espo280zx Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 So in my 79 280zx, Im doing a carb. chevy small block 350. I know I need motor mounts, radiator, elec. fan, cross member. Thats what I know i need to do this swap and I know there is more. Can you all help me out and let me know what else I need to do this swap? Any info. is much appreciated. And will the stock tranny hold up to the torque a 350 puts out? And what kind of $ damage am I looking at for the complete swap? (If anyone has any idea) Thanks all, Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnum380Z Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 So in my 79 280zx, Im doing a carb. chevy small block 350. I know I need motor mounts, radiator, elec. fan, cross member. Thats what I know i need to do this swap and I know there is more. Can you all help me out and let me know what else I need to do this swap? Any info. is much appreciated. And will the stock tranny hold up to the torque a 350 puts out? And what kind of $ damage am I looking at for the complete swap? (If anyone has any idea) Thanks all, Jerry I would get the JTR manual and read it front to back, it could save you a lot of headaches down the road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo280zx Posted June 30, 2008 Author Share Posted June 30, 2008 Appreciate it magnum. Where can I get the jtr manual? I called local parts stores and they say that the only manuals available to them are Hanes and Chilton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 A company in southern California, Jags That Run, also commonly referred to on this forum as JTR. Google them. After that you need to spend several hours searching the Chevy V8 conversion forum. One of the first things you'll discover is that the Nissan tranny is not the way to go with the V8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustin280zx Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 So in my 79 280zx, Im doing a carb. chevy small block 350. I know I need motor mounts, radiator, elec. fan, cross member. Thats what I know i need to do this swap and I know there is more. Can you all help me out and let me know what else I need to do this swap? Any info. is much appreciated. And will the stock tranny hold up to the torque a 350 puts out? And what kind of $ damage am I looking at for the complete swap? (If anyone has any idea) Thanks all, Jerry If I were you I would get the jtr kit (i think its 250) and you might as well get the headers they sell for it (i think there 310 for coated) and swap it in. If you motor is going to be mild I would leave the stock radiator in and then if you get heating problems get another one. If your doing a mild 350 motor your damage will probably wont be bad. I could've did mine for probably 1000 bucks, because i had alot of stuff on hand. Then i decided to go blowthrough and it adds up quick (500 for fuel system, 200 for cell, 150 for roll bar, 500 for turbo, ect) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo280zx Posted July 11, 2008 Author Share Posted July 11, 2008 thanks for the input. Im gunna get the JTR manual fairly soon, as for the swap its going to be a bit before i can get th emoney for it. Insted of me just picking up the motor and starting from the ground, im going to find an older chevy car of truck with the 350 in it, so that way I will have everythin needed except for the tranny cross member and the motor mounts. As far as the drive shaft and rear-end goes, I will probably use the stock rear-end if it holds up and I can take the two drive shafts to Connecticut drive shaft, (seems I live in CT) and they can spilce the two together. Will update as things progress, but as the way its going this might be my winter project. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sstallings Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 espo280zx, Rather than splice two drive shafts together, pick up the JTR diffrential flange adapter. It comes in their conversion kit, or you can get it separately for about $50 and it will save you a lot of grief. The Datsun universal joint is significantly smaller than the GM piece, and it will be the weak link in your driveline of you splice two shafts together. With the adapter, you can use the complete GM shaft, and just have it shortened and re-balanced to fit, which was about $80 the last time I had that done. Good luck with your conversion. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 A v8 conversion is a lot of work. There are tons of little things that will nickel and dime you to death. Plus the fabrication skills and tools needed to make it a "good daily driver" is hard to come by. I have done a few V8 conversions and a few turbo conversions. And adding a turbo to a L28 is much much easier, makes about the same power, and cost much less time and money. So yes, I trying to talk you out of it. add megasquirt II to your engine, then add a msa stage 1 turbo cam and a t04e-50 turbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 An alternate point of view is that turning up the boost on an old L6 motor will give you headaches with blown head gaskets. A mild V8 will not give you those problems. But a well built L6 with turbo, etc. is a great setup too. You just need to be judicious with the boost control settings . There are plenty of steps to doing the V8 swap, and they can be challenging to some for sure. But there's a difference in the character of the car to consider also, with the V8 vs the turbo L6. Both can be lots of fun, but are different. Both can have problems also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gold83zx Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I'm also going to start a sbc swap into my '83 280zx. I have a '83 turbo 5 speed for parts. Is the BW T-5 in the turbo car a viable choice if built correctly? I will probably run a moderate 383 stroker with Tuned Port Injection as my engine choice. I am open for suggestions however. Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin.pk Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 I'm also going to start a sbc swap into my '83 280zx. I have a '83 turbo 5 speed for parts. Is the BW T-5 in the turbo car a viable choice if built correctly? I will probably run a moderate 383 stroker with Tuned Port Injection as my engine choice. I am open for suggestions however. Brian No.... get a World Class T5 out of a camaro if you want to go that route..... This has been covered many times before, next time please search. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gold83zx Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Works for me......................... Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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