Hey All,
Thought I'd update where Antus left off with this one and with any luck I can keep you posted as this project evolves!
Firstly, as Antus said we set out to obtain a good L28 motor from a 280ZX which they are pretty common still so it didn't take too long... Although not a turbo car the motor had all the right bits to be a turbo engine (F54 block and a P90 head for those playing at home). Antus and I looked the motor over before buying it including compression testing and a good once over and getting it running which is more than the last engine. I then drove the car for 3 months so we knew it was good this time.
- 1 280ZX donor_resize.jpg (284.89 KiB) Viewed 6633 times
Once the engine was out of the car we stripped it down and inspected everything we could, replaced the water pump and checked out the chain tensioner and everything else that could be checked. Then back together with fresh gaskets where we could and out with that pesky dizzy.
- 2 L28 Coming together_resize.jpg (210.37 KiB) Viewed 6633 times
Then it was time to bolt the manifold and all the bits back on including the crank angle sensor that can be seen clearly hanging at the front of the engine below. All of the bits from the L20A were swapped over and the injectors were upgraded to a set that should flow enough however we didn't do the maths (note to self, always confirm what you put in before putting them in!)
- 3 L28ET ready to go.jpg (247.14 KiB) Viewed 6633 times
While it was out I coated the engine bay matte black so that I could see if anything leaked and we also cleaned the engine for the same reason... Next it was a nights work to get it back in and ready to go. Everything slotted in nicely
- 4 L28ET Fitted_resize.jpg (255.64 KiB) Viewed 6633 times
Once it was all ready to go it was time to hit the track! It was a great day with high hopes that we'd get more than two laps before we have a failure. Antus in his Subaru and one of our other mates came out with his Skyline to make it a full house. The Zed was looking good at this point. All the hard work had paid off and the car was ready to rock!
- 6 Zed at the track_resize.jpg (118.92 KiB) Viewed 6633 times
Then disaster struck... in three's. Ofcourse. We got the car off the trailer, hooked up the laptop, started logging and the laptop said it was all good, no errors and was running like a top. We got to the form up area with the laptop logging away, no problems so far... feeling confident... We got the car on the track, feeling great! All the hard work payed off the Zed was finally alive! It was pulling well and felt strong, I was short shifting to get a feel for the car but then.... I only managed two laps before I noticed that the temperature guage was climbing more than expected... then the check engine light came on.... crap, back to the pits to get Antus to check it out.
- 5 game over_resize.jpg (159.75 KiB) Viewed 6633 times
Game Over. After checking the logs and running it in the pits with the thermos' going solid it was spotted that it was leaning out! Badly, so badly that as soon as I hit boost the injectors that we had spec'd up (or thought we had) for the job were going straight to 100% duty cycle and ofcourse, no fuel + turbo was going to equal bang so we shut it down. Quickly!
So, time to limp onto the trailer and get bigger injectors for the next run... nothing blew up, mechanically the engine was good and the Delco gear did exactly what it should. The check engine came on at the right point and the thermos kicked in and nothing blew up. So as much as it sucked it was also a win
Oh and the third thing I hear you ask? When we went to move the car to the trailer the brakes were jammed on. Yep, just to add insult to injury the 'reconditioned' master that I was using had decided that exact moment was when it was going to jam on. That was my three failures so with nothing permanently dead we got it on the trailer and headed home.
Anyway, it was great learning experience and the car is almost sorted. The new XR6T injectors are in now (thanks Antus for just having them lying around!), the new NVRAM has arrived (thanks Jayme) and is fitted and we are ready for the next track day so once there is some spare time we'll be out there again.... This time it will make more than two laps! Really... we will
Thanks again to Antus and Bartron (With the 300ZX) for all the leg work and late nights drinking beer, I mean working on the Zed with me
Better then than on the track I guess.