Pro's/Con's of a 240Z project Car?

[Mitchum]

well, im 16 and I work in a mechanic shop and am Starting my apprenticeship in a few weeks. ANYWAYS, I'm looking for my first project car. All this time Ive had my mind set on a Z32, however they are very expensive in Canada, not to mention rare for a decent shape TT.

The other day i was watching a History channel documentary about the Z car, and it really opened my eyes to the 240Z, the only 240 Ive ever seen in person had a cheby small block with a HUGE hood scoop(taller than the roof).

Regardless, I know there's alot of people on these forums that are very creative with their 240's in the way of power plants from V8's to RB's and I was just wondering about some of the options you can do with these cars? Im not looking for a monster street car, i just want a unique project that I know I will always remember as my first.

I am looking at a 240Z right now where I live that seems pretty clean rust wise, however the front suspension is shot and its got a beat up 280ZX Turbo engine running on propane(that would go).

Thanks alot

Mitch

[ravera]

Pro's:

It's a 240Z. The Damn thing's gorgeous.Easy to work on.Pretty much something from every datsun made will fit.Tons of knowledge aroundLight CarHandles WellWhat else do you need?

Con's: They use high quality steel. High quality steel rusts... a lot. You have been warned.

You have a bunch of people with Z's that butcher the car. Let's try and prevent this.

The fuzz loves to pull over a Z car.

You will be broke. Once a Z car ends up in your hands there is no place for crazy words like "enough" and "finished".

If you want a good street car, resist the RB swap if you were thinking about it. For a street car, IMO nothing beats the ol' L28ET. Parts are widely available (you don't have to wait for parts to be imported to fix it) it's sturdy as hell and it just wont break unless you really neglect it.

[evildky]

well, I currently own # Z's, an S30, Z31 and Z32TT, the Z32 is my elast favorite and willbe the forst to go, the S30 I plan to keep till I die or untill I kill myself in it they are so sinble and basic your optiosn are limitless, there are convertible conversions, there are ferrari daysona bodykits, there are jdm G noses, , vintage racing spooks and spoilers, their bolt circle and offset is mroe popular right now than it has been for 30 years so you have mroe wheel and tire options, tone fo brake options, tne fo motor options, the L6 in n'a form is capable of 350 whp wiht the right parts, you can runt he turbo L6 for as much at 400 whp on stock itnernals, you can swap just about every engine ever ade and chances are ti won't be the first!

and lets face ti, the car is dead sexy, it gets way mroe attnetiont ahn any other car I've ever driven, can eb a bad thing, but you don't get the haters that the z32 brings out

[kelloggman]

PROSthis car is gorgeous u can use parts off any of the l series (s30 s130 and some parts of z31) so parts are everywhere. u cant go wrong with a z. bottom line end of story. 240z ftw

CONSlike all projects a lot of cash (but worth every penny)gotta watch for rust. Z's number one enemy.

hahah all this was already said but gotta back up the pointZ cars are the sexiest cars out there hands down

[AZhitman]

Dave, are you typing with the boxing gloves again?

Get the S30. Parts are still plentiful, it's easy to wrench on, it's a car that was WAY ahead of its time, and if you restore it right, it'll actually appreciate in value.

[evildky]

nay, I type wiht mah pee pee!

[kelloggman]

nay, I type wiht mah pee pee!

[Mitchum]

Any information available on a SR swap? I like the idea of a modern super reliable power plant.

[kelloggman]

if your gonna do that might as well buy a 240sxy would you want to go from a 6 cylinder to a 4 cylinderi love the sound of my 6 cylinder purrs like a furious kittenand the torque you get out of the the inline is so much funas for reliable these engines have been around for 30 yrs

[ravera]

For the price of an SR swap or an RB swap you can put the money into an L28ET, have 4-500hp, have way more bottom end, and not have to import parts when/if it breaks.

I don't see why everyone gang rapes the SR's and RB's.

The SR has a compromised valve train, a poorly flowing head for what it is, and a block that flexes way too much due to the excess steam cuts between cylinders.

The RB has big flowing heads so it has poor off idle response, but is has port floors that are damn close to parallel to the piston face so you need all that flow to make it produce power. It has super short stroke which is great if you can rev the motor, but they forgot 4 counterweights on the crank.

This is just my opinion. No motor is God.

[evildky]

not a fan of the SR myself, if doing a total lightweight build and series 1 chassis and a CA are a nice conbo, lighter and mroe budget friendly! but since yours si a 73 it's not the lighter model

mckinney sells the mounts for the sr for about $500, then you'll need a custome driveshaft, and exhsuat, fmic, buy the sr etc, so if you want to throw 5 grand to make as muuch power as a $500 junkyard swap, go for it

I recomend you take some time and get to knwo the L6, you might find it's torque addictive

and keep in mind the L6 gave birth tot he RB, the RB26 uses the same bore spacing as the L6, same stroke and an L24, same bore and an L28, the head of an RB even bolts to the L6 block, the oil and coolant passages are all wrong as well as the belt drive instead fo the timing chain, the RB is a 10% improvement for 10 times the cost!http://www.mckinneymotorsports...parts

[kelloggman]

hahah mitchem doesnt have the car yet

[Mitchum]

I appreciate all the info about possible engines. I guess of everyone here you guys would know the best and an L28ET sounds like a good swap and ill deffinatley read into it. does anyone have any solid info links that I can absorb information from?

On a side note, im going to check out a 240 on Tuesday and if it looks good ill have to snatch it up.

[ravera]

Do a search on HBZ. There's a lot of information there on the L28ET. They could re-write the FSM if they had to. Everything from swapping, to power adders, to L28's problems (spinning over 8k with a stock un touched crank and keeping the heat out of cyl 5 at 500+ hp are really the only out standing things in my mind to watch) have all been covered in detail along with the over-engineered solutions.

[evildky]

there have been a few fairly detailed threads here, be sure to search

and I love hybrid but it can be a needle in a haystack due to the lengthy and lofty discussions, deffinitely some good info if you can find it, and I like to think we are more tollerant of noobs

[ravera]

Dave has a point.

HBZ is not tolerant of people who refuse to search and just randomly ask questions that have been covered ad-nauseum. It keeps the clutter down and the site semi-professional. But because of this, there seems to be a baseline of knowledge one should have for posting.

That said, you can search without having to do anything and there is tons of information, most of it will be way beyond anything you'll ever need. But basically if you go to the FAQ at the top, most of your questions will be answered.