Guest Kronic_Z Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Hi everyone, This is my first post so I wanted to give a little of my Z history. I am a big Z enthusiest... My first car was a 76 280z that was totaled a month after I rebuilt the engine with my dad, when someone ran a stop light and t-boned me. With the insurance money I bought my second Z which was a 78 that appeared to be in near cherry condition with a fresh coat of paint. Unfortunately who ever did the paint job neglected to get all the rust off because within a year it started getting cancer that progressed very rapidly. I got married and sold it for a song as a parts car because it wasn't "practicle". I never realized how much I missed that car until 10 years later I got a divorce and ended up buying my current Z which is an 81zx 2+2 (I've grown to love the longer sleeker lines of the 2+2 plus it has the chrome running boards which are sweet). So to my question... I'm doing an 83 L28et swap. I shouldn't have a problem using my na wire harness and sensors on a turbo engine (just have the rebuilt longblock) if I use ms, right? And in that case do I really need the ms relay board or would it make things easier on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Welcome to hybridz. It looks like you already started finding some of the info you need by looking around. Let us know if you have any more questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 I'm not sure about the relay board but yes you can use the stock NA harness with MS to go turbo. The Realy board would probably make it easier, but with a good wiring diagram you can probably splice into the stock relays and such just as easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kronic_Z Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Thanks for the replies... I've found a lot of good info on the site but the search engine kind of sucks, since I've had a hard time locating the info I want even the same thread again, if I didn't save it and don't remember what I typed in for the search. I'm still trying to decide if I should go with stock relays or just go for the ms relay which is kind of what I'm leaning toward now. A little of topic but I'm shopping for a turbocharger now and I wanted to know what anyone thought about this one. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/T70-T3-T4-TURBO-HKS-40MM-WASTEGATE-BOV-BOOST-350hp_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33742QQihZ015QQitemZ250007122149QQrdZ1 It seems about the right size for what I'm doing plus it comes with the bov, wastegate, and manual boost adjustment. Any opinions? I'm going with 450cc injectors and 60mm throttle, btw. A little more about this car and why it is so important to me... It was my best friends mother's and when she died of cancer she left it to him and he had it for probably 10 years after that. When my ex took the one car we owned (I'm lucky enough to walk to work) I was left car-less, so he decided he would sell it to me for 1k, even though it had huge sentimental value to him - I'm probably one of the only people he would have sold it to. Anyway, I worked most of it off by helping him with odd jobs since I was going through a tough time financially, and it gave me back a since of pride and freedom after going through that time. Well times are better now, and money isn't so much of an issue, plus I have a Subaru which is my winter car. But I think you can see why this car has so much sentimental value, and why it's so important for me to get this car back and running and I'd like to restore it to better than new eventually. I'll never sell this car!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 I'd say, if you want simple and reliable, scrap the stock EFI harness and use a relay board. I have no regrets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 I scrimp in a lot of areas, but I have never bought a cheap ebay turbo and I wouldn't recommend doing that to anyone. A Turbo plus external wastegate plus BOV for $385 + $60 shipping does not sounds like something I would try, but if you do try it at least give a report of reliability/quality here on the group. It is always interesting to see what happens to these as they get 5K,10k, 20k miles on them. Try as I might I cannot find out on that link what the turbine specs are, they only say that it is a TO4E compressor in a 70A/R compressor housing. You need to know what the turbine A/R is for sure. Search a little more on turbo sizing based on your horsepower goals. I bought a TO4E 57 trim 60AR compressor with T3 63AR turbine that was clipped and I was very happy with that at 300-375hp level. To do it over again I would have went with the TO4E (50,57, or 60) trim in 60 AR compressor housing with T3 63 AR turbine stage III wheel. I think that is a pretty typical old style turbo choice for most people on here. They just vary between the 50,57,60 trim compressor wheels and stage 1,2,3 turbine wheels. Then it bolts right on to a stock turbo engine with only a spacer needed between the exhaust manifold and turbo and support upwards of 450hp at the crank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kronic_Z Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Thanks for the input! I'm still just kind of looking around seeing what's out there, and I was wondering what you would be getting from a turbo for that price. Anyone have any experience buying a similar one off ebay? I also couldn't find any other information about that turbo. I'm not worried so much about the price and don't want to skimp there (the turbo was the place I had expected to really lay down the bucks), but the more I spend the longer it will take me to get everything I need together. In "maximum boost" the author does say that brand is not very important and that regular oil changes and type of oil will be more important for prevention of coked-up bearings. He does also say that bearings with water jackets really help prevent that, so I would like to go there. This turbo has about the same specs you were metioning plus it's by a well known brand, but it still doesn't tell me all I wanted to know. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Polished-Turbonetics-Hybrid-Turbocharger-Turbo-T3-T4-3_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6755QQihZ007QQitemZ170008047269QQrdZ1 Does dry center mean it does not have the water jacket? - oppinions? Sorry, I'm an ebay addict! Since I live in kindof a remote area it makes it hard to shop for these sort of things and ebay has become my best friend, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mack Posted July 15, 2006 Share Posted July 15, 2006 I have a 1980 280ZX 2+2 that I used a 1982 N/A harness on and put in a 1983 CAS distributor to run MS&S_E on. I took the spare harness I had from an 82 n/a parts car, lopped the ECU connector off then started soldering wires onto the appropiate places on the MS DB37 connector. Since the fuel pump relay is part of the EFI relay on my '80, I only had to worry about one relay. I used all of the stock sensors with the exception of a GM IAT sensor. I used the AFM wires for the CAS sensor wires, since the MS doesnt use an AFM. Basically, my harness was plug and play. after I got a TPS bug worked out, it fired right up. bottom line, it is possible, but be prepared to spend an evening with a few wiring diagrams, a soldering iron and a multimeter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kronic_Z Posted July 15, 2006 Share Posted July 15, 2006 That's cool Mack. It would be great if you could share any wiring notes you remember. I do have the Haynes manuel which has a good wire diagram and although I know how to read it, I'm still not sure I would know how to get it wired to ms. I also know how to use a multimeter... What was your TPS bug and were you using the stock throttle and sensor, stock throttle with another sensor (240sx), or 240sx throttle and sensor? Thanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 That is a quality turbo that you linked the second time, I was able to find a rebuilt garrett turbo for about $450, so it is possible to save a little money. Just be careful on those cheaper units, sometimes they seem to work for people, sometimes they don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kronic_Z Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 In my job I deal a lot with manufacturers and wholesellers and I know that many times a non-name brand is made in the same factory and right next to the name brand product (everything is made in China now, lol), and is the same quality for hlaf the price. But, unless I know that for sure, I wouldn't trust going with the important stuff. So I'm going with the good stuff for Turbo, wastegate, bov, and intercooler but you can still find deals on that stuff if your patient. I found a pretty sweet wastgate for around $150 last night. There are alway quite a few prebuilt ms systems on ebay too - someone starting a project they didn't finish or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 I know that many times a non-name brand is made in the same factory and right next to the name brand product yeah, like you said, just make sure you know that is the case. I have seen several threads on other sites about "some" of those cheap turbos and they are definitely not made on the same equipment, or have the same quality control. So just be careful, any of those places could have changed their quality control by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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