And it feels so good! It's an all-OEM rebuild of my '82 Turbo. Bought the car back in '06, and it's been a great companion. Bout with about 102k on it, I have about 117k on it now.

Everything I could buy Nissan NOS I did, including the dash and all interior pieces, seals, brakes, and engine components. The paint is pretty close to original, with a bit more flake, and the seats were covered with BMW Nappa leather. As it sits right now, the only things aftermarket are the stereo, added boost gauge, GM HEI conversion, and prothane bushings.

I'm actually considering modifying it now. Maybe some drop springs, wheels, and a boost controller. Maybe a Z31 ecu swap for better driveability. Thoughts?

 

Ooh! Very nice!

An intercooler & boost controller should be at the top of the list. 10psi boost really wakes it up. The Z31 ecu swap is awesome if you can get everything for cheap (less than $100). Otherwise go MsnS ($300-$500).

 

Awesome! Any pics of the build?

What are your plans for the car? Are you looking for more power? Nice thing about a turbo system is you can upgrade and keep all the stock stuff and swap it back if you ever want to be 100% stock again.

 

Like I said, no plans really. Maybe just take it to 10psi and leave it. Maybe have a 3" turbo back made for it.

I probably won't bother with an intercooler, but the Z31 swap is attractive to me because of the price and ease of installation. I'm just waiting for a 300zxt parts car to come my way.

 

If you plan to do any engine upgrades, especially increasing boost, exhaust, and ECu, then you SHOULD bother with an intercooler.

 

From all the reading over the years and research I've done, all I need to run 10 psi on a stock 280zxt is:

Boost gauge
Boost controller
Block/modify the Emergency Relief Valve

I'm sure I'll gain a few hp with an intercooler due to a cooler air charge, but I don't feel it's necessary for what I have in mind. All the reading I've done has supported this. My zx isn't my track car, it's my feel good car that I look cool in; I just use it for fun trips every now and then.

 

Well the intercooler isn't just to cool the air for more horsepower. It will also increase the reliability and longevity of your engine. Plus likely a gain in fuel economy to boot.

 

An intercooler will also help keep it from pinging!!!

 

I've reconsidered the intercooler the air-water setup on my VW was so easy to setup and it works so well, there's no reason not to repeat it on the Z. That being said, I've got the next two chunks of mods grouped together, which would you do first?

1 - Air-water intercooler, fuel pump, h.o. alternator, 3" exhaust, and boost controller

2 - Tokico blues and lowering springs, poly bushings, ss brake lines, and new rotors, calipers, and pads on each corner

Both should cost about the same, I think I may be on the suspension side of the table. There's nothing wrong with what I have now, but I'd like a firmer ride and my rear e-brake mech is frozen.

On the other hand, this car would be fun as all hell with more power.

 

Suspension and brakes. No reason to have all that extra umph-ness without proper handling and stopping power. Just make sure to use half rubber bushings or do the hole drill method on the tie rods.

 

Agreed 100% with this guy!


What kind of Air-water intercooler setup were you thinking about btw? Seems like the most common intercooler installed on the Z's is just a front mount.

 

I was planning on doing a Frozen Boost setup similar to what I have on my VW. Something similar to this guys setup:





I like that I can do minimal plumbing and leave the stock airbox. I probably won't use reservoir in place of the battery. Not sure I want to commit to moving my battery, and a res isn't really required with a large enough heat exchanger. On the other hand, I may try an older VW coolant bottle as a res behind the headlight where the stock headlight washer res is, it's about the same size and uses the same mounting bracket. It doesn't get to hot there, but a heat shield would make sure.

I do think I'm going to go with the suspension as well. Mine's not in bad shape, I did OEM bushings about 7 years ago when I got the car, but I'd like to freshen everything at the same time.

 

#1 - Suspension. Normally I'd recomend getting the HPK255 but it seems like the price on these has gone up substantially. For another 40% you can get a set of decent S13 coil overs....

#2 - Exhaust. 3" mandrel bent if you can get it but most of the time that's a custom setup....

#3 - Bring the charge temp down - intercooler is one way to go. I really like the air-to-water especially with the lack of ducting in the stock 280ZX rad support area. Ducting may be required to keep the air flow going to the intercooler radiator and engine coolant radiator. Methanol is another great way to bring the charge temp down on an L series engine. They respond extremely well to a water/meth setup. Once you can control the charge temp you can run 10lbs of boost safely - maybe 12lb but the temp starts getting really hot with the stock T3 and you're starting to run out of fuel with the stock injectors.

#4 - If you're going beyond the stock setup the stock injectors/ECU can't handle a lot more so consider an aftermarket ECU like Mega Squirt, etc, WB02 sensor, etc before going to bigger injectors and turbo. Sounds like this is beyond what you'll really want for the car at this point in time and it takes off from here but you'll start to see some real gains because of the ground work from your previous three items.....

 

Found the hpk255 for $360. Here.

 

Good find! Get them at that price - that may be the last of them at that price from what I've seen lately....