RSready Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Hey guys, I've been doing a LOT of research on the L28ET swap into an S30, but I've yet to find a definitive list of everything you need from the car. The car that will be receiving the transplant is a 77 280z so it has fuel injection already. I have found a donor car that is completely rusted to crap, but has a running turbo motor in it. The guy who owns the donor car is parting it all out and will be pulling the engine himself and selling it to me. When I go to pick it up, I want to ensure I have everything I possibly need from the car. I know I'll obviously need the motor and all the accessories, the MAF, and the wiring harness that leads to the ECU from the engine bay. The car is stripped of its interior other than the dash and I noticed a lot of wiring on the passenger side of the car where I would image the glove box once was. Do I need any of that? Since I have a 77 with fuel injection already, do I need the fuel pump? Any other components or wiring that I haven't mentioned? If there is anything else, I need to contact the seller so that he removes it for me. Also, will my stock tach work with the new motor? Thanks for your help. If there is another thread that discusses this in detail that I have missed, please let me know. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockerstar Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 If the car is that stripped it might make sense to just try and get the whole thing and scrap the shell when you're done. What you need from the car depends on what you're going to be upgrading, and what you're going to be keeping stock, so there really isn't a "definitive list". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeBZ Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Besides the Block and Head here is a list of parts needed to complete the swap if you are doing it piece by piece. Wiring Harness Later style Water Neck Water Temp sensor Knock Sensor Head temp sensor Turbo ECU Air Flow Meter Throttle Position Sensor Throttle Body Intake Manifold Exhaust Manifold Turbo Injectors Fuel Rail Fuel lines and fittings for carb to efi conversion Fuel Pressure regulator Fuel Pump Ignition Harness FI Relay Turbo Distributor Ignitor Turbo Oil feed and return lines for turbo Piping for turbo to intake Turbo Flywheel Turbo/Stronger Clutch Downpipe from turbo to exhaust Good Luck *I know I might be forgetting an item, but this is a fairly complete list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSready Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Thanks for the quick response! Unfortunately I can't take the shell. The current owner wants the suspension and brakes, I have no room for a shell in my garage and the car is a few hundred kilometres from my house, and I only have a tow dolly, not a flat deck, so I can't take a non-rolling shell. I agree it would make the most sense and would be the easiest, but not really possible in my situation. My plan for the motor is to basically run it with an intercooler and up the boost moderately. Nothing crazy at all. So if what I need from the car depends on my plans, what are some of these optional parts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeBZ Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Thanks for your help. If there is another thread that discusses this in detail that I have missed, please let me know. Dave http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/34469-a-quick-fi-and-ignition-280zxt-to-s30-turbo-swap-guide/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSready Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Besides the Block and Head here is a list of parts needed to complete the swap if you are doing it piece by piece. Wiring Harness Later style Water Neck Water Temp sensor Knock Sensor Head temp sensor Turbo ECU Air Flow Meter Throttle Position Sensor Throttle Body Intake Manifold Exhaust Manifold Turbo Injectors Fuel Rail Fuel lines and fittings for carb to efi conversion Fuel Pressure regulator Fuel Pump Ignition Harness FI Relay Turbo Distributor Ignitor Turbo Oil feed and return lines for turbo Piping for turbo to intake Turbo Flywheel Turbo/Stronger Clutch Downpipe from turbo to exhaust Good Luck *I know I might be forgetting an item, but this is a fairly complete list Thanks for the list. This is very helpful. I guess my only questions are about the wiring harness. What exactly do I need? Should I just pull it entirely from the car? Including the harness that is on the passenger side of the car? Where is the FI relay located? Is it the same as on my 280z? Thanks again! I can't believe how awesome this forum is! Incredibly helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgsheen Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Take all the wiring you can... I had a donor when I swapped my 260 (a non-EFI frame) and it helped me a lot to see how the harness came out of the 280zxt. I actually pulled the fusable link box from the 280zx and the EFI and Fuel Pump relays from the passenger fender along with most of the associated wiring. You don't NEED some of those parts - you already have the fusable links and relays - but it will help you understand how the turbo engine is connected and what you need to do to mate it with the older Z... Look over the FSM for the 280zxt before you go, it has the layout of all the harnesses and a really good description of the ECCS System and what it's components are. You need the coil and ignitor and all the wiring connected to it. You need the turbo's fuel pump or an aftermarket unit. You also need a turbo (or better) clutch and pressure plate. You may want the exhaust back to the Cat. I used the 280zxt boost sensor AND boost gauge in both my Z and my son's '76 280. I pulled the clock out of it's housing and installed the 280zxt gauge in it's place. It's a custom job but it actually looks like it belongs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 More wiring is better than less. There are actually only a few wires that are connected inside the right fender off the fusible link box that are necessary for the EFI/ECCS, but having it all will wipe out the possibility that you will miss them. Fishing them from the inner fender is a PITA, and usually people cut them, remove them, then splice them back together afterwards. If you are good with the brittle plastic connectors in the fusible link box, you might get them out unharmed and can plug them straight back in---I have accomplished that feat exactly ONCE. That being said...if the car is running and you can confirm it runs well you may be money and time ahead discarding the stock harness altogether, and doing the Megasquirt upgrade straight off the bat. It's no harder than swapping in the stock stuff, and it's inevitable once you get the car running and crave more power. IMO from the driveability standpoint alone, the swap to MS on any running ECCS 280ZX or S30 conversion is well worth it. All said and done, I think the MS conversion is actually easier than the stock setup. It seems there's less bulky wiring 'along for the ride' if you use the $65 harness! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSready Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 I went and checked out the motor yesterday and it runs really well. But this is more of a "side project" project car so I don't think I am going to go the megasquirt route. What about the rad? Is there any point in grabbing that as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgsheen Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 My 260 frame didn't have a radiator, so I'm using the 280zxt radiator from my donor. Cools well, doesn't fit my frame very well and hangs down a little too far... The 280's have a "dip" in the frame just forward of the radiator that mine doesn't. My son is using his stock radiator - he's got a 76 280 that we L28ET swapped almost 4 years ago now. We're in Arizona - hot as Hell - both cars run A/C - and he hasn't had any problems with cooling. I don't know how much difference this is between the turbo radiator and the 280Z radiator... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSready Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Good to know. I'll just keep the stock rad. On the subject of cooling, there was either another cooler on the right side of the car. At the time I assumed it was for the auto tranny, but I realized its an oil cooler. Do people usually swap this over when they do the swap or is it worth it? Is it worth upgrading it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Every Eurospec Turbo has the oil cooler. Only some in the USA got them. I would say retain the cooler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoC MATADOR Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I'm getting ready to L28ET swap my 77, is there an update on the list? i ran through it and so far this is what im missing (Working on getting these soon) Later style Water Neck (Im assuming this is the inlet water neck. I replaced this on my stock L28, what is the difference between the two?) Water Temp sensor Knock Sensor Head temp sensor Throttle Position Sensor Throttle Body (If i upgrade to the 240sx, what other parts do i need? I know there has to be a thread, so just point me to it...) Oil feed and return lines for turbo Now i have some goodies to go with this, but this is what im missing, so any more info would be awesome. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoC MATADOR Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 also i was wondering what parts could i transfer from my 77, it is running, but the block is tired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rejracer Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 later style water neck up top has 3 bolts instead of 2. It also has more provisions for mounting the senders/switches. I recall their being 2 sensors for the later style, where the earlier only has provisions for the gauge sending unit. Inlet neck is a bit different in that it has a cast in steel portion that the hose connects to vs the S30 style that is all aluminum. You could use the all aluminum version, but I think the later versions are better quality. Of the 2 I think the one referred to it the outlet. I don't know why you would need to change the inlet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoC MATADOR Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Thanks, ive been slowly collecting all the parts i need, and some upgrades too, i got the water inlet installed, and the engine is alomost complete and already in the car (just the AC, Intercooler and Alternator need to be installed) just havent been able to finish my swap (life hit me hard, and school isn't helping) so still no running car... And the wiring seems to be well above my discipline... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolonelklink87 Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Thanks, ive been slowly collecting all the parts i need, and some upgrades too, i got the water inlet installed, and the engine is alomost complete and already in the car (just the AC, Intercooler and Alternator need to be installed) just havent been able to finish my swap (life hit me hard, and school isn't helping) so still no running car... And the wiring seems to be well above my discipline... Stick with it. Wiring appears overhwelming at first but after a while becomes second nature. The first time I did wiring work I felt up to my neck too... it didnt take too long before the idea of making a new loom in a day off is as simple and mundane as doing the laundry -pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoC MATADOR Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Thanks. I should have free time after my finals to continue with this project. I still need a couple of those "little things" that somehow show up while doing a swap(or when working on Z-cars all together), a missing bolt, a loose connector, somehow a missing wire... But it will take a lot more than that to make me give up. Even if i have to dismantle the whole car and start from scratch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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