How tough is this swap?

[Guest Anonymous]

OK, here are some really basic questions, but I'm new to the whole V8-Z idea:

 

After building a 406-powered 4-door '65 Impala that ran a best of 13.67, I'd like to try the same engine in something a lot smaller, but not the usual Nova. Is the Chevy-SB-in-Z-car swap a total hellish nightmare, involving huge amounts of fabrication, etc., or can it be done with mostly bolt-in swap kit parts? I don't mind some welding, but if I have to do huge amounts of it I might as well put my engine in a Chevette- not that in love with the Z, but there sure are a lot of them in the junkyards and they seem light.

 

Can the stock rear handle a healthy V8? My engine is fairly mild compared to some(10:1, 4-bolt block, 461 heads with 1.94 valves, Q-jet, Comp Cams 280H, Edelbrock Performer RPM, and so on), but it's probably grunting out a lot more torque than Datsun/Nissan ever envisioned for that rear.

[Guest Anonymous]

Its not a hard swap, www.jagsthatrun.com has the kit to put it in, also Motorsports auto has a kit as well. Both put the engine back against the firewall.

 

On a 5 scale, I'd give the swap a 2 rating the only welding your going to have is small bracketry and even then that isn't necessary if you buy all the swap pieces.

 

It'll be way easier than a SBC in a chevette that is for sure. With your motor you should probably run in the 12's or faster.

 

The rearend of choice is the R200 from the late 280z's or zx's they are a 8" ring gear and are stout, they hold 450 hp without much complaint, the weakest link is the halfshafts and then after that is the stub axles (outside drive axles basically what the halfshaft connects to).

But people are working on a solution for that, and even then they're only breaking them with extreme strip usage and people have gone 9 and 10 seconds with them.

 

If you decide to do the swap, get ahold of JTR's manual (jags that run), its the best reference we currently have and will outline the swap details. Between that book and this forunm, its all your gonna need. Good luck with your project no matter what it ends up being.

 

Regards,

 

Lone

[Dp351zcar]

Welcome Mucho Mass

As Lone said the sbc is pretty much a drop in. What I want to know is what area are you in that Z's are plentiful in the junkyards?

 

Don

[Guest Anonymous]

I'm in the SF Bay Area. I see plenty of the late-70s/early-80s cars in the local self-service yards, and the City Tow auction in SF (where the cars get towed away for parking tickets by the hundreds) often has Zs in varying levels of condition for $150-$500.

 

I assume that the standard SBC swap involves using the GM transmission and a custom driveshaft to go to the Nissan rear. Because I'm a cheap bastid I'd probably go with the common-as-dirt TH350. No problem, right?

 

Because I'm here in CA I wouldn't be able to get my engine to pass smog on a post-73 car, so I suppose I'll be looking for a beat-to-hell 240 or 260 Zs. Does the swap work OK for these older/smaller models or do I need to go with a smoggable motor and a later 280?

 

I want to accelerate fast, cheap. Don't care what the car looks like or how well it turns or stops. My M.O. on the Impala I built was to keep the engine budget below $1800, use a rust-bucket car which I gutted as far as possible (no interior, no heater, no wheelwells, no window mechanisms, etc.) so I'd do the same with a Z (except I'd need to spring for a proper rollcage and harness if the thing could get into the 12s).

[Dan Juday]

Welcome Maas,

I think the guys here will agree with me, this is the swap for you.

 

Find a 70-73 240 with as little rust as posible. Buy the JTR kit, $350. It comes with the motor and tranny mounts, the driveshaft yoke to fit your shortened Chevy shaft to the Datsun diff. BTW, like Lone said, swap the R180 in the 240 you find for an R200 out of a later 280 or ZX.

 

If all you plan to do with it is drag race the TH350 will work fine. But if you plan to drive it on the freeway shell out a couple more bucks for an overdrive tranny. You'll be much happier.

 

With that motor you'll be in the 12's no problem.

[Guest Anonymous]

OK, sounds good- all I want is a weekend drag car that drives reasonably well on the street. Is the later model rear a bolt-in or at least an easy-to-medium-difficulty fabrication job? Do most of these rears have limited-slip or locker diffs? If not, my 406 will fry the right tire for the entire 1/4 mile- that's what it did in my Impala before I put a Powertrax locker in it.

 

I assume the rears you're talking about come with some pretty crazy gears for a V8. What kind of ratios can I find stock (this is assuming that Nissan had optional ratios available from the factory)?

[Tim240z]

The R200 is pretty much bolt in. just get the mustache bar when you pull the diff (it's the bar that mounts behind the diff). LSD are very rare these days, but are available aftermarket. Do some searching of the archive and I'll bet that all of your questions will be answered. The most common ratio is 3.9.

Tim

[Lone Star 1]

Hey Mucho Maas I have a 73 240Z with a stock LS1, 300 RWHP running through a 3.36 LSD R200. the car weights 2700 LBs with me in it. I'm using the 4L60E tranny and the car runs 12.38 in the 1/4. These cars are so light it's like having and extra 100 HP over a 3600 LBs car. A lot of guys are using open diff's and for stright line running the IRS will lay down double strips. So go for it you'll Like it.

[Guest Anonymous]

Yeah these cars are like the V8 Vega performance/weight wise, but they handle better and have way better weight distribution and the swap is far easier, blockhugger headers clear everything pretty much. The gear ratios range from 3.36 (getting rare to find in a R200) to the more common 3.54, 3.70 and 3.90's. The 3.54 was used in alot of these cars and IMHO its a good compromise gearing.

As mentioned if its mostly for strip the 350 will do fine, but it'll RPM alot on the freeways unless you put in a overdrive, just consider if thats a problem or how long the freeway commutes are.

 

Regards,

 

Lone

[Guest Drewz]

Do I ever regret my swap ......NO!!! It is a dream to drive due to the lack of weight and the power of a 300 horse v8 is loads for a driver like these. IMHO

[Guest Anonymous]

It all sounds pretty good to me. I've ridden in a couple of V8 Vegas and one V8 Pinto, so it would be nice to get that kind of power-to-weight without the abysmal construction quality and primitive suspension you get with those cars.

 

I'll be looking for the 3.90 rear if possible- this car won't be used for commuting or freeway drives longer than here to the nearest dragstrip. The TH-350 with shift kit will work fine for my purposes.

 

Will check the rest of the postings and learn more. Thanks for all the info- will start scouring for a beater 260Z and assorted parts.

[Dan Juday]

FYI Maas, you want 240's only. The 260 was made in '74 only. '74 and later you fall under California smog regs.

 

Also, later 240's, '72 & '73 (maybe '71 as well, I'm not certain) had the diff mounted slightly farther rearward than early cars. This staightened out the half shaft angles making life easier for the u-joints. No big deal to change if you get an early car. If you plan to swap in the R200 it means you need another part from a later car is all.

 

If you look at the pic you see a horizontal bar just below and behind the diff. On early cars it is straight. On later cars it is curved like this one to give clearance for the diff to be moved back.

 

[Guest Anonymous]

I get it. Looks pretty easy.

 

Since it looks like the 240s are a little hard to find cheaply (had no idea they were so popular), I might consider a later-model Z and install a modern EFI V8 so I'll pass smog (making the car more of a driver and less of a dragstrip beast, but what the hell). I often see ex-cop Crown Victorias and Caprices with the good EFI 5.0 and 350 engines going for cheap around here, so will look into that (and check out the Ford section of this site for the 5.0 info). I'd just buy the whole car and grab the engine/trans and all the computers and smog crap, then junk what's left. There's a guy who desperately wants to buy my 406 for his street rod, so it wouldn't kill me to use a different engine. Still, I like the idea of running 12s a lot better than the 13s I'd probably get with a stock EFI motor...