Enigne swap choices

[Guest red_dog007]

I recently got a 71' 4-Speed 240z a few months ago. I am going to leave it stock for a while, but in the process I am going to look for an engine swap and all the other parts that I would need/want to get everything the way I like it.

 

I have looked at everything from the LT-1/LS1, Triton engines, VK V8 engine and now I am looking at the SR/RB engines. I think that I want to keep the nissan name with the engine instead of going with an American V8 and that VK V8 requires too much work it seems.

 

I like the RB25 Turbo and RB26 Twin-Turbo a lot, but for a few pennies cheaper I can get an SR20 Turbo.

I see that the SR20 Turbo ranges from 205HP all the way to 280HP depending on the car that it came from. How much can these little 4 bangers push out stock and would all I need is a turbo/intercooler upgrade to achieve around the 300hp that I would want?

 

 

I like the RB25/26 as it is a bigger, 6 cyclinder, more powerful engine, but with the SR20, it would make my car lighter then what it already is pushing near the same amount of power from atleast the RB25. Plus it seems like the weight destribution would be a little nicer.

 

What do you think would be the better buy? Both seem like they have their pros and cons. One thing that might make a huge difference is are both of these fairly easy to drop in? When I do an engine swap, I dont want to have to weild things to the car, or cut pieces out just to make it fit.

 

SR20 Turbo

RB25 Turbo *most likely what I would get instead of an RB26*

 

But then I have also heard that a triple carb, double barrel, 45mm kit w/ new exhaust would give me around the 200hp range. Is this true? If so, even though it is only 50hp, I think that would rather go this way to keep the most that I can stock and get the most power out of the L24 instead of doing an engine swap.

[ProjectSR20]

I would suggest doing a search first. Almost everything you can imagine has been covered here. I can shed a little light for you, but I am no expert so take it with a grain of salt.

 

V-8 swaps are well documented on here. There has been almost every V-8 know to man swapped into a Z car. You can find more info on this swap than almost any other out there so I will not really get into this one.

 

The RB series motors are great motors with tons of potential. There are a few on here that have done this swap with very good results. Another motor that I would put in here with these ones is the 2JZ-GTE out of a Supra. Both the RB's and the 2JZ's can make huge power with a mostly stock motor. The only downside can be the initial price of the motor and the ability to find parts. Again, I am not an expert so I could be wrong on the parts.

 

The SR's are becoming a pretty popular swap on here. They are only 2 liters but can be pretty potent. There is a mount you can buy from Vildini that welds to the frame rails and the motor just bolts to it http://www.VildiniMotorsport.com . There could be others as well but this is the first one that comes to my mind. You will also need to do a custom tranny mount. The SR seems to be a pretty reliable motor and are cheaper then the RB or 2JZ.

 

There are some things you can do to squeeze power out of an L24, but most will say if you are going to go with an L series motor to get the L28ET. It is a pretty direct swap with only some wiring that really needs to be addressed. They can make decent power but has a big restriction with the non-cross flow head.

 

As for what's a better buy, it's really up to you. You need to take into account how much the initial cost of the motor will be and what, if any, performance parts you are going to put into it. Then there is the issue of labor if you are not feeling like you can take on the task yourself.

 

To address one of your concerns about not wanting to weld or cut the car, it's pretty hard to do with a custom motor swap. Remember you are taking something that was engineered to be in a specific car and putting it in something totally different. There is a certain amount of things that go along with that. IF that is really a big concern for you then I would suggest doing the L28ET swap because you don't have to really cut or weld anything. Just search until your eyes can't take it anymore and you will come to a decision.