Guest CarGuyChuck Posted March 23, 2003 Share Posted March 23, 2003 Well, I finally did it. I bought a 1979 280ZX. It's a really nice car, and about to be an official classic, so it's pretty cheap to insure and licence. There's just one small problem. I'm a Mustang guy, and I have no clue about the L6 engine or drivetrain, so I have some questions if y'all can help me. 1) Can I port and polish my intake and heads like I did on my mustang? ( I just used a dremel tool and had a lot of patience) And if so, how much and how should I go about doing it? 2) What's available for the drivetrain? Can I put in a Ford 8'8 with the L6? I know all about the Ford 8'8, but I have no clue what gears and driveshafts and stuff is offered for the Z setup. 3) I am going (at least for now) for an all motor car, so I need any advice I can get on how to soup up the engine. 4) Finally, I am looking for some wide fender flares for the rear, and a new set of wheels, I want something with really wide and big tires in the back, and more of a slim look up front. (Kind of a 32' Ford roadster setup. I figure it will help with straight like and handling performance. I hope y'all can help me, cause I have no clue what I am doing with this car, but it's my new toy none the less Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 1. yes you can port and polish the intake and heads as on any car . how much? i dont know 2. pretty sure you can put a ford rear in it but there will be some modification needed to the rear suspension 3. if you want massive NA power you need to dump lots of cash into it. but the same basic stuff you would do to a mustang you can do to the L6 but it will be more expensive. if you live in a state without emissions laws you can get rid of all that emission crap and just cap off the vaccum lines at there source. wont give you any hp, but will drop the weight a lil. also take off any accessories you dont need like AC and power steering. 4. you can get fender flares from victoria- british, motorsports auto(i think) and a few other places im sure. i dont know for sure how wide of tire you can run in the rear but i think its 225 without modification(someone correct me if im wrong) the easiest thing to do is buy a turbo motor from a 81-83 280zx. you can get them for fairly cheap and you will get good power from them with a few mods. a junk yard will probably be your best friend for finding parts. the L6 is a very durable engine. hope this helps some. WELCOME to the wonderful world of Zs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CarGuyChuck Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 Thanks for the help so far guys... I got my hands on a victoria british and motorsport auto catalog, so I'm good to go. I'm not really looking to put Ford parts into the Z, just using it as an example, thats all. I just want to soup up the engine. Do they make cold air intakes for our cars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 Why not just put a SBF in that ZX? That should be a fun project. BTW, the ZX rear should be strong enough, so transplanting the ford rear would be a bunch of work for not much gain, and you will lose the advantages of the IRS. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CarGuyChuck Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 I never wanted to transplant the ford rear really... I don't want to put in the ford engine because it will kill all of the suspension goods that the ZX has. I've got a spare 5.0 laying around, but putting it in would ruin the balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 Ruin what balance? Just because a car is light doesn't have to mean it shouldn't ever see horsepower, however it should be stiffened up if you want to put in a torquer. If you were implying weight distribution, the V engine sits further back, and the 5.0L Ford is lighter than the L6 according to people who have done the swap. A shortblock 2.8L F54 with internals and no flywheel is near 230 pounds, weighed it myself. With heads/intake/carbs etc, it does add up. I dont know the accuracy of this next measurement, but an L6 with manual trans was reported as 600 pounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CarGuyChuck Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 I'm not gonna argue the L6, just because I simply don't know. But I do know I have a 5.0 out of an 82 mustang, so it's a cast iron block and the heads and all way at least the weight of the L6. But probably more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted March 24, 2003 Share Posted March 24, 2003 Cast heads, icky Some V8 guys have actually "improved" front/rear weight distro over the L6, that block is LONG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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