pondering going turbo

[77280zcar]

Hello everyone! (new here) I have a 1977 280z, stock engine that as far as i know has never been rebuilt, the previous owner gave me a few items along with the car that would speed up my advances in boosting the car, he gave me a turbo manifold, J-pipe, 83' Fuel injectors, and a few.. questionable items? one was a black ECU he claimed was for a turbo 280zx, year unknown, everything unknown other than it was from a "turbo 280zx" also he gave me what he called a "nismo" cam, I'm not sure if you can use this cam with everything stock or would you have to have some head work done? What else would i need besides the turbo to actually get it running with boost? I've worked on turbo cars before, hardest one being an FD rx7, disassembling/removing the engine and trans. for rebuild, but besides putting it back together in the order it was taken out im not sure im familiar with the fundamentals of what all a turbo needs.. also, would it be a good idea to put a turbo on a stock engine that has probably never been rebuilt? or sure it be rebuilt before adding a turbo? sorry if i rambled on with this :paranoid: anyways, I Thank anyone in advance for your advice and/or 2¢! (edit: this is the latest pic of the car, Ive been fixing it from the previous owners abuse for the past 4-6 months)

Edited May 28, 2013 by 77280zcar

[conedodger]

I would use Megasquirt unless you can identify that ECU...

[EuroDat]

If the engine is still original, it should be a N42 block with a N47 head. If thats the case, your not even half way there. That head is not suitable for any turbo. Its regarded as the least of all the Z heads due poor emmision chambers and the exhaust port emmision liners. The exhaust ports are also round and the standard turbo exhaust manifold uses square ports from the P90 head.

If you want to go standard, you would be better off looking for an old 280zx and using it as a doner car. Use the complete engine, the EFI wiring harness and ECU. The EFI harness is apart from the body electrical.

Goodluck

Chas

Edit: link to info about engines and modifying. It doesnt go into detail on turbos, but gives you an idea on the engines and what is out there.

Datsun L-series ZCAR engine modifications

Edited May 28, 2013 by EuroDat

[77280zcar]

I would use Megasquirt unless you can identify that ECU...

Megasquirt, ive heard some things about it but not much at all about how it works or what it does, Ive seen a how-to thread on zcar.com but not much more than that.. and as far as i can tell it looks line someone had tampered with the fuel injector wires already. probably the last owner. but what does megasquirt do basically?

[conedodger]

Tunable aftermarket fuel injection. Search DIYTune.com.

[TomoHawk]

You should also read the turbo-swap installation stuff on HybridZ. They have an evening group in the chatroom every night, and you could probably get most of your initial questions answered quickly.

[IdahoKidd]

I sold my turbo car and the buyer pulled the engine, sold it, bought an rb20 to put in. Said it was cheaper, easier to tune, and made more power. He claims putting the stock turbo set up, even heavily modded, results in less power and more headache than the off the shelf rb20. If I ever do it again, I'll likely look into this. He tracked down everything, including transmission, for $1600. Having done the swap, with a donor car, you'll have that much into it with the stock set up. You might look into it.

[ZCurves]

You need to PM BensZ and have a talk with him. He is in the final stages of completion of his conversion AND he has some stories to tell.