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Thread: My 1978 Datsun 280z Project

  1. #1
    Kinda lame IRL isa2o3's Avatar
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    Default My 1978 Datsun 280z Project

    Wazup people,

    I never did put up my build, but I am starting to get more motivated in finishing.

    So I got a 78 280z with a decent L28 motor, which eventually went bad.

    Figured I'd swap it with something, wasn't sure what

    Unmolested:


    Removing everything related to the crappy L28:






    Working on the car of course means spontaneous bbq (to attract extra hands, hahahahah)



    Pic of my old skool honda custom bike in progress:





    What I've done so far:
    The old motor and tranny are out, I needed to figure out a good rear end setup idea for the swap I have in mind.

    Next up: Fully strip down engine compartment and firewall, sandblast and paint

    I got a nissan VG33 (from a wrecked frontier- idea from Dragoncelica, Thanks) and will drop it into this shell after I clean it up. Pics coming soon

    This is the firt build thread I have ever done, But I think I have the hang. I hope this gets me itching to finish asap

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    Senior Member | IA Veteran Elbow's Avatar
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    Crappy L28? Rebuild it! They're bricks. lol

    Love 280Zs though! That bike looks cool too!

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    TOYOTA1515
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    Awesome, with the VG33 this will be a screamer for sure, turbo will suit just perfect too!

    Just let me know if you need any help!
    SR20 Carbed Datsun B310

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    ⎝⏠⏝⏠⎠ RandomGuy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dragoncelica View Post
    Awesome, with the VG33 this will be a screamer for sure, turbo will suit just perfect too!

    Just let me know if you need any help!
    I think for stage 1, he's just gonna go for a clean N/A car. No turbo at first, so he can focus on making the cosmetics/suspension/braking super nice.

    I'm sure it'd still scream and be super fun.

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    Kinda lame IRL isa2o3's Avatar
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    Yes, keeping it N/A at start.

    For the rear end, I am going to use my existing r200 long nose shell to swap in the LSD short nose diff. It's much cheaper and it's easier to find the lsd short nose. I will add more details as I go about my build.

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    Kinda lame IRL isa2o3's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dragoncelica View Post
    Awesome, with the VG33 this will be a screamer for sure, turbo will suit just perfect too!

    Just let me know if you need any help!
    I appreciate all of your help and will stay in contact with you.

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    Quote Originally Posted by simontibbett View Post
    Crappy L28? Rebuild it! They're bricks. lol

    Love 280Zs though! That bike looks cool too!
    Thanks man, got the vg33 dirt cheap. Although, I had to do the labor to take it out of a wrecked truck, it would have almost cost me more to rebuild the L28 as it sits.

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    Crappy L28? I don't think you're too up on your old school Z info....a loooooot of people make a loooooot of reliable power on those crappy old L28s. I hope you have fun going through the trouble of installing a VG engine in that car when you could easily land another L28 or turbo engine, or even a SBC.

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    Senior Member | IA Veteran Elbow's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt300ZXT View Post
    Crappy L28? I don't think you're too up on your old school Z info....a loooooot of people make a loooooot of reliable power on those crappy old L28s. I hope you have fun going through the trouble of installing a VG engine in that car when you could easily land another L28 or turbo engine, or even a SBC.
    I thought he meant L28s were crappy at first too but I THINK he was saying that particular L28 was crappy since it blew. lol

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    TOYOTA1515
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    Yeap IMO L28 are crap outdated and way to hard to find all kind of good parts for them,

    Dont believe all the crap you watch on those WANGAN MIDNIGHT Anime guys! LOL they are just fantasy!
    SR20 Carbed Datsun B310

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    Way too hard to find parts for? Have you even bothered to take a few seconds to try and find them? Sure, Autozone isn't going to stock parts for them like all that ugly shit people put on their Civics and 240s, but there are multiple enthusiast run sites that make all sorts of go fast goodies for them.

    Perhaps you're just retarded and/or biased since you appear to be into Toyotas by your username. I've been into early Zs for years and could care less about what Wagnan fanboys think.

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    Senior Member | IA Veteran Elbow's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dragoncelica View Post
    Yeap IMO L28 are crap outdated and way to hard to find all kind of good parts for them,

    Dont believe all the crap you watch on those WANGAN MIDNIGHT Anime guys! LOL they are just fantasy!
    People still road race with them and don't seem to have trouble, have never owned one though.

  13. #13
    TOYOTA1515
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt300ZXT View Post
    Way too hard to find parts for? Have you even bothered to take a few seconds to try and find them? Sure, Autozone isn't going to stock parts for them like all that ugly shit people put on their Civics and 240s, but there are multiple enthusiast run sites that make all sorts of go fast goodies for them.

    Perhaps you're just retarded and/or biased since you appear to be into Toyotas by your username. I've been into early Zs for years and could care less about what Wagnan fanboys think.
    What? LOL you must be joking right?
    Dude let me schooled you on this a little, when you were playing with shit out of your diaper on your cradle, i was working with cars already,

    the only way you can make real horsepower out of one of these L28 engines is if you spend an arm and a leg in almost impossible to find parts, just to be at par with what you find under the hood of new untouched factory cars today,

    of course you can get the parts, butt only if your pockets are deep enough and you are looking in the right places,

    Dont be fooled by my Username deep-shit, i do work and know more about Nissan's than you ever will, so please go pee with the kids and stay away from the grownups bucket cuz you may end up pee splashed.
    SR20 Carbed Datsun B310

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    TOYOTA1515
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    Quote Originally Posted by simontibbett View Post
    People still road race with them and don't seem to have trouble, have never owned one though.
    I do own about a dozen of them back in PR with triple side drafts, turbo, with EFI, with the dual Stromberg like carbs, you name it,

    yes they make fair power but nothing you can feel amazed of,

    the downfall of that engine is the poor obsolete design of the head with the intake and exhaust in the same side,

    sure they look good on a period correct car but they performance is very limited and tune that is a real achievement and never will be in par with newer engines.
    SR20 Carbed Datsun B310

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    TOYOTA1515
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    So why spend a fortune and try to get descent power when you can do better for way less with more technology and with endless possibilities? and the good thing it will stay in the Nissan family!
    SR20 Carbed Datsun B310

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    So you were working on Nissans back in 1980 when I was playing with the shit in my diaper? Interesting, forgive me for being so uninformed about your vast expanse of Nissan knowledge lol

    When I purchased some JE Pistons for my L28 back in the day, I didn't have to look long and hard at all, I just decided who I'd give my money to and purchased a set. When I was buying some injectors, I just found a guy selling some Supra 440cc injectors. Then when I wanted a turbo, I just found a guy selling one off a local car forum because he was going to a bigger turbo. All the other parts I bought were of similar ease.

    For my last 240Z, when I wanted a set of Triple Webers, I just put an ad on Zcar.com and had multiple people messaging me, until I easily found a set from a guy that runs a Z club down in Florida. True, they do have an outdated head design with it not being crossflow, but it's still relatively easy to make good power from one.

  17. #17
    TOYOTA1515
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    LOL, awesome Parts you did find right there, as i said before replacement parts can be found anywhere, go and try to find a real go fast parts like 24 valve head cams for it, and timing components to deal with it, timing gears, hi volume oil pump, and other real go fast parts for them, and we will be talking a completely other ballpark thats for sure,

    By the way what was the most HP you get out of one of these L28 boat anchors?
    SR20 Carbed Datsun B310

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    Oh you mean like the Kameari stuff that some of the Z parts sellers stock, or at least order? True, it's highly unlikely anyone will get their hands on the OS Giken DOHC L series head, and I don't think that Blake Machine guy ever really perfected his. I'm not arguing that the L series is as efficient as say an SR20, or a 2JZ or any newer motor, but they're not absolute crap just because they're older.

    That's like saying a warmed up Chevy 327 is shit just because it has a distributor and not coil packs like an LS1.

  19. #19
    Kinda lame IRL isa2o3's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by simontibbett View Post
    I thought he meant L28s were crappy at first too but I THINK he was saying that particular L28 was crappy since it blew. lol
    Yes, I meant my L28 is crappy, not L28s lol.

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    Kinda lame IRL isa2o3's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt300ZXT View Post
    Crappy L28? I don't think you're too up on your old school Z info....a loooooot of people make a loooooot of reliable power on those crappy old L28s. I hope you have fun going through the trouble of installing a VG engine in that car when you could easily land another L28 or turbo engine, or even a SBC.
    Its not much of a trouble at all. Just need custom mounts and tranny bracket which is simple as hell. The diff is the same of course. So no mods there. I am not sure about the drive shaft yet.

    What is better in my case L28 or VG33 for power? Read up, it's better for me.

    I will be driving it N/A before going boost. In both cases I can make more power with a smaller budget with VG33. Also, you dont see a lot of these swaps which is a + for me.
    Last edited by isa2o3; 09-10-2012 at 02:47 PM.

  21. #21
    TOYOTA1515
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt300ZXT View Post
    Oh you mean like the Kameari stuff that some of the Z parts sellers stock, or at least order? True, it's highly unlikely anyone will get their hands on the OS Giken DOHC L series head, and I don't think that Blake Machine guy ever really perfected his. I'm not arguing that the L series is as efficient as say an SR20, or a 2JZ or any newer motor, but they're not absolute crap just because they're older.

    That's like saying a warmed up Chevy 327 is shit just because it has a distributor and not coil packs like an LS1.
    No not kameari, what they have is what you can find anywhere except the strokers and the timing tentioners, the rest can be found anywhere for less price, but Kameari prices are prohibited,

    The Blake machine guy with his welded together KA heads wont going anywhere till he find a good foundry to cast a good one piece heat treated head, And yes the OS Giken is the shit for them and the only way to produce real POWER on these engines, but again you need to spend more that they really worth to have one,

    Not to shit on the old L28 but yeah the old 327 chevy is a POS, they are so popular just cuz history, but if you have the chance of choosing betwine a chevy 283 first V8 with no oil filter and a 426 HEMI that cost you less which you choose?

    Is that simple.
    SR20 Carbed Datsun B310

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