tomz76 Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 My name is Tom, I am thirty years old, and i have been obsesed with 280zs since I was thirteen. I have owned a 78 and currently own a sweet 76. I bought a 82 turbo donor car this fall and plan to do a swap of the motor and trany. Today i dug my parts car out of the snow and took it for a drive. I get all seven lbs of boost but it seems to me my stock 280 could take this parts car the way it sits. to any one who has done this swap when did you feel like it was worth your time and money.... after how much money and how much time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 I swapped the turbo engine into my 240z. I have $3000 in it total( car, engine and all upgrades to date)and you can look at my sig for all the extra stuff I put in. I run 14psi boost intercooled and it kicks butt. Took about a year to get it really going good, but I'm slow. In 280z you will pick up a little extra weight on the car. I enjoyed my swap even when it only made stock boost of 7 pounds. oh, and welcome to the group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 Welcome to HybridZ! I've had my 1976Z for 15 years. The last 1.5 years have been with the turbo swap. Night and day. Do it. 2nd gear will pull like your 1st gear does now....and so on. Imagine 3rd gear pulling like second does in the N/A. I ran with 10psi for a while, then I intercooled it, replaced the worn turbo with a bigger T04B ($400 rebuilt), and now run 14psi boost with a higher fuel pressure to compensate. It will outrun MANY performance cars. You will be amazed. If your turbo motor doesn't feel fast right now, it will when it is in your Z and running right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomz76 Posted March 17, 2005 Author Share Posted March 17, 2005 Thanx for the words of wisdom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks280zt Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 tom, yea the l28et has loads of potential, go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 Yes it is absolutely worth it IF you prioritize going fast. I have a '72 240 with an '81 turbo motor in it... so far I've probably spent about $5000, because I had a lot of bad luck, and it also took me about a year to get it all sorted, running good and reliably, and to get it to the current level it is at right now. Along the way was a LOT of frustration, a lot of BS, a lot more money spent than planned (I had initially planned on about $3000, but was blatantly lied to about the condition of the donor car/motor by someone who at the time I trusted). But now that it's at the level that it is now, I love it. I guarantee you, unless there is something seriously wrong with the motor or EFI on your donor setup, your 280z with even the stock turbo motor will be quite a bit quicker than what it is now. Then of course you can turn up the boost, to 9 or 10psi with pretty much stock everything. Then add an intercooler and fuel, up the boost to 12-15psi still on 90% stuff, and you will start keeping pace with some very fast company. So, it's DEFINATELY worth it if going fast is important to you, and you accept that there is a very good chance it wont all go smoothly right away, there are almost ALWAYS bugs... but hey you found Hybrid Z so you've already got a great head start on solving those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayZee Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 Yes, there is no comparison, the turbo engine is WAY more potent. (unless something IS really wrong with it) Another thing about turbo engines is that small upgrades will actually give you a very noticable difference in power. For example, just a exhaust upgrade will make a huge difference, to get similar gains on a N/A engine you would have to do alot more than simply put on some headers and get a cold air intake. To get a N/A engine to put out as much power as a mildly modified turbo engine can be done but it is quite costly and the drivability of the engine will suffer. Even a highly modified turbo engine should be quite drivable in low speed conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 especially if you are going to compare the cost of making a fast N/A motor with making a fast turbo motor... heck yeah turbo is the way to go. I've done both types of motors in my 240z and trust me you get WAY more return for your investment... more HP per dollar... with the turbo motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomz76 Posted March 21, 2005 Author Share Posted March 21, 2005 hey guys, thanx for the comments and words of encouragement. my donor car has 141k on it and i am only the second owner. i dont anticipate any serious hang ups during the swap other than finding the time to do it. lator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 if at all possible Tom do yourself the favor of testing the donor engine BEFORE going thru with the swap. A compression test or preferably a leak down test would be great, and give you a good idea of what kind of condition the motor is in. I WISH I'd done this with my donor... the guy lied to me and told me it was all rebuilt recently, but really, that motor was trashed and I found out the hard way after being stranded 3 or 4 times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wigenOut-S30 Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Tom, Worth Every Penny. With my turbo swap I have a motor with around 189k on it. Front mount, 60mm TB, LSD unit out back, stock ecu , stock injectors, Crush bent 2.5in exhaust and ran a 13.3@105 in the 1/4. Worth every penny for sure.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Two words: Vee eight Sorry...couldn't resist..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Two words: Shut Up Sorry...couldn't resist..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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