chickenwafer

I've never done this particular swap you are talking about but it looks like you listed all the right parts. You would need the clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, throw out bearing and those three extra bolts and the clutch collar. I don't know about fabing, tho. Why the need for the stronger clutch? Are you planning on a power upgrade? The stock clutch is pretty robust, so unless you are seeking gobs of power it could be overkill. Otherwise, why not get an easier aftermarket clutch like an ACT or Clutch Masters clutch? It would perform better and be easier to install as well. Dave

Well, if you want good, streetable power NA or Turbo are both fine choices as you know, but if you suggest the turbo is out of your leauge then NA is the route to go. SU's are rather complicated little things so I would stick to fuel injection if you want a daily driver. Any horsepower goals? So my recommendation is to trade the busted 280ZX for the NA L28 motor. Is the NA L28 motor in running order?? Dave

KGL huh? Your parents must have not loved you J/K Anyways, Borla is a good company. The XR-1 racing muffler is no exception, either. But, it is a racing muffler, meaning it is LOUD and minimal in soud deadening qualities. It is made of aircraft-grade stainless steel and built right. I believe it is THE highest flowing muffler on the market (other than glasspacks and of course straight pipes) as it is a pure racing muffler. And as far as size, they sell them with different inlet/outlet diameters. Obviously a 3 inch diameter will flow better than a 2.5 inch diameter but you will take a hit on backpressure, which could be a good or bad thing. What engine do you have? Turbo or NA? You don't want to overkill. Dave

Is the NA L28 engine in running order? Depending on how much work it needs to be in running order, I would think parting out your 280ZX Turbo would be a good idea. Unless of course you really really need a motor. I don't know if pistons from a KA24DE would fit- that's a 2.4 liter in-line 4 cylinder motor. Perhaps the L28 and the KA24DE share the same bore, but the L28 has a stroker crankshaft? Although an extra 400cc would require a larger bore, I do believe, so I don't think the pistons would fit. Of course, you do have the F54 blocked '83 turbo engine you mentioned, but without a turbo. You could purchase a used turbo from a junkyard or e-bay for a couple hundred or less and be running. Granted it wouldn't be a perfect match but it would get the engine running and working until you can find a decent replacement turbine. Unless you need more than just the turbocharger itself.........??? You will make odolles more power with a turboed F54 block than an NA motor with SU's. An NA motor with SU's, depending on displacement and other variables, won't get you more than 250-bhp if you're extremely lucky. People on the forum here have fully built, fuel injected NA L28's making just north of 220-bhp at flywheel, but a turboed F54 stroked to 3.1 liters and fully built can yield some nice horsepower figures. These aren't the easiest engines to extract power from..... Just wondering- what car are you planning to dropping the engine in? Your 280ZX or the 240Z in your sig or another car? Dave

I am in the process of putting in a new head unit. I found that the new aftermarket head unit fits easily without any real modification to the dash. The only problem I am having is wiring the unit up. I can't find any diagrams anywhere of my 260Z's wiring harness for the stereo so I am having to trace wires and it isn't going too great. I found a wiring harness connector at Walmart that said it was for 1974 and up Nissan's for the head unit, so I bought it but it doesn't work. Looks like I will have to splice and soilder. No plug-n-play connectors out there I guess. If anyone has a wiring diagram for a 260 (I bet they're all the same) it would be greatly appreciatted!!! Dave

SteveK: do you have 6 individual fuel-injected throttle bodies?? If so, that sounds like a nice setup (and expensive as you pointed out). That L28 sounds very nicely built. Dave

DOH! The turbine side IS the hot side! What was I thinking???!! :stupid:

Well, assuming you have a 280ZX or a car with a swapped L28 280ZX motor with a turbo P79/P90/P90a head and fuel injection........... The turbo is nice. The turbine is a 57 trim wheel and the compressor is a 50, so it is matched pretty close for a hybrid. I would guess max boost for this turbo would be near 26-28 psi, but that is just a rough estimate. If you look on the hot side (compressor side) it looks a little bite more used that he has suggested. What engine setup do you have? You have to turbo-match it correctly and make sure your engine can support this turbo. Do you already have an upgraded fuel system, intercooler, downpipe, uppipe, exhaust manifold, blow-off valve, boost controller, etc? Because this just a turbo, not a complete kit of course. Anyways get back to us and we can help with more specifications on your car. Dave

thanks Bryan. Thinking of anything else I need........... a whole new frame would be nice! IMO. How about your rocker panels, or just list all the body panels you can spare that don't have rust! . Dave

how is the dash top?? I need a new one. And how out the exterior mirrors? Rear hatch lock. Hmmm, I'll think of more in due time. Dave

Those Toyo RA-1's suggested by Craig are damn nice tires. A little expensive but they do last a while and are grippy. Great tire. Also, the new Michilen PS2 touring came out. I think they make it in a 14 inch size. Also, BF Goodrich G-Force TDA R-compounds are downright drag radials for the street. They have to make em in a 14 inch size because most drag cars run either 14 or 15 inch rims. Dave

I am thinking of upgrading the braking system on my Z. I am going for new rims anyways but I want to make sure they clear the new brakes. I was looking at a beefy setup, but nothing is possitive yet. I was thinking of 12.5 inch to 14 inch slotted rotors up front with 4-piston sliding calipers. I know those would clear an 18 inch wheel, but what about a 17 inch wheel? The rears I'm not too worried about. I will hopefully being doing a drum-to-disc conversion and sourcing some 9.5 inch or so rotors in the back with probably 2-piston calipers. Thanks in advance. Dave

thanks guys. I will deff be looking for some new brake calipers, knowing that I could home-build a system for around $300 or less. I wonder if any other 4-piston Japanese calpers might work? I'm sure there has to be more. At a junkyard the other day I found a wrecked '98 Corvette. They have at least 4-piston calipers and at least 12.5 inch or so front rotors. Maybe I could adapt the front and rear brake systems to the Z. Dave P.S. Sorry Mark, I guess I kind of raped your thread . Did you ever get the stainless steel brake lines to work properly??

Have you tried Zedd Findings? They usually have used pieces that are in good condition, but sometimes new ones. Here's the link www.datsunzparts.ca/start.htm

I heard if you get a car Ziebarted when rust is present already, it will seal in the rust, effectively allowing the rust already there to spread even faster than it already does. My 260Z was Ziebarted by the first owner back in 1982-83 or so when he moved out east to Ohio. He said it was great with no rust until he stored in a garage for the winter and the garage leaked and rust insued pretty badly. There is still a baseball-size rust hole in the front left rocker panel along with little miniature rust holes as well. So, Ziebart works to an extent, I guess. Dave

what size wheel do you run and at what offset?

the MSA kit is bolt-on, right? So those Toyota calipers dogma420 found at Autozone, are those a direct bolt-on as well?? Dave

All, S20's, behold the Holy Grail of Nissan enthusiast!

I remember a while back a rare 1968 Datsun 2000 roadster went for sale on e-bay. The seller claimed it to be perfect and mint. Anyways, it sold for something like $20,000 and when the new owner got it he found rust holes in the floorboards, gas tank, the engine didn't start, and multipule wrong things that ran a repair bill north of $10,000 or so. The car was barely worth like $2,000 when he bought it. So, yeah, E-Bay sucks in a way unless you can see the car before you buy it. I do have an Uncle in L.A. who restores old Chevy's (yuck!). He buys his project cars off e-bay all the time and has never gotten ripped off, partly because the cars he's buying aren't in the best shape anyways. I dunno. It's a crazy world. Dave

I thought the siamesed cylinder walls helped cooling. Maybe I was mistaken. And my bad about the N36 intake manifold. Wasn't thinking :stupid: :stupid:

Darn! I came up dry at a junkyard. The only Nissan's were a busted up '91 Maxima and handful of Sentras. I'll go to another one tomorrow

thanks for the advice guys. I feel kind of dumb because I can rebuild an engine but install a shifter boot . I think there were more clips- I'll check. I did try it, but the elastic strap inside the leather is a bite small, so I might have to snip it so it can fit. I just hope I don't ruin a perfectly good $25 shift boot. Dave

Well I was at my local Auto Zone and a black leather shift boot with red stitching caught my eye. I already have the center console and all out to install my aftermarket stereo, so I figure what the heck. So I take the stock shift boot off without bothering to see how it was connected. Now I have 4 little metal clips and no idea how to fit the new shift boot back on. Can anyone help me? Dave

my '74 A/C-equipped 260Z has one of them stickers, I think Dave