HI GUYS!! JUST GOT MY FIRST Z

[guiltysparkxxs]

Hi guys, just got me a 1981 280zx turbo.i dont know much about the nissan game, but so far that little car is fun. lol

it seems to have a small misfire, so i will be replacing the plugs and wires today. but if anybody can give me ideas on how to mod my car, ill be thankfull.

just one question, can the 280zx be converted to a 5spd even if its turbo?

thanks guys!

[hbpignosePA]

welcome!

post pictures!

and yes you can do a 5spd swap

look for a t-5 trans

i THINK they are out of the 81+ cars

welcome aboard

[bigred240sx]

welcome aboard. you chose right manufacturer (sp) there. lets see some pics.

[ravera]

O hai...

Easiest things to do to stop a missfire are the ignition componets as you've said, and check vac lines and make sure injectors are firing. If you look at the plugs you can tell what part of the whole deal isn't firing.

A 5speed swap is completely possible and not all that difficult. You'll need the pedals and fun stuff to make the clutch work, the T-5 out of the 81 Up ZXT, the driveshaft, and the rear diff flange since the T5 shaft is a little bigger.

[evildky]

welcome and congrats ont he Z, the 81 was available only with an automatic, but the 82-83 T5 and pedal box are a direct bolt in, you just have to byass the neuttral saftey swithc and wire in a cluthc saftey switch

if you want more power get a good boost gauge and a bost controller you can get up to about 10 pis fully stock before pinging occours, beyond that you'll need to add an intercooler and then you can weasilly run up to 16 psi or so which should put you areoud 260 whp with free flowing intake and exhaust, beyond that it starts costing a lto mroe to add power

[guiltysparkxxs]

hey guys yea sry for the long wait, i just been going to orientation and what not.anyways thanks for the tips guys, the misfire seemed to go away, however i feel the car a little weak in low rpms...?anyhow i looked into the transmission swap and it looks easy to accomplish, so i will deff. do that.by the way i need new front struts and strut mounts, what do you guys recomend?

ps. ill have pics tomorrow, dont flame me the car still a little dirty lol

[evildky]

pklugs wires cap and rotor, I'd start by replacing all of them, if it still hesitates you might need to dial in the afm

[kelloggman]

pics!

[guiltysparkxxs]

FINALLY!!!lol here are just some pics from my phone check them out (sry for the size, still trying to figure this thing out)























thats all i have for now, those were taken while i was doing the plugs and the oil change, ill have some more soon. any help in how to make my beast look better would be great, thanks for all guys

[kelloggman]

car appears to be in awesome shapei prefer the the look of the s30s over the s130 but still a nice carare you going to keep the stock t3 or upgrade

[evildky]

very nice, the S130 is what started my love of Z's I was in third grade when I got a matchbox 280ZX and I have bene in love ever since

be sure you hang on to those wheels, they aren't the most popular and are skinny but I believe they were 1 year only!

I can't tell what the 5th pic is, ebc? if so be sure to keep it under 10 without an intercooler

and would you mind posting a pic of your cas, it was only used on the 81 and I've not seen one

[hbpignosePA]

damn that is a clean turbo car.

so many get raped to put the l28et into the s30s

while i like the s30s better its nice to see some love for the zx"s

[S130Z]

that's a clean zx, glad to see another one on here.

not trying to thread jack, but you got a good pic.dky, do you need the black "Y" thing that goes over the valve cover, I think its a aux. fan? or can I remove that on mine, just wondering, because i'm trying to make the engine bay look really clean.

[guiltysparkxxs]

Thanks guys. im really happy with the car, its in good shape and drives good, just a few upgrades and it will be set. ill try to get better pics soon as well. but what do you mean by my "CAS" ?

[evildky]

the black Y thing is a fan to gool the injectors as early Z's had vapor lock issues, the fan mounts ot the passanger side of the block and has a pickup tube that sucks air form below the engine and blows it over the injectors, it's amazing how many people look at it and coment abotu the wierd looking turbo

the CAS is the crank angle sensor, the 81 model used a crank mounted sensor with a trigger wheel on the crank pulley, the 82-82 placed an optical sensor inside the distributor

[guiltysparkxxs]

im not sure where the cas is. ill look again today and post a pic, by the way i notice that in the engine bay driver side there is a blue bottle with a hose that runs to a "T" connector and to the turbo (i think). what is that?

[bigred240sx]

she looks good man. i still want a turbo s130, just to have one haha. and we dont flame for dirty cars just stupid random post.

[kasilvia]

Correct me if Im wrong, but wasnt there an issue with some of the turbo 2.8 heads and cracking? It may just be a rumor, but I have heard more than one of my 280 buddies talking about heat soak under the hood and leading to cracked heads...Congrats on the purchase, I would love to come across a steal on a 240z. Seems like the ones worth having are pricey!

[evildky]

Correct me if Im wrong, but wasnt there an issue with some of the turbo 2.8 heads and cracking? It may just be a rumor, but I have heard more than one of my 280 buddies talking about heat soak under the hood and leading to cracked heads...

nope, you must be thinking aobut the turbo dodge motors they were bad about that, the L6 heads are pretty stout, and are interchangable wiht the 70-83 models none are known to be problematic

[guiltysparkxxs]

hey guys its been a while. lolcan anyone tell me what brand of intercooler i should go with? and is it hard to install? and do i need a turbo controler as well?

[evildky]

treadstone vertical flow