b__sosick Posted June 3, 2005 Author Share Posted June 3, 2005 hey thanks after really thinking it through i'm really just going to work on getting it in alot better shape than it is now. no swaps for a while (unless i stumble across a good deal on a 5spd dranny and or a better head) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 You can find a head cheaper than that, check your local pick&pulls. 75-78 should all have N42 IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b__sosick Posted June 3, 2005 Author Share Posted June 3, 2005 Thanks again. will keep a lookout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z_cars_rule Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 Hey and welcome. I bought my '81 280ZX when i was 15 and now 2 years later it has a fine body and nice interior and stereo. Now I have to rebuild the motor because my rings and bores are shagged, so i am going with a 0.040 overbore and upping the CR to about 10:1 with a new exaughts and cam. I think you should do something similar with your car, you should see a very nice gain in power and is should not be too costly or expensive. (depends on who you know ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b__sosick Posted June 4, 2005 Author Share Posted June 4, 2005 I wonder how much it would be to get a machine shop to bore my motor out. Wouldn't I need to get larger pistons to keep my compression up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kyllc Posted June 5, 2005 Share Posted June 5, 2005 you would need to get larger pistons to seal the chamber if you bore it out i believe:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b__sosick Posted June 6, 2005 Author Share Posted June 6, 2005 eh i thought so. probably a helluva lot more power, though. i'm sure it would be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dobey Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Hello, im new here I hope to learn alot from these boards. I am in the same situation, I am graduating high school soon, what I plan on doing is getting a job and saving up, replacing the engine in my 82' 280zx since it has 255k miles on it, and replace the transmission. My parents said they would pay for the transmission but I know the engine is going to go sooner or later and its better to start anew. My best suggestion is (I believe you said you were 15) get a job save some cash and do whatever you need to do all at once, once you have money in the bank you can do anything. From my limited car knowledge what you were asking is if you should just swap out the engine, depending on the condition,miles,type of engine, and purpose of use (racing, crusing around town), you might want to swap the engine for something newer. Take what I say with a grain of salt since I am just getting into cars and do not know nearly as much as these men here but I try, good day to you. I turn 18 today so what a day to join what seems like a good forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whittie Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 well this seemed an appropriate time to join the boards considering how many other newbies are sticking their heads up all over the thread. my names Tom and i am 16, and i also have had my car since i was 15 (well 15 and 364 days old). the car has had all the mods that i know can be done, bar a half cage (on eis on the way though) for street legality and historic racing compliance. it is a 1977 English 260z and has all the standard rust that came on these cars, but not to bad considering the english heritage. has an l28 with p49 head, running triple 45mm webers and a huge cam, a five speed nissan box, 4.375 rear diff (lsd), koni adjustable shocks, king springs...... LOTS. i dont fully know what is on the car as the previous owner has not yet given me the list he is working on, but i can tell you it is one monster of a car. some pics here http://community.webshots.com/user/tommo560 just had to have the engine rebuilt after we detected some suspicios vibrations (loose flywheel in the end so good thing we did take it in when we did) and just a couple of weekends ago out racing with dad (yes he did buy it for me, well we did a partnership; its my daily driver when i get my licence and it is his play car when he wants to take it out. he was considering a 6speed conversion for his supra tt aero but for the same price we bought this and then i get a car aswel!!) and there is a bit of blowby after a hard run, so next rebuild is going to mean a 3.1L overbore . had the car for 10 months now and we have done a bit of work on it. stereo went in the otherweekend, well the head did anyway, ran out of time to put the speakers in so thats a job for another weekend. fixed the windscreen wipers not parking propely. the car is very mechanically sound cept for a bit of rust we found on the rails where the front anti-roll bar mounts *cringe* but other than that it is mostly the cosmetic things that dealing with. bit of a ramble but hey, what the hell, all i get at school is "Datsun..... Racing???? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" !!!! so to meet some like minded people who are interested in performace modifications to their Zeds is pretty cool. Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b__sosick Posted June 6, 2005 Author Share Posted June 6, 2005 it's good to see that there are others in my situation. And whittie: I am VERY impressed with your mod list, and deeply jealous. haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whittie Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Thanks sosick, yeah the mods are great and it is an absolute BLAST to drive, but the mods dont come cheap, had to have it rebuilt as i said above and i tell you without an interest free loan and a 50/50 split with my dad i wouldn't have come anywhere near affording it, hell, i still couldn't!!! but i think what you have is good, and my advice would have to be as the others said, just keep it as is at the moment and work on some of the smaller things (well not so small things anyway). getting rid of the rust will insure you keep body strength up and dont come across any nasty surprises in the future, carpet and upholstery does wonders for the driving experiance, and being in highschool (as i am) you NEED some sort of non-standard stereo, so get a nice head and some decent 6 inch speakers, i know i got an lg head and pioneer speakers on special 500 down to 200, so look around and you can keep expendature down. i will also have to say that school is important, although i believe it is not as big a deal that everyone nelieves i tto be until about yr 11, when the pressure really comes on but keep focused on that, get a job while you still have the time and then you can work on the car when you get some free time to yourself (if thats ever, like my experiance with yr 12). thats the why i see it, and the way i am tackling this project and it seems to be working well for me thus far, so i'll keep working it, but most of all, the car is not your future, school and work is, so have fun with it but dont devote time that should be set aside for school to the car, you'll do yourself no favours in the long run, no matter how much fun it is now. yes yes, i know i sound like mum but seriously mate, school is big and ultimatly the zed is just a hobby. may be hard to see now (sure was for me) but ultimatly your priorities need to put school at the top. well to be true to myself i have a calculus exam tommorow morning so i am now going to complete my study. Tom. Ps, although having said all this you will need something to take your mind off school everynow and then and turning a few spanners never went astray in my books. Have fun with the car dude and make sure you get the important, not most wanted, details dealt with whilst you still have no more worries then when what to spend your next pay check on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billyzbear Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 If I was you. I'd get all the little stuff fixed. Brakes, struts if needed maybe new springs, seats, floorboard and lights. Get it running and driving ok. If it aint broke don't fix it. When you saved some money and you want to upgrade then start looking at a turbo motor or ?. Read, read and read some more. Get a good understanding of what you want for the long term. There is this kid that works at my shop. He has dumped over 3,000 into a 1.6L VTEC Honda motor. It still doesn't have 200 hp. Roughly a maxed out L6 turbo Z motor is 430 hp. Non turbo 320 hp. I don't think FL has smog rules but you should double check. The Toyota Supra turbo mite be a good swap or a supercharged 5.0L or 5.8L ford motor these will do over 550hp. There is always the 350 swap, look at LT1 with a supercharger. bang for buck...Supra turbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billyzbear Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 I should add. Personally, I have a 3.1L, ported p90 head bigger exhaust valves with webers. The hole drivetran with T-5 and limited slip R200 rear about 3500, around 300hp. I had 240hp with 2.8L, flat top pistons, n42 head, cam, headers, Crane hi-6 and webers. This would cost alot less, look around at junkyards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b__sosick Posted June 9, 2005 Author Share Posted June 9, 2005 If I was you. I'd get all the little stuff fixed. Brakes' date=' struts if needed maybe new springs, seats, floorboard and lights. Get it running and driving ok. If it aint broke don't fix it. When you saved some money and you want to upgrade then start looking at a turbo motor or ?. Read, read and read some more. Get a good understanding of what you want for the long term. There is this kid that works at my shop. He has dumped over 3,000 into a 1.6L VTEC Honda motor. It still doesn't have 200 hp. Roughly a maxed out L6 turbo Z motor is 430 hp. Non turbo 320 hp. I don't think FL has smog rules but you should double check. The Toyota Supra turbo mite be a good swap or a supercharged 5.0L or 5.8L ford motor these will do over 550hp. There is always the 350 swap, look at LT1 with a supercharger. bang for buck...Supra turbo.[/quote'] 1.) Thanks for the advice, it's very reasonable and makes sense. 2.) Honda's take alot mroe money than 3 grand to produce nice numbers 3.)Has some actually done the supra turbo swap? if so holy crap. A friend of mine has a lexus sc300 "soarer" that he did the supra turbo swap and that thing HAULS. I can't imagine that sort of power in a much lighter car such as my zx. 4.) I'm planning on keeping my L28, unless i stumble across an l28et for extremely cheap. BUT; Is it worth keeping the EFI? Has anyone ever gotten decent power numbers out of the l28 without going carburated? Thanks! ---sosick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whittie Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 you should be able to get better numbers efi than carbies, and better economy. carbie is generally used for that "era" feel or for people after a stock car or for racing catagories that require it. the 1gz-gte toyota motor is easier to fit than the 2gz-gte being, it being the first gen and slightly smaller, but they do both fit (saw a site but dont remember where). the 2gz makes a HUGE amount of power. dad has a supra, weighs 1500kg (over 3000 pounds) and it HAULS ***. makes about 380rwhp with jap turbos running 19 psi, standard intercooler and 3" highflow exhaust. he's got cams, injectors, us turbos, big brakes and then possibly a front mount all coming soon so i expect it'll be a HUGE amount of fun to drive when its all in. Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billyzbear Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 Look here:http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=100647 The toyota swap is nice because you get twin cams, exhaust on one side and intake on the other. These are newer motors like 93 compared to 83. Head design came a long way. Like I said read. I don't think my 2.8L would make as much HP with EFI. Not saying it's bad but the management is old, cpu. Maybe if I used an SDS or tech 2, programable cpu's with more sensors. With EFI you gain more control, gas mileage, performance and driveability. It will cost you more. For me I have a 71' and it would be alot more work to goto EFI. Fuel pump, lines and all. I had Webers already from ten+ years ago. The 3.1L was fast and easy for me. It was my only car at the time. Pull one and install new. Less than a day. I can lay the motor and trans on the floor in an hour. In one day I pulled two and installed one and switched parts around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b__sosick Posted June 11, 2005 Author Share Posted June 11, 2005 I sold my old computer, and bought a bunch of stereo stuff. Brand new alpine head unit, 100 bucks (friends = good deals) two fosgate 6x9's, two 6.5's. I plan on putting the 6x9's in the doors. any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whittie Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 the guy who sold me the stuff i bought suggested that i make a mounting plate of some kind out of mdf. trace the speaker outline onto it and then cut it out so that the speaker sits on some mdf (where the screws are the speaker has a mounting plate of some sort, the mdf should fit behind this to bring the speaker out from the door a bit) this will reduce vibration and allow more clearance in the doors because they aren't very thick - well not in the 260 they arent anyway, i've no experiance with a 280 but its a fair assumption that they are similar. hope that makes sense, Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b__sosick Posted June 12, 2005 Author Share Posted June 12, 2005 thanks alot, tom! it's much appreciated! I'm thinking about putting the 6x9's in the place of the original 6.5's. ANd just keeping those there and that's it, other than the one 12" Kicker sub I plan on putting in. Eh. I need to think about this stuff for a bit. will post later when i decide what i'm going to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billyzbear Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 It's hard to get good clean bass and even mid bass out of a door speaker. If not done really well it will rattle. You also have the window crank there that can cause problems. I put a 12" JL in where the spare tire is and put 5" cdt's mids in the doors and a tweeter's under the side vents and down a little. The CDT's are the best speaker I have ever owned and I thought the Diamond Audio was good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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