as I understand it, starting with a l28e leads nowhere. What if I boost it? Im sorry, ive been searching for the differences between the 2 but my searches allways pull up 2000+ posts not related. second, The RB25 swap is a big part of this forum, in fact there is a disclamer for ALL RBs so search RB25DET or just RB25 and you'll get the awnsers, and posts of people who've done it. Be prepared to spend the $$$ to get the performance you desire. Third, The RB30. being in Aus. it would be easyer for you to get ahold of this then us in the states. They're SOHC over there tho. But the common swap is to put the RB26 head onto the RB30block and weld a spot for a new tensioner. There is a company I belive in NZ that does this, and the last time I spoke with him he said about 3500 for the longblock. If you want to do it yourself they come in a old SUV over there, cant remember the name but its the AUS version of the pathfinder. He clames he started with 460hp with stock RB26turbos in his R33gts and I think is boasting over 1000. Become a member on Skylines down under for more info. search RB30 over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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