AFCrain Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 First off, I'm Ben! I'm new to the forums but have spent many, many hours browsing and researching. I grew up in Chico, CA but currently I'm currently stationed in Okinawa, Japan. I bought my early 74 260z from a professor at UC Davis in Davis, CA while I was on deployment last summer. The car was in such great condition that he delivered it to my parent's house for the sweet, sweet price of $2,000. I finally got to play with it last month while home on leave and have gotten Z fever since. I've flip-flopped back and forth over possible engine swaps and have decided on the L28ET(F54/P90) combo if things go right, mostly inspired by Austin Hoke's set up. I have gotten most of it pretty well planned out mostly due to the hours spent scanning this great site for tech! I'm planning on doing a complete rebuild with .30/.40 over pistons, a ton of head work, possibly custom built intake manifold, full aftermarket ECU and so on and so on. I'm hoping to achieve 350-400 HP with my only real questions being; *What cam should I go with? *What turbo would you(the members) suggest? I want to mention that I ask those questions due to the fact that I have not been able to find any pleasing info regarding those. I'm sure there are and I want to apologize ahead of time! As we all know, there is a TON if info here which means it takes long time to sift through for somethings. This site has treated me very well and I hope to return the favor!! Here's my project! There's some obvious before and after shots. I also have an exhaust clip on youtube, here's the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneStarS30Z Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Welcome, any plans of bringing iyour car to Oki? I'll be there on Kadena in June and am having my Z shipped over there with me. Also assuming you're at Kadena too, what shop are you in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnazcar Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 HI Ben, I'm building a trac zcar with my son also. Google "Rebello Racing" call Dave Rebello, he'll answer all your questions! Good luck on your project! Brain and Anthony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneStarS30Z Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Oh and btw, for turbo recommendations, a GT35 will see you to 400hp and more with supporting mods and tune. Search 'big-phil' in the members area and check his car. I think he made just shy of 400 without a proper tune. I myself will go with one these new GTX30's to keep some good response and get some mean power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFCrain Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 @dnazcar- I have looked into Rebello quite a bit. I'm pretty impressed with their work, but their prices are something to be contested. Most of their products are reworked used parts(which are perfectly fine) I'm just not going to break my bank on parts when I could do it myself for a lot less. Most of the things They do are very commonly done as well. Either way thanks for taking time out to check out my post. What kind of project brings you to Hybridz? @Lonestar- Yep I'm at Kadena. I'm in LRS at vehicle ops. What do you do? Unfortunately I cannot bring my Z over since I already have a car over here(R33 Skyline) and didn't purchase my Z until about 2 years into my tour. I'll definitely take a look at Big Phil's posts and check into the GT35! With any luck that may be just the thing I'm looking for. What's under your hood, or going to be in the future? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneStarS30Z Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I've got a turbo L28 turbo from a '83. The previous owner installed ITS 60-1 turbo which is clone of a Turbonetics turbo. Looking to go with a GTX30 when the money is right. Other than that Webb cam, 440cc injectors, custom intake manifold, porter exhaust manifold and other misc goodies all running on an old SDS engine management. I'll be redoing all the intercooler piping to fit a brand new core when over back to the States in May. The car is quick little gremlin but I still want a new turbo since mine needs a rebuild, might as well go with a quality turbo this time and hopefully get it tuned good in Oki since there aren't any dyno's out there. The allure of going RB while in Japan is immense, but I really only want 400whp (for now) and the L can handle that, plus I'm a huge sucker for the L's rumbly sound. I'll be weapons maintainenece on HH-60s when I get there so I'm sure we'll run into each other when we break our vehicles haha. I've got to make friends since it'll take about 2-3 months for my Z to arrive at Naha after I deliver it to port back in the States. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oddmanout84 Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 You guys are bringing back memories and a dosage of envy. I can only imagine what it would be like to pull up to Coco Ichibanya in my 280z... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFCrain Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 Well, Lonestar, you're going to the right place if you want to do the RB swap. Skylines are everywhere here, even I gave into them. I do enjoy mine though. All you have to do is get in good with the local junkyards and sooner or later an American is bound to crash one. I just hope your Z doesn't fall prey to the horrible drivers here. I hate to say it, but stereotypes run pretty deep here. Although I hear Korea can get pretty crazy too. How much power are you getting with your current setup? What are numbers for your cam? Do they affect your low range power and/or turbo-lag at all? @Oddman- Cocos is definitely one of the most remembered things here! But while you may be jealous of that, I'm jealous that you get to play with your Z everyday(unless I'm jumping to conclusion)! I can't wait to get back to the states and tear into it properly. I just remembered; the other day I saw an amazing 69-73 Fairlady right down the street from my apartment. I wish I hadn't been on my way to work or I would've stopped by and introduced myself. That's the only one I've seen here... Car show coming up, though(fingers crossed) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneStarS30Z Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Yea I've heard, although I don't think I could ever really justify gettin rid of my L as long as it still runs strong. I'd pretty much have to be given a near free RB to want to go through all the work. I hope I don't get swiped by horrible drivers either, I've heard Okinawans are bad, and Americans just as bad because it's full of young airmen/marines with their first 'fast' car. Korea is just full of aggressive Korean drivers, there aren't too many Americans driving here. I'll have to do more research to find out which cam I have, it was installed when I bought the car. I haven't driven the car since October, but I remember the car being very torquey mid range but seems to run out of breath up high. Full boost was around 3k and things really wake up around 4500. Haven't gotten any solid power numbers, but a safe guestimate would be in the 280-300hp range. One day when I change to a Garrett and a good tune I'd like to see what power it makes then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogriz91 Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 (edited) The only bad drivers I remember from Okinawa were Americans who didn't know how to drive in congested environments and thought that because there wasn't a heavy police presence on the roads, they could drive like idiots. Coco Ichiban, Blue Seal, American Village, lots of great memories and places on Okinawa. If you get a chance, you should think about trying to go to mainland for Nismofest or a vintage meet either in Tokyo or Osaka. Nismofest at Fuji speedway would be worth the cost of getting there in my book. I spent a couple of years at Kadena and at Yokota and would recommend going there if you could, even now after the quake. Tokyo is JDM heaven, lots to see and do with old cars. Edited April 14, 2011 by gogriz91 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneStarS30Z Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 (edited) Mmmm sounds like an awesome idea. Would love to do a vintage road trip to the mainland, happen to know the approximate costs of getting the cars boated over to the mainland? I heard the old school vibe is pretty stout on the island to if you know the right people. Edited April 15, 2011 by LoneStarS30Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFCrain Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 @gogriz~You must not have driven offbase too much, lol. A majority of the locals here are horrible drivers, but I'm not saying the Americans are any better by any means. That nismofest does sound like something right up my alley. Do you remember any dates for the events? After Kadena I'm pretty set and ready to go back to the states for a while. I love Japan, but this base is so screwed up on so many levels. JDM has definitely made an impact on my as well. @lonestar~I had to check out those GTX30's!! I think I found my turbo and my parts list is getting closer to being complete! Do you know what block/head you're running? I know that I've considered doing the RB swap, but not only do I love the sound of my L(even if it is only an NA L26)more than the RB, but it seems to be more hassle than it's worth and not as fun either. Those RB's have power on tap without having to really do much. The L's require a little more TLC and seems to be almost as reliable under pressure. We'll see though, I still have about a year before I get to play with my toy again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneStarS30Z Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 (edited) Oddly and shamefully enough, I haven't checked the markings on my block or head, but it's a straight swap from an '81. I think earlier in the thread I said an '83, but that's what year my diff came from, I get the 2 years mixed up lol. I'm going to see what Oki has to offer in terms of good turbo's for good prices before I hope on the GTX series. The only bummer about the GTX turbo's is they don't come with a compressor housing, so you'll either have to buy your own, or use one you might already. Either way, I'd have to buy a new housing and I'd be touching nearly $1700 for the turbo alone! Eesh! Edited April 17, 2011 by LoneStarS30Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogriz91 Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 (edited) All I remember is the majority of the accidents I saw had Y plates, are they still displaying airmen's smashed up vehicles by Gate 1? Nismofest has been the first weekend in December in the past, here's a link to Nismos homepage, scroll down on the right and there's a link to last year's event. http://www.nismo.co.jp/index.html Nostalgic Heros car shows happen periodically, I went to one in Tokyo but I'm pretty sure they have them throughout Japan. http://geibunsha.co.jp/mag/nh/p/ There's a Japanese bookstore on 58 across from Foster that carries Nostalgic Heros and Vintage Auto, if you're bored, you could go down there and page through them, the major car shows will be well advertised. You may even be able to pick up a Tamiya 1/32nd scale S30 model if you're interested in one, I found 4 at a toy store outside Gate 2 in '08 and left 2. The real question is how will the earthquake effect all of this? Edited April 17, 2011 by gogriz91 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.