Looking for a project

[Draekon]

Just for some background, I'm still in highschool and this car would be my second. I currently own an '84 firebird with a 305 v8.

 

I'm basically looking for a car to modify or fix for my high school senior project. I like my firebird, but im getting bored of it and while looking for another car, Z cars caught my eye. The car that I modify would be the car I take to college, so I decided on a 6 cylinder to attempt to get slightly better gas mileage than my gas guzzling v8. I love 84-89 300zx's, but they're too expensive for my budget, so I was thinking about a 240z-280zx.

 

While browsing craigslist, I came across a 280zx for $700. Heres its description:

 

"Datsun 280zx, Runs and Drives, stops but NEEDS BRAKES, Red, minor body work required, there is a dent in the hood that has been bondo'ed and the rear bumber is slightly tweaked, but not very much. Standard transimission(5-spd), I have the title in hand,"

 

I'm not sure how many miles are on it, I tried calling but he didnt answer at the time.

 

Basically what I need to know is what to expect from it. I'm not exactly sure what I'll do with it, maybe turbocharge it. I know how to do mechanical work on cars, and I can give body work a shot. So what usually goes wrong with these cars that I should check? How much power potential do the stock I6s have? I need to make something faster than my firebird (don't worry, its slow, its an 84 with a 305....). The lighter car should help.

 

Thank you for reading this somewhat length post, and I'll be awaiting the replies!

[zeiss150]

Well the Naturally Asperated 2.8 L6 engine has the potential to put down about 180-225 horse power to the rear wheel depending your setup.

 

If you Turbo The 2.8 L6 (or just buy a 280zx turbo) you can put 275 -400 Horse Power to the rear wheels the more HP you want the more $ it will cost you. 300+ WHP should cost somewhere in the range of $1000 over what you pay for a turbo setup.

 

The 280zx weigh's about 2,900 lbs. vs the 240Z which weighed 2400 lbs. You could make a 12 second car with out spending all of your college money.

 

the NON turbo 280zx had a 0-60 time of 9.2 seconds if you get the turbo version your 0-60 times drops to 6.8 sec. If you just turn up the boost a few lbs you could take of a second of that im sure and that doesn't cost anything (well... its doesn't cost you anything out of your wallet... but it could take a toll on the engine and if your not careful you could turn it up to much and blow the engine... and that could cost a lot).

 

What to look for when buying the car... RUST Thats what kills most Z's look for it in the bottom of the doors, frame rails, trunk, front fenders, rear wheel wells, under the battery, floor pan.

 

As far as body work ... anyone can do it. You just need time ... lots of it and some skill, which can be learned .... over time.

 

The limit to what you do with your Z us is only limited by your wallet and your imagination.

 

Good luck and let us know if you have any other questions.

[spdkilz02]

Well the Naturally Asperated 2.8 L6 engine has the potential to put down about 180-225 horse power to the rear wheel depending your setup.

 

If you Turbo The 2.8 L6 (or just buy a 280zx turbo) you can put 275 -400 Horse Power to the rear wheels the more HP you want the more $ it will cost you. 300+ WHP should cost somewhere in the range of $1000 over what you pay for a turbo setup.

 

The 280zx weigh's about 2' date='900 lbs. vs the 240Z which weighed 2400 lbs. You could make a 12 second car with out spending all of your college money.

 

the NON turbo 280zx had a 0-60 time of 9.2 seconds if you get the turbo version your 0-60 times drops to 6.8 sec. If you just turn up the boost a few lbs you could take of a second of that im sure and that doesn't cost anything (well... its doesn't cost you anything out of your wallet... but it could take a toll on the engine and if your not careful you could turn it up to much and blow the engine... and that could cost a lot).

 

What to look for when buying the car... RUST Thats what kills most Z's look for it in the bottom of the doors, frame rails, trunk, front fenders, rear wheel wells, under the battery, floor pan.

 

As far as body work ... anyone can do it. You just need time ... lots of it and some skill, which can be learned .... over time.

 

The limit to what you do with your Z us is only limited by your wallet and your imagination.

 

Good luck and let us know if you have any other questions. [/quote']

 

what would you do for that much HP with 1K dollars?

[zeiss150]

question... "What would you do with that much horse power with 1k dollars"

Interpritation... what would you do to get that much HP with only 1k

 

Answer... Provided that you have all the basic turbo parts (exaust manifold, T3 turbo, P90 head, CAS dizzy) and a good short block and head, these are the mods and prices that I would do to get in the 300 WHP range.

 

1. after market ECU (the stock one suck A$$) megasquirt about $300 on ebay. there is an entire section on how to set it up and tune your Z with this system on this web site.

 

2. 440cc supra mkIII turbo fuel injectors $80 on Ebay

 

3. custome fuel rail for your new injectors ... price? I think about $150. there is a guy on this site that sells them.

 

4. Intercooler about 300 bucks on ebay. This one is important with out the "right intercooler" your WHP will be very limited.

 

5. 60mm throttle body from a nissan 240sx $35 at the junk yard. then port your stock intake manifold, Free ... if you do it yourself... I did it and it took me about 3 hours and I didn't really know what I was doing.

 

6. MAP sensor $20 ebay, and Wide band O2 sensor $80 on ebay.

 

7. fuel pump to feed those bigger injectors $99 on Ebay

 

8. Boost controller and blow off valve $45 on ebay ... yeah I know they arn't the best quality but we're on a budget ... right?

 

OK... I think thats it... I'm sure im forgetting something but thats all the money anyway. If you add all that stuff up it comes out to about $1090.00

 

Now you've spent all your money on these parts ... so you better know how to put them on and tune them.

 

Keep in mind this is just my personal research that I have done for my turbo build. I've bought a lot of the parts that I have listed and I have done some of the mods. I'm sure that there are more expensive AND less expensive ways to get to 300 WHP but this is the plan that I'm sticking to. I've been reading and reading and reading what other people have done, and the parts that they have bought, and the problems they have had.

 

300 RWHP is totaly do'able with the parts and mods that I have listed above.

 

there is a lot more money that can be spent on stuff to get more HP, like 3" down pipe and exaust system, t3/4 Hybrid turbo, rebuilt short block with 240z rods and special flat top pistons to get a better stroke raito and higher compression raito (dont forget about the forged piston option), custome intake manifold, larger fuel lines, external waistgate, custom ignition, custom turbo cam,Larger fuel injectors, ARP rod bolts and head studs, Head work, 70mm TB, and a bunch of other stuff that is way out of my technical know how.

 

Like I said before the limit of your L28 is limited by your WALLET and your imagination. Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions.

[spdkilz02]

thank you for that list. that will help me alot, im getting an 83 280zx turbo, so i will have all the stock stuff already. and i just sold my other car on ebay for 1K and the auction ends in like 3 days or so. and im getting the car for free from a family member, so this work is all doable.

[zeiss150]

I don't think there is anything better than a FREE Z! Good luck!

[Draekon]

How much would it cost to put a decent turbo system system on a N/A? By decent I mean I dont want to put titanium pistons and head on and run a stage 3 turbo. I dont need that much. I just need something that the stock engine can handle. And what is safe to buy from junkyards?

[zeiss150]

the cost to convert a N/A to a turbo is the amout I listed above PLUS the stock turbo parts

 

1. Z31 T3 water cooled turbo about $150 on ebay

2. turbo exaust $50 on ebay

3. turbo oil pump $80 new

4. turbo CAS distributor $50 on ebay

5. Optional, P90 turbo head (the P79 N/A head will work great for more than 300 WHP) About $200

6 turbo down pipe a custome one is $297 but its pretty awesome... you can use the stock one and that should come with the turbo.

 

So with the basic turbo parts and the other parts listed above you can turn a N/A L28 into a turbo L28. the cool part about doing that is that you will have a Higher compression raito of 8.5:1 compaired to the stock turbo CR of 7.4:1 which will give you more power at lower boost levels. Im sure that there are some other small parts that im missing but you'll figure out whats missing when your engine blows up... Just kidding. You would have to tap your oil pan with an oil return line and make an oil feed line off of the oil pressure sensore site. You would also need to plumb the cooling to the turbo which wouldn't be hard at all.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions

 

Matt-

[spdkilz02]

question... "What would you do with that much horse power with 1k dollars"

Interpritation... what would you do to get that much HP with only 1k

 

Answer... Provided that you have all the basic turbo parts (exaust manifold' date=' T3 turbo, P90 head, CAS dizzy) and a good short block and head, these are the mods and prices that I would do to get in the 300 WHP range.

 

1. after market ECU (the stock one suck A$$) megasquirt about $300 on ebay. there is an entire section on how to set it up and tune your Z with this system on this web site.

 

2. 440cc supra mkIII turbo fuel injectors $80 on Ebay

 

3. custome fuel rail for your new injectors ... price? I think about $150. there is a guy on this site that sells them.

 

4. Intercooler about 300 bucks on ebay. This one is important with out the [b']"right intercooler"[/b] your WHP will be very limited.

 

5. 60mm throttle body from a nissan 240sx $35 at the junk yard. then port your stock intake manifold, Free ... if you do it yourself... I did it and it took me about 3 hours and I didn't really know what I was doing.

 

6. MAP sensor $20 ebay, and Wide band O2 sensor $80 on ebay.

 

7. fuel pump to feed those bigger injectors $99 on Ebay

 

8. Boost controller and blow off valve $45 on ebay ... yeah I know they arn't the best quality but we're on a budget ... right?

 

OK... I think thats it... I'm sure im forgetting something but thats all the money anyway. If you add all that stuff up it comes out to about $1090.00

 

Now you've spent all your money on these parts ... so you better know how to put them on and tune them.

 

Keep in mind this is just my personal research that I have done for my turbo build. I've bought a lot of the parts that I have listed and I have done some of the mods. I'm sure that there are more expensive AND less expensive ways to get to 300 WHP but this is the plan that I'm sticking to. I've been reading and reading and reading what other people have done, and the parts that they have bought, and the problems they have had.

 

300 RWHP is totaly do'able with the parts and mods that I have listed above.

 

there is a lot more money that can be spent on stuff to get more HP, like 3" down pipe and exaust system, t3/4 Hybrid turbo, rebuilt short block with 240z rods and special flat top pistons to get a better stroke raito and higher compression raito (dont forget about the forged piston option), custome intake manifold, larger fuel lines, external waistgate, custom ignition, custom turbo cam,Larger fuel injectors, ARP rod bolts and head studs, Head work, 70mm TB, and a bunch of other stuff that is way out of my technical know how.

 

Like I said before the limit of your L28 is limited by your WALLET and your imagination. Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions.

 

what is the "right" intercooler? any suggestions???

[b__sosick]

bigger isn't always better. some cores are more effecient than others!

try seeing if you can get an intercooler from a isuzu NPR, or maybe a starion.

[Gollum]

The right intercooler? That's like saying "wich gun is the right one?" well do you want to shoot a plate from a mile away or shoot a rapist from 50 feet away? Handgun vs. Rifle. Same job in theory, but totally different application.

 

A smaller intercooler should work as long as your turbo is working well within it's efficiancy range, run it hard and temps go up quick, and you'll need more cooling capability. But run a large intercooler and it won't cool substatially more, and just create more lag. It's a simple concept - by the time the air in the intercooler gets down to 100-140 degrees the ambient air won't be substantially cooler thus the effect of the intercooler is lost. Basically the right intercooler will probly only have temps a few degrees warmer than an oversized intercooler but the larger intercooler will create noticable lag vs the smaller one and the temp difference between the two will be MUCH less noticable.

 

So there's a lesson in basic intercooling thermodynamics.

[oldskoolZ]

I know im coming in a lil late, but rust IS a big factor, and at the front right and left frame behind the wheel is where the rust usually first comes to the frame. Nissan/datsun didnt make an actual wheel-well till later years, and right there is where all the water and salt and gravel is kicked to. so check there.