ziptieracer Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 New guy checking in. My name is James and I'm in the North County/ San Diego area. I've been wanting to do a V-8 swapped Z for about 3 or 4 years now, ever since I saw some videos of Darius' 240z floating around on the net. Anyways, I've finally decided to dive into this. As far as performance for the dollar goes, this swap seems to be one the best out there. Plus, I've always liked the old school sports car look of the early Z's. Getting into a Z is going to be an entirely new thing for me. So far, I've been exclusively a watercooled VW guy. So I've been doing alot of researching and planning before I start in on this. Plus, I still have to part out my VW "racecar" project to fund this one. Only 1 project allowed....wife's rules. Picked up the JTR manual a couple days ago. Swap seems pretty straight forward. After researching the web for awhile, I'm very much leaning towards the LS1/t56 combo. I have quite a few friends in f-bodies and i love the incredible potential these motors have for power and still be streetable. Right now I'm in the process of trying to find a clean 73 or older Z that doesn't have too much rust. Hoping to pick one up for around a grand since I've got some time to shop around. If anyone local has a line on one, that would be awesome. It doesn't need to run, it justs need to have a title and not be too rusty. Which brings me to my first question. How much rust is too much when looking for a Z to swap a V-8 into. I've searched on here and found the common areas they rust at and found that rust is a pretty serious problem for z's, but where would you guys realistically draw the line when looking for a potential project? The couple I've looked at so far were mostly just surface rust spots with a couple of small spots rotted all the way through in the floor board and front fenders. But the doglegs in the rear were horrible. I'm pretty good with building motors and turning wrenches, but I'm not very skilled when it comes to body repair, so rust is big concern for me. 2nd question-Where do you find good prices on LS-1 complete front clips? I've heard some people talk about how they've come across complete clips or even wrecked cars for around 3500-4000. I haven't been able to find anything cheaper than 6 so far. Anyways, hopefully I'll be able to start posting some progress pics soon. Not sure how much I'll be to contribute to the technical since I'm completely new to these cars, but I'll try where I can. Oh yah, here's a couple pics of my old VW project. '86 4 door Golf diesel. I swapped a 2.8L VR6 into it. All the normal bolt-ons, headwork, cams, and a small shot of giggle gas. It made 187whp with a stock chip and no tuning, and 234whp on the spray. Went 13.4 @106 with a mediocre 2.1 60'. That was on 205/50r15 drag radials and full interior. It was pretty quick for what it was....an ugly as **** FWD shoebox on wheels. It was a fun car to drive and it caught alot of people off guard. But it's time to go faster, and I'm done with trying to drag race a car with wrong wheel drive. yikes, that was alot of typing....I'll try to keep my posts shorter from here on out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getZ Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Welcome to Hybrid James. It always nice to hear another who wants to make the journey. There is a lot of good info, pics and links on this site. There's really too much to cover in one response, but the search engine is works great. It's on the blue bar above. Maybe I can help with some of your questions. As far as prices on z cars, it ranges like everythings else. I picked up a bone stock 72 240z that was pretty complete with a decent "driver" paint job for $2500 out of Tuscon. Orange wasn't my favorite color, but then again the selection of original colors that the z came out with wasn't that great either. I have some mild rust in the wheel wells and frame, but overall it was pretty clean. There are still a few deals around the southwest if you take the time to look and can move at a moments notice. Then again, I've seen some nice ones in southern California as well, but they seem to want more for them there. Looking at LS engine prices, I've seen some of the best deals on ebay. Stick to a reputable seller and you should be okay. Just be sure to get the complete engine: harness, computer and accessories. I used to like going to car shows to get ideas on how to do things, but now you can get it all from home surfing and watching football at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 I have been using this ebay seller as kind of a market standard as far as price goes. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/02-Trans-Am-Camaro-LS1-Engine-w-6spd-Transmission-27k_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33615QQitemZ8017219294 The manual tranmission pull outs add about a grand over the price of the auto, and 2000 and later engines command a slightly higher price. The LS2 pull outs seem to all run 6000+. their price also varys with mileage. Corvette engines by themselves cost as much as an entire F body engine and tranny combo. I asked the price question a month or so back and got quite a few replys that told me the price above seems fair. Of course there were quite a few quys who got complete wrecks for half of the above, but I consider those deals and not market price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Search locally and you will find. A friend of mine bought his combo with 13,000 miles for under $4k! Came with an LS2 intake too. As far as Zs go, you're in the land of the plenty! California and AZ are some of the places with the most rust free Zs. I know you're looking for a 240z, but why not look into a 280z as well? They seem to run cheaper and are a little more stout frame wise then the 240z's. I picked up mine with a rebuilt engine, lots of new parts, big rims, and a parts car for $1800. And it is +97% rust free. The floor pans look great, as do the rails, spair tire well doesn't even have surface rust, as does the battery tray! Only had rust by the front passenger headlight. Even though eBay is a good place to look, being in CA, you can usually beat the prices by looking in local car selling magazines/classified/newspapers. Best of luck! Mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziptieracer Posted January 22, 2006 Author Share Posted January 22, 2006 Thanks for the e-bay link. If I can't find anything locally, that will probably be where I go. Those prices were better than anything I found on the net. As for getting a 280 instead of a 240, I really don't prefer one over the other, I just want a '73 or older so I don't have to mess with smog. I know it's technically supposed to be '75 and older now in CA, but I keep hearing rumors that they want to move it back to '73. I'll be pissed if I get '74 or '75, finish the swap, and they change it back to '73. I don't like messing w. smog, that's why my last project was a "diesel". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 ....I don't like messing w. smog, that's why my last project was a "diesel". Yeah, that's one way of keeping your car from ever needing a smog check... If you can do a VR6 swap into a Golf, you can certainly handle the V8 to Z swap with ease. LA is probably where you'll find your best and cheapest Z cars. You can also find info on towing yards that will sell it to you cheap if the owner doesn't come back to claim it and pay the inflated impound fees...just a thought. Look at Craigslist.org for San Diego and Los Angeles---you might find some decent cars on there. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 welcome! btw.. im building a vw rabbit MK1 with a VR6..... hehe mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziptieracer Posted January 23, 2006 Author Share Posted January 23, 2006 Look at Craigslist.org for San Diego and Los Angeles---you might find some decent cars on there. Davy Yah, I love craigslist. The 2 best cars I found so far were both on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziptieracer Posted January 23, 2006 Author Share Posted January 23, 2006 welcome! btw.. im building a vw rabbit MK1 with a VR6..... hehe mike yikes. that's alot harder than my VR swap was. Takes quite a bit of fabbing to get a VR into a Mk1 chassis. Mine more or less bolted in w. the corrado front subframe. Good luck with the swap. And plan on driving mostly straight. That swap brings new meaning to the term "massive understeer". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 ya its gonna be my "race from a roll car" my friend is building prob the sweetest rabbit i ever seen with a audi 1.8T thats pushing around 500whp. brings a whole new meaning of NO traction. wont race it with any of my Z's thats for sure... atleast from a roll lol mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinOlson Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Crazy running into another VW guy over here. I've just acquired a 280z, but have been into vw and audis for the past 5 years or so. Here's my current project that needs to get all dialed before I take the Z down for a cage, 4link, and motor swap http://forum.vwsport.com/pics/data/500/medium/Dscn1572.jpg and my Z: http://forum.vwsport.com/pics/data/500/medium/Dscn1599.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziptieracer Posted January 23, 2006 Author Share Posted January 23, 2006 What kinda car is that? Looks like an old Audi inline 5. Old sport quattro? More pics please if its a sport quattro, those things are HOT. And that's a rather large turbo. That thing looks like it could exceed the damage threshholds for VW/Audi drivetrains and still have an extra 10-15 PSI left over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONGO510 Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Hi Zippy ! You might want to check with DMV before you buy a chassis. In Oregon, if the vehicle is 74 or older you dont have to take it for a exhaust emissions test. I bought a 74 260z for just that reason. I can run any engine I want without having to jump thru expensive hoops to make it legal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinOlson Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Its actually a 91 200tq. I'm really enjoying driving this light weight Z now compared to the big boat. It is pretty fun tho. The transmission in these audis will hold upto 600whp easily if not tracked hard. Its just a street car that I do highway pulls in, so the drivetrain isn't too stressed. I'm actually thinking about putting the 5 cylinder in the datsun backed by a built turbo 400 transmission, tubed and 4 linked with some MT drag radials. Thats a couple years out at this point tho. Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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