kelltainer

Ok so i have been looking around online and on a bunch of forums and I cannot find much information if any on this swap. I went to the local pick n pull today and they have an 86 turbo 300zx =D with trany, ecu, wire harness, turbo and everything! I want to swap this into my 83 280zx NA.

Does anyone have any information on this swap? Thanks!

hoov100

buy a welder, grinder and plasma cutter, cut off existing motor mounts, mock up engine in the desired position fab new motor mounts that connect to the frame, fabricate trans x-member, make a new driveshaft, relocate turbo to avoid steering shaft issues, or make new steering column and build a custom steering shaft, strip old engine wiring harness, install z31 EFI wiring harness, install z31 fuel pump or equivalent, run clutch hydraulic lines, route new brake lines to avoid heat soak from exhaust, route new intake, install electric fans.

now to get the motor ready to be able to be put in:
T-belt job, oil pump, main seals, cam seals, valve cover gaskets, water pump, most likely a turbo rebuild, CHTS, CHTS wiring harness, cap, rotor, plugs, wires, fluids.

If you have a good motor to start with. Theres more to it then that, but It's what I've accumulated, for my swap into my s30.

skib

thats because its not really a common swap.

a stock VG30et is only like 200hp, you can get that easy out of an L28et (stock is about 180hp) and it drops in to the same mounts and tranny.
with the money youd save from having to do fab work to install the VG30 you could get some nice upgrades for the L28.

280zx2by2

true, true, now its hoovs turn to refute your claims

hoov100

but the VG doesnt have the design flaws of the L-series and can take MUCH more abuse and power on the stock long block while it being a DD, some people are making over 500whp on a stock long block that they pulled from the junkyard, now the last i heard the stock l28 long block can barely support 400whp let alone DD status. its a good solid design that will give you many decades of reliable service, but won't when you try and push 400 out the stock long block.

I love the L-series, but when it comes to serious HP figures it lacks.

NismoPick

PS... the 280zx w/ it's inline 6 has a perfect 50/50 weight distribution. If you replace that long motor with a stubby one, it's going to throw off the balance. Just one of the MANY things to consider in a motor swap.

Welcome to ZDriver!

hoov100

50/50 weight distribution is only 1/50'th of the things to look at when building good handling car!
(personally i find a 40/60 distribution to handle better at high speeds in a RWD car)

(Assuming the s130 had a good suspension design to begin with.)

kelltainer

Ok I would love to jsut do the l28et swap however finding one has proved to be a problem and I could buy the whole 86 300zx car from u pull it for about 500. Yes the engine may need a slight rebuild but I want my car up and running, lol.

Trying to find an l28et has been a problem =(. I have called lots and lots places and no one has them. If you can find me one I would buy it, I do like the advantages of the vg motor but this will be my first motor swap. (well i have helped with 5-6 swaps in our shop but they have been the same engines we put back in, just new or rebuilt) So i would rather do something a little simpler and then I can jump in to the hard stuff. I dont want to go in over my head and ask a lot from the guys at the shop.

Just my two cents, 50/50 is all fine and dandy but its not 100% necessary and really depends on the driver/car imo. The VG swap would be sick but I think a tad out my league right now =(

skib

if you can fab stuff then go for it

FubarI33t

7MGE is not nissan. but it's a inline 6 that's easy as hell to find. that can handle great power. and you would still get exp from swaping. plus the 50/50 would still be there

flatblack

My roommate has rebuilt two 7Ms and is done with them, he picked up a N/A 2JZ with a full harness for $400.

7Ms have so many problems, BHGs and rod knock all day long.

FubarI33t

every engine has problems. Yota never finished developing the MG, even though it started out as a 5MG. they droped it and went JZ. but many ppl have solved the issues of the 7MGE.

lww

Why does your car need a new engine?

skib

Its an 83 N/A

Iv got one too and its not slow but its not fast

kelltainer

the bearings went bad and blew the bottom end. Finding the bottom end parts has been a pain, plus I want a turbo. My buddies all have nice turbo cars so i am addicted to boost now, lol. I cant weld or fab but my buddies unlce is a welder just not a car parts welder.
I am putting all my options together and going from there?

260zturbo

im putting a vg30et in my s30. you might want to look into a turbo relocation pipe.

awilkie

Turbo relocation. :P
There's a guy on clubS12 who did a remote mount turbo. It's literally mounted by his exhaust pipe.

As for engine swaps, where the hell are you guys getting 2JZs for so cheap!? I couldn't find a 4AGE for $400USD

kelltainer

haha they live in aus lol. im sure that helps some? hmm turbo relocation? thats not a bad idea. are the stock mounts ok? or do i need to get new mounts for my car? what about the crossmember?

NismoPick

STS...

flatblack

A junkyard in Dallas... It was out of a ES300 so it is an N/A motor, he's already torn the long block down and is getting forged turbo pistons.

They are everywhere, you just need to know where to look.

Also N/A VG30Es are in Pathfinders and Maximas.

260zturbo

some pathy have vg33

pete8717

My question is why the hell is someone suggesting to put a toyota motor in? That's just unethical. Gotta stick true to Nissan man. No foreign make swaps!!!

flatblack

What the hell are you talking about

A 2JZ-GTE would walk all over a L28ET any day. Stock for stock or modified

User395

That's not the point.... it's like putting sugar in your grits, you just don't do it.

260zturbo

lol ok back to the subject,http://z31performance.com/forum/view...p?f=12&t=10453 if you can fab good then you could possibly do a small pipe yourself. but first you should rip out the old and stick in the new. see how things line up to see what you need to do. might be able to get away with all stock crap.