What would you suggest - engine?

[Guest Anonymous]

Ok, I decided on the power I want out of a future 240Z, which is why I'm foing my research now so I can get down to it during winter.

 

By no means am I a mechanic and am short on cash since I'm a college student so I thought you guys could simplify things for me a bit.

 

This is gonna be a V8 swap since this is probably the easiest route for $$$ to horsepower ratio.

 

I want about 300-350hp, 20mpg on the streets, a reliable setup that won't require constant maintenance.

 

So far, it looks like the 350 or the 95+ LT1s are most chosen by others. Oh, I want manual transmission also, since this is a daily driver.

 

Best way to describe it: I want muscle of yesteryears, but drivability of today.

 

BTW, can you get carbed motors to 20mpg+?

[labrat]

If you want the best dollar per hp ratio and you're not a mechanic with a large garage and fabrication tools, go with a turbo swap. A 280 ZXT motor can be found at boneyards pretty cheap, make lots of power (one person on this board is shooting for 600HP!) and are much more...ummm... how to put this... Well mannered? I kinda wish I had gone this direction instead of the chevy swap, but i don't really regret it. 300 HP should be relatively easy to hit with a turbo, and it bolts right in. I'm having all kinds of problems I didn't even know could occur with my current chevy setup (like moving my motor 1/2 in forward to help reduce NASTY driveline vibrations). Anyway, it's something to think about...

 

My $.02

 

Bill

[Mike C]

The turbo swap definitely requires the least tools and fab, but donors are hard to come by, at least around here. For a manual trans V8 donor, I like the 91-92 235hp 305 TPI cars, used Cop Camaros were usually equipped thusly. Add an SLP cam, headers and adjustable FP regulator and you should be close to 300hp, but have excellent drivability. The sweet deal with the LT1 is not having to mod the hood latch, but a 6 speed equipped donor motor will set you back a good $1000 over the TPI most likely.

[Guest Anonymous]

Yea, but doesn't the turbo eat gas like crazy especially when you turn up the PSI? However, turbo does sound cool. But since I'm in Canada, finding a zx turbo won't be easy to come by. And most new turbos are about $2500+. Still I'm open to any suggestion.

 

Lets just say that I will have about $3000 to spend on engine + drivetrain for a 300+hp setup. What route would be best?

[fl327]

v8 swap costs more than the turbo swap i think.

you have to get a kit and bunch of driveline parts for the swap, but 300hp is easy, 300ft lbs is a given, 300hp i take that back, not so easy, but that tork makes you a street killer for sure. yes once you turn up the psi you will notice a loss in mpg, thats beacause most likely you will be flooring the gas everywhere you go so you can hear it spool it, thats been my weakness in mpg on my turbo car. but the driveline is cheap as heck, requires no mods, hardest part is wiring up the relays, fusible links, gas tank, and injection and ecu wiring, which requires all of four wires for the car to start, 300hp is a little harder to come by, but its really easy to get up past 200hp and have a way better driver at 3k than a 3k v8 swap-especially if this is the first one you have ever done. this is just my opinion, and im sure the v8 guys are gonna come rag me out again, theyre just mad i left the pack

[fl327]

v8 swap costs more than the turbo swap i think.

you have to get a kit and bunch of driveline parts for the swap, but 300hp is easy, 300ft lbs is a given, 300hp i take that back, not so easy, but that tork makes you a street killer for sure. yes once you turn up the psi you will notice a loss in mpg, thats beacause most likely you will be flooring the gas everywhere you go so you can hear it spool it, thats been my weakness in mpg on my turbo car. but the driveline is cheap as heck, requires no mods, hardest part is wiring up the relays, fusible links, gas tank, and injection and ecu wiring, which requires all of four wires for the car to start, 300hp is a little harder to come by, but its really easy to get up past 200hp and have a way better driver at 3k than a 3k v8 swap-especially if this is the first one you have ever done. this is just my opinion, and im sure the v8 guys are gonna come rag me out again, theyre just mad i left the pack

[Guest Anonymous]

You can pull down 20 mpg with a 305/350 pretty easily on the road with a OD transmission (T5 /T 56) even carb'ed. Just know that despite what JTR claims, to do a swap with a V8 right isn't necessarily cheap unless you have lots of time to gather parts cheaply, can get good deals and can do much of the fabrication yourself.

My own belief is, and take it for what its worth, you can easily put 5k into a swap and not even blink twice. Those that say thats a expensive figure either got great deals or havn't added up they're receipts yet out of fear.

The best deal if is if you can find someone getting out of a hybrid and buy it at they're loss, good cars which need a bit more money have been bought here recently for as low as 2k with the V8 already in them. Of course you have to becareful that the swap is done reasonably well or you'll be spending money redoing things.

Just an opinion of course. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

Regards,

 

Lone

[Guest 240Z_72]

Well, I have both a '72 with an L28 and drawthrough turbo, and a '76 with a 350. They have both been cheap. You won't find many guys still running drawthrough setups, but they can indeed make gobs of power. They are so old, people say "wow, I've never seen anything like it"....then I blow them off the road! There is a yahoo group for drawthrough and one for blowthrough turbo's. They are a big help. I am leaving it the way it is because 1)Yes, it's fast, 2)that's the cheapest way to go. I would not spend the $ to build an outdated setup like this, but since it's already there.....Now, the '76 with the V8 was a helluva deal at $2k. I see one a month or so for that price here or there.....just gotta keep your eyes open. I wouldn't bother unless it has a JTR style conversion....if you want to keep the handling. You just need to determine what your goal is, not an easy task for sure. If cheap is the goal, buying one already done will pretty much always win, and if doing it yourself is the goal, well then ya can't really buy a done one. If doing it yourself AND cheap is the goal....then it's gonna take some time to gather up all the parts.

 

Here's my Z's:

 

Project Z

 

-Kurt

[Guest Anonymous]

I would say both options have pros and cons. A Chevy engine generally has cheap performance parts (100 bucks for 2 headers instead of 400 bucks for ONE honda header), its a well established engine, parts can be gotten used anywhere. The turbo motor sounds easier, i really have no experience with it though. Im going for the keep-it-simple-stupid approach, the less engine wiring the better. I am probably in a unique position to do the swap seeing how i have very few expenses. If your car needs work like mine (body panels, floorpans), yeah you are gonna spend money. But whats the hurry, its a project right? Personally, i think building it will be as enjoyable as driving it. Good luck BTW

[Grog]

Put a pre-1979 Pontiac V-8 in it a drive like mad. More expensive to build than a Chevy, but guaranteed to scare the S%^T out of you. Sorry, the personal preference slipped out. Seriously, the couice is up to you and how much your wallet will bear. The fine folks that navigate this BBS are more than happy to help you out in whatever swap you choose.

 

Grog

[Guest Perry]

If cheap and easy to do are a priority, find a complete donor zxt and swap it in. With some planning and a little help, I drove my 77 into the garage friday night and pulled out with the turbo engine installed Sunday afternoon. I had to drive it to work on Monday! My total cost including all new gaskets on the engine and a timing chain etc.. was $500. Now I am doing the V8 swap, and it has required a lot more fabricating, money, and generally messing with than the turbo swap ever did, although in the end I'll have more power potential for less money.

[Phantom]

Z Meister - Since you don't have a car yet - watch this site & others until you find a running car with either the turbo or the V-8 that you can get for around $2,500. Then fly to where it is and drive it home. That is the cheapest way to get what you want. It does, however, have the element risk since you'll be getting someone else's conversion and, unless you really know your Z's, could inherit some real problems. Do your homework and acknowledge the limits of what you can do. I have seen several cars on this forum for sale because the owners got in over their head, had their priorities change, etc. and they're unloading a partially completed to fully completed conversion.