Can it be done?

[M1chael]

With any luck, in the next month I'll be getting a '76 280Z

 

For the duration of the school year, I'm going to keep it pretty much stock. I won't have time to do much, you know. But I am going to buy stuff. Particularly, I was looking into one of Summit's 350s and a T5 tranny. The 350 has (if i remember correctly) 310 HP and 350 ft. lbs of torque. I happen to have a list of guys I want to kill at school I mean beat~!! Like in a race! Don't call the cops on me, I'm not bringing a gun to school

 

Anyways, I wanted to know if I dropped the V8 in the Datsun, could I beat the following:

 

1. Mazda MX6, headers, cams, turbocharger, god knows what else

2. '67 Camaro with a 350 in it. A rich kid down the street got it for his 16th b-day, and it's always pissed me off.

3. A supercharged Mustang GT. If I lose against this guy, it won't be a big deal. he's cool, an older dude that cruises with his wife and races.

4. On top of that there are a ton of Ricers around here. there are, get this, two rival ricer car clubs that race each other all the time. It's like something out of FATF.

 

The Camaro is the main thing I want to take. So, anyways. Like the title says, can it be done?

[M1chael]

Oh! And also, a '71 Mustang Mach 1.

 

Another rich daddy

[niceguy678us]

O.K. guys, I'll be the one to say it. I as well as others on the forum do not condone street racing, but if you are going to do this swap for this reason, that combo should put you into the "damn he's fast" category. Now you may or may not be able to beat everyone on the road, but they will definitely remember racing you. I STRONGLY reccomend that you upgrade the braking system as well as install a rollcage and 5 point harness in the car for PURE safety reasons since it sounds like you are going to be doing these activities on a regular basis. After you are done modifying the car (always keeping safety in mind) drive the car gently at first and ease into the higher speed activities over time (at least a few weeks) so you can get a feel of the new power and have a little bit better understanding of what you are driving. I also suggest getting full coverage insurance, as well as a radar/laser detector. Always remember that street racing can be very dangerous. I cannot be a hypocrit (is that how you spell it?) I race every chance I get no matter where the hell I'm at, lol but I am getting a little older (25 now)and with age comes wisdom and I have found myself more and more not wanting to indulge in stoplight/highway "games" because of coming to the realization of what the consequences of my actions can be AND COST, lol. SO......... my opinion is go for it, it will make for some life long memories that you will cherrish, and be a lot of fun, just try to use good judgement, and try to be as safe as possible.

[M1chael]

Don't worry, I've been lurking on this site for months. And street racing is a loose term, we have rural lakeside roads where we go around here. Hard to explain. The cops really don't mind us doing it out there, I mean they'll still try to bust you, but they'd prefer us doing it there as opposed to downtown.

 

I used to use a '90 Plymouth Laser (Mitsu Eclipse), but never really liked it. I got to test drive that Z a while back, and have fallen in love.

[niceguy678us]

Once is all it takes dude. I saw my first at the age of 12 and it has been my addiction ever since.I've owned 8 of them all first gen body styles, now I'm down to three AND STILL SPENDING$$$$!!!!!!!lol......................................................... It will never be "enough".

[Guest billy383Z]

whether you can beat that camaro or not depends on how heavily modified his car is and how good of a driver he is. Your car will definitely out handle his by a long stretch. 310hp/350 ftlbs is pretty strong if all you have ever driven is a Plymouth Laser. My combo is making about 340 hp/ 402ftlbs torque, and the biggest problem is traction. If/when you do the v8 swap, make sure you get some decent tires (and brakes as mentioned by someone else above). With the stock size tires on my car, I completely fry the tires thru 1st and 2nd gear, spin them a lot when it hits 3rd, and even manages a strong chirp when it hits 4th (overdrive!). And my engine will only rev to 5800 rpm. You will probably have a problem beating that supercharged mustang GT. There is local guy around here with a 96 Saleen Mustang with a Vortec supercharger, and it's freakin' FAST. It also revs a lot higher than mine.

[Phantom]

Find out what the Camaro has for 1/4 mile times. If it's in the mid 13's or higher the Z can take it. Notice I referred to the cars. The driver's abilities can cause it to go either way. If it's lower than mid 13's, it will be close. The V-8 Z's around here with builds similar to what you are talking are running from 11.9 to 13.3 and 107-114mph at the local track. While you're at it - find out where the local 1/8 or 1/4 mile track is. For $10-$15 you can get a lot of legal test time practicing your launches. They are EXTREMELY important in the Z because of the need to control wheel spin in 1st & 2nd. If you've got the $$$ for some drag radials I'd suggest getting a pair.

Back to the street racing. Not a good idea. We did it in my day back just after the invention of internal combustion engines and it is still done today. Just shows that human nature is stronger than good sense. Find the track and challenge them to a real race.

[M1chael]

I live in east Texas, pretty close to both Houston and Dallas. So yeah, i'm in the range of a few drag strips . I'm not positive what the camaro's times are, i've only seen him open it up once. And poorly at that. It has an automatic tranny, his dad wouldn't let him have a stick

 

The guy with the Mazda I mentioned beat him. But unfortunately, a few months ago, that guy flipped his car . But again, he was blessed with a rich daddy, and his dad has already bought him a brand new Mx6 with over 2000 dollars in performance parts. Last week they put it all together, and now it's like he never flipped the car to begin with. Except his new car's red, his old one was white.

 

I wish I had a rich dad. That would make everything so much easier

 

But that's ok, with any luck I'll have a Z. Right now, over on the buy/sell threads, I'm trying to talk my dad into Pegasus's Z that he has for sale. That's not getting me anywhere, so I'll talk to my mom and stepdad about it. They're always more keen to helping me out.

[M1chael]

Well, in case anyone wants an update:

 

I was right in the fact that my mother and stepdad would be more apt to help me. Unfortunately, I could only talk them into helping me into a little pickup

 

It's a nice little truck, though. '96 S-10, reg cab, small bed. 2.8l 4cyl though A buddy of mine is willing to give me the V6 that came out of his S-10, but I sorta like my mpg where it is

 

Anyways, this little Chevy may not have been what I wanted in the first place, but it'll keep me going until I can buy my own Datsun. And I'll be sure to tell you all when that glorious day comes around.

 

 

Oh! and if anyone wants some more info I found on those other people's cars I'd mentioned, I found out that my friend's little minivan has one hell of a V6 in it. He recently beat my friend with the Mazda MX-6. And another of my pal's said the Camaro I was worried about was actually on the slow side. I asked him to explain more, but that's all I got.