DJZ's 280ZX

[85_Z31]

Ahh I get ya now. Can't say I've ever seen ones like that before, the 280ZX ones and R31 struts that I've had in there were both centered inline with the strut tube

this is the important thing, they must have changed it for the Z31. your a lucky bugger, I really wish i could have done this swap.

[DJZ]

Got my chur-bro today, finally. It didn't come with the other half of the v band or clamp which is a bit of a bummer, hope one of the Trademe special ones will fit.




You can see the oil and water lines that I got off eBay, cheaper than buying only the oil feed line I had made up for the L28! Also got a drain flange and a nice stainless gasket.






Just noticed the manifold isn't tapped for studs, bummer. Not sure what to do I don't really want to run nuts and bolts and the holes are too big to tap now. Might have to weld bolts in from the underside?

[85_Z31]

Turbo's a Beauty

The anti surge front cover looks the business too.

[DylPhil7]

ratfink2.jpg

Wow that would suck haha, but yeah the zx struts are different to other zed ones I think?

Great progress DJZ, you have a mean strut setup! And holy hell thats a big turbo! Good effort!

[DJZ]

Talked to the certifier today, gave me the thumbs up to do the modifications that I wanted to do to the front arms so I gave them to HBI to start work on today.

What I need is another inner control arm bush, according to Trademe these cars have them:
Datsun 180B 9/72=77
Nissan Silvia S13 (180Sx) 84-97
Nissan Silvia S14 (200Sx) 10/96-00
Nissan Skyline R30 81-86
Nissan Skyline R31 87-90
Nissan Bluebird 910, Series 1,2,3 81-86
Nissan Cefiro A31 9/88 - 8/94
Nissan Gazelle S12 85-88
Nissan Gallelle S12 85-88 (For Rear IRS - Incl crush tubes.
Nissan Laurel C31 11/80-84
Nissan Bluebird R31 86-90

So if anybody has a spare one let me know, I actually only need the outer steel sleeve but will consider anything.

I got a new master cylinder, 1" bore from an S15 - bolted straight on to the later booster I'll just have to adjust the push rod thing by the looks of it. Pulled the old master & booster out and discovered the locknut on the clevis eye bit was loose, whoops. Also pulled out the engine bay wiring harness.

I've been keeping an eye on an RB25DET gearbox on Trademe and decided that I'd buy it. So if anybody wants a strong gearbox to put behind an L series my RB20DET FS5W71C box with L series bellhousing is for sale.

Also heard from the shop doing the RB, they've started work on it finally so I hope to have it back maybe next week or the week after, just have to order the rest of the bits to put it back together, bearings & timing bits etc

[up2]

Hey man, love your ride! Thinking about doing something similar with mine, right now she's bone stock L28 n/a.
Just looking for an RB25DET at the moment, but saw some vids of a fairlady running an sr20det, thought that might be a different road altogether.

Can you help me decide? Budget's always an issue [I'd have to get someone to install it ] power & pull won't really be, it's just that the L28's straining as it is. And god I hate that 3speed automatic. It'd be a great help if you could list some reasons why you went the way you did, and maybe any regrets you've had if you're feeling brave

Cheers!

[DJZ]

It's a tough choice but it all depends on your personal tastes, what you are wanting to achieve and how much money you've got.

I spent ages and a fair amount trying to get power out of the L28, everything I did seemed to be for very little gain. A guy on here told me his L28 turbo motor which from memory was pretty much stock with a VG30ET turbo made 278rwhp. My motor was a 3.1 with a big turbo, cam, the individual throttle bodies etc etc and the most it ever made was 320ish. My turbo choice was probably poor and the throttlebodies for a turbo motor were probably a waste of money even though they did look & sound cool. According to the guys at NZEFI it would have been well into the 350s with a proper tune but I was just getting sick of dumping money into it. It actually made 278hp the first time it was tuned with a crush bent 2.5" exhaust, small T04 turbo and a standard inlet manifold, so after changing heaps, getting the head all done up, 3" exhaust, big turbo etc I had gained 40 horsepower, pretty disappointing.

One of the main reasons I went for the RB was I already had a 200ZR sump & engine mounts left over from my R30, parts are easy to come by (I bought the stainless manifold for $200, try finding one at all for an L28, I heard of one guy who bought a Trust one I think it was, and it was around the $3000 mark several years ago), the RB's are easy to get power out of and everybody you talk to has had experience with them. Nobody I talked to had ever really seen a turbo L28 motor.

To be honest I hate SR motors, I have never heard one that actually sounds good, and the one that I worked on was a pain in the ass. They can make some decent power though.

My RB from what research I've done should be well into the 500s horsepower wise and hasn't really cost me that much more than what I sold the L series bits for.

If you want to stick with an L series definitely get rid of the automatic, it's honestly night and day the difference between an auto and a manual 280ZX.

Hope that helps!

[85_Z31]

What sort of 0 - 400m and 0-100kmh times did it knock out on the old motor DJZ ?

so far your 280 is my benchmark for power & times etc

[DJZ]

Not too sure sorry man, I never had a chance to take it down the strip. At a very wild guess maybe mid to late 13s 0-400m?

[up2]

It's a tough choice but it all depends on your personal tastes, what you are wanting to achieve and how much money you've got.

I spent ages and a fair amount trying to get power out of the L28, everything I did seemed to be for very little gain. A guy on here told me his L28 turbo motor which from memory was pretty much stock with a VG30ET turbo made 278rwhp. My motor was a 3.1 with a big turbo, cam, the individual throttle bodies etc etc and the most it ever made was 320ish. My turbo choice was probably poor and the throttlebodies for a turbo motor were probably a waste of money even though they did look & sound cool. According to the guys at NZEFI it would have been well into the 350s with a proper tune but I was just getting sick of dumping money into it. It actually made 278hp the first time it was tuned with a crush bent 2.5" exhaust, small T04 turbo and a standard inlet manifold, so after changing heaps, getting the head all done up, 3" exhaust, big turbo etc I had gained 40 horsepower, pretty disappointing.

One of the main reasons I went for the RB was I already had a 200ZR sump & engine mounts left over from my R30, parts are easy to come by (I bought the stainless manifold for $200, try finding one at all for an L28, I heard of one guy who bought a Trust one I think it was, and it was around the $3000 mark several years ago), the RB's are easy to get power out of and everybody you talk to has had experience with them. Nobody I talked to had ever really seen a turbo L28 motor.

To be honest I hate SR motors, I have never heard one that actually sounds good, and the one that I worked on was a pain in the ass. They can make some decent power though.

My RB from what research I've done should be well into the 500s horsepower wise and hasn't really cost me that much more than what I sold the L series bits for.

If you want to stick with an L series definitely get rid of the automatic, it's honestly night and day the difference between an auto and a manual 280ZX.

Hope that helps!

Trust me, it really does help hearing advice from someone who doesn't just base it on the fact they've got a Skidline with an RB "duz mean skidz" or a Silvia with a n/a SR telling me "nah bru it's aloominimum itz light az". I've been a lurker on the SilviaNZ forums for a long time after I bought an S14 for a steal, so I could be a little biased

If I'd won Powerball last weekend I probably would have gone with something like this, but on a much more modest scale:
http://www.teamspeed.com/forums/japanes ... build.html

The L28 does sound amazing, but it's just as you say: parts are rare as hell & more expensive than a decent bed once you get to Hell. Plus she hasn't been well looked after her entire life. I know for the last ten years it's been owned by a Rotorua local who's kept it running, but apart from bogstandard maintenance he never really did much else. Except a terrible headunit and hideous 6x9s.

You can pick up an RB for quite cheap these days, like $2k? Add on the cost of installation [sadly I'm an idiot ] so another $2k, and that's only $4k worth of work at a naive estimate.

I'd probably give an arm & a leg for a manual, or a rustproofing when I first bought the zx I remember seeing one on trademe but that disappeared within a day or two.

Appreciate the reply mate!