Mike's 78' 280z L28ET OE+ Build

Mike contacted us back in June of 2023 in regards to a Pre-Purchase Inspection service that we offer for all potential Z car buyers across the country. He tracked down this 1978 280z on eBay motors that happened to be located in the greater Dallas area, about an hour away from us here in Fort Worth. We overlooked the vehicle, and after our inspection, we felt for the price he was getting a great deal. The car mechanically was sound, albeit needing the typical things a 45 year old car needs, but the body was in really good shape for it’s age, and a rarity these days, a complete interior.

It’s very refreshing seeing an all original, complete interior in these aging Datsuns these days, a lot of the cars we tend to see will have sun damage, or missing parts, or have been hacked and parted out by previous owners, so to get a full interior car that is mostly complete is always a treat, and we feel adds to the original retro feel of the car.

We eventually were asked to install a set of BC Racing coilovers, rear wheel bearings, Energy Suspension steering rack bushings, as well as adjustable control arms in the rear from Apex Engineered to get the ride feel to a more sporty experience, as well as the alignment specs dialed in. During that process, we took care of a few different leaks and other mechanical issues to get it back up to snuff and improve it’s road worthiness.

A few months later, we happened upon a complete L28ET swap with an accompanying Plug and Play Megasquirt kit for sale, and thought Mr. Nguyen would be the perfect candidate for it. This engine was actually one of the early rebuilt units that we did in house back in 2020, and had less than 1,000 miles on it. We made a package deal for Mike, and began planning the swap and conversion over to a stand alone EFI system. Mike wanted to keep it relatively stock for functionality, as well as budgetary reasons, as performance modifications can sky-rocket any budget very quickly. We maintained the OEM turbo intake tube, J-pipe, and even retained the factory functioning R12 A/C system. Although the engine bay is relatively stock in appearance, we did squeeze a few minor mods in to compliment the build and give it an OE plus feel. We built one of our 3” turbo-back exhaust systems, completely out of stainless steel tubing, and an Apexi N1 muffler. We also installed a cold-air intake to splice into the OEM turbo inlet boot, an Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator, and a Pallnet billet aluminum fuel rail.

Some of the final finishing touches included powdercoating the valve cover and fuel rail in a textured red, and some of the other extremities and heat shielding in textured black. The final touch was getting the factory A/C vacuum system to work with the turbo engine. This typically involves an additional check valve, but this car still had the original R12 A/C and it worked! Mike brought us a couple of R12 cans that had been sitting on his dad’s shelf for a few decades, and we topped off the original R12 system. We re-arranged some of the vacuum hoses, as well as found a way to make the later style 280zx FICD [Fast idle control device] work with the older S30 vacuum system. The S30s employ a vacuum servo to mechanically pull the throttle linkage and raise the idle speed during A/C operation. The 280zx and 280zx turbo employ a vacuum valve that opens under vacuum and creates a controlled vacuum leak to raise the idle speed.

Although this car is not necessarily the standard high performance and high horsepower kind of build we are known for, it still is a reflection of our work and attention to detail in every right, and we’re happy that Mr. Nguyen see’s that value in our work and is enjoying his freshly converted Turbo Datsun.

EXTERIOR/INTERIOR SPECS

Christopher Miller