Zardilla

There is a pre-drilled hole in the rear of the block with a brass pin in it. After driving the pin out from inside the block, you could insert a new sleeve for the dipstick. Of course with the z31 sump you will have to use some trial and error to get the dipstick length correct. I'm not sure what Stony and Brad did on this, but they might have some pointers.

Darren - I've just moved to london and completed this swap last year. I pm'd you with my contact details if you want to discuss. Matt

I have the stock RB26 ecu and wiring in my 240Z. I would recommend getting a front clip so as to get all of the proper fuses, etc. Fortunately a mechanic in my area knows skylines and nissans in general so with his help we got the car running (but with a few issues to yet sort out). One thing to consider is checking all of the critical circuits before installing (knock sensors, MAFs, TPS), it will save you time and you'll be confident that everything works fine. I had to chase down a few breaks in circuits given the harness was 10+ years old and had seen some abuse. If you do want to turn up the boost, change injectors, switch to MAP from MAFs then either be prepared to buy a remapped ecu or a flexible aftermarket computer like SDS or a piggy back computer like Apexi FC. Matt

Very nice - looks like you'll be catching Stony before too long Seeing this kind of power and speed out of a RB26 is amazing. As you may remember I have my RB26 swap done and the engine is running, but I have a host of little gremlins that are keeping it from putting out the proper amount of power. Unfortunately, I'm moving next week so I've run out of time to fix these and have to put the 240Z in storage for a couple of years. Dang! Maybe I'll just save my money and go SDS or Haltec and forget this experiment with the stock ECU and MAFs. I'll keep trolling here at HybridZ to see how you guys are doing. Take care. Matt

Be very careful on the torque, I over tightened one of my struts and destroyed the insert. Costly mistake.

I thought about that as well. There are two of us that are using the stock ecu in our rb26 swaps and we have both tried the tach pin out on the harness with no sucess. The signal appears to be very low voltage (maybe not enough to drive the tach properly). The other guys is looking into whether there is some way to boost the signal through an amplifier of sorts. I'll try to have him post any results to this thread.

Well the engine is running, however I have had little luck in using the Autometer tach adapter to pull the correct signal off the common positive side of the coil pack assembly. I know the 280 tach guts work fine as I tested them on a stock 280. I am also getting a signal from the adapter. So either the adapter signal is not strong enough to operate the tach or the tach doesnt know how to interpret it. I will keep working on this but it may take some time to fully sort out and even then this may not be possible.

I am also hoping to keep the stock tach in my rb26 swap. I have been speaking with the tech folks at Autometer and will try to use their tach adaptor part # 9117 that grabs the signal from the postive wire that powers the coil packs and then translates it into a 12v signal the tach can recognize. Now understand this is all theory and I won't have a chance to try it out until this weekend. I will post the results next week. Matt PS- I have changed the guts on the tach to a voltage trigger version from a 280z and then used the 240z faceplate to keep the sleeper look.

Would you mind posting your final set up on the engine? (ie injector size, electronics, boost you're currently running, etc. Thanks Matt

I am actually going to try and run a mercedes twin bosch pump (which is inline - ie one draws from the tank and then feeds the other that runs to the fuel rail. It comes with a filter canister and a pulse regulator. The only drawback is that this unit is farily bulky and as there is little room under the 240Z I may have to mod the the spare tire well I picked up one of these units from a local mercedes junk yard for $150, not cheap but it was recommended to me by a local rally racer who is running a 600hp turbo charged engine and it is doing just fine for him. Just another suggestion. the bosch part number of the pumps is 0580 254 950

John - does Design Products Racing have a website? Where abouts are they located? Thanks I agree $1600 is money well spent for a decent brake package.

That's what I thought as well, but the rear caliper is a two piston instead of the four piston that AZ car is offering. Hey for the same price why not go with the bigger caliper

Just stopped by my mechanic, we started to talk about brakes and the merits of the toyota calipers, 300zx, 240sx etc. He opens a box and pulls out a complete set of Wilwood (superlites?) 4-piston fronts, 2-piston rears, vented rotors, hats, custom mounting brackets and hardware. All of it bolt on an designed for track purposes. The set up looked very professional, he said he got it from his distributor but didn't name who it was. Any ideas on which outfit this would be that it building these setups. BTW the price wasnt cheap - $1600. Thanks Zardilla

Hello, HybridZ name: Zardilla Name: Matt B. Location: Washington State Car & colour: 72' 240Z Stock green(for the moment) Engine: RB26DETT (R32) I just got my RB26 last week and am gearing up to do the swap into my 72' 240z. Found a special surprise when I pulled the tranny off last night - the engine has an OS giken clutch. I have yet to assess the life left in it yet, if its shot looks like a new Nissan set up for me. I plan to run the stock ecu and wiring harness barring no unexpected problems. If I do, likely go SDS. Matt

I spoke with Corky Bell yesterday for about 15mins regarding the proper size core for my RB26 swap. He recommended a 18x6x3 core, which should flow 570CFM, good for close to 400hp. After measuring the radiator core support and the existing holes I decided to go a little wider on the core (22x6x3). This amounts to an increase in CFM to 705 or 450hp. I asked about the benefit to running 8" tubes instead of the 6", he indicated the bulk of the heat transfer happens in the first 4-6 inches so additional tube length doesnt give much benefit. Looking at the CFM ratings for the different cores at Bell you can see the longer tubes actually decrease CFM. Also since the space in front of the radiator support is somewhat limited and the end caps are top/bottom adding more tube length will mean more cutting on the car than I wanted. Price out the door for the core, caps, and welded on mounting brackets was $575. Not dirt cheap but certainly better than Spearco or Greddy... Matt

Sounds like I may have overstated the issue. But for grins I'll try to weigh my Z in stock form and then after the RB transplant to see what the difference truly is and post the result. Thanks

Oops, sorry for the less than clear question. What DavyZ said is what I meant to get at. The RB block relative to the L6 is significantly more stout and with DOHC plus turbos and intercooler this could amount to a hundred plus extra pounds on the front of the car. Stony or Cuong - did you have your cars weighed to determine the weight distribution or make any specific mods to keep the car neutral? Thanks

I looked through the archives, but I don't know if we've discussed the issue of what the heavier RB block and accessories do to the weight distribution of a Z. I'm sure the V8 guys have looked into this but those engines usually sit farther back behind the front cross member. The addition of a roll cage will help a bit, but any other suggestions or ideas on what could be to make the car as neutral as possible. Since I'm not interested in making a drag strip dedicated car, maintaining its ability to corner well is key. Thanks, Matt

Ok - Thanks for the clarification on the point that the RB20 pickup can't be used and a custom pickup designed. BTW - when you describe cutting and lowering the front of the RB20 pan to clear the bearing retainers, do you mean you removed some of the excess metal inside the pan or did you slice it apart and insert some steel to make the pan deeper? Also - you used a RB25 driveshaft without modifications? The prices are in Kiwi $, so divide all the prices by 2.1 to get US$. Its the shipping that will cost a lot...

Try Geoff Rawlings the parts manager at Jim Wright Nissan in New Zealand. His email is parts@jimwrightnissan.co.nz He gave me the following prices for parts on a Z31 200ZR. Prices are in NZ$. He can also send you some .jpgs of the actual Nissan diagrams and part numbers for this car. Oil Pan Assembly $465.80 Oil Pickup $110.50 Oil Pickup O ring $7.80 Engine Mounting Block Bracket RH $ 151.25 Engine Mounting Block Bracket LH $148.75 Engine Mounting (per each - RH & LH same) $151.65 These are the motor side and crossmember side mounting brackets. Hope this helps. I will be placing an order for these parts in the next couple of days as I just purchased a RB26DETT.