what's up everyone, i'm allen. . i'm a benz enthusiast, i own a 92 300CE which i've converted to a 5 speed stick.. so try not to get to frustrated when i'm asking questions.. if you need help with a benz i'm your guy.

i just got my dad's old 82 280zx turbo as a grad gift from high school and i'm on a short track to get this thing going again..she runs and drives without problem -- even after sitting in storage for the past 12 years.

so, the story goes:

this is pretty much my dad's favorite car.. he always loved it and literally put 4 car's into one to make a pretty cool car. my dad used to own a body shop and this thing sat on the lift always getting modded and something done to it..
the car used to be a white/beige and it's straight yellow now. engine and everything was removed to paint.. it's got an 81 turbo engine in it with i believe a hybrid t3/t4 turbo (i dont know) and it's pumping close to 11psi right now (i don't know what stock is).. black leather interior with what i believe are recaro ideal seats .. the transmission is not the stock 5 speed.. dad said it came out of a camaro and needed a driveshaft fabbed up to get it going.. diff is stock which i think is not an lsd? my old man peeled out a few weeks ago when he gave it to me and it put down some nice 11's..its also got a straight piped exhaust with an original cherry bomb glasspack at the end..
old man even said he bought an entire '83 zx for it's digi dash and associated harness.. hopefully you get what the car's all about. huge project car.

 

here's a pic i took when i drove it for the first time:

 

engine:




where do you guys get your parts for these cars? the cheaper the better but if it's a performance upgrade or something, i'm down.
also, i think i got an exhaust leak. i hear it right after the turbo, so im guessing the exhaust donut or soemting is the culprit here. any idea on the dimensions or where i can get one?

another thing, why do i have to keep signing in for everything i do here? i can look at another post or post something without this forum logging me out..

 

Welcome to Zdriver man. Sounds like the Z is in pretty good shape. I don't really know a whole lot yet about turbos. I will eventually convert one of my Z's into one later. I know pretty much n/a's, and still have things to learn about them. lol Anyway hope you find the information you are looking for. And stick around, some cool helpful people on this site.

 

cant post unless approved by a moderator? why's that?

edit: man.. i had like 4 extra posts to that main one... let me see if i can write this up again lol
edit 2: wow just rewrote it and can't post...

 

alright here are some pics of the car.

these were from my first drive in the car:



here's the interior:



interior needs a cleaning from sitting years. leather needs to be conditioned because its bone dry.. carpets are brand new (i have a receipt for a carpet kit from some place in chicago)..

here's the engine:



and just miscellaneous shots:



it's got some weird baby blue springs on it right now. dont know what those are about and don't really care to know..

now... my questions...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

--where do you guys get parts for your cars?
--started the engine up a few times to locate what seems to be an exhaust leak after the turbo where the downpipe meets up with the rest of the exhaust.. dad said needs exhaust donut - anybody have dimensions or a link as to where i can get one of 'em?
--i want to get rid of everything unnecessary for this engine to run. i want to clean up this engine bay because there's a lot of crap here for emissions and i dont want it and don't need it.. where do i start?
-- power... cheap and easy.. where am i getting it from?
-- do these engines need valve adjustments or anything? i was looking through an old haynes manual i found and it mentioned little about turbo engines.

should be good for now though..

was looking over the car and it was stored with brand new pirelli's. lol

 

^ I think you need at least 10 posts. Before posting pictures and such. It is to keep the spam out. We have had problems with it in the past. If you want, contact one of the moderators. NismoPick, Bleach, LWW. And ask them to authorize for you. Sorry for the inconvenience man.

 

ahh, i see.. no big deal. when one of the mods comes on they'll get a huge spam folder full of 3 or 4 of me trying to post.

 

Welcome to ZDriver! I approved your posts w/ links in them (first 2 posts are moderated).

Check out the General Tech area for lots of info: https://www.zdriver.com/forums/240z-280zxt-s30-s130-tech-tips-275/

Toss the stock downpipe & either fab a 2.5" mandrel, or you can buy one from MSA.

The only big emissions parts is the EGR and cat.

Valve adjustment is the same for all L-Series heads except the P90A hydraulic head from 83 ZXT's.

 

That Z is in nice shape. And I am so jealous of the leather seats. Very nice man. To be honest, I don't even care for yellow too much. But seeing it is the first 280zx, I have seen in that color. It doesn't look half bad. Anyway, looks like you are on your way, to a more than daily driver looking Z.

As for your blue springs, I would bet they are Tokico performance springs. Are your struts, and shocks, the same color blue as well? If so, they are Tokicos also.

As for the Haynes not being descriptive about turbos and such. You need a manual that caters more to it. I got a Clymer manual, on Ebay a few years ago. That manual is quite detailed, with lots of useful information about Turbo Z's. Hope that helps, and good luck with your new project. Keep us posted. And enjoy perusing, and learning from this great site.

Correction: My mistake, on the springs. If they are blue, I am not sure on the brand of springs. The Tokicos are red. And the struts, and shocks are blue. I searched on the web. And noticed what color they were. So sorry for the wrong information. So maybe somebody painted the springs that color? Possibly the case. Also, if I am not mistaken. the Eibach springs came in black or red also. Of course, your springs are blue. Which that wouldn't help you much. lol All aside, hope you figure out what they are. I am kind of curious myself.

 

I like the yellow on the 280ZX. Looks good. Can't wait to see pics of the cleaned up engine bay. Good luck and have fun!

 

thanks for the link! i've been reading up on Z cars for the past 8 or so hours - already read the entire haynes manual.

the exhaust is already sans cat so ditching the egr is on my to do list.

well, the shocks/struts are silver with baby blue springs. they look more powdercoated than painted. my dad doesnt remember anything about the suspension, so i'm SOL trying to figure that out. all in all, suspension is nice and tight even for sitting for so long!

hey thanks! i'll be posting up pics of the engine bay after some deep cleaning and power wash. after thats all said and done, i'll start posting pics of all the removal and what not.


thanks for the compliments and tips guys.. as soon as i get this thing registered and going strong again i have to do something about the steering wheel. i'm not a big fan of the datsun wheel.

 

WOW! loving the yellow actually, and welcome to Zdriver...you gonna love it (the website and the Z! )

 

Hey thanks!

AND

My dad gave me two milk cartons full of spare parts. I've got 2 rebuilt starters, wiper motor of some sort, bunch of lenses for fender lights/turn signals, bunch of different relays, a blower motor for the ac/heat which doesn't work right now and just a bunch of other odds and ends.. I even have a few more books on the Z! Clymer shop manual thats in brand new condition, an S130 factory service manual published in 78 in pretty clean shape, and what I think is cool... a 1996 Victoria British accessories and parts catalog..

some pretty cool stuff - gpx mirrors and windshield wiper snuggies!

awesome day.