1977 280z 2+2 - SBC V8 Swap question
 

Hey guys, I am new to the forum. I just purchased a 77 280z 2+2. I have a few things that I am thinking of doing to this car. I purchased for a good cheap price considering it hasn't been started in 4 years. I guess my first question is this. I have a sbc 283 motor that I just rebuilt and know that it runs great. If the motor in my 280z does turn out to be bad, how hard of a swap is it to put the 283 into the z? I personally love the 283 motor so I would love to have it in the car. Thanks for any advice guys!

Welcome to ZDriver!

Moved thread to S30 V8 Swap section.

Difficulty depends on skill level. :D Have you done an engine swap before? If so, it should be cake. There are several V8 swap kits available for the S30 chassis (240z-280z). How "reasonable" is the swap? That's the real question. The 283 isn't all that much of a powerhouse engine... which version do you have? What's it's hp rating? Do you have a transmission to go with it? Driveline?

Dump the 283 not worth the time. Sell it and get a SBC like a 5.4 vortech or a 5.7 Lt1, LSX, ect... Or if you can find a 2002+ GTO just swap that drive train in and call it a day.

Thanks for the advice guys! And as for my experience with motor swaps, I have done a good many of swaps with sbc's such as the 283's and 350's. The 283 that I have is a 67 model. I do not know too much of the history of the motor, I purchased a area of land that had a barn on it, and to my luck there are several sbc's and old frame chevy's inside it. If I were to use the motor I would for sure do a rebuild on it first. But I have found several stories about people swapping LT1's. I am very interested in that, but for now I plan to attempt to get this one running as is(assuming the motor isnt shot) and then pull it in hopefully running shape and do a swap.

Yup the LT1 is an easy swap, just get the standalone wiring harness for the ecu and call it a day. Oh and depending on the year the LT1 came out of you either have a eprom chip or a programmable ecu. 94+ is the odb2 system without the eprom.

Great swap
 

Hey Cole40 - a SBC (Small Block Chevy) makes for a great swap and there is even a manual from "Jags That Run" to help you do it. JTR Datsun Z Car V-8 Conversion, manual for Datsun V8

You might want to also check out the HybridZ site HybridZ

http://forums.hybridz.org/gallery/im...508-rs-engine/

I can also help out since I have done the swap.