280zxt automatic to 5 speed conversion

[calvin280zxt]

I have two 1982 280zx'sone turbo with an auto in good shape, and one 5 speed n/a (parts car aka the flintstone mobile for good reason)

rust has absolutly raped this poor car, why it was $100, it is in running condition mechanically.. foorboards not so much. and i am looking to put the 5 spd in the turbo, any insight, advice or known complications would be very helpful, thanks

[calvin280zxt]

ps, its a borg warner T5 tranny

[Brad-ManQ45]

Unless that NA had a tranny swap it is not a T5...

[calvin280zxt]

Unless that NA had a tranny swap it is not a T5...

 

 

the na's were different? will it still work? if so am i going to blow the tranny apart, im running 11psi of boost aprox 225hp.

i have had a hard time finding any info on the na 5 speeds

[randy 77zt]

i have ran n/a 5spd behind a turbo for years.i used to do alot of open track days at infineon/laguna/thunderhill.the na 5spd had the best ratio spread for a street/track car.if you are not drag racing it will be fine.the na box shifts much better than a t5.just because you have a turbo it doesnt automatically need a t5 box.i really dont think that the t5 is that much stronger than the old nissan t5.a word class t5 from a newer mustang is a different story.

[roger.svoboda]

since you have the donor car at hand shouldn't be much of a problem. took me a couple junk yard trips to get all the gear needed. you might have driveshaft matching issues in re spline sizes and input flange sizes. take out the whole cage holding the pedals easier than trying to swap individual pedals. it is the four bolts holding the brake booster plus two small ones over to the left. it will seem like it doesn't want to come out but if you wiggle and cuss. wiggle and cuss again it suddenly jumps right out disconnect the clutch and brake cylinder rods of course. tip take out the seats and roll the windows down before you disconnect the battery. if possible to do a pressure wash of the wheel wells and what else you can reach you don't get as much dirt in the eyes. tranny jack or a friend that can bench press 150 highly recommended. while there you might consider new rear engine seal, clutch plate, throwout bearing and clutch fork fulcrum pin, pilot bearing. the mountings are there for the clutch hydraulics but the bracket that holds the clutch hose is missing on the auto car. No biggy I just left mine hanging no problem. I would also replace the master and slave cylinder for the clutch. they always seem to fail at a very bad time and place. you say donor car has been rode hard and put up wet so parts like cylinders are suspect.

[calvin280zxt]

since you have the donor car at hand shouldn't be much of a problem. took me a couple junk yard trips to get all the gear needed. you might have driveshaft matching issues in re spline sizes and input flange sizes. take out the whole cage holding the pedals easier than trying to swap individual pedals. it is the four bolts holding the brake booster plus two small ones over to the left. it will seem like it doesn't want to come out but if you wiggle and cuss. wiggle and cuss again it suddenly jumps right out disconnect the clutch and brake cylinder rods of course. tip take out the seats and roll the windows down before you disconnect the battery. if possible to do a pressure wash of the wheel wells and what else you can reach you don't get as much dirt in the eyes. tranny jack or a friend that can bench press 150 highly recommended. while there you might consider new rear engine seal, clutch plate, throwout bearing and clutch fork fulcrum pin, pilot bearing. the mountings are there for the clutch hydraulics but the bracket that holds the clutch hose is missing on the auto car. No biggy I just left mine hanging no problem. I would also replace the master and slave cylinder for the clutch. they always seem to fail at a very bad time and place. you say donor car has been rode hard and put up wet so parts like cylinders are suspect.

 

 

thanks allot roger/randy. i am planning to put the whole rear end, driveshaft etc out of the na in anyway as it has the 3.90 gears insted of the 3.54s. i do plan to put a whole new clutch pressure plate throw out bearing etc into the turbo car. the 5 speed shifts very nice with the exeption of second gear, which needs a syncro, is a rebuild kit something i am going to able to find easely and a local parts store or will i need to get it off the internet or something. also, what is the model of the na 5 speed, all i can find about it is that its a nissan 5 speed, a full rebuild is the plan for the 5 speed as it has 270xxx old man kms on it,(the last 500k used up 3 sets of rear tires). i know they revised the rear suspension in 81 or 82 or something, but the cv shafts should be the same right?

[roger.svoboda]

first to second always an issue because the cars get abused by idiots who don't know how to drive. you can get synchros but diving into a tranny not for a newbie wrench or the faint of heart. the cv shafts should just plug into the diffy if both are the R200 but if an R180 then they are diffent lengths. depending on your budget you might want to consider giving it to a tranny shop and do the in/out yourself. the auto output spline may not match the input spline of the n/a drive shaft. problem I had putting 5 speed in an 81 turbo. Put it all together and she no go say I how can you screw up a clutch. but the output from the 5 speed smaller than the input to turbo drive shaft. what does using tires have to do with the tranny or the diffy????? don't know that suspension changed. I think all s130 the same

[calvin280zxt]

first to second always an issue because the cars get abused by idiots who don't know how to drive. you can get synchros but diving into a tranny not for a newbie wrench or the faint of heart. the cv shafts should just plug into the diffy if both are the R200 but if an R180 then they are diffent lengths. depending on your budget you might want to consider giving it to a tranny shop and do the in/out yourself. the auto output spline may not match the input spline of the n/a drive shaft. problem I had putting 5 speed in an 81 turbo. Put it all together and she no go say I how can you screw up a clutch. but the output from the 5 speed smaller than the input to turbo drive shaft. what does using tires have to do with the tranny or the diffy????? don't know that suspension changed. I think all s130 the same

 

 

i mentioned the tires just to say that it had some abuse from the owner before me, a friend of mine who wrecked the syncro aswell, not the brightest guy. im using the whole na driveshaft and rearend so that should all work. im new to datsuns, but not to working on cars, so im sure i can pull it off, i have access to a press, pullers etc

[calvin280zxt]

first to second always an issue because the cars get abused by idiots who don't know how to drive. you can get synchros but diving into a tranny not for a newbie wrench or the faint of heart. the cv shafts should just plug into the diffy if both are the R200 but if an R180 then they are diffent lengths. depending on your budget you might want to consider giving it to a tranny shop and do the in/out yourself. the auto output spline may not match the input spline of the n/a drive shaft. problem I had putting 5 speed in an 81 turbo. Put it all together and she no go say I how can you screw up a clutch. but the output from the 5 speed smaller than the input to turbo drive shaft. what does using tires have to do with the tranny or the diffy????? don't know that suspension changed. I think all s130 the same

 

change of plans, the n/a rearend is in rough shape, are the turbo and n/a input shafts the same, can i swap the flanges?

[Brad-ManQ45]

They are both R200's, so flanges are the same.

[calvin280zxt]

They are both R200's, so flanges are the same.

 

just wanted to make sure, thanks