Which engine for a 77’ 280z

[Patcon]

6 minutes ago, Av8ferg said:

Good thing I just had shoulder surgery 2 weeks ago! Supposed the be on light duty for 4-6 weeks. I imagine my doctor would be opposed to me trying to lift engines alone.

I would think! Don't tear it up twice! Call Wayne...

[Dave WM]

if your checking out the engines on site, you could bring a breaker bar and a socket, and do a quick on site compression check. I was able to get about 50-70 lbs just by a single vigorous pull. check and see how well balanced it is.

Edited February 15, 2019 by Dave WM

[siteunseen]

I'd bet the n47 has an oiler cam too. The 75 76 n42 had spray bars only then they started the oiler cam. Kinda of rare from the reading i did in 2011. 

I have an n42 on mine. They have square exhaust ports with no liners the round ones do. People didn't like them at first but i think that's changed now. Diseazed has a great motor he puts in his Zs with p79 which has the liners. You should read his build specs. That datsungarage page tells how to do it or google "diseazed engine classiczcars.com". He runs carbs though so i kinda wonder how well efi will work with a high compression motor. I've read stock efi doesn't like agressive cams and would be that crappy running you've spoken of earlier.

Lot of talking on this. We have the time and the info to get you straight for not to much money.

Looking forward to your build!

[cgsheen1]

Wow...  I'm really outnumbered here.

The L28ET is an incredibly stout and reliable engine.  At $400 it's an absolute steal!  (at $500 it's an absolute steal...)  I wish I were in a location that I could pick it up!  You don't actually need to do anything to it to get cheap reliable power.  If the cam looks good and the engine is relatively clean you're set.  The turbocharger is NOT scary - run stock, they last nearly forever. From the factory they run about 7 pounds of boost and at that setting they'll run forever.  (most people forget that turbochargers were originally built for aircraft - an avocation where they have to be as simple as possible and extremely reliable...) Run stock, you can drop the engine in with little fuss and you'll have a strong dependable power plant.  The stock ECCS engine management system works very well - as long as you keep the engine stock.  If you modify, you'll probably have to look at a tunable engine management system.   It'll take a bunch of $$$ to craft an N/A engine to come close.  The L28ET is cheap power...  Also remember that 80% of the L28ET's were mated to an automatic transmission

The weak spot:

You'll need to focus on the engine (ECCS) harness.  BUT, you'd have to do the same with ANY early EFI engine harness!  They just weren't built to last this long.  Most of the problems are due to oxidized wire and connectors that will skew the information the ECU needs to run the engine properly.  A new harness makes a world of difference - that's what NewZed has seen me comment (complain / warn) about.

Now...  The problem with a turbo engine is it turns many people into boost junkies.  That's where the charge pipe, intercooler, blow off valve, bigger injectors, fuel rail, adjustable FPR, bigger fuel pump, new fully tunable engine management system, coil-on-plug, wideband, blah, blah, blah comes from.  That's also where you see guys blowing turbos, melting pistons - because they don't know what they're doing.

I daily drive mine.  Have for the last 9 years.

[Av8ferg]

Great comments guys. This place is a great resource and I appreciate all the comments. I’m going to look at two of the engines today. I’ll take pics and post them because I know someone on this forum will see something I miss. I’ll also swing by harbor freight and see about the borescope. Gonna need an engine stand too. I’ll see the last engine one in about 10 days and make the choice then. In the meantime I’ll start reading the engine rebuild book I bought on Amazon.
Can’t wait the see my wife’s eyes when she finds an engine in our tiny and already stuffed garage.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Av8ferg]

Here’s a video I took two days ago of my Z running at my parents barn.. You can see she’s running rough. Haven’t been able to smooth it out. Low idle, sputters, and some clickety-clack etc...

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[240260280]

Have you adjusted the valves?  That may smooth things out.

 

Also have a look at the cam lobes for wear and the spark plugs for consistent colour across all 6.

 

Often when a 280z runs rough, simply cleaning the electrical connectors will bring it back.

 

It may be useful to do the above health checks before swapping engines so that the electrical is debugged and you gain some useful tuning experience.

Edited February 15, 2019 by 240260280

[Av8ferg]

It has new plugs. I did a valve adjustment but may not have not done it that well. It was like 22 deg outside when I did it. My biggest concern is the white exhaust smoke. With the freeze plugs rusted out, not sure what type of internal rust is in there. I also believe there are some vacuum leaks. The idle adjustment really has no effect other than making it idle worse.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[grannyknot]

10 hours ago, cgsheen1 said:

Now...  The problem with a turbo engine is it turns many people into boost junkies.  That's where the charge pipe, intercooler, blow off valve, bigger injectors, fuel rail, adjustable FPR, bigger fuel pump, new fully tunable engine management system, coil-on-plug, wideband, blah, blah, blah comes from.  That's also where you see guys blowing turbos, melting pistons - because they don't know what they're doing.

That's it exactly,  turbos are a perfectly legitimate form of power gain but it seems like everyone I know who has a turbo is always fixing the latest weak link, it's like a spiral staircase that never ends.

 

[Av8ferg]

First stop. Place had the wrong engine data. Looks like a 260z engine to me.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Captain Obvious]

My only input into the turbo/NA discussion is that I have no experience at all with turbo stuff. If you go turbo, other than generic "applicable to any engine" stuff, I won't be of any help. 

Not saying that's a decision factor, but just sayin.    

[Av8ferg]

So here are two more I found.
First 1982’ had 148k miles when pulled. Runs. $490 delivered to my house.


Second has 202k miles and N47 head. Says “rebuildable”.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk