New 280z "Hawk" - wish me luck.

[smackhq]

3 hours ago, Mark Maras said:

@smackhq Just got back from Pick-n-Pull, Portland south. 111th and SE Foster. They've got a 77 sitting there with the running gear intact. I noticed that it still had the AC compressor attached to the engine. Injection is gone as well as much of the interior. The valve cover was loose so I looked inside. Aside from a few spots of very light surface rust on the lobes it looks good. It has had regular oil changes judging from the total lack of sludge. Dash is gone so no estimate of the mileage. Harmonic balancer was gone or I would have tried to turn it over.

 The hood is off, manifolds are off, everything is disconnected. The engine is just sitting there begging to be pulled. PnP engine price is $197.99 with a $29.99 core charge. Estimated time from Kent to Portland about three hours. Time to pull the engine and get it into a transporter, less than one hour, with my help, if desired.

 Now the sad part of the story. The body has little rust. Battery area has a small spot of surface rust. Hatch latch panel is near pristine. Floors look good. Frame rails look good. Tire well looks good. Doglegs look good. A couple of bubbles in the door bottoms. It's really a shame. I have three Z bodies and this one is in better shape than any of mine.

Thanks for the heads up Mark. I wonder what they would want for the entire car in that condition. I could just drive down with trailer and load her up and "possibly" cross some things off my list. The thing on my engine though is that I trust the guy who I bought it from (works with my team at work and is solid egg) and that if he said it ran fine before he swapped it in I believe that. I'd say I have more faith in my engine than a pick-n-pull engine. Although price is good.  

Part of my cars body is solid and surprises me while other parts of course have a lot of rust and even IF I can get the engine running I still have a long way to go to get it to the quality I would eventually like. 

[smackhq]

Happy 4th brothers!! I am loving how much support and interest you guys are giving me on this project. Awesome. Thank you!

 

[smackhq]

There is a white one up North of me: http://www.picknpull.com/vehicle_details.aspx?VIN=RND5gT3kbkb8l34RzQNdT2fr3

And the one Mark mentioned: http://www.picknpull.com/vehicle_details.aspx?VIN=RNDjUQY6utfmmPBe2IB0MhGfk

 

[Zed Head]

Now you've got the virus.  Searching for and collecting parts is part of the condition.

[smackhq]

hahaha great!!

[smackhq]

23 hours ago, Mark Maras said:

@smackhq Just got back from Pick-n-Pull, Portland south. 111th and SE Foster. They've got a 77 sitting there with the running gear intact. I noticed that it still had the AC compressor attached to the engine. Injection is gone as well as much of the interior. The valve cover was loose so I looked inside. Aside from a few spots of very light surface rust on the lobes it looks good. It has had regular oil changes judging from the total lack of sludge. Dash is gone so no estimate of the mileage. Harmonic balancer was gone or I would have tried to turn it over.

 The hood is off, manifolds are off, everything is disconnected. The engine is just sitting there begging to be pulled. PnP engine price is $197.99 with a $29.99 core charge. Estimated time from Kent to Portland about three hours. Time to pull the engine and get it into a transporter, less than one hour, with my help, if desired.

 Now the sad part of the story. The body has little rust. Battery area has a small spot of surface rust. Hatch latch panel is near pristine. Floors look good. Frame rails look good. Tire well looks good. Doglegs look good. A couple of bubbles in the door bottoms. It's really a shame. I have three Z bodies and this one is in better shape than any of mine.

FYI. That car has been sold and removed today. ? Oh well

[Mark Maras]

@smackhq Really, it's gone? I haven't been over there today but it's still in inventory on their website. 

[smackhq]

38 minutes ago, Mark Maras said:

@smackhq Really, it's gone? I haven't been over there today but it's still in inventory on their website. 

Yep. I called them this AM.

[Zed Head]

I was serious about having many parts if you want to start with simple NA EFI or even carbs, or an engine swap.  Engine, distributor, EFI harness.  I'm down here in the Portland area and trying to reduce my parts hoard.

You could even leave the turbo on and run exhaust through the waste gate.  Lots of crazy options.

[smackhq]

Other than turbo, are there a lot of difference between the l28e and l28et? The wiring and EFI does have me on edge as well the MS setup. I could go route of Softopz but man I already am deep and have every part to do the MS setup as easy as possible. I might as well study hard and give it a try. It's not like this car is going anywhere. I just cleared space in garage and have it up on jacks to start working on.

Zed, I am debating pulling the engine now given all the feedback. At minimum I could get it out and really give it a good look and decide what to do with car.

Rust is start to bother me, especially the rail in front drive side. The rust hole underneath gas cap is probably a bitch to replace. 

 

[Zed Head]

Compression ratio, cam lobe profile, and ignition system are the main differences and they are minor.

Some option will probably drop in to your lap while you're working on other things.

[smackhq]

Well I was finally able to get the Z into a better spot in garage where it will probably live for some time. Hopefully not too long.

Focussing on engine, I was looking at my long list of stuff to do and realized that I hadn't cranked engine and tested compression. Verified oil and hooked up battery.

Tested twice, cranking enough to get values up. Here are results:

Cylinder:

1: 130

2: 100, 110 dry. 125 wet

3: 130

4: 130

5: 130

6: 130

Cylinder 2 is low, so again I would love some advice on engine/car and what you guys would do. 

Is that a problem?

Should I pull head?

There is an L28E near me but he wants $1k for it. 

 

 

Edited July 7, 2018 by smackhq
forgot test step.