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Turbo Engine Question

626 views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  dspurck2 
#1 ·
Did all 86 300ZX Z31 turbo cars have "Turbo 3000" on the engine? It's just that I saw one for sale but the owner stated this his didnt have that on the engine but had a turbo, BOV etc. Just trying to confirm that this car was an original vg30et engine or converted later. Any specific indication to look for to confirm this?
 
#2 ·
They all came with the plate, and non turbo Z's came with a plate just reading "3000". There are several ways to see if the car was originally a turbo.
 
#6 ·
It would also say Turbo on the back. Also the vin # can tell if the car was originally a turbo Z. Also the hood scoop on a 84-86 and the 5 lug wheels if its an 84-86. Also if it has adjustable suspension.
 
#7 ·
No hood scoops on 86+. All 86+ were 5 lug. If the turbo was slapped on, that's not necessarily bad, www.redz31.com talks all about putting a turbo onto an n/a block. However you seem a little scared about this, if I were you, I'd keep looking unless this car is too good to pass up, such as price, or super low miles or something.

If you want to buy the car, do yourself a favor and rent a compression tester, and spend about 2 hours over there testing the compression. The #s will tell you whether or not the motor is good or shot, and the #s might give you a clue as to what pistons it has in it, whether the flat top NA pistons giving it around 170psi, while the dished turbo pistons give it a little lower readings. If you're not mechanically inclined or have very close friends or family that are, I'd stay away. You don't want to try and fix the p/o's screwups, especially if you don't know what they are or how to find them.
 
#8 ·
It's super cheap for here; exact interior/exterior colors as my current car and I was looking to use it as a parts car. I've got to travel some way to see the car, that's the only real problem so I sort of need to find out everything I need to know before I bother going to go see it. Looks decent from the photos, and for the price it'd be worth it for the parts alone even if the motor was screwed. This is the info on the car:

"Foundationally the car is running fine, with a complete replacement of the braking system, the turbo and gearbox has been rebuild in the last year,
The car is sold unregistered so it would probably suit an enthusiast who is looking to restore a classic 80s sports car. It comes with a BOV and after market exhaust, windows tinted, remote central locking etc"

Photos are good almost identical to my current car... Looking for turbo parts car, not sure if this would be ideal or not. May still need to change out injectors etc if this one for sale hasnt been fully converted. Would still be worth it though because I'd have half the parts needed and possibly an engine to rebuild and covert fully to turbo without being without a car for ages!
 
#9 ·
In an AU context, many external parts can be bolted on to make a NA look like a turbo car, but any AU-specific car built after 0985 should be a genuine turbo.

Pictures will only tell a limited story. The major internal difference on a turbo motor are just the pistons.
Externally the 5 stud wheels are the most obvious sign. Front and rear spoilers are not a reliable indicator due to potential cheap collision repairs in the past.
However, not many turbo owners would go to the trouble of swapping all the window trims to the bright stainless NA parts just for the fun of it.

To see what the body was originally built as, you have to look at the factory build plate and even that can be removed and replaced.

The engine number "476hk5123" does not look like a normal AU Z31 VG30 engine number. It would normally be 6 digits and either A, B or W on the end.
Give me a chassis number and I can tell you the month and year when it that number was built.
It is ok if the ADR plate is dated a few months after the little factory month-year tag on the firewall near the factory build plate.
 
#13 ·
The factory build plate is still unreliable since it does not contain the body/chassis serial number and the plate is only rivetted onto the firewall.

Edit: Correction: the factory build plate should contain the body serial number and this number should match the body number stamped into the firewall sheetmetal. However, the car could have been subject to theft and rebirthing some time in the past when it would have been profitable to go to the effort required.
The AU registration authorities are mainly concerned about the serial in the sheetmetal and may not bother even looking at the factory build plate as that is an easily transferred item.
Whether the body number in the sheetmetal and the number on the plate match is up to the prospective buyer to verify.



Post Edited (Oct 27, 11:38pm)
 
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