240z engine swaps

[magicbum707]

im getting a 240z pretty soon with no engine and i got about 6k to spend. so i was wondering what are some motor swap choices? ive seen sr20s but thats about it. so any help on easyness of swaps and whats available would be nice. im getting the car from a guy in town who actually has one with a 350 in it. i really would like to do the sr20 or the 300zx tt motor. advice or links to sites would help

thanks

-new z owner rob

[hls30.com]

Your best bet is Hybridz.org

Will

[red_dog007]

Yeah go there.

Though myself, I would do an RB swap, V8 swap, or an L28ET swap.

LT-1, LT-4, LS1, LS2, LS4 with transmissions can be found for $2k to $2.5k on ebay and are popular swaps.

RB20DET, RB25DET, RB26DETT are all popular swaps too. The RB is the In-Line 6 version of the SR.

SR will lighten the car up, but it doesn't past the wheel wells, so you have no weight on the front wheels which can cause a bit of under steering in high speed cornering.

L28ET can push some decent numbers after being tweaked around with. Stock is only 180hp, but the turbo can handle some 15psi (up from around 6psi stock) so an intercooler would be needed. After getting the motor ready to handle that kind of psi, I am sure this thing can get close to 300hp.

Even a Series II Supercharged 3.8L V6 would be pretty cool.

All these will make the $6k budget easy for the motor, tranny, and accessories. Now if you get someone else to do it, it might be a different story.

Though don't forget with this added power, you should get the disc brake conversion for the rear, as the drums can get pretty hot and over heat on the track.

[magicbum707]

sweet RB can be swapped in? that i didnt know. the loss of weight in front with the sr wont be a big problem. the only reason im doin a motor swap is cuz i bought a shell with no motor and i doubt ill race it much. i was thinking of doin a small block chevy but from what ive been told it gets a little expensive.

[JohnEd]

I only know one guy that did the Chevy V8 swap and he was only "semi happy". He could blow the ujoints with his big toe in a flash. He said a lot of the fun was gone caus he had to be ever concerned with lunching joints/diff or axels. I wasn't there but that is what he told me.

Why wouldn't you put in a stock/built Z motor. I blue printed my 71 240 and opened the ex and stretched the cam as far as I could go and stay in showroom stock class and it was a 5.7-5.8 for 0-60 performance. Recurved the distributor and ran a MSD. The head was completely redone except for eyebrowing. The dyno said 300hp but I think it was closer to 250 but I have no way to prove it. Really, why not a stock engine built? I am thinking about doing this.

Thanks

John

[jmortensen]

I only know one guy that did the Chevy V8 swap and he was only "semi happy". He could blow the ujoints with his big toe in a flash. He said a lot of the fun was gone caus he had to be ever concerned with lunching joints/diff or axels. I wasn't there but that is what he told me.

R200/CV swap would have taken care of this issue.

Why wouldn't you put in a stock/built Z motor. I blue printed my 71 240 and opened the ex and stretched the cam as far as I could go and stay in showroom stock class and it was a 5.7-5.8 for 0-60 performance. Recurved the distributor and ran a MSD. The head was completely redone except for eyebrowing. The dyno said 300hp but I think it was closer to 250 but I have no way to prove it. Really, why not a stock engine built? I am thinking about doing this.

So you're saying you blueprinted an L24 and changed the cam and exhaust valves and got 300 hp? I'm finding that a bit tough to believe. Maybe there's more to it that you didn't state, but I got ~240 whp out of an L28 with 11:1 compression, medium cam, triple carbs, recurved distributor and MSD.

As to why people would swap in something else... imagine not having the U-joint issues and having 400 or 500 whp in a 2300 lb car. That's why... :devious:

[JohnEd]

Jon,

I didn't believe it either, as I said. The dyno shop owner was a really nice guy and he didn't charge me for the dyno runs he did. I know he pushed a couple Ferraris out of the line and I have no explaination for why he treated me so well or why he would quote a figure we both knew was very "optimystic". I said "maybe 250" and I guess that could also be too high a guess. I never got it on a dyno I could trust nor did she ever get to the track for accel numbers. I did this in the mid eighties and my 0-60 number is an estimate because the Mustang of the day did 0-60 in 6 flat. I beat every one hands down with 2 cars lengths at the 60 mark. I weighed 2,400 without my 200lbs on board. That was done with pump gas regular and the timing retarded on 9.8 to 1 compression. On slalom day she got "re-adjusted and treated to 100 octane sippen wiskey. I loved that little car and I always felt that i was "putting on the car" rather than getting into it. How much rwhp does it take to get my accel. times? I don't have the math.

As far as 4 to 500 rwhp in a 2,300 lb car...I don't think that is a realistic streetable ride. It would certainly be one heck of an achievement. Then again "reality is a crutch for people that can't tolerate drugs and alcohol".

What is a R200/cv? Source?

Let me know about the hp needed.

Thanks

John

[=Enigma=]

The 240Z came with an R180 differential, The R200 diff came later in the 280Z and 280ZX. It has a larger ring gear, a stronger case, and came with ratios of 3.70:1, 3.90:1 and 4.11:1.

Here's some references for you, including one from jmortensen who just replied to you:

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=114798

http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/R200.htm

http://datsunzgarage.com/engine/

[Mr Camouflage]

What about the VG30ET from the 300zx Z31. They are lighter than the L28ET and easy to find in the US and can be pushed to 400hp on stock internals.

[rexz]

Hi Rob welcome to the forum first of all...

i have a 71 series 2 with a l28et, set at 11 lbs of boost the car dynoed at 212 horsepower and 229 lbs of torque at sea level in san diego.

thats 100% stock with only a boost controller and the pop off valve being removed . My costs maybe a 800 dollars for the drivetrain, another 1500 for the suspension about 600 for the toyota/240sx disk break swaps.

good luck

rex

[jmortensen]

I didn't believe it either, as I said. The dyno shop owner was a really nice guy and he didn't charge me for the dyno runs he did. I know he pushed a couple Ferraris out of the line and I have no explaination for why he treated me so well or why he would quote a figure we both knew was very "optimystic". I said "maybe 250" and I guess that could also be too high a guess. I never got it on a dyno I could trust nor did she ever get to the track for accel numbers. I did this in the mid eighties and my 0-60 number is an estimate because the Mustang of the day did 0-60 in 6 flat. I beat every one hands down with 2 cars lengths at the 60 mark. I weighed 2,400 without my 200lbs on board. That was done with pump gas regular and the timing retarded on 9.8 to 1 compression. On slalom day she got "re-adjusted and treated to 100 octane sippen wiskey. I loved that little car and I always felt that i was "putting on the car" rather than getting into it. How much rwhp does it take to get my accel. times? I don't have the math.

That's good info. I'm not trying to burst your bubble by the way, just trying to keep the info all on the level. Check this out: http://www.060calculator.com/ Plug in your 2400 lb weight and try to hit the 0-60 time you were stating, and it turns out you need about.... 185hp at the flywheel. That sounds pretty realistic to me.

As far as 4 to 500 rwhp in a 2,300 lb car...I don't think that is a realistic streetable ride. It would certainly be one heck of an achievement. Then again "reality is a crutch for people that can't tolerate drugs and alcohol".

There are lots of guys doing it, although I'm not sure about that weight. I figure that weight should be possible, but most of the weights I've seen listed are in the 2500 range and up, haven't figured that one out yet. Eventually I'll go that route and see what I can do to build a lighter version. Some with the new all aluminum LS engines are still putting down 25 mpg too, but that's because they can do freeway speeds at 1200 rpm with the double overdrive T56 6 speeds. Are you going to the Canby All Datsun Meet this weekend? I'm not, but I know Dave Kipperman will be there with his gorgeous LS1 Z car.

Here are some teaser threads, some with pics and vids just to prove the realism of the high hp street Z... and they can turn too! There are a LOT more out there, these are just the ones that came to my head first.

2 V8 Z cars vying for TTOD at the Eugene autox:

http://album.hybridz.org/showgallery.php?cat=803

Pics of Dave's car:

http://www.picturetrail.com/gid14620511

Terry Oxendale has a 400 hp 289 Z car that is now street driven (hand made fiberglass body):

http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/pictures?userid={7DC317B0-8EDB-4B2E-A837-F708D07C9769}&inv=9C67398D46D99D9&userid={7DC317B0-8EDB-4B2E-A837-F708D07C9769}&inv=9C67398D46D99D9

Tim is putting down 630 whp with an L28ET, and Garrett in that same thread is putting down 460 whp with his:

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=116829

This V8 conversion has to be there too:

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=93677

What is a R200/cv? Source?

R200 is the 280Z differential, also used in the 280ZX, 280ZXT, 300ZX and 300ZXT, among others. The CV's most commonly come from the 280ZXT and the 300ZXT. There are adapters from www.modernmotorsports.com to bolt the CV shafts into a first gen Z car, along with billet steel stub axles and other go fast drivetrain parts.

[nate_maas]

the first motor swap i performed on my z, i put a 12:1 cr, mechanical roller cam, aluminum headed chevy 383 sb, backed by a ford 9" rear end and a t-56 6 spd tranny and a 6 pt roll cage.

i say v-8 is the way to go if you have the money, tools , and time to reinforce your chassis and drive train.

this car made 460 hp to the wheels and pulled the front end almost a foot off the ground on hard launches.

to all you guys who are afraid of twisting up your car- half your car, and drop a chevy small block in your Z