Guest thinkmonkey Posted September 28, 2003 Share Posted September 28, 2003 I am about half way through my 240z Hybrid/Resto job and already I am thinking about the next project. These are live axle cars, right? I was wondering what type of engines most guys swap into their 510's and what kind of effect those have on handling and weight? I've seen L20's, SR20's, 13b's, and such but I am not a fan of those motors personally. I would really fancy a small, light V8 over any turbo 4's or even V6's because I am a sucker for throttle response, I guess that comes from appreciating the corners more than the straightaways. The problem is finding one light enough to keep a reasonable weight distribution even with battery/parts relocation and cage or fuel cell taken into consideration. I just saw Adam Carolla's 510 BRE replica racer on SprDupr2NRTV today and it got me thinking... -David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 28, 2003 Share Posted September 28, 2003 510's are semi trailing arm rears and reciprocating ball steering, and the TC rods go forwards in the front instead of back like a Z. VG30T seems to be a pretty common swap. I think you'd really screw up the weight distribution with a V8, unless you did a 215 all aluminum. Dennis Hale did one like that, but he moved the firewall back, and it ended up being mid engine with very low polar moment of inertia. He said it was damn near impossible to drive, just spun every time you put some steering to the front wheels, but I think a lot of that was his engine placement. He designed it to change directions very fast, and that's what he got... To me, a 510 is a 2/3rds scale ZX. 510 guys don't like it when you describe it that way though. I've been in a few with L18's and L20's. If you do them right they are really quick. Fighting weight on a 510 can be 1800 lbs or less. Pete Brock said he could turn faster lap times in the BRE 510 than the Cobras. Fun cars, Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thinkmonkey Posted September 28, 2003 Share Posted September 28, 2003 What is the typical weight of an L20/L18? I hear that the 215 weighs about 320 pounds. -David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 About 20 years ago I saw a BBC in a 510. Set-back was pretty severe. The carb sat right below the base of the windshield. It was an autocross car. There were a couple of really nice ones at MSA this year. Modern Nissan turbo four motors swapped in. Sorry, I'm not familiar enough with them to tell there designation. For the record: the sedans had an IRS, the wagons had a live axle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carrman Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 They were probably SR20DET's, those are becoming more common to swap into the 510. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rick458 Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 would a Buick Turbo V-6 fit?, Killer power to be had in those I think Ken Belle has all the parts to build rebuild those Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 510 coupes and sedans were irs, the wagons were live rear axle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 29, 2003 Share Posted September 29, 2003 You guys are right, I should have remembered that the wagons had live axles. One of my best friends has a wagon with coilovers and camber plates in front and was autoxing it. It was pretty darn fast too, he and his girlfriend beat quite a few sedans. The problem with the solid axle in his was that he wanted to get the car fairly low and had a problem getting enough bump travel. He said if he cut the bump stops any more the pumpkin would hit the bottom of the floor. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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