ransomnotes Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I'm having trouble deciding if this donor car is worth buying. I've been searching for a turbo donor car ever since I bought my 78 z. I search Craigslist regularly, and I even drive around through alleys looking for a lonely 280zxt. The only one I've been able to find is an 83 2+2 that's been sitting for several years under a tarp. The guy was asking $325 but I bet I could get it for $300. I checked it out today and the engine is pretty clean considering how long it's been sitting. There is no title, only bill of sale, and the owner wasn't sure if it was an 82 or 83. I checked the head and it's a p90a, so 83 right? He tried to start it and got nothing but a click from the starter. Could be something simple like a bad ground, or something larger. I had an appointment with my tax man so didn't have time to check it out further. I did peak into the valve cover though and it didn't look too bad in there, although the cam appeared to have some worn spots on it. Not the lobes but between them. This isn't normal right? Anyway, I didn't have a chance to check the turbo itself, but the car has 117k miles, a bad clutch, and who knows what else. The body is pretty rough too. I would prefer to purchase a running and driving donor, but like I said this is the only one I've seen for sale in a year around here. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustyfriend Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 $300 is a steal...you could part it out when you are done with the swap and come out on top! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 If you have a place to put it, absolutely get it! If you don't, let me know. Where in Kansas is it? I'd just about have one of my family pick it up and then deal with it next time I fly out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffer949 Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 If you dont get it tell me where it is. Ill have my dad there with a trailer with in a few days!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ransomnotes Posted April 7, 2009 Author Share Posted April 7, 2009 If you have a place to put it, absolutely get it! If you don't, let me know. Where in Kansas is it? I'd just about have one of my family pick it up and then deal with it next time I fly out. See, that's the thing. I don't have a place to put it. My options would be A: Get it home, pull everything I could possibly need for my swap, pull anything else I would want, box it all up, give engine to friend to rebuild, and haul car to junk yard. But, I don't think they will take a car without title here. My friend that usually helps me work on the Z just had a baby yesterday so he's out of commission for a while. That means a LOT longer to disassemble, and the wife getting more irritated by the day . B: Somehow talk the guy into letting me pull everything I need from the car where it is (one of his rental properties), and he can get rid of the rest. This is a long shot, I know, but worth asking I think. Would be a big PITA too because I'd be working in dirt, not my paved driveway. And then there's not knowing the condition of the turbo and engine overall. Those areas on the cam being worn worry me too. I'm a professional tattoo artist of 15 years who loves doing trades, so I will have to find a good mechanic and/or someone at a machine shop willing to trade in order to fund a lot of this project. I've talked to a couple guys in the past but I questioned there abilities a bit too much. There are a few others, one being an exhaust guy, who I still need to talk to. IDK. What's an average time estimate of the complete tear down of everything needed for the swap? I've read up on it a LOT, but have never done it. It would just be a lot nicer to have a licensed running car I could drive around and work on here and there (learn), before I do the swap. eec564 The car is here in Lawrence. Give me a couple weeks to decide before you snatch it up though! HA HA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 Oh come on now, I need a turbo. My sis is at KU, and I owe her a visit. Funny thing is I almost bought a ticket out last month, I'd be there in two weeks if I'd got it. I have a ton of family in central Kansas, several of which have large farms, so a place to work is easy. Why do you think the cam is worn? You can't really tell through the oil fill hole. You need to take the valve cover off and run your finger over the lobes. It's normal for there to be a polished area and a rough area. Any difference in levels between the polished part and the rough part is bad, any roughness where it should be polished is bad too. Failures in stock cams in stock valvetrains are very rare when they're even decently taken care of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ransomnotes Posted April 7, 2009 Author Share Posted April 7, 2009 Well, I got it! $300. I made a ton of calls today to get everything planned out. I talked to a friend of a friend who is going to rebuild the motor for trade. I really trust this guy and he's all excited about doing this motor. He'll also store the T5 for me until I need it. Found a cherry picker from a co-worker, and I also talked to another Z owner/friend here who is willing to store it in his driveway until we get it stripped. I told him he could have anything he wants off of it once I'm done taking what I need. Figured that offer would persuade him to store it for me Ha Ha, and it worked! I'm so stoked. It's on!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boardkid280z Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Great! Congrats man, you're going to have a lot of fun. It would be nice to know if it ran or not, but $300 is a great deal. I paid $400 for mine a month ago and it was barely drivable. But it was running, and runs pretty smooth. I got a set of wheels out of it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ransomnotes Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 Great! Congrats man, you're going to have a lot of fun. It would be nice to know if it ran or not, but $300 is a great deal. I paid $400 for mine a month ago and it was barely drivable. But it was running, and runs pretty smooth. I got a set of wheels out of it too. Hey thanks! Yeah, thankfully I got that guy to do a rebuild for me, so it will be that much sweeter to have a fresh engine. I was pulling connectors yesterday and they all looked shiny and new. Everything under the hood looks ten times better than my 78 that was stored in a garage. I bet once I get some ground wires replaced and a bit of cleaning I can get it started. It will also be nice to have about three to four other people helping me with the swap. I can't wait! I'll definitely be posting pics as stuff progresses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srbigbutt Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Congrats! Man i'm jealous. Can't wait till I can start on my swap. I'm using my Z as a daily driver for now. So first I have to buy another daily and then a donor. Damn my wife is going to kill me!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc052685 Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 If I were you I would just do a compression check and then do the swap. I find that it is best to work the bugs out of the system before tossing a fresh motor in there for a bad injector or some other problem to tear up a fresh motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ransomnotes Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 Ok, picking up the car tomorrow. I am going to have to get rid of the rest of the car very soon after pulling everything for the swap. No title means contacting one of those "Cash Paid for Junk Cars, Will Tow" places, or Craigslist. I did a VIN check and everything came back squeaky clean. The last time it was registered was in Colorado in 96. Just wish I had a title so I could take it to the salvage yard. I may post some stuff in the classifieds here but I don't have the time or money to ship a bunch of BIG parts. Considering I'm paying $300 for the whole car, I would just give the rest of the car away for dirt cheap to whoever can pick it up first. I will post pics after taking some tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ransomnotes Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share Posted April 15, 2009 Well we towed her to a friend's house a couple days ago. Here are some pics of her. My 78 is back there looking at her like "Yeah, I'm taking that engine soon!". Today was the first day I could spend some time working on it. We could not get her to crank so I replaced all the ground and hot wires to the starter and solenoid, and put a fresh battery in. Still nothing but a click and the solenoid started getting super hot and smoking a bit. So I pulled the starter and whacked it with a hammer a few times, put it back in, and after a couple tries she started right up. Smelled like burning leaves and insects for a while . I'm so stoked. Wish the clutch and brakes were good so I could drive it, but oh well. Still trying to get the doors open. I either have to crawl through the side window or the hatch. Not so worried about the passenger side, but the drivers side would be nice to have open so it wouldn't be so difficult to start pulling the harness and ECU. Just for kicks I turned on the AC and it blew nice and cold. Too bad I won't be using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomflatz Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I am jealous, that is a really nice find. Good luck with your swap:icon14: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ransomnotes Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share Posted April 15, 2009 Here's a setup I've been putting together for my NA but it looks like it's gonna get a different home on the turbo engine now....minus the NA injectors. This was my first shave/port intake project, so I didn't go that crazy with the external shaving. May have gone a little crazy with the porting though . Talk about a lot of work. There were rodent nests inside the intake along with a ton of gunk inside and out. I also cut and welded the EGR. Pallnet rail, 60mm Throttle Body, and BMW AFM with Z guts in background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUZN Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 yeah man thats sweet.. Thats kinda how I found mine but paid $700 more. $1000 Started fine ran great still my DD as I mod it. Only had mine for about 3 months now. but for $1000CDN I was happy especially since it still went 130mph on a Auto.. Awesome find! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockerstar Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I definitely just lol'd at the table your intake is on. It looks a little dated You got a screaming deal on that donor and your intake looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ransomnotes Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share Posted April 15, 2009 I definitely just lol'd at the table your intake is on. It looks a little dated ha ha! I wondered who would call me on that first. It's an old sewing machine table I gutted, and lacquered a bunch of my grandpa's old nudie cards onto. The whole table is twice as long as you see in the pic, and there's about a quarter inch of clear lacquer on top. Thought it was a cool way to preserve them, and I've always loved the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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