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cali laws engine swap


bens1088

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how much work is it to drop a turbo engine into a 280zx. Do i just need to bolt it and attach everything? how complicated and how many hours. what are the laws for this in california? i know they are strict about EVERYTHING and i dont want to get nailed and be screwed lol. i know theres something about the engine being older or something.

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Yep, yep.

My bad. I told you I was confused:mrgreen:

 

I'll slink away now. Sorry.

 

The 280ZX was a complete redesign, retaining only the L28 engine and other driveline components. A turbo option was introduced, bringing the 280ZX's stock performance above the level of the original 240Z for the first time.

The 280ZX shared the Nissan 510's platform and suspension, with MacPherson struts in front and trailing arm independent rear. The wheelbase was down from its predecessor at just 91.3 in, and a 2+2 version was offered as well.

The 280ZX was branded in the American market as the Datsun 280ZX.

A turbocharged model (L28ET engine rated at 180 hp) was introduced in 1981. In the US market it was initially available with a 3-speed automatic transmission. In 1982 and 1983, the 280ZX Turbo was also available with a Borg-Warner T-5 5-speed manual transmission (this was the first Nissan which used a non-Japanese transmission; the T-5 was also used in the GM F-bodies and Ford Mustang).

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generally, cali laws say that you can swap any engine into a car that is of the same year or new than the car, and all emmissions equip have to be on there. smog testing will be done to the standards of the engine. If the engine is 15-20 years newer to that car, it can be classified as a kit car.

 

P.S.: Only applies to US legal engines. So RB and SR guys it tenichally not street legal inless you go throught the proper channels, but there are also other ways around that and have it street legal:mrgreen:.

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Come on, do a little research man. The 280ZXT is the same engine you already have with a turbo. The 300ZXT is a V6 that is totally different. You'd have to make custom mounts for the engine and trans and thats if it fits in between the strut towers on a S130. It barely fits in the S30. The ZXT would be 1000 x easier.

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I have to agree, a l28et would be a better swap. You can even use the just NA long block (NA and turbo blocks are the same, almost everything else is different) and just through on everything else from a L28et.

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  • 1 month later...
If the engine is 15-20 years newer to that car, it can be classified as a kit car.

 

Can you tell me what you mean by this? Becuase CA doesn't have any "kit car" registration that I know of. There's the SB100, but that's not really written for kit cars. Yes people with kit cars use it, but the wording is designed to be for "custom built vehicles" in otherwords if it was delivered to your door it doesn't quality. Noble's can be bought pre-assembled wich is technically illegal since they'll be registered with a SB100.

 

And the 15-20year thing. I'm curious where you picked that up, since even the SB100 could care less about year of the motor, they care more about what car it's supposed to look like (replcate) or if no car at all it's labeled as a 65'.

 

Look bens1088, swap in a 280ZXT motor. It's by far the easiest swap out there. A 300ZX "twin turbo" wil never fit unless you feel like redesigning the engine bay. That motor is a DOHC with two turbos hanging off either side. It probly wouldn't fit stock by quite a bit. Don't even bother.

 

Once you get the ZXT motor in you just need to get it legalised. If you wanted to you could just try to avoid it alltogether and see how long it takes for a smog shop to realise you car wasn't a turbo car. This might not be for a LONG time since these cars had that motor as factory option. This makes it very easy to get the swap legalised.

 

If you need more info on CA smog laws PM me. CA laws might seem strict but thier complexity actually allows for several loopholes. Becuase of all this though it's become hard to aviod tickets from cops if you're in a high profile vehicle (say like an evo, sti, supra, honda, ect).

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There was a good write up in the last "custom rodder" magazine about registering a custom or kit vehicle in California. It was actually the editorial subject and the experience of registering their latest project. It's worth looking for a copy at the newsstand.

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