9/73-E31-260z

Update: the engine as it turns out is actually an L24... so a little dissapointed there... still, not too bad since it does still have the E31 so I can work with that. Anybody have experience with a P30 block L24 with an E31 head?

Update: So me and friend threw in a new electrical fuel pump (Facet-Purolator, 1.5-4psi) and bypassed the mechanical pump and the car fired right up! (With a jump, gonna need to see why the battery lost charge since last week...). When we disconnected the fuel line from the mechanical pump the line going from the pump to the carbs was bone dry, seems like the punp might be seized. But we just threw in another piece of hose and it's running great! I drove it around the block a little and everything actually feels really solid, no squeaks or rattles, clutch felt good, brakes actually felt better than my friend's 240z. Right now the pump is just wired to the battery so we will have to wire it through the ignition or something first. And then we'll tackle the electrical (I have no working headlights, turn signals, or any gauges) then maybe see if we can't tighten the hand brake cable. Overall it drove like a dream! Can't wait til she's ready for the long haul.

I have an early 74 260z with an L26 and E31 head (so we're talking about 9.66:1 compression) with early round top SU-style Hitachis. I was wondering what kind of potential these carbs would have for me, especially if I want to do a bit of a port/polish job with bigger valves (probably 280z valves) on the head and some exhaust (header, very free-flowing muffler). Is it worth keeping the SU's or should I go for triple Webers or something? I found a receipt from MSA for a carb rebuild kit in the car when I bought it so they've been rebuilt, no clue on if they've been tuned or anything though. Car isn't running yet but it should be real soon, so I don't really have any idea of how they are currently set up, I am just trying to get an idea of what I can do with what I have before I go too far into the build.

I will probably have to wait until I can pick up the book, but thanks for the recommendation for sure. I would love to put the bigger valves in but that too will probably have to wait a little bit until I can get the car running haha. Overall would you say this set-up can be a good one? If done properly with good valves, maybe some porting and/or polishing, the right exhaust, and other supporting mods like maybe a carb upgrade? Webers aren't happening any time soon that's for sure...

I will probably have to wait until I can pick up the book, but thanks for the recommendation for sure. I would love to put the bigger valves in but that too will probably have to wait a little bit until I can get the car running haha. Overall would you say this set-up can be a good one? If done properly with good valves, maybe some porting and/or polishing, the right exhaust, and other supporting mods like maybe a carb upgrade? Webers aren't happening any time soon that's for sure...

So I was able to find out some more info: early 260's did indeed have flat top pistons. And I found a couple pretty goof engine calculators that seemed to work fairly well. Looks like I should be looking at about 9.66:1 conpression, and ideas on what kind of power this would yield?

It's not currently running right now, but it was in daily driver condition mechanically before it was parked for a while. Looks like the electrical fuel pump by the gas tank is out but the mechanical one by the block seems to be working. We got it to catch a little bit with me starting it and my friend shooting carb cleaner into the open carbs (real safe huh? ;D ) Should be ready to go sometime in the next week when we get the fuel pump.

Hi, I just bought my first Z and I had a couple questions about engine performance. Now my car has a stock L26 block with as far as I know stock pistons and crank. But it does have early roundtop SUs and an E31 head. I've done as much research as I could about this head and I know it is known for having good quench, but other than that how will having this head help performance? What kind of compression would I be looking at with an E31 and stock flat top pistons? I know the L26 had a stock C/R of 8.3:1, and it looks like people have calculated this block/head combo to yield about 9.4-9.6:1. Is this accurate? And what would I get if it ends up having dished pistons? I have searched this forum already and all I could find about the E31 on an L26 block was from my own project thread, everything else I found basically Googling the combo but nothing really conclusive came up. I'd really appreciate the help if you guys have any info for me, can't wait to dive into this build. This is the block and this is a closeup of the head, it is an E31 for sure

Hey there HybridZ, long time Z fan, first time owner (FINALLY!). Here is my early '74 260z project. As my username says it was built in September of 73 and is actually serial # 001669, making it one of the first batch of 260s ever made. As my username also states is has a stock L26 block with an E31 head *(edit: actually an L24 P30 block)*. As far as internals go I'm not sure, but since the head was swapped one of the previous owners could have put in some dished pistons for all I know at this point. The car was originally from Washington, and I bought the car from a guy who had bought the car from the previous owner who had daily driven the car before the clutch master cylinder went out. The guy i bought it off of said he paid the owner 800 bucks then fixed the clutch in his driveway and drove it 40 miles to his house. From there it sat for a while before he had it shipped down the San Diego where is currently living. It has sat in Ocean Beach for about 4 years and hasn't really been on the road since. He did say that he kept additive in the fuel tank as well as started the car every now and then to keep fluids moving. When I bought the car it wasn't really running due to having been started less and less over the last several months until it sat for almost 4 months without being started. I bought it and trailered it to my friend's house where we did a quick oil change and put some more fresh gas in the tank. The car started the help of continuous sprays of carb cleaner from my friend, but other than turning over several times we couldn't really get it to idle. The previous owner said the fuel pump(s) are possibly going out and the mechanical one had been disconnected. My friend helped me hook up the mechanical again but it still looks like the elcetrical one will need to be replaced. I'm still trying to figure out whether or not i will keep the 2 fuel pumps or if can I do the popular 240z mechanical swap. In the meantime I'm just happy to have my first Z! Interior is a little rough to say the least, but that will come second for me for now Early SU swap was done by the previous owner, I found a receipt for a carb rebuild kit from MSA in the center console along with a Hitachi Instruction sheet the owner back in Washington seemed to have tried to do some rewiring, the guy I bought it from said he thought it was for a stereo and sure enough I found a used Alpine head unit under a rag in the hatch haha, anyone interested? Basically no rust on the car save for the edge of the hatch underneath the latch area, it looks like it might not be the original hatch but the hatch struts are and at least they work perfectly Gas tank looks rock solid, except for a few spiders On her way to her new home... my friend's neighbor's driveway haha, hopefully only for a week or two before she's running