attyoung911 Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 hi guys i am new to this board. i have read alot of your posts and have learned alot from them. now I am ready to do my first motor swap. it is a , 1976 datsun 280Z automatic transmission car. i have for it already, i picked up cheap. a 1981 turbo automatic motor and transmission and all wirings for the swap. my questions is, can i use the 1981 turbo and attached automatic transmission as a straight swap over to my 1976 280Z motor and automatic transmission. or is it more to that. please advise or direct me to others who have done the automatic swap. i prefer to keep, or must keep automatic transmission in case wife wants to drive it. i have search message board already. thank you all in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metro Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 I would imagine the AT transmissions are the same or just about the same between the years seeing how you can swap all the MT transmissions around. I don't think there would be a problem, but then I've nevered tried to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie05 Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 have you read the zcar.com article? http://www.zcar.com/articles/twheel/4spdauto/ I dont' know anything about autos, and from what i understand alot of people on here don't care for the stock z ones... so info will probalby be limited. I would search over at zcar.com for past threads. -Oliver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipzoomie Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Both year transmissions are 3N71B trannys. Direct swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attyoung911 Posted November 20, 2005 Author Share Posted November 20, 2005 thanks to all who posted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzed Posted November 21, 2005 Share Posted November 21, 2005 Yes a direct swap but I believe the output shaft on the turbo trans is larger and requires use of the turbo driveshaft. The downside is that the 280zx driveshaft is longer than the one in your 280z. I got mine to fit in my 260z but it is almost bottoming out in the trans. The upside is that the U joints are larger and seem to take quite a bit of punishment. Also the turbo driveshaft is different on the diff end. Lastly the turbo trans has additional clutches and is even more bullet proof than the NA trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onephatz Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 drzed is right the output shaft is larger and the non turbo ones won't fit. he is also correct about the zxt auto being much stronger. it has more clutches AND much higher line pressure than the non turbo counter parts. and yes you'll have to have the drive shaft length "fixed". jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attyoung911 Posted November 22, 2005 Author Share Posted November 22, 2005 how do I go about fixing the drive shaft? keep my 1976 280Z automatic drive shaft and have that one fixed or get the drive shaft from the 1981 280zx turbo automatic car and have that one fixed. thanks again for helping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzed Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 This is what I did to my late 260Z (almost the same as your car). Install your '81 turbo engine, trans, driveshaft, rear end and CV halfshafts. Buy the adaptors from Ross at Modern Motorsport to adapt your CV axels to your 280z stub axels. The only other expense might be the cost to shorten the 280ZX turbo driveshaft a wee bit - mine fit but it is very tight. What this will do is eliminate 4 of the U joints from the system and upgrade the other two to the larger 280ZX turbo size. I have run this way for the last 2 years without any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73240ZT Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 Hello, I am thinking of putting a 1981 280zx turbo auto tranny in my 240z(203hp and 262 tq.) I have all the parts already. Is there a problem with the cross member that holds up the tranny in the 240z. What mods do I have to do to get this tranny install? Thanks, Kenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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