tonycharger72 Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Did you know that you can take the RB engine mounts from a VL Commodore or R31 Skyline and bolt in any RB engine into a 280zx??? Stock gearbox crossmember can be used, but the stock 280zx tailshaft is slightly to long - but shifter location is pretty much spot on! The R31/VL engine mounts arent quite a perfect fit because their guide locater is in a different position than the stock 280zx rubber engine mount insulators, but easy fix by drilling some holes in the crossmember! However, basically bolts straight in!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chemicalblue Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 does this work for rt and lf hand drive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonycharger72 Posted August 31, 2008 Author Share Posted August 31, 2008 Dont see why it wouldnt, the steering rack and intermediate shaft are mounted on the back of the crossmember, stock and high mount turbo manifolds should clear easily!!! Only issue I think you would run into is with the A/C Compressor on the RB20/25/26 engines as they are 38mm shorter than the RB30 motor, they mount the compressor half below the block, which will foul on your front sway-bar, this is not an issue with the RB30E/T block!!! I will take some pics and post them!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 I have RB engine mounts, I think they would work in the S30 with a bit of work too and they're quite solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonycharger72 Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 VL and R31 engine mounts dont work in the S30 - tried this and had a fun few hours trying to stuff the engine into place - they didnt work out , The rubber insulators are going to be an issue to, with either S130 or S30 chassis - I have about 1/2 dozen RB30 engines so have lots of the rubber insulators, but they dont match up with the 280zx crossmember, need to grind off the guide pin on the bottom of the rubber insulator or drill a new hole in the crossmember to except it - difficult to explain, see a picture and will understand in a second! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi303 Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 So the brits will be able to use Vauxhall Chevalier mounts as well if they came with an RB rather than a brit engine, the VL Commodore is a rebadged Opel, as is the Vauxhall, also available in some markets as a Caddilac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonycharger72 Posted September 1, 2008 Author Share Posted September 1, 2008 I will grab some pics of the engine mounts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 VL and R31 engine mounts dont work in the S30 - tried this and had a fun few hours trying to stuff the engine into place - they didnt work out , The rubber insulators are going to be an issue to, with either S130 or S30 chassis - I have about 1/2 dozen RB30 engines so have lots of the rubber insulators, but they dont match up with the 280zx crossmember, need to grind off the guide pin on the bottom of the rubber insulator or drill a new hole in the crossmember to except it - difficult to explain, see a picture and will understand in a second! the rubber isolators have a nipple, quite like all newer nissan engines. It's a locator that slips into the locator hole on the mounting surface. it's not uncommon to drill a new one if you need to. it's been done on a couple of other weird swaps. this should be posted in the RB forum though. also. I think the RB30 engine mounts are pretty solid too. I mean... Instead of making my own I would totally consider these with some modifications as a first option... However I'm not too sure of the height that the engine would sit at, and an RB30 isn't a shorty, that's for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonycharger72 Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 "the rubber isolators have a nipple, quite like all newer nissan engines. It's a locator that slips into the locator hole on the mounting surface. it's not uncommon to drill a new one if you need to. it's been done on a couple of other weird swaps." Yeah pretty much what I said before mate, think even if you just grind them off you will be right !!! but drilling a new hole in your crossmember shouldnt present to many issues! "However I'm not too sure of the height that the engine would sit at, and an RB30 isn't a shorty, that's for sure!" Fits fine mate, sh#loads better than it did in the 260z - no lean front to back to clear the steering rack, with the 300zx Z200r rear RB sump (whatever it is called - the Factory Nissan one) its like it was designed for the 280zx - such a better fit than in my 260z!!! I will post some pics, but very good sump clearance on the crossmember as well!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonycharger72 Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 Sorry, this took me ages to get some pics!!! Enjoy!!! & Engine Mounts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonycharger72 Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 "I have RB engine mounts, I think they would work in the S30 with a bit of work too and they're quite solid." Careless, Depends what RB mounts you have? R31, R33 Skyline and VL Commodore absolutely don't allow you to bolt an RB engine into a S30! I spend a fun, fun day trying all of them !!! even intermixing them with no joy!!! However, apparently RB20 earlier R32 engine mounts will allow you to slap an RB engine into an S30 - with the stock gearbox crossmember and drive shaft - but I didnt have any to trial to see if this is true! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 tony, there is a quote button that you could use, and it shows what is being quoted when you're writing your reply. you could remove any text you would like not to be shown from the quote. and I've not had a chance to compare the mounts to the S30 cross member, I've not taken the L28 out yet. I guess you saved me some time thanks! But I wonder if it bolts to an S14 cross member... HMMMMMMMM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonycharger72 Posted November 28, 2008 Author Share Posted November 28, 2008 tony, there is a quote button that you could use, and it shows what is being quoted when you're writing your reply. you could remove any text you would like not to be shown from the quote. YAY !!! Thanks for that, was wondering how it was done!!! Does the S14 crossmember bolt into the S30? Even if it did all the suspension components wouldnt work out me thinks............ If you are looking at a cheap easy way to slap an RB into a Z, go to www.rodshop.com.au and purchase a set of their Z-RB engine mounts, think they were around $150AUD or so, which at the moment is about 30 US cents !!! they do push the engine back a bit though - depending on what gearbox you are using (skinny RB20) you can just offset your original Z gearbox crossmember (Fat RB25) cut out the original mounts and throw in some new ones, I will get pics of both for you mate! I should also have pics of the Rodshop mounts, but they really dont look a lot different from the original VL/R31 Skyline Engine Mounts!!! There is a fellow in QLD, Australia who said he put the entire front and rear subframes from an S14 into an S130 and it was more or less a straight bolt in - if I had the S130 I would be doing that for sure!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estrada42 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 So all I need to mount an RB25DET in my 82 280zx is A running RB25DET with transmission and all it's wiring/misc stuff R31 Skyline engine mounts Custom driveshaft I'm surprised, because it sounds too easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Purple240zt Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 They wont bolt up to an S14 crossmember.. trust me Evan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonycharger72 Posted December 4, 2008 Author Share Posted December 4, 2008 So all I need to mount an RB25DET in my 82 280zx is A running RB25DET with transmission and all it's wiring/misc stuff R31 Skyline engine mounts Custom driveshaft I'm surprised, because it sounds too easy. Pretty sure the stock 280zx driveshaft will bolt straight-up, almost certain I remember another fellow using the stock driveshaft with R32 RB20 engine mounts and an RB20DET & 5spd - But I cant say this is a certainty!!! Radiator connections, throttle linkage, exhaust and intercooler piping need to be taken into consideration, but as for mounting the engine and gearbox its a reasonably straight forward prospect!!! They wont bolt up to an S14 crossmember.. trust me Evan Well that sucks - there is another member on this forum 260DET (or something like that) who is in Australia who said that it wasn't difficult to do, but I didn't get any response with I probed for details!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Purple240zt Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 The angle is all wrong, I used my stock crossmember and welded ears etc.. to it to make everything fit. I mean, its not so far off its unusable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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