well there should be someone on this site that turbod a non turbo z. well like if you can tell me all the stuff you did to do that then it be awesome. so hook a z fan up.

 

how much will this cost me as well cause i am kinda not on the money side that well. cause like i need to know what turbos are able to use and all and the parts that i need and a guestimate on a price

 

yes you can turbo it, and it gonna cost alot.

first: are you planing a stock 280zx turbo or an upgrade right away.?

 

well what i want to do is take a non turbo stock and turbo it and just leave it at that until i can afford some other stuff. so say if i find a turbo off of a car that fits at a junkyard what else do i need so i dont blow up

 

make sure the turbo has a wastegate and has the proper linkages(either oil or water), turbo headers, turbo pistons, turbo ecu, injectors, air flow meter, turbo head and cam and etc... and i would recommend replacing all gaskets and bearings along the way.

basically you would have to rip apart your engine, spend lots of money, take alotta time and have to go about tweeking it up to par.... my suggestion would be to just buy a 280zx turbo for cheap and go about swapping motors and ecu that way....you could find a junker for about 1k-2k, which would be nearly the same for doing it the other way.

 

well i got the car for 900$ cause it has a lil rust and the interior aint all that good. well if you did what i want to do what turbo did you use so i can get a head start.

 

[QUOTE=applemansapple]well i got the car for 900$ cause it has a lil rust and the interior aint all that good. well if you did what i want to do what turbo did you use so i can get a head start.[/QUOTE




hey when u look at the junk yard look at the volvo cars or eclipse gst"s these cars have good turbo for a starter their T5 turbos spool quik :burnout: .But personally i jus went to my friends junkyard and found a 280zxt (turbo) i got it for free,and it has everything turbo ,manifold,turbo injectors...etc. All it needs is a rebuild and then drop it in. That would probly be better than turboing a non-turbo engine and alot cheaper

 

well it isnt gonna be that easy to find a 280zx turbo in a juckyard but maybe daytona area might have one but its gonna be kinda iffy cause they like to charge a wee bit amount of money and i really dont wanna waste the 900$ that i already used and all so i think i will go with the turbos on those cars cause they sound like pretty good turbos and it just seems easier for me to do that but thanks anyways for the help

 

You can not just buy a turbo and bolt it onto any engine. The first thing you need is the 280zx turbo exhaust manifold. You then need to find a small turbo that bolts onto it.

To properly run the turbo you will need so many parts replaced that it would of cost the same to just buy a 280zx turbo engine. You can not make horsepower for very little money!

Either spend your couple hundred on a few bolt-on parts for your non-turbo or expect to spend $1500 on a proper turbo conversion. Does your $900 car look good? Maybe you should settle for what the straight six has for power and just worry about the cosmetics. Once that is all done you may have a better job with more income and be able to build up a turbo engine in your garage. Then just swap the engines and electronics.

 

I'm in this same boat, apple. Since I'm still in high school and don't have a job yet, I'm short on cash as well. I'll be leaving my baby on jackstands in the carport for awhile, until I can get enough cash saved up. But this is where our interests differ - I'm focusing for all-out handling with added power as a sidenote; I'm assuming you want a fast, mostly straight-line car, with handling as a sidenote. Nothing is wrong with that, however, these cars were built to go fast around corners, not down the 1320. If I were you, I would start with simple NA mods, like an exhaust, intake, port & polish, a valve job, and a hot cam. That should bring respectable gains for a non-turbo. Looking at what would need to be done, and the conflicts of turbocharging the NA, it's much less complicated to just get a turbo engine and the electronics instead. In my mind (and I think the FnF movies have helped me with this idea, sadly) a built NA engine is cooler than a boosted engine with a massive turbo hanging off the side. I'm a boosthead - don't get me wrong - but there's something about a built NA engine that ... well, rocks.
Hope this helps, bro ...
-Dave

 

well all i really am looking for is to get it faster so like i got a couple of friends who are pretty good with cars and all and they said they will help me if i do find a turbo and all. i dont really care what my car looks like as long as it kicks *** is all im for cause i wanna show that my car kicks *** and stuff like that but thanks for the info and i hope i am succesful with getting a turbo
well how much can i get a turbod engine for

 

well about that manifold well do i have to get a 280zx or can i use a engine closely similar to mine so i dont have to search that hard to save a lil time

 

After getting a turbo manifold from a 280ZXT, I think it'd be best to find a T3/T4 hybrid turbo, the price for them are generally in the 400-900 range. A T25 Eclipse turbo will not bolt up to the manifold btw, closest thing you will find in the junkyard would be an SVO Mustang, Thunderbird turbo coupe, or Merker XR4Ti turbo. However, they are .48 A/R so they will not provide much power on the topend, but they will spool quicker than the stock ZX turbo. Also if you use the other turbos, the original downpipe and O2 housing will not bolt up to them since they are a 3 bolt design and not a 4 bolt. Just some advice to keep in mind as you lay out your plans.

John 82ZXT

 

Don't waste your time with NA mods if you really want to go turbo. If you don't know much about turbo motors the easiest, and safest thing to do is sell your current motor and buy a running L28et. You can find one in the $500 range and it will have everything you need motor wise. No guess work or mixing and matching parts involved. It's a straight swap. You just need to run the turbo fuel pump and ecu.

 

Very true.
No other exhaust manifold will fit the L28. A T3/T04 hybrid is way too big of a turbo considering you are running a non-turbo engine block, NA injectors, and NA computer.

The entire stock turbo motor is what you want. Used turbo and all. $400-800 is a typical price. Try to find one complete with the wiring harness and ECU so it just drops right in.

Apples, what year 280ZX do you have?

 

isnt the f54 turbo block?

 

sounds to me that you just need to save up more money. Whats the point of getting a turbo if its not going to work properly? Get the motor that was made to have the turbo. Just save up and in the mean time read up on how to do the swap and common problems that happen during the swap etc....

 

The F54 is not per say a "turbo" block, but yes it is the block used for all turbo and non-turbo 280ZX's from 1981-83. The non-turbo got non-turbo flattop pistons as you know. But what year is Apple's car? It could be a 79-80 with the open chamber head. That's even worse for forced induction even if they do run lower compression.

That's exactly what we're all trying to say!!! Stop thinking you're going to get loads of power for a $100 junk yard turbo. Buying a non-turbo 280ZX is probably the most bang for your buck you can get these days. A $900 car that can run a high 15 second is pretty fast. Or just buy a decent 280ZX turbo, but that would require saving money and having patience. :doh:

$500 for a turbo engine is so cheap. The newer cars that do an SR swap (or whatever else they chose) have got $4-5 thousand into their engine for a mere 200-240hp. You can get 220hp from a stock 280zx turbo engine that you bought for $500 and it'll have a lot more midrange power. (torque)

 

Bleach is right. I picked up a turbo motor, ecu, tranny and drive shaft for $400.

 

:yikes: I wish I could find deals like that!

 

yes it would be easier to pick up a l28et ...but you could go my route too...keep the block, crank, rods, replace everything else with turbo parts....

this is gonna cost way more but i cant find a turbo engine around here, so its the way im going.!

 

Only way more compared to running a used engine as-is. You'll have a rebuilt engine! I'd do it that way anyway. Buy a turbo engine cheap and then rebuild it no matter what.

So yes, you can put turbo pistons in, slap on a P90 head and you're well on your way to having a true turbo engine. Plus, you can put a snow plow on the front bumper and drive it in the winter! oh, LSD would help.

 

haha im saying im keeping my NA! block crank and rods, i seem to have read somwhere they made it same as in turbo...everything else im replacing. i cant find a turbo engine here....