To restore or to race? The story of my '73

[AggieZ]

I bought my '73 240Z intending to restore it and be happy with it. A bit of nastalga and an every other day driver. I put my efforts into upgrading the suspension and handling. A daily driver should ride good... and I put a bit of money into it. Then I started thinking about how I would miss the horsepower. Handling is great, but hp is better. So I started looking at the upgrades available for stock 240Z's. I was thinking in the + tens of horse power upgrades. I started thinking about the cost of the "+tens" and it just didnt make sence. Sooooo, I started thinking in hundreds of horse power. I looked at V8 conversions, Skyline engines, and the ol' tried and true 280ZX turbo and its aftermarket. An American V8 in a Datsun just didnt sit well. I have nothing against American muscle.... but it just didnt feel right. A skyline engine would be very good, but its a very expensive upkeep for any part that fails..... which lead me to the 280ZX turbo. Inexpensive (releatively) for the HP gain. I waffled between the skyline and ZX option for about 2 months... but I have made my decision.

The ZX car that this engine is in is a decent car..... its about 500 pounds too heavy and it aint a 240Z :ninja:

[FHPTOM]

I went through the same saga with my 260. Spent a lot of cash on all the bits to rebuild it to a daily driver then realized I wanted to race it.

For the money spent on rebuilding I could have had one heck of a racecar.

Oh well, now I have a track car that looks good also.

Tom

[Ron Carter]

It depends on what you need. I NEED to race, therefore I have racing Datsuns.

What do you need?

[AggieZ]

I pushed the 280ZX a little more today. Listening for any little problem or hickup.... didnt hear or have one. This engine is running good. I have'nt timed it yet... or pushed it real hard... but I'm guessing that it will make 0-60 just under 5 seconds. When its in the 240.... my guess is at about 4.2

[chris b]

Race it. Go for period mods like triple Webers. Once you restore it all you can do is wash it all the time, look at it and $^!# yourself if you think it is going to rain!