Hi guys,

i'm 18 and am looking at picking up a 240z for a fun car, (i've got a corona exiv, but that 77kw 1.8 FWD doesn't exactly give me any thrills) and was wondering about engines in these cars.

so the factory 2.4 is rated at 150 hp, about 110 kw?, which seems quite nice for the weight of the car. I've read a bit and see that chev 350's are a reasonably popular engine swap, but i'm in brisbane australia, and am not too sure bout the availability of them or about local expertise knowledge bout these engines. Like i said i'm only 18 and most of what i'm saying is probably wrong and or stupid. What about sr20dets? many people put them in? or would it be better to keep the factory engine, as i will be working on a fairly tight budget. any advice'd be appreciated. thx

More like 80KW, the factory rating was somewhat optimistic.

Your best bet is to join the QLD Z car club, you will be able to get spare parts, contacts and local knowledge.

You say your on a tight budget so forget sr20's or 350 Chev's. Through the club you should be able to get a cheap L28 engine, basic swapover, more capacity.

Its a good engine while you spend money on fixing up more important thnigs like brakes, suspension and rust. ALot of 240Z's already have an L28 installed so see whats out there.

^^the l28 puts out more than ample power.... also, the L28ET (turbo) is an awesome swap..

good ideas. I just looked up that QLD Z club, sounds pretty sweet. To give u an idea of my budget, well since i posted that, i just got a job labouring where i should be getting between $600-$800 a week, so yeh, would an sr20 still be outta the question? thanks heaps for ideas

dont bother with a 4 banger. if you want to go in that direction put in an RB25 turbo. mutch better engine, much more bottom end torque means easier to drive and also has more potential for the price.

to do a proper RB/SR setup you are looking at about 8 grand driving easy, most likely more.

There is ALOT of work involved.

of course you wont get it registered without....

suspension and brakes. you need big brakes especially. get that sorted out then think about engines.

true, yeah thats startin to cost quite a bit. well i still need to save up and actually get a car, as right now i'm flat broke. well, all depends on what engine the car i get has in it, i might be lucky enough to get one with something decent already in it. So far though, 240z does seem to be the car that best suits what i'm after (fairly lightweight, rwd, that is worth putting a bit of work into, basically a good fun weekend car). thanks for the advice, i'll probly be lookin for a car in a few months.

My $0.02 cents,

The L series engines in the Z Cars are great performers and are easy to work on. Also they are bullet proof I would NEVER consider trading my Nissan L28 engine for a V8. Again this is my opinion.

Z's are awesome cars but they are not cheap hobbies (What hobby is??? ) so if you are on a tight budget then yes I agree, just focus on finding a good one with the least amount of rust as possible and worry about getting that one tuned up and running real good. You won't be disapointed with the stock L24 engine. 69-72 Z's had the more desireable carbs though. The late 73 240's and 74 260Z's had the diseased emission carbs and many with the late 240's and 260Z's swap with earlier 240Z SU's.

Anyways best of luck in your search and I hope you got a good paying job

If are looking at z's and aren't really that fussed about models I would also suggest you take a look at 260's. Cost for you is obviously an important factor and 260's tend to be slightly cheaper than 240's for cars in similar condition.

Consider joining the club BEFORE you purchase the car. A fair few get sold between members and never make it out into the "open" market - particularly the good examples. In addition, you will probably find people prepared to help you find the RIGHT vehicle who know more than your average Joe about the important things to look for when buying a z.

I'll admit that I have a barrow to push. I'm a member of the club, but the annual fee is far outweighed even by just the knowledge pool available to me.

Welcome to a word of masochism and joy!

i think i'll be joining the qld z club then. Also, job i start tomorrow will be givvin me $600-800 a week (i still live at home, so not much expenses).

interesting bout the earlier Z engines. well now i cant wait to get into one. thanks very much for the advice.

Early L-Series engines are great. Like DatsunZsRule pointed out, they are very easy to work on and very forgiving if you make a mistake.

L-Series engines can also be interchanged with each other, like different model heads and cranks can do with each other to a degree. I have a small (read: amature) website up about all the different swaps and combos you can do. It's at www.geocities.com/garydatsunz . The F54 block from the 280ZX is a good, strong block. It has the siamesed cylinder walls for better cooling and it makes it stronger. If you are looking for serious power, then get a P90 turbo head. Of course, I am a believer in the old school, so I like the earlier P30 blocks with the E88 heads. Get an N36 intake manifold from a 260Z and get a triple weber setup and you will fly as well. Just my thoughts.

Dave

The F54 block from the 280ZX is a good, strong block. It has the siamesed cylinder walls for better cooling and it makes it stronger..............................

Get an N36 intake manifold from a 260Z and get a triple weber setup and you will fly as well. Just my thoughts.

Dave

Have to disagree there. the siamesed blocks inhibit the coolant passages do they not?

also the N36 manifold wont go to well with tripple webbers, its designed for duel SU's.

I thought the siamesed cylinder walls helped cooling. Maybe I was mistaken.

And my bad about the N36 intake manifold. Wasn't thinking :stupid: :stupid: