cdk4219 Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 Looking forward to doing a 240Z LS1 T56 swap, and I am wondering what I should look for in the car I buy. I live in Ohio and wouldnt think about buying anything east of the rockies for rust reasons. What options and prices should I expect to pay. Are there parts of the car that are expensive to repair (interior electrical,etc) and where are the first places these cars rust (Living in Ohio makes you hate rust) Im sure I will have more questions about the car, but now I am looking for my project car. has anyone done a turbo LS1 setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwik240z Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 Looking forward to doing a 240Z LS1 T56 swap, and I am wondering what I should look for in the car I buy. I live in Ohio and wouldnt think about buying anything east of the rockies for rust reasons. What options and prices should I expect to pay. Are there parts of the car that are expensive to repair (interior electrical,etc) and where are the first places these cars rust (Living in Ohio makes you hate rust) Im sure I will have more questions about the car, but now I am looking for my project car. has anyone done a turbo LS1 setup? 1st off, welcome to the list. As an east coast 240Z owner I agree that your should buy a RUST FREE CAR! Before you start asking alot of questions on this list please be sure to use the search feature. The list members will chop your head off if you don't try to find the info via search before you ask questions that have been answered in the past. Now that that is out of the way, my suggestion is to find the cleanest 240Z you can for your budget. When I searched for my 240Z, my goal was to find a car that was mostly a renewed/restored driver that had the suspension/brake upgrades I wanted and then I could just pull the drivetrain and do the LS1 swap. I found a super nice California car that met most of my needs. As for budget. I paid almost $9000 for the car and have invested about $2500 more into it before the V-8 swap has begun. I have recently sold the current drivetrain for $2300 and will be pulling it soon to ship it to the new owner. I didn't want to have to paint the car or restore the interior, etc. Take your time and find the right car for you. Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage42 Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 You may want to keep your options open to go with a clean 280Z, too. They weigh a little more, but it's all in chassis stiffening, which makes it a much better candidate for a high powered V8 conversion than a "flexy flyer" 240 that will require some chassis mods, connectors, etc to keep the car alive and attempt to prevent serious stress cracks in the c pillar, etc. Personally, I like the 280Z with the MSA Aero kit, which makes the car look a little more modern to go with that modern drivetrain. 8) Being new, it's a good to get all the info & options you can get, and you can get them here! Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 I have to chime in too. I chose the 280Z initially - before I even decided to do a V8 conversion - because of it's stronger chassis and that it is fuel injected. 280Z's are also more plentiful, generally have less rust, and won't get you bashed quite as badly by a "purist" because it's really not a collectible - yet. Also - if you are looking at pounding the drive train hard - drag racing - the 280Z's come with the R200 differential aleady vs the R180 on the 240Z which will work fine for daily driving and road racing but don't always survive the hard launch and shifting of drag racing. That all being said, http://www.johnscars.com, has a conversion components kit for the LS1 conversion in the 280Z. My car was the prototype and a few other guys on the forum are currently using at least some of the components in their conversions. Just depends on how much of the work and detail figuring you want to do. doing a search using "LS1" as the search phrase will net you a lot of information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdk4219 Posted March 31, 2004 Author Share Posted March 31, 2004 Thanks for the info, and keep it coming. I am definately green on the Z car good and bad points, but I do like the look of the 240 with a spoiler an front and rear, although I dont know what manufacturer to use. Can the 280 be made to resemble an early 240? I think it is the no bumper cleanliness I like, but I cant put my finger on it. My goal was to take the car apart and seam weld it, but if i can get by with other ypes of structural strengthening, then i would be game for that. I have successfully done 3 LS1 swaps, 1 88 RX7 Turbo with a 98 LS1 T56, A 93 RX7( Newer body style) With a 99 LS1 T56 ATI procharged and Intercooled, and the last one was My Lincoln Mark VII LSC with a 2002 LS1 4L60E. I drive one of these cars every day, but I was getting the itch to do a car that nobody around Ohio has. Since the 3 swaps, I can tell you quite a bit of info on the LS1, and the RX7, but the Z car is new game. With the rx7s you are limited to either a 3.90 gear, or 4.10 gear, and i have read that the Z has a 3.30 or something gear. The Rx rear is good to around mid 10's with the 93 and 9's with the Turbo rear. I have also read that the Z has a weaker rear, what is the strongest rear? To guys that have redone the interior, how much is it to do. I am wondering if it is worth it to buy a very good running 240 with good interior and sell the engine and trans, unlike I have done the past cars. What is a good 240 engine and trans worth? Sorry for all the questions, and keep the replies coming. I just spotted pparaska's car, and if i must say that is the "look" i would like to go for, it is definately a nice car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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