Project Z

[Project Z]

So I just inherited a project car from my grandfather, he has had it for years and has not worked on it so I convinced him to let me have it. I am not too sure if it will be frowned on in this forum but it is a bit of a hybrid.

The car is a 260z body and a new 240z engine. I am not sure what the differences are in the engines between the 240, 260 and 280 but I am hoping to find out here. He has two sets of brand new interior dressings for the car and I am told they are complete and include the seats, carpets, dash, gages, ect.

The car has been sitting in his garage for quite some time and I am wondering if I will need to go through inch by inch replace all kinds of misc. parts. I am guessing so.

Hopefully I haven't gotten in over my head with this thing but I guess time will tell. I look forward to reading your advice and hope you will all be willing the help a brother out.

Thanks - Jeremy

[AndysPlit]

Hello. I don't think anyone would frown for a 260 having a 240 engine.....even better if you ask me. It is a better engine and more reliable than a stock 260. The 260's had poor carbs, and slower performance. I think the only 240 engine you need to weary of is one from a 73. I may stand corrected, but I am pretty sure of this.

Like any other old car that has been sitting around you probably want to change a lot of the rubber and maybe seals. Rust is always a first generation concern, as you would probably want to have the undercarriage and floorpans, looked at first. The are trouble spots that cannot be detected from the surface.

Well, that's all I can think of and I'll leave it to the guys here to either correct or finish what I have started. Good luck!

[AndysPlit]

It is a common modification to drop an engine from a 280 in to a 240 and 260, along with the 5-speed tranny. The earlier models (240 & 260) were originally equipped with carbs, while Bosch fuel injection was introduced in 1975 for the 280Z. The 77 & 78 280 engines had 170 hp, the 240 with 151, and the 260 with 139. However, the increase in power mainly balanced out the added weight for the later first-gen Z cars (1975-78).

[350zx]

if the car has been sitting for a long time like you say it would be a good idea to drain the gas from the tank and also the oil.

[Project Z]

in your experiance are the rubber seals hard or expensive to replace if I were to just do it all at once? Thanks again for all the help.

-Jeremy

[AndysPlit]

I don't think the parts themselves are that expensive. Do you plan on doing the work yourself? If not, labor will always get you in the end especially fir a head job.

Question to anyone out there: Is it advisable to change the head gasket seal if it has been sitting for a long time?

in your experiance are the rubber seals hard or expensive to replace if I were to just do it all at once? Thanks again for all the help.

-Jeremy

[Project Z]

Oh yes I want to do the work myself, that is the fun of it right? I will probably leave the painting to a pro but that is about it.

[240ZX]

Jeremy,

If I may provide you with a little advise....I know, knowone want free advise! Do a lot of research first and learn about the usual issues you are likely to encounter. Then, figure out what you intend to use the car for.....street, autocross, closed road course, and or drag strip. Once you decide, figure out what your budget will allow and put together a plan of attack. You will more than likely exceed your planned budget, like many members will atest to doing but, thats a normal thing that happens with car nuts. We have a ton of information here, in the archives, on these cars and what people have done.......pretty much anything you might be considering has been done before. So, make use of the search function and you will have available to you an incredible wealth of good information on all aspects of of these old Zs. Most everyone here is very good at helping others out! Read on and enjoy.

Tom

[Project Z]

Thanks Tom! I do appreciate the free advice. I am going to do just that.

[e_racer1999]

just to add a wee bit of info - the difference in the 240, 260, and 280 blocks is pretty simple. the 240s have the lowest HP rating (don't confuse the 151 it states with the 139, etc of the others. the inital rating was SAE gross not net, ie without accessories) because they have the lowest displacement. they are 2.4L, 2.6L, and 2.8L respectively. the reason that the cars got slower over the years isn't because the engines were made inferiorly (is that a word?), it's because the cars got heavier and the smoq reuirements got stricter. the carb issue that andy had mentioned involves nissan's replacement of the traditional-style, "roundtop" SU carbies with emission compliant "flattop," Hitachi design SUs.

that being said, of you are looking for power upgrades, bigger is almost always better, and a common mod done to 240s and 260s is increasing displacement to 2.8 by replacing the block, and in extreme cases boring/stroking the blocks up to 3.2L.

anyway, welcome to the site, and I know you will be able to get all of the info you need from the members here!

Jason