What kind of things can be done for a major power increase?

[Prest's Zcar]

I am not very familiar yet with older cars and I know that for newer one's you can just turbo or supercharge the car for a major power increase, but what kinds of things can you do for a 72 240z with a in-line 6 cylinder engine?

[spitz17]

Major power increases really varies for these cars.

200hp on a 72 240Z would be more than enough IMHO. But if you aren't too picky about original engine matching, you can always swap in a L28ET or a V8 which gives you a lower more power flexibility. At the same time, you must worry about the body of the car as a whole, as they are not made to withstand great power.

[gnosez]

What can be done depends on the size of your wallet.

S30 bodied cars (1970-1978) can be run with everything from bone stock engines to LS, Grand Nationals, Skyline RB, Titan truck, GM/Ford crate motors, or in other words anything you can stuff in the engine bay.

Body re-enforcement is a good thing to consider and there a number of ways to do so.

Better brakes and an upgraded or refreshed suspension should also be on the list.

The NA engine in my 240 puts out 255rwhp but a turbo and some more money would bump that to well over 300. An LS1 or RB single or twin turbo could get you 400-800rwhp.

Want to see what can be done? Go over to: www.hybridz.org and join the dark side.....

[jmortensen]

If you really want a lot of power and want the best bang for your buck, go straight to the turbo or another engine like a V8. Tons of power without breaking the bank. Building a really hot L engine is expensive and will probably require race gas. I had a decent chunk of money in my L28 and I did a lot of the work myself, ran triple Mikunis and all that stuff. Was making in the 240 whp range, but the car require 96 octane gas to not ping, so I was mixing race gas with premium to get the right octane, it just turns into a real PITA very quickly. By contrast the V8 I'm building for my Z made 315 hp stock cost $1100 (of course that doesn't include trans, driveshaft, carb, etc to run it), but it should make more like 400 bhp when it is running, and will run on 87 octane.

[bigoak]

By contrast the V8 I'm building for my Z made 315 hp stock cost $1100 (of course that doesn't include trans, driveshaft, carb, etc to run it), but it should make more like 400 bhp when it is running, and will run on 87 octane.

Eek...we lost a classic to the dark side...:tapemouth

[jmortensen]

Eek...we lost a classic to the dark side...:tapemouth

Yep, a Series I, it's even one of the first 5000 built. It's all cut up with a roll cage and big brakes and flares and R200 LSD. It's gonna suck balls at 2200 lbs with 400 hp and 12" wide slicks. Yucky.

I should have kept it stock and had a car that could be outperformed in every aspect by a Camry.

[Prest's Zcar]

Thanks for the advice. I want to keep at least a z car engine in it. I have a 280 engine with fuel injection that I could rebuild and put in it or I have this old 240 racing engine that I don't know anything about. I'm just hoping to find a way to boost the horsepower without too much money since I'm a college student. Thats why I was wondering what kind of turbo's and stuff would work. I really appreciate all your guy's help.

[gnosez]

Aah! Now we have the necessary information to offer you better advise (re: since I'm a college student).

Get it running, keep it running, then after you do the other basic items such as brakes and suspension you can upgrade the power and drive train.

[gnosez]

Aah! Now we have the necessary information to offer you better advise (re: since I'm a college student).

Get it running, keep it running, then after you do the other basic items such as brakes and suspension you can upgrade the power and drive train.

[Prest's Zcar]

Ok thanks everyone.