What kind of engine build

[nwcubsman]

I am interested in building a motor for a 240Z. I have an opportunity at a LD28 crank, but not sure if that is the right way to go. I am just looking for a hot street car that I can hill climb or AutoX on the occasional Z event. Do you think a stoker motor is the way to go? I'd like a motor with a lower power band, say 3000-6000 RPM powerband and good pull in that range. Not wanting to spend $5k on building the motor. Any comments?

[seerex]

There are lots of info on the page reguarding stroker setups and links to sites offering advice. I think hybridz as well as lots of info on those types of motors. Depending how you set up the motor in the aspect of new parts , new main bolts, new intakes polishing and diffrent carbs setups you can quickly spend quite a bit. The crank is a great find and saves you a nice chunk of change. Read up on the build advice of people who have done it themselves , I have heard its not nearly as easy to do as its described. I personally would go with n/a but some people swear by turbo motors and they have very good results with them. I also am looking into this and if can find them I will send you some links to some pages i found. I think I am gonna go with a Robello motor eventually just so I know its done right.

[zguitar71]

The motor you choose will dictate the class you race in too. A stroker will put you into either Street mod or E modified. In e mod the cars are hardly cars anymore, beyond the front and rear bulkhead they are usually converted to tube frames. A stroker is great but a Lotus Europa with 600 HP that weighs 1600 LBS will blow it away. In Street Mod the cars are still cars, full interiors ect. This would be the best class for a stroker. Strokers are great for their low end torque which work well on the autox course. Look into the classes for racing and decide what you want to do, getting into a clas where you can never compete is not fun. Out side of racing strokers are great street engins too, I would love to build one myself.

[texasz]

The motor you choose will dictate the class you race in too. A stroker will put you into either Street mod or E modified. In e mod the cars are hardly cars anymore, beyond the front and rear bulkhead they are usually converted to tube frames. A stroker is great but a Lotus Europa with 600 HP that weighs 1600 LBS will blow it away. In Street Mod the cars are still cars, full interiors ect. This would be the best class for a stroker. Strokers are great for their low end torque which work well on the autox course. Look into the classes for racing and decide what you want to do, getting into a clas where you can never compete is not fun. Out side of racing strokers are great street engins too, I would love to build one myself.

I'd be interested in knowing what else would bump you from Street mod to E modified since I'm doing a stroker and would prefer to stay in Street mod.

[zguitar71]

In Modified the car can run non dot tires, aka racing slicks, the interior is gone and there are probably other things too. In street Mod the car must be street legal so you would have to run DOT tires (like Hoosiers ect..), the body structure must remain but can be modified to allow larger wheels and tires (flares). You can incorperated a roll cage. If you go to www.scca.com you can look at the solo II rules and find all the differences.

In the end a Modified car and a Street Modified car are very different.

A streetable stroker can make 300+HP with the right build up. I race a friend of mine who has one. He races in Modified but the compitition is mild around here in his class. He still has the car's interior and only has a roll bar. I have driven his car before and the low end torque is great. I put the car in 2nd gear and run the course. The car pulls from 2000 RPM all the way to 6500. The interesting thing though is I beat him in my F prepared Z 50% of the time (this race season so far). I Do not have a roll bar or cage and have the full interior and make around 100 HP less. My car has a better suspension and no rust so the body is stiffer (he has a bit of a rust problem) and we run the same wheels and tires. I have beat him on tight courses and long fast courses too. The suspension, alignment and body stiffness will do more for the car than high HP. He is no slouch behind the wheel either, he has many years racing Z's and come from a family that races oll over the country (His brother is Goerge Bowland the multi time A mod National champion). You might want to spend less money on the cars suspension and stuff and go faster than spending big dollars on a stroker motor. No matter what class you race in (other than stock) you will need to change the suspension and should stiffen the chasis. once that is done you would be suprised how fast a Z can be even with the stock suspension. Then go for the fast motor.

[dogma420]

unless you're doing it yourself, you're not going to get a stoker done for the amount of money you want to spend ($5k).

[zguitar71]

On another Z site there is a person that recently got a Rebello stroker built and I think the total was $8500. That included the NISMO header and the 45mm Mikuni's. His motor produces around 315 HP. My friends makes around the same power but is not that streetable with 12.5:1 compression. He has to retard the timming to run pump gas for the street and the power goes way down, but when he is running race fuel the car is very fast. I would never go beyond 10.5:1 for a street motor myself.