280z motor in a 240z?

[doc76239]

Has any one put a 280z motor in a 240z car? I am thinking of purchasing such a car, any help would be great.

[mperdue]

Who hasn't put a 280Z or 280ZX motor in a 240Z?!?!? It'll drop right in and most parts are interchangable.

[Ed]

Do some looking around on other posts. You will quickly learn that a 280 engine is common practice. They look identical and are a direct bolt on along with the 5 sp tranny.

[doc76239]

My boss is selling his 240z with an 280z motor in it. It needs an interior, and some paint work, but he's selling it for only 700 dollars,a dn it runs fairly good. Is this a good deal?

[CoastGuardZ]

Uhhh......

Nope. It's a horrible deal! You're getting ripped off! What's his number?

Nate:D

[Royce]

If it runs decent, the title is clean, and it can be easily registered than you cannot go wrong with a running 240Z for $700.

Typically the first thing you want to look at on a 240Z is body and chassis rust. Check under the interior carpets, under the battery, bottom of front fenders, rear hatch ledge, around the seam under the doors and in the spare tire well. You can spend a lot of time and money fixing rust if you end up wanting to make the car a keeper. Interior parts can also be hard/expensive to come by.

Hope it helps!

[doc76239]

The body has been repainted and there is no body damage, only rust is in the battery tray. The front end has been reinforced by a race car shop that builds nascar type chassys. It's also been lowered.

[Royce]

It sounds like a good deal to me, even better if it had the old original matching engine. One note is that with the frame modifications it may not meet the specifications for certain organized racing/autocross classes. But for that money it would be fine for driving down the street!

If you don't buy it post the contact info here and I am sure it will find a good home!

[Mudge]

Here is a bit of info on the various generations:

http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/2824/engine.html

[IM4A2Z]

Here's a few more good links while your at it! :classic:

Head Modifications

and

Modifications for more horsepower

[doc76239]

The original motor is gone, it blew a rod threw block. The 280z motor is know as what engine designation? Would this be L86. Also the 280z motor in the 240z has the twin carbs, not fuel injection. How hard is it to dial these carbs in. This is the reason the car runs rough.Are there any headers that would fit the 280z motor in the 240z car. Supposidly the car carves corners really well because of the chassy reinforcements and having been lowered.

[Royce]

There are two things that distinguish the motor. First is its model number and second its casting number.

The model number is on the driver’s right, rear side of the block and is the beginning of the engine serial number (ex. L28-XXXXXX). The model numbers follow the displacement- L28 is the approx. 2800cc motor for the 280Z & 280ZX, L26 is approx. 2600cc for the 260Z, etc...

The casting number is on the driver’s right side of the engine near the bottom just behind the motor mount. The key here is with respect to the L28. There were two different cast L28 blocks available by Datsun/Nissan. The N42 in the 280Z & '79 280ZX and the later F54 in the '80-'83 280ZX. The three important things to remember is that either block will bolt to any "L" series motor head (but may have different compression ratios), the F54 is considered to be stronger due extra strengthening between the cylinders, and the non-Turbo motors had flattop pistons that when used with early '70-'78 Z cylinder head can produce compression ratios of 9.5+. Higher compression ratio engines are much more productive (can make more power) with wilder cams and larger valves. Yours may very well be a N42 block, which isn't a problem but the F54 is often preferred.

Regarding carbs, a set of SU's in good condition can be very easy to dial in. But you will need to take some time and learn how to do it and what problems to look for. Check out www.ztherapy.com, they rebuild the Z SU's and sell very detailed instructional videos that will give you the knowledge you seek!

Hope it makes sense! Have fun!