Questions from an S13 owner... need your ideas!

[mrgreeneyes]

Z forum members,

I own an s13 coupe currently and am building the car with a little old school flair to it, with a satin black paint, fender flares, yellowed lenses, red sportmax 501's with a polished lip (ratrod-esque colors), and am wondering the feasibility of what may just be the crown jewel: swapping an L28E into the bay. I would love an inline 6, and with a possibility of carburetion, wiring would be minimal to my understanding.

I pose this as a possibility because I may be able to get my hands on a running L28 for free (friend has a 280z and is looking for large quantities of power, either rb25 or vg30). I have been scouring this forum for info but since this is not simply a 280z forum, concentrated info on the L28 is scarce.

So, I ask you guys, feasible? cost effective ($1k or less with a full oem rebuild)? or am i barking up the wrong tree?

Also, since the S13's still used the FS series of transmissions, am i even close in hoping that the L28 bellhousing will mate with my s13 5spd? If so, that would be amazing.

It would be the first L series in an S13 that I have ever even heard of, and i sure as hell would love to be the first to pioneer this... badassery at its finest

[Florida240sx]

I've thought of doing it before. Just saw a wiring harness for one on ebay a couple minutes ago.

[mrgreeneyes]

only one response and its still another S13 owner?

[ZXR_KiD]

some local tools just swaped an L28ET I sold em into one, its not that hard of a swap, wiring was the most difficult...

there was a post in the 240sx threads here somewhere that someone elese had done, with a list of what needs to happen.

I love the idea and wish I hadn't shared it with the local tools.

[mrgreeneyes]

damn, so i wont be the first... oh well. id like to stay NA for simplicities sake... i need something i can romp on, but on a budget.

if you could find that post, id love to see it

EDIT: searched for a long while, even in "hybrids" section... no dice.

do you know about mating the s13 5spd to the 280 bellhousing?
Modified by mrgreeneyes at 5:18 AM 12/14/2007

[evildky]

I did fixed a lot of the work done on taht L28ET powered S13, he's having compression issues in one cylinder right now, back tou your issues

to swap the L28 in any form the biggest pain would be sourcing an LD28 oilpan and pickup to clean your crossmember, if you wanted to run carbs the tripple webbers are the way to go, but getting significant power form the L28 can get costly, short of the stroker or custom high compression build you'd be lucky to get 200 whp from it, the turbo swap of course allows for lots more potential power, as for your trans, no it will not bolt up, but you can still use it, you have to take the frotn half of the trans case off along with the countershaft bearing, you then need a front case fron a 72-78 z car 4 speed front case and countershaft, you then need to overbore the countershafthole and some require a bit of clearancing internally, it sounds worse than it is

but! if I were you I'd do the VG30ET, it's cheap, makes lots of power, puts the center or gravity back further and allows adequate room for radiator and cooling, the L6 is a tight fit

[mrgreeneyes]

damn, i was hoping i could just use the 280 bellhousing and the 5 spd outta the s13. and thanks for the info about the oil pan...

and the reason i was contemplating the swap is cus i got a well running one for free... maybe ill stick to the CA18 that i was planning anyway...

unless someone can convince me otherwise

[NSR_s30]

VH45DE

[mrgreeneyes]

damn it do NOT tempt me... i have ALWAYS loved the idea...

and i know where i can get one cheap...

[evildky]

part of the confusion with the trans swap is the bellhousing isn't removable from these transmissions, they have a front case taht includes the bellhousing as well as covering half the gears

ca18 is a great little motor but for something as large as the s13 I'd try to stick with something larger, I jusst can't see giving up displacement, VG is a great swap the VH is cool but a huge PITA, no manual trans bolts in, you ahve to buy or build an adapter plate, as far as I knwo the only comercially available plate uses the Z32 5 speed, anything else you have to make your own plate, I got a bud doing the swap with a gm WC T-5

[mrgreeneyes]

i liked the idea of the ca for its rev-range and rarity. as you can see, im not one who cares for the norm, *cough SR cough* but i do not have access to fabrication equipment or the skill to do extensive fab work. wiring, im good at, as i am a professional car audio/electronics installer by day... 240 owner at night...

i dont need huge power, i hate straight line racing, im all about autocross, gymkhana, and curvy back roads. i need a motor that can provide quick revs, enough (200-275whp) power for a quick *not fast* daily, while also being kosher on gas mileage. i was considering an L28 for the "damn, never seen that before" effect and hell, its part of nissan/datsun history.

thank you all for your replies but i think ill keep reading up on CA18 stuff and getting my stuff sorted out. at least for that motor, all i have to do is wire it, no fab to fit

[NSR_s30]

I'd go with a CA18 then.

[ca240sxcoupe]

ive got a 240 with a ca18 in it....its pretty sweet i guess....not too fast not too slow.......i like it....... its cool..........................

it was my first swap took 2 weeks working on it really slowly, i was 16 when i did it so if you have any questions feel free to ask...