This is a Datsun L28 crate engine that remains in its original factory crate, it’s never been used or installed in a car, and as a result, it remains in remarkably original condition throughout.
The L28 is an inline-six cylinder engine with a displacement of 2.8 liters (2,753 cc). It was originally fitted to the Datsun 280Z, as well as the Nissan Patrol 260, Nissan Laurel C130, Nissan Gloria 330, Nissan Cedric 330, and even a South African version of the Datsun/Nissan Skyline R30.
The L28 is an inline-six cylinder engine with a displacement of 2.8 liters (2,753 cc). It was originally fitted to the Datsun 280Z, as well as the Nissan Patrol 260, Nissan Laurel C130, Nissan Gloria 330, Nissan Cedric 330, and even a South African version of the Datsun/Nissan Skyline R30.
The Datsun L28 Engine
The Datsun L28 is a member of the Nissan L-series engine line that started with the six-cylinder L20 in 1966, which was then followed by the L16, L20A, and a slew of others with displacements ranging from 1.3 liters right through to 2.8 liters with the L28.
Interestingly, the L-series engines were strongly influenced by the Mercedes-Benz inline-sixes of the time, with Prince Motor Company engineers essentially reverse engineering the German engine and then modifying it to suit their needs.
The L-series engine project became a Nissan design when Prince merged with Nissan in 1966 – this merger would also bring the Skyline into the Nissan family, as the car started out as Prince production car.
The L28 was an inline-six with an iron block and aluminum alloy head. It had a single overhead cam with twin row timing chains, two-valves per cylinder, and a bore x stroke of 86 mm × 79 mm. The version of the engine used in the Datsun 280Z had dish-top pistons and electronic multiport fuel injection via a Bosch L-Jetronic system.
The engine was capable of up to 143 bhp, later turbocharged versions used in the 280ZX Turbo made 180+ bhp.
The L28 engine has long been a popular engine to swap into the earlier Datsun 240Z and 260Z models in place of their less powerful 2.4 and 2.6 liter engines (respectively).
The L28 engine has long been a popular engine to swap into the earlier Datsun 240Z and 260Z models in place of their less powerful 2.4 and 2.6 liter engines (respectively). The weight penalty is minimal, and the larger displacement engine offered an appreciable gain in torque, though only a modest horsepower bump.
The Datsun L28 Crate Engine Shown Here
The engine you see here is a Datsun L28 crate engine that remains in the original factory crate, where it’s been carefully preserved since the 1980s.
It’s said to have been bought by a 280Z owner who wanted it as a spare engine, but it was never used, and as a result it’s now one of very few unused examples of its kind left in the world.
As you would expect, this L28 has an iron block, an aluminum N42 cylinder head, an E30 L6 camshaft, and it’s internally complete, ready to be installed into a car, or preserved as-is.
The L28 was an inline-six with an iron block and aluminum alloy head. It had a single overhead cam with twin row timing chains, two-valves per cylinder, and a bore x stroke of 86 mm × 79 mm.
It seems likely that this engine will be bought by a 240Z, 260Z, or 280Z owner as a swappable power unit, but it may also end up with a collector who wants to put it on display as-is.
The engine is now being offered for sale out of Malibu, California in its shipping crate with no reserve price on Bring a Trailer. If you’d like to read more or place a bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
