308 280Z info

[crusher]

Gday fellas

 

Im thinking about buying a 280 my mate has lying around for the bargain sum of 20 big ones. If its in ok condition that is.

 

Now another mate wants to build up a nice 308 and dump that into the Z instead of a 350. Im only young and a 308 will put more then enough power down to keep me happy and get registered and insured and whatever.

 

Now heres where is gets fun. How hard is it to make the engine mounts, tranny mounts and all the other crap that we'll need to get the engine in?

 

I had a look on the JTR site and they sell the mounts and things but does there book show you how to make them? I really dont want to be shipping mounts and things from the US to Australia.

 

And does anybody know if the 308 and 350 chevs have the same engine mounts or whether they differe slightly?

 

Im not sure how much you yankee blokes know on the 308's but theyre a pretty good engine. People might poo poo them but you can get a fair bit of power out of them easily.

 

So cheers in advance blokes.

 

Mark

 

PS

And i did search but nothing really came up for the 308.

 

yay first post!

[dr_hunt]

The 308 holden will IMO not be the powerhouse the 350 will given the same add ons. I'd go with the 350 since the mounts I believe are the same!

[crusher]

Thanks for the quick reply Doc.

 

Basically we were gonna go for the 308 becuase my mate REALLY wants to build one. lol Silly reason but hey, im pretty sure we could offload a nicely built 308 down the track pretty quickly if we wanted to.

 

Another reason is for getting the thing street registered. Basically here in West oz it (car weight X 5 = max cc you can have) Im not too sure on the 280 weight but even with a built 308 (mate wants about 400fwhp) it will scoot along nicely and then as you said the mounts are the same so a 350 can get dropped in later.

 

Cheers for the info on the mounts.

 

Now can anyone shed light on the JTR book? Would it be worth buying? Does it show how to make all the mounts? or will it be basically us trying to figure out the best way of mounting it and playing by ear?

[dr_hunt]

I never bought the book, I just made my own mounts for the engine and trans, but I'm pretty sure the book does detail how they are made.

 

I just made mine differently, they work, I can get the engine in and out easily, clears headers, so whatever works.

[crusher]

Jeez mate shouldnt you be working or something? haha (If my bad memory is right isnt it about mid morning/coming up to midday in the good ol US of A?)

 

Thanks for the info. Is it hard to make engine mounts? Alot of welding involved and are there better metals to use than others?

 

I also read on here about the distributor getting in the way? Is this on all models and is it a big thing to get around or can you just sorta put a spacer in the get the bonnet to raise a few mil higher?

 

This will be my first project car so im trying to find out heaps before I start. And so I know what im in for and dont get all stroppy with it lol.

[Pop N Wood]

I have the book and it is well worth the money. They give detailed drawing to show you how to cut the mounting plates. No welding needed. Flat plates with some holes drilled in them. They also give you a lot of little details that can really kill you if you have to figure it out on your own. Like how to make the tach work and putting a resistor in line to the alternator.

 

The problem with the distributor is the HEI types will hit the bottom of the hood latch. You need to make a new latch bracket, get a catch from a ZX and add some 1/2 inch spacers between the cross member and the frame rails to clear that.

 

If you have a non-HEI dist than I think you can just move the motor forward a bit to clear everything. You will have more wiggle room if you go auto tranny and don't have to worry about the shifter.

 

http://www.summitracing.com sells the JTR book. you might get on that site and get the ISBN number and see if a local bookstore can get it for you. I know I shipped some phone books from Sydney to the US and it took over half a year to get here.

[crusher]

I have the book and it is well worth the money. They give detailed drawing to show you how to cut the mounting plates. No welding needed. Flat plates with some holes drilled in them. They also give you a lot of little details that can really kill you if you have to figure it out on your own. Like how to make the tach work and putting a resistor in line to the alternator.

 

The problem with the distributor is the HEI types will hit the bottom of the hood latch. You need to make a new latch bracket, get a catch from a ZX and add some 1/2 inch spacers between the cross member and the frame rails to clear that.

 

If you have a non-HEI dist than I think you can just move the motor forward a bit to clear everything. You will have more wiggle room if you go auto tranny and don't have to worry about the shifter.

 

www.summitracing.com sells the JTR book. you might get on that site and get the ISBN number and see if a local bookstore can get it for you. I know I shipped some phone books from Sydney to the US and it took over half a year to get here.

 

Cheers mate. We have a big technical book store here in Perth so ill see if they have any or can order one in.

 

If there mounts sound as easy as that to make then we shouldnt have any problems.

 

Well be going Auto as theres way too much involved in changing it over to a manual.

 

Seems fairly straight forward so far but im sure there will be some huge hurdles I cant forsee.

 

Half a year from Sydney to the US? Thats stupid. Did somebody swim it across?

 

Cheers for the info boys. Hopefully this project will get done fairly quick. Engine and drivetrain wise. Panel and Paint can wait

[Guest rucus01]

Thanks for the quick reply Doc.

 

Basically we were gonna go for the 308 becuase my mate REALLY wants to build one. lol Silly reason but hey, im pretty sure we could offload a nicely built 308 down the track pretty quickly if we wanted to.

 

Another reason is for getting the thing street registered. Basically here in West oz it (car weight X 5 = max cc you can have) Im not too sure on the 280 weight but even with a built 308 (mate wants about 400fwhp) it will scoot along nicely and then as you said the mounts are the same so a 350 can get dropped in later.

 

Cheers for the info on the mounts.

 

Now can anyone shed light on the JTR book? Would it be worth buying? Does it show how to make all the mounts? or will it be basically us trying to figure out the best way of mounting it and playing by ear?

 

 

 

 

Sounds Like you need to go with a turbo if they are limiting your displacement.

[dr_hunt]

I took two original motor mount brackets, cut them so all I had was a flat plate, bolted them on tihe engine, stuffed engine and trans in the car where I wanted it with a jack supporting the trans. Got the driveline aligned correctly. Took 1-5/8" tubing cut to fit between the stock z mount and the center of the chevy plate on the block. Slightly angled back, so two angle cuts and alittle grinding, no biggie, tack welded in place, fab'd a trans crossmember same way with a 1/4" steel angle iron 4"x4", cut it so it has a small lip facing down tapered to nothing on each end, pulled engine and trans, welded engine mounts,, bolted trans crossmember in, voila! Done, cost about $5 in materials.

[crusher]

Sounds Like you need to go with a turbo if they are limiting your displacement.

 

I would love to go a turbo but it means I would either have ALOT of fab work to do to turbo the L28 or I would have to buy an RB30ET, which isnt hard to do here in Aust, but then I would need a computer and to tune it and piping and cooler and all sorts of rubbish. That just makes the price sky rocket.

 

Im pretty sure I could fit anything up to 5.9ltrs so a 350 chev would be fine and seems to be alot easier than an RB30. This is going to be done on a budget. Nothing big and fancy. Its basically just an exercise of get an engine running and in there. Drive it around for a bit. Go to the drags and see what it pulls. Then dump a bigger engine in and go from there.

 

I took two original motor mount brackets, cut them so all I had was a flat plate, bolted them on tihe engine, stuffed engine and trans in the car where I wanted it with a jack supporting the trans. Got the driveline aligned correctly. Took 1-5/8" tubing cut to fit between the stock z mount and the center of the chevy plate on the block. Slightly angled back, so two angle cuts and alittle grinding, no biggie, tack welded in place, fab'd a trans crossmember same way with a 1/4" steel angle iron 4"x4", cut it so it has a small lip facing down tapered to nothing on each end, pulled engine and trans, welded engine mounts,, bolted trans crossmember in, voila! Done, cost about $5 in materials.

 

That doesnt sound too bad at all. If it can be done for $5 and a little time that fits perfectly within the budget.

 

Another question for ya mate. How much power will the standard 280 diff cope with? I really dont want to have to go to a 9inch or anything. Or even a Borg Warner.

 

Cheers for all the info blokes. And if there are any guys on here in Perth that have done a swap I would love to have a look sometime.

[240zV8]

I would love to go a turbo but it means I would either have ALOT of fab work to do to turbo the L28 or I would have to buy an RB30ET, which isnt hard to do here in Aust, but then I would need a computer and to tune it and piping and cooler and all sorts of rubbish. That just makes the price sky rocket.

 

turbo the 350!

[crusher]

turbo the 350!

 

Full of top ideas you blokes.

 

I would if i could mate. But im pretty sure id kill myself. Ive come close a few times in a 2ltr so 5.7 should be fu lol.

 

But then again this wont be driven rally style on gravel tracks....

 

If i was going to go forced induction i would go a blower sticking out of the bonnet just for the wank factor. Plus the extra torque of course.

[zed240au]

buy the jtr book if your going with a v8 conversion covers everything electrical mounts most anything u need to know

you can order it direct from there site posted will have it inside a week ost likey

 

I cant see why the 308 wont fit but im sure with the info in the book the chev would be easier There was one in street machine early 80s with 253 or 308 in it guy was well known car builder in sydney did a chev into volvo years later chris hillman i think from memory

 

pretty sure youd find a chev to build cheap than a 308 and theres way more parts about and you only have to engineer it once if you go chev first off

 

Just got to work out how to make my ls1 look like the nissan v8 my cars registered with and i wont need engineer not to worry engineering down here in tassie ant that hard

 

Got a mate in wa who fitted a 327 from monaro into his 260z years ago not sure how he mounted that up was before we both found the jtr book

and he long sold his car

 

id really consider the chev before u commit to the 308

 

Mick

[crusher]

buy the jtr book if your going with a v8 conversion covers everything electrical mounts most anything u need to know

you can order it direct from there site posted will have it inside a week ost likey

 

I cant see why the 308 wont fit but im sure with the info in the book the chev would be easier There was one in street machine early 80s with 253 or 308 in it guy was well known car builder in sydney did a chev into volvo years later chris hillman i think from memory

 

pretty sure youd find a chev to build cheap than a 308 and theres way more parts about and you only have to engineer it once if you go chev first off

 

Just got to work out how to make my ls1 look like the nissan v8 my cars registered with and i wont need engineer not to worry engineering down here in tassie ant that hard

 

Got a mate in wa who fitted a 327 from monaro into his 260z years ago not sure how he mounted that up was before we both found the jtr book

and he long sold his car

 

id really consider the chev before u commit to the 308

 

Mick

 

Might have to grab the book from the site but ill check out the locals first. Might save borrowing the old mans credit card and making him angry lol.

 

Im not fully commited to the 308, its just that it would be an easy engine to get and know its been build properly as my mate (diesel mech) wants to build one up for fun. So in that way itd be easy to get, but im sure I could convince him to build a mild 350 instead.

 

Im pretty sure the 308 would fit easily as many people swap 350's for 308 and the bolt straight in so I cant forsee a problem. But suprisingly I have been known to be wrong before

 

LS1 look like a nissan v8...just swap the badges. Im sure they wont be able to tell the difference

[zed240au]

ho careful about the wank factor i reckon my bug catcher looks pretty good out of the bonnet

 

the real suck in will be when i finish the ls1 and put the std bonnet back on all the local will get a real shock

 

though im gonna miss the bug catcher might still hard mount it to the bonnet and leave it there at least now the engine will match the look and its great for cooling lets the hot air out

 

if you dont want too much hp (230 hp) i still got the nissan v8 sitting in the shed with 5 speed and everything to fit into 240z

though mate is measuring it up for his datsun 1200 coupe or 2400 sedan

 

Mick

[crusher]

230 hp would probably be fun but theres also the shipping of the motor to think about. Plus if me and my mate build an engine I get the tingly feeling of knowing we did it all ourselves. and its a good chance to learn.

 

Your mate should put it in the 1200. Are they the same size/bigger/smaller than a 308?

 

One of my mates dads has a 327 in a 1200 sedan. The firewall is chopped back to make it fit nicely. Hopefully the nissan V8 is smaller and he wont have to go to that extent.

 

Yeah Im not havin a dig about the wank factor. I reckon it would look tough with a bug catcher. Your looks hot as mate. But is attracts too much attention from the boys in blue and doesnt quite have the sleeper effect.