Need some help with my T3 .. wastegate flapper on downpipe!?!

[PrOxLaMuS©]

Well..

I recently bought a Z31 water-cooled T3 turbo... and I noticed something different about the turbo from the 280ZX turbo.

It is the same turbo, just the Z31 is water-cooled, HOWEVER,

The 280ZX turbo has the wastegate flapper ON the turbo housing.

The Z31 turbo has the wastegate flapper and housing ON the downpipe.

That stumped me.... I don't know if I can fit the Z31 downpipe on my 280Z ... but I do need to figure something out. I can run an external wastegate, but I don't need one because I am not going to be running much HP or have the money to buy one.

Can I use the stock Z31 downpipe? Should I cut it and modify it? What can I do about the wastegate?

I dunno... I am stumped.. and clueless.. I need help!!

[hls30.com]

Worst case, you may need to change the exhaust housing, but I would think you could make the 300zx down pipe work-take some good measurements.

The 4th picture from the bottom is where you want to start. I have a rebuilt "authentic" 280ZX turbocharger, and this afternoon I will take and post some pictures and measurements for you to compare yours.

Don't get your panties in a wad, it will all work out!

Being stumped leads to innovation, and innovation will set your car apart!

Will

[hls30.com]

I could not put my hands on a good rule, and I did not have a Down pipe handy(I will have both tomorrow), but here are some pictures to compare with.

two of them are of an original(and Authentic) used 1983 280XZ Turbocharger and an upgraded 1983 (no longer Authentic) 280ZX Turbocharger.

The upgrade is a T03/T04 with a polish job, and the watercooled core as yours has.

The last picture is a stock 280ZX turbo CHRA, and replacement hardware(for the authentic turbo pictured earlier).

It looks like the wastegate portion will bolt up to your housing. A used turboi would clear up your situation, but I still think the down tube you have could be made to work.

Will

[PrOxLaMuS©]

WoW!!

Thank you so much for those excellent pictures!!

Hmm.. I will need to find a 280ZX wastegate housing...

if at worst.. i could CUT the Z31 downpipe.. and possibly weld a pipe onto it. But that would be really dumb... hmm.. time to get some idea's...

[hls30.com]

NO, No, No! Don't cut anything except PVC. Make a mockup with pieces from Home Depot, $10 worth of PVC is a whole lot easier and faster to fit(or replace) than a cast iron piece will be to cut and weld back together!

Before you cut anythig but PVC or cardboard, get me involved in the answer, and get me some measurements! I will have a spare core turbo shortly-the one in '83 blows oil. I will be rebuilding the "authentic" one in the next several weeks with the parts in one of the pictures. As I build up the '72 240Z, I will start with the 1983 turbo engine in a stock(if not authentic) configuration. I will "super tune" it to the highest performance I can get to document what can be done on a budget. After the stock configuration is mapped out, then I will start bolting on upgrades one at the time and repeat the tuning process to map out the capabilities of each upgrade both individually and in a group.

I will be getting the down tube and a good rule tomorrow, and post some pictures and measurements. We will get your situation handled.

Will

[PrOxLaMuS©]

hmm.. so you think I should mock up some PVC pipe's and then take it to an exhuast shop to use as a reference and build a downpipe??

This is soo frustrating.. soo much for my budget turbo swap

Anyone have a spare 280ZX downpipe or wategate housing and flapper for sale?

[hls30.com]

About the turbo or wastegate, See the post above this one!

I probably do have a spare down pipe too.

Mock up what will fit, then see if what you have is close.

Then wory about what to do next.

Will

[hls30.com]

Here are some pictures of the factory downpipe and the first bend in the exhaust pipe.

Will