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anyone ever try a domestic straight 6 swap?


Guest Anonymous

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Guest Anonymous

i've been day dreaming about swapping a 4.9L Ford straight 6 into my 280Z if(or should i say when) i blow the turbo motor. i own an 85 F-150 with the 4.9L motor and it is a torque monster to say the least! 250ft lbs from the factory! and with only $800 worth of mods, the motor will crank out just shy of 300 hp and just shy of 400 ft lbs. not too shabby for a NA straight 6!! i'm just not too sure if it would fit or not.

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I've only seen this asked about once, and then flamed. Of course, we won't do that here (any flames will be immediately put out).

 

400 lbs is not that bad for all that displacement! Seems that I've read that the L6 is heavier than that, before any turbo stuff was added. How long is the engine?

 

Welcome,

 

------------------

Pete Paraska - 73 540Z - Marathon Z Project

pparaska@home.com

Pete's V8 Datsun 240Z Pages

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Er, my first impression when reading that was that he meant 400ft/lbs. Somehow I can't see that engine weighing that little...

 

My first concern with the swap would be weight however! Try to find out the 300's weight and compare it to the L's... If its even close then you can check length, etc.

 

------------------

"Gimme Fuel,

Gimme Fire,

Gimme that which I desire"

-Metallica

 

Drax240z

1972 240z - L28TURBO transplant on the way!

http://members.xoom.com/r_lewis/datsun.html

http://members.home.net/drax77/newpage.html

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Guest Anonymous

Devil's advocate........ but a l28 will do just shy of 300hp with just a good exhaust, intake, and boost controller, and be much easier to swap in at the same time....

The l28t is high 400 lb weight complete, which is average for most 6 cyclinder engines.

FWIW:

vq35d 490lb (all aluminum)

l28t 475ish (iron block, al head)

vg30t 450ish (iron block, al heads)

All those weights are with things like alternators, PS pumps, manifolds, turbos, etc, etc, etc. Odd how most medium size engines weigh pretty much the same, regardless of material isn't it?

One interesting thing I've noticed is the cranks - L6 crank is 55lb or so, while a vg30 crank is 21lb. Yikes!

 

 

------------------

Morgan

http://z31.com/~morgan/s30

http://carfiche.com

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Guest Anonymous

Yeah, weight would be my concern as well. I think also that big Ford six is pretty good sized (at least as I recall, I may be smoking bananna's here). Something smaller like the older 200cid, or 170's inline Fords both of which are great engines might fit ok, but would need super or turbo charging or multi carb/cam/compression route to get the output.

A Ford V6, Chevy V6 or Buick V6 would be a better go if you want to keep six cylinders and keep it domestic. I recently saw a guy putting the Ford SHO engine in a smaller brit car. He used a aerostar van automatic (only thing I guess that will fit the SHO bellhousing directly without fabricating one).

Or as Morgan suggested, put in a L28 turbo and pump it up a bit.

 

Good luck with whatever route you go, Happy New Year.

 

 

Lone

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Guest Anonymous

well, i'm definately going with the turbo 280ZX motor. i was just curious to see if anyone has done it with a domestic straight 6. i'm planning on using the factory NA bottom end, and then going with a P90 head and factory turbo, ECM, and electronics. but, i am adding an intercooler, bigger injectors, better exhaust, and a manual boost controller. i figure this setup should be good for almost 200 flywheel hp. then, if i blow the motor i will decide to build up a new 280ZX turbo motor, or drop in a Chevy 350.

 

my mind just has a tendency to wonder on me when i work 70 hours a week! i gotta keep thinking about something, so why not imagine something totally off the wall like a domestic straight 6 under the hood!!! smile.gif

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as you said, those things are torque monsters. a friend of mine had one in his bronco... between the 300 and the crazy gears ford put in that thing, he once hauled a 6000lb f350 out of a ditch (while it was in park, with the e brake set). i believe he once mentioned beating 5.0's off the line smile.gif

 

anyway, size would probably be the biggest problem. the z has a lot of room, but apparently the engine barely fit in the bronco. otoh, i believe they got it into aerostars...

 

[This message has been edited by pauli (edited January 01, 2001).]

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David, you'll end up with a lot more than 200 flywheel horsepower with any kind of tuning. If 200 is your goal, you'll be really happy with the results of the parts you mentioned.

 

------------------

"Gimme Fuel,

Gimme Fire,

Gimme that which I desire"

-Metallica

 

Drax240z

1972 240z - L28TURBO transplant on the way!

http://members.xoom.com/r_lewis/datsun.html

http://members.home.net/drax77/newpage.html

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