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Dangerous thoughts...


Drax240z

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Well, I am thinking about puting an inline 6 in my 240z. Something a little different however. I've been doing measurements today, and puting this engine in the 240 engine bay seems really plausible... I am looking at either a BMW 3.3l I-6, or a 3.5l I-6. Bone stock form, the 3.3l will put out 220hp. My goal is 380-400hp (flywheel) from whatever engine I choose, and I think it could be done NA with either of these 2 engines. (using a figure of ~320hp max out of a NA L28 with race prep)

 

The reasons? Well, I want an origional car. I need reliability, performance and decent economy too. I know a bone stock BMW 635CSi weighs in at about 3300lbs, and does 0-60mph in 7ish seconds. I'd of course use the BMW tranny as well... The engine is also a "slant" 6, lowering the CoG from where it is with the current Nissan engine.

 

Anythoughts about driving a ZMW around town? *grin*

 

Drax240z

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Stay away from Supras! I used to own a '87 Supra turbo. The engine reputedly weighs more than a Chevy small block, and though the bottom end is truly stout, head gaskets blow very easily. The turbo is tame in stock form, and Supra tinkerers claim huge performance increases due to higher boost (the stock electronics and plumbing will allow up to 13 psi before fuel cutoff issues appear). BUT, we're still stuck with the low end torque issue. Turbo lag on these things is tremendous, and very frustrating off the line.

 

Years ago, I thought of yanking the inline-6 in my Supra, and swapping in a Chevy small block. This has actually been done with a "Mark II" (82-86) Supra, though the "purist" emotion is strong among Supra owners as well. But then I realized that 1) this would never pass smog check, 2) the electronics are bewilderingly complex, and 3) there's just not that much room under the hood.

 

The Z engine bay will accept just about any engine. But my opinion is that V-type engines, regardless of the manufacturer, # of cylinders, or displacement, are a better swap than another inline engine, because of the weight and balance issues.

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The inline 6 BMW is an awesome motor. I've seen centrif. supercharger kits for the motors. Don't leave DINAN out of your list of perf. sources. I love the old 3.0CS. My Dad owned one with 2 webers. Was a real kick. Since then he went to a 633, and finally the 850. Hey, the v12 would fit like a glove! Mclarens variation runs pretty well!

John Scott

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I figure that in doing this swap I will have to address all the same issues as doing a V8 swap, and very little more. The distance from firewall to centerline on the shifter is 27" for the big 6 cyl tranny, and 26" on my datsun. The engine blocks are both 28" long. I have 4" between engine block and firewall to play with, and about 6" between block and fan. So I can use the shifter as a reference for the whole engine without throwing everything out of whack.

 

The only issue I've overlooked is the sump pan. I do not know where the sump is on the big BMW 6, but those cars are subframed in a fairly similar manner. I will be checking into that today.

 

Honestly I don't see this being more trouble than a V8 swap, except that the engineering hasn't yet been done for me. The buddy that is helping me is a BMW fanatic, and he knows those engines inside out. Definately will be a big help.

 

Drax240z

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