[gannman]

I was at a junk yard getting a new power steering pump for my mom's mini van (stupid thing), and i asked if they had any Z cars... guy said he had three, but no turbos... i came back 2 hours later, and whilst he was busy getting my new/used pump offa 'nuther car, i went and looked at the Z cars.... i was like... hrm? that looks like a Turbo Z's hood?! popped it up, and sure enough, shining like the holy grail, was the engine of my dreams. 2.8L straight six TURBO. just a LI'L different from my current engine . question now is... is $350 (plus my engine on trade in) too much for an engine that will need rebuilding (who knows how long it's been sitting there) and a turbo that might need rebuilding as well? that's not counting installation into my own car, or removal of my current engine (i project that to be about another 300 bux). what do you guys think???

TIA

weylin
'79 280ZX

 

[c81zxt]

Weylin,

You will save a lot of money doing most of the work yourself. If you have the time and the ambition it is a great thing to do. You will learn a lot not only about Z cars but about cars in general. You can rent an engine hoist the install and remove the motor for very little, under $30 for a whole 24hrs. I bought a complete turbo car for $400. The turbocharger was smoked so I am planning on buying a new one. That is not a bad price for a whole motor but there are some other things you will need to get in order to make a turbo motor work in a naturally aspirated car. AFM, wiring harness, ECU, etc. Don't forget these things. If it won't cost much more for the entire car I would say to go that route, that way you have everything you need for sure. There are some other parts on the turbo that are a little more solid than the na. $350 isn't bad considering the price gougers on zcar are trying to charge $800 for a motor with 150k on it.

-C.Wade

 

[schmaydee]

that sounds like a decent price....and might be worth getting just to "have"....
...i just had my 82zxt rebuilt....
(i didnt know that there were so many configurations of that engine)...
.......i had a company in ca. sell me a long block...they shipped it here to nashville....uh oh..
....(it was very different)...my exhaust has square ports (p90 head i think) this one had round ports (i think they all will bolt up and work but i wanted an engine"exactly" like what i had).....they looked all over and couldnt find another one like mine....
but they did pay to have my engine (and the new one)shipped back to LA, rebuilt it, and now it runs like a scalded dog!
....i think if the engine looks pretty good (i'd make sure it "turned"and i didnt hear rods clanging arround inside of it)...and you have a place for it (and the money to spare) it would sure be good to have arround.....they are getting fewer and fewer .....i just dont see any "turbo" cars in any of the junkyards anymore..you could always sell it later......s