Z24 engine swap

[nissanprerunnerdavid]

hi there datsun fans

i am new to the whole forum thing but just wanted to throw this question out there as my truck has recently fried the engine. i am wanting to do a engine swap from my Z24 to something else but i do not know what engine to swap it out with? i have read alot about the KA24e engine and its compatibility with the Z24 but if im gonna swap it i want to go big but cheap so what about a 350 small block?? but will i have to replace transmission, diff, axels, renforce frame?? i want as much power and torque as i can with a swap that doesnt require tons and tons of crazy fab work. any sugestions on what engine and how to do it are greatly appreciated.

thanks, nissanprerunnerdavid.

[breadbox]

v8 and KA are totally different directions. if you are a mopar guy it might be easy for you to do the v8 way. I am more familiar with the KA.

For the KA
I think you can use one of the motor mounts but need to fab up the other.

I still haven't figured out the whole ka trans on zblock and vise versa, in relation engine angle yet.

google nis720 he has that swap and his truck is amazing.

[nissanprerunnerdavid]

Yeah I got what you are saying. I was just thinking if I did the v8 swap it might be cheaper but a little more tough but that's okay. I just don't want to replace the axles diffs and drive shaft and everything. Could I do the v8 swap with stock axles? And what about the oil pan and the transmission?also would the z transmission mate to the ka? And also what about fuel linkage and wiring harness? Thanks for your help so far and ill check out nis 720 thanks!!!

[breadbox]

Here's my take on the two options.

V8. Motors sets are easy to come by and can be cheap especially carb'd 302's. You will need custom mounts and probably a shortened driveshaft if not just a custom 1piece. The power might not destroy the rearend right off the back, but realize the stock truck has like 140hp. So rearend upgrade would be a great idea. Nis720 is bout to throw in his new rear which looks so nice.

With the v8 the whole oil pan and exhaust clearance and whatnot are things you will need to figure out, cuz IDk.

With KA if you use a truck's KA24e it will already be rear sump oil pan and the trans will bolt up but it might be at the wrong engine angle. that's why I say use 240sx harness, ecu, intake and stuff from the 240...mostly cuz its easier to find a parted out s13 240sx than a parted out d21. if you can get it all out of a truck use it.

Now the things KA's do well.... They seem pretty idiot proof motors if you understand basic motor theory and they take low boost stock surprisingly well. Also if you build the motor to handle the boost better you can up it to like 12-14 pounds of boost on a t3/t4 and have a crazy fun truck.

You could also try to do a DOHC KA but the simplicity goes out the window as compared to SOHC.

Oh and going from carb to efi its a good idea to change out a gas tank from a newer truck that is the same size and shape but that has baffling.

use a KA trans out of a truck not sure if its the same as the 240sx. but probably. so drive shaft shouldn't need replaced.

[nissanprerunnerdavid]

Sweet!!! Thank you so much for the info. I might end up just getting a high performance Carb and can and upgrading exhaust and stuff later because I think rebuilding it will be a little cheaper and I can upgrade it gradually. What is your opinion on that?? And once again thanks for the information!!!!!

[breadbox]

I love my weber. Cleans up the bay a lot. I have a cam but its a little rusted so I need to get it cleaned up some how, but I have another motor that could be interesting to see how aggressive it is. The guy who gave it to me said it was the most agressive cam crower made back in the day. I haven't sent it to crower yet but they said if I pay shipping they will tell me what the profile is.