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Engine Swap Economy


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I see a few posts in here but I am looking for more specifics if anyone has any input or wants to try and convince me toward a direction go ahead but.

 

I want to do a clean build (no junkyard shit) that I can take on road trips and whatnot, maybe on weekends and all that.

 

I have heard horror stories of horrid MPG and being in the shitty state of CA id like to keep in the friendlier numbers of MPG.

 

I am also not shy of HP so I was looking into RB26 swaps, Chevy V8, etc. Since I am a bit new am I going to run into shit with some setups, huge costs?

 

Any info would be great or links to good posts.

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I do not currently have one, i am looking at 240 shells because they are a tad lighter.

 

I would love the ability to have it as that if needed, i have already been looking into how to add A/C and a few other things, it will definitely get some miles I'll be driving to meets and shows.

 

Havent looked into suspension but ill be rebuilding that from the ground up, id rather not invade the trunk if I dont have to for a bar or anything but i might have to anyway for harnesses.

 

Track day may be a thing. But i have a few vehicles and a commuter so. :)

 

Mods besides the engine swap that I want, not sure. I will probably modernize the stereo somehow and have it reupholstered as a resto, no cages or race seats.

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Spend minimal effort thinking of any of this for now, and focus on finding a clean shell with minimal rust first. Take it from someone who's had to go through it a bit and had to do a lot of work twice... just pay more up front for a cleaner starting example. Fortunately you have more of those in California. 

 

Once you have a clean car I would focus on brakes and suspension before swaps. Once that's done you'll quickly get an idea of how much things are really going to cost you down the road. 

 

Smog laws will affect your options in CA unless you plan on buying a California EO approved Chevy crate engine if you end up with a later car. LS with a 6 speed and low gearing, or an SR20 will get you the best fuel economy compared to other options if you actually care about that sort of thing. 

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Upgrade everything that you want to upgrade other than the engine first.

 

Then after you've got all of that dialed in and installed, if you're still not happy with the engine, then look into what you want and what your budget will allow.

 

This will cut down on undriveable downtime which is miserable. Also cuts your total budget for the car into smaller chunks, and makes it easier to manage.

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On 10/20/2019 at 8:51 PM, Kibbz said:

I do not currently have one, i am looking at 240 shells because they are a tad lighter.

 

I would love the ability to have it as that if needed, i have already been looking into how to add A/C and a few other things, it will definitely get some miles I'll be driving to meets and shows.

 

Havent looked into suspension but ill be rebuilding that from the ground up, id rather not invade the trunk if I dont have to for a bar or anything but i might have to anyway for harnesses.

 

Track day may be a thing. But i have a few vehicles and a commuter so. :)

 

Mods besides the engine swap that I want, not sure. I will probably modernize the stereo somehow and have it reupholstered as a resto, no cages or race seats.

If no cage or reinforcement, consider that the 280Z chassis is a little stiffer. 

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11 hours ago, rturbo 930 said:

If no cage or reinforcement, consider that the 280Z chassis is a little stiffer. 

Especially if you are looking at making some decent HP out of a RB or smallblock v8, you will do well by having the added weight of a 280z for daily driving. All that power amounts to nothing if you cant keep your tires on the pavement. Even with the added weight of a 280z, it will still be considerably lighter than nearly every other car on the road.

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