Is it a difficult project to switch a 280zx Turbo from an automatic to a stick... can you use a regular manual trans not from a turbo?

 

Not at all.. All z L6 tranny's bolt up without probs.. The drivshaft will be different though I am almost certain.. Someone will correct me if I am wrong..

 

The normal NA Z tranny will work but will not be as strong as the turbo T5 tranny. You could do an NA or you could take the time and find a T5, its up to you.

 

82 n/a has the tallest 5th gear, thats what I am putting to my 450WHP motor.

 

If it's a stock turbo motor, you won't have any problems with a NA tranny. A lot of older Z's ran these trannies in races with out to many problems, and that's alot of abuse.

 

s/c,

You think a stock N/A tranny is gonna hold 450HP??? No offense dude but keep dreaming! You better start looking for a T5 or figure something out. That tranny would blow to little pieces with that much power behind it.

 

Does anyone here actually know the torque handling capacity of the T5 or the 5speed offered in the NA cars? Let's get that info before we start saying what will and will not work. s/c may know something the rest of us don't.

 

The NA claims only 220 foot pounds. I have heard that someone used it on a 300hp turbo motor and it was fine... but for how long I don't know.

The T5 is only rated at 275 foot pounds but many people have said it is good for 375.

I would also bet that NA tranny will blow apart once you get over 300hp. The T5 will be on the brink of destruction with a true 400+ foot pound engine. Did you see that link I posted for you? Extreme 280ZX has only 450hp and he upgrade to a bigger transmission instead of his T5. His website is old. He had an article in Sport Z magazine where he dynoed at 247whp or something like that.

Both the T5 and late ZX 5-speed have tall 5th gears compared to the earlier Datsun 5-speed. The T5's 5th gear is hardly any shorter. Not even 100 rpm difference at 65mph. I know you hope to go 180mph, right?

 

whats the HP and Torque limitations of the 3 spd automatic?
i know the gear ratos are 1: 2.458 ; 2: 1.458 ; 3:1.000

 

I don't know on the auto.
I've heard people say at about 13psi on the stock turbo they can feel the tranny slip when it shifts into 2nd and 3rd. The auto slips before it breaks. If you increase the grabbing strength then you can find out at what point the automatic will blow up!

 

I had a feeling bleach would be the one to answer my question And like he said people, torque is what you have to be worried about. Hondas can run insane HP on their trannies, but they don't ever develop any torque. That's how they do it. T56 will stand up to a whole lotta abuse, plus you get a 6th gear. What a deal! Or you could always fork over the $10K+ for a sequintial box and never blow that thing up.