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HybridZ

L28 To L28ET Too (call me copycat :P )


Gollum

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Ok, winter is long over, and I'm back at it hardcore. I hope to be done this friday to pick up the girl from the airport in it. She might actually be more excited than me. :D

 

Evidence of the death in the family. Muwahaha

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Some parts I plan to keep/need.

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Donor Engine bay:

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Recipient Engine bay:

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The family jewls

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The last few days work... sorting out vacuum lines to finally get all the heating and aircon installed...

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Ok, gonna replace the oil pan gasket while the engine is out and drop it in on monday. Wish me luck.

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  • 1 month later...

Can I BE any slower? Man... Well past a year now and it's still not fired up since it came out of the donor.

 

Ok, here's the current progress. Wiring is 95% done and I could probably run it if I just plugged the injectors in. Still need a battery and a driveshaft. I've been praying and praying to find one locally, since half the expense of getting one from a state away would be shipping.

 

I got a job that I need to commute to now, I start in about 2 weeks, so I NEED to have this on the road by then. I think I can make it, as long as things go at least semi-smoothly.

 

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The REALLY sad thing, is that I'm thinking I might not have her long before I get rid of her. I'm starting this new job and I'll be making some decent money. I'm thinking that once I've got some money saved up I'm gonna get a nice new car for a daily driver so that I can build up some credit (20 years old and I've got ZERO credit, ouch). I'm thinking about a WRX, or maybe a new STI wagon IF they ever release a wagon version of the sti here in the usa.

 

Anyways, sad to say it, but once I've got a daily driver I'm just not sure if I want this car around for a fun car or not. Maybe for a while, but in the long run I know I'm gonna eventually build a FFR GTM. I hope to have a 240Z as well, but who knows.

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i know, SO CLOSE.

 

Yesterday I put a battery in, and blew some fusable links. So I need to find out if I hooked them up wrong, if it something else is wired wrong. Other than that I just need some more gas for the tank and she should start.

 

Talked to a tranny shop I was recommended to for driveshaft work and it should be less than $130 with balancing and such. So I'll be taking measurements tomorrow and bringing it down to them.

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  • 1 month later...

Well, all the shops I talked to wouldn't shorten the tranny. They all said it had irreplaceable yokes so they'd have to fabricate a new driveshaft from scratch. Ouch!

 

BUT! I started my new job about 6 weeks ago and I havn't had any time to hunt craigslist for parts, so my girl started checking everyday for Z parts. She found a guy with a "83 280ZX Turbo" transmission and she called the guy and asked if he had the driveshaft to it. He said yes, I called and verified it was the right part and he said it'd be $25.

 

So this guy is down in san leandro (about an hour from where I work) so I ask my sister to go pick it up (she lives in the same city, not more than 5 miles from where this guy is). She calls me later and tells me that the guy I bought this shaft from is a previous student of my sister (she teaches at richmond high). Small world eh?

 

 

So I just need to find the + on the car that's grounding out and I'll just have to put it all back together at that point. Most of the assembly left is just body and interior which shouldn't take long at all.

 

And I'm 100% decided now. I'm going to keep it stock, legalise it, then after I have my nice engine label I'm gonna go megasquirt. With the high control I'll have over the tuning of MS I shouldn't have to worry too much about passing smog in the future, and the power/mpg benefits will be well worth the investment and time.

 

I might eventually revamp the turbo and fuel system to get to 300+hp, but I'm not concerned about that right now. I'm gonna be happy with a running Z, PERIOD. If I can be daily driving a 13 second Z that's even better. Knowing I have an engine that can get me into the low 12's in a heart beat will eat at me, but it's not the biggest deal in the world.

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For now yea, I'm keeping it. Who knows how long. If megasquirt turns out to be very low maintainence (once it's tuned), reliable, and idiot friendly (i like to let people borrow my car now and then) I could very well end up keeping the car for another 10 years, who knows.

 

Btw, the international auto show is comming up soon in SF. I'll be there if you wanna hook up while there and check out some cars.

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Umm, probably about a 7 or 8.

 

It wasn't EASY, but there are MUCH MUCH harder swaps out there.

 

And for me I've been battling the elements more than the swap itself. I'm working outside, with the car on dirt, meaning anytime it's wet outside I have to get dirty in order to get under the car. There's just hassle upon hassle that can all be atributed to my work environment. Moving an engine on dirt is NOT easy, especially our super soft soil here in the bay area.

 

The mechanical side of it was a peice of cake. The wiring is more difficult that anticipated, but if you go slowly and document things well you should be fine.

 

 

But honestly, now that I have a higher comfort level as far as working with this car and getting to know ever little detail, I probably would have gone with a different motor if I had the ability and means to weld.

 

Probably would have gone with a 5.0 motor as they're everywhere here in the bay and I THINK (not sure) you can use the stock T-5 tranny mount and then just fabricate the motor mounts yourself.

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Umm, probably about a 7 or 8.

 

It wasn't EASY, but there are MUCH MUCH harder swaps out there.

 

And for me I've been battling the elements more than the swap itself. I'm working outside, with the car on dirt, meaning anytime it's wet outside I have to get dirty in order to get under the car. There's just hassle upon hassle that can all be atributed to my work environment. Moving an engine on dirt is NOT easy, especially our super soft soil here in the bay area.

 

The mechanical side of it was a peice of cake. The wiring is more difficult that anticipated, but if you go slowly and document things well you should be fine.

 

 

But honestly, now that I have a higher comfort level as far as working with this car and getting to know ever little detail, I probably would have gone with a different motor if I had the ability and means to weld.

 

Probably would have gone with a 5.0 motor as they're everywhere here in the bay and I THINK (not sure) you can use the stock T-5 tranny mount and then just fabricate the motor mounts yourself.

 

Just responding here ... since you mentioned the SF AutoShow ..

 

Head out there the 28th 'bout 5PM. GT-R will be unveiled then.

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