Has anyone stroke 260z's?

[motorheadwannab]

I am looking to rebuild a 260z engine and i'm thinking why not make it better, cam maybe stroking it but I can't find any info on doing it, eveyone seems to do it to 240's or just put in a 280 engine...i do NOT want a 280 engine so what are my options...no v8 swap i would like to keep my straight 6:) can someone point me in the right direction? THANKS

[mars23z]

I think the reason you dont see as many L26 upgrades is because in the states they only made it for one year then it was changed to the L28. I have a 260z and I recently swapped my L26 for a L28 so I can rebuild my L26. You can do anything to engine for the right amount of money. There are many people on this site that know a lot more then I do about this topic. I plan to get bigger pistons fitted,a mild cam and thats probably all I will do to my L26. I have asked this question before about the stroker L26. MSA http://www.zcarparts.com/ sells the stroker kit for the L28 but doesnt offer one for the L24 or the L26 not sure why. There is nothing wrong with putting a L28 in your 260z lots have done it. I am planning on putting my rebuild L26 back in next summer but I got to say I like power of the L28 in it now. One thing you should look into is the carbs. Since you have a 260 if its stock it will have the flat top carbs if you can get a set of round tops from an early 240 you will see a big improvement just from doing that swap. Chris

[Arne]

Two comments. First, a 260Z engine (L26) is simply a mildly stroked 240Z engine (L24). That's really the only difference between them.

Second, building a stroker engine is expensive. If more power is what you are after, why spend all that cash on an L26 stroker, when the same cash and stroker parts on an L28 will give measurably more power?

[beandip]

The 260 engine has the same stroke as the 280. To further stroke the engine is to use a diesel crank from a Maxima engine . But there is much more that must be done when the diesel crank is used. Big Bucks up grade. If you think you need this sort of power you might consider a small block V-8. ''horsepower costs money. How fast do you want to SPEND'' Gary

[sblake01]

The 3.1 litre stroker is based on a L28 block because it requires a 89mm which is a 3mm overbore. L24 and L26 blocks would have to be bored 6mm to get to that. Probably wouldn't work. If you don't wan't a 280 or 280ZX motor as you say but you want a stroker and want to keep the straight 6, I'd say your options are ZERO.

[Zsomething]

I think the 240-260-280 engines are basically "the same". The 240 came first. The 260 was the stroked version (to compensate for emissions and added weight). The 280 was the stroked and bored version (also to compensate). That's a bit oversimplified, I know. But, that basically explains why there is more info on the 280 mods. You could start with whatever you want/have (and a lot of people probably have). But, the economic route is probably to start with the 280. Since most of the 69-83 components are more or less interchangeable, why not use the work that the Nissan engineers did and start from a bigger displacement in the 280?

[Arne]

Good comments, all of them. In summary, if you were to spend all the big bucks to use the diesel crank in an L26, you'd end up with a small bore motor that displaces somewhere between 2.7 and 2.8 liters. So if all you're going to end up with is a 2.8, why spend big bucks for the stroker parts when you can buy a complete factory 2.8 for peanuts?

[motorheadwannab]

From non Z enthusiasts I have only heard bad things about the l28 motor, thats why I have never even considered it. I think I will have to look a little more into them however, there are plenty of people as someone already stated that have lead the way. So basically what I am understanding is, the 240 and the 280 are going to be faster engines if you stroke the L24 that is. Why is it that the HP rating is significantly lower on the 280z though? Man I have alot to learn...

[sblake01]

What would non Z enthusiasts know about the L28? People don't stroke the L24 or the L26 because they have an 83mm bore and can't be safely taken to 89mm which the stroker setup is based on. Only the L28 blocks can be safely bored to 89mm. I'm guess that with enough time and money, and if you could find the pistons to fit an L24 or L26 with an L28 diesel crank, it could be done, but the L28 based 3.1 liter stroker that is so talked about, is based on parts that do exist and can be readily found although the cranks are getting harder and more expensive to find. Horsepower rating is another story altogether. Different methods of measuring hp were used on Datsuns starting about 1979. But that's a whole different discussion for which you should defer to the search feature. My 78 is rated at 170hp which is higher than any rating you'll find on any US 240 or 260. Stick around. Learn. It sounds to me like you need to forget most of the things you've heard elswhere.

[motorheadwannab]

Thanks for the help and yes...much MUCH to learn...assuming I don't want the 280, would I be smarter to get the 260, replace the carbs in the rebuild and the heads or would it be smarter just to find a 240z? They are practically the same thing...well close enough. I'm sure i'll get a lot of opinions but i'm looking for what really would be best performance with just an engine rebuild and parts here and there (heads, exhaust, cam, etc). Thanks so much everyone I look forward to hopefully becoming a contributing member...not just another newb:)

[Mr Camouflage]

Thanks for the help and yes...much MUCH to learn...assuming I don't want the 280, would I be smarter to get the 260, replace the carbs in the rebuild and the heads or would it be smarter just to find a 240z? They are practically the same thing...well close enough. I'm sure i'll get a lot of opinions but i'm looking for what really would be best performance with just an engine rebuild and parts here and there (heads, exhaust, cam, etc). Thanks so much everyone I look forward to hopefully becoming a contributing member...not just another newb:)

Got a budget in mind?

Best performance, go with a larger engine (L28). If you want to cut costs, ditch the efi and use round top carbies.

The search feature is good, think of a question and type in some keywords and you'll get alot of homework reading.

also check out www.datsunzgarage.com

[mars23z]

If you are planning on getting a 240 engine you are better off keeping your 260 engine. It doesnt make any sense to swap the L26 out for an L24 if your only reason is more power. The L26 is a bigger displacement then the L24. Either keep the L26 and put roundtops on it or go for the L28 and stroke the snot out of it if you want. When I put the L28 in my 260 I took the EFI off and put my round tops on instead and I notice a difference in power and its a stock L28. Chris