Guest brazilian Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 I've been readin this forum until my eyes bleed! currently in the search for a new car and i'm heavily conisdering a z they seem awesome and judging by the forum there is quite the fan base. I like the 240z style the best from about 70-73 but can they pump out substantial horsepower with say a turbo,cams,intake,etc? I'm wonderin because so many ppl here do a complete engine swap and i know my way around bolt on power and such but sweet jesus i dont have the mechanical prowess or money to do a complete engine swap. I know the 280z would allow a more hp with a turbo kit but i like the 240's better. Any feedback is appreciated to make this car hunt a little easier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 JY 350 SBC - $200 JY TH350 - $100 JTR Swap Kit - $200(?) Sweat and Busted Nuckles - FREE Upgrades Later - $Zillions = ) EDIT: Oh... and welcome to HZ!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpt jack Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 JY 350 SBC - $200JY TH350 - $100 JTR Swap Kit - $200(?) Sweat and Busted Nuckles - FREE Upgrades Later - $Zillions = ) EDIT: Oh... and welcome to HZ!! You can get a 350 sbc that works for 200$? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 It may not be low mileage and it may not be pretty but you can easily find a good running SBC 350 for $200... maybe less. SBC's are dirt cheap and the lowest performing ones still make at least 250 FWHP. If you're lucky (search) you can easily find one with 300+ factory FWHP with low miles. It may cost you $300+ though. Most JY's will give you a 30-90 day warranty so what's to lose? I haven't done a swap (bought mine already done) but I understand it's quite easy and only takes 2-3 days max. The JTR swap kit is very straightforward but their book is a must. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mack Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 or you can get a 280ZXT complete engine and swap it in using your stock mounts, driveshaft and all that crap. I dont think the JTR kit comes with all necessary stuff to make it actually DRIVE, does it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brazilian Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 so its sounding like the sbc swap so far is the favorite amongst the masses. where would be the best place to get the engine mounts? Is the wiring pretty straight forward? In the Z's what kind of hp is needed to run like low 13's high 12's im not lookin for anythin fantastic mostly gonna be a daily driver but wanna have that get up and go when i need it. Thanks for the advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 or you can get a 280ZXT complete engine and swap it in using your stock mounts, driveshaft and all that crap. I dont think the JTR kit comes with all necessary stuff to make it actually DRIVE, does it? It depends... how much torque will he have... is a diff swap needed? If he does a turbo swap, isn't this needed anyway? It's true that the driveshaft will need to be length-adjusted but that's a minor expense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 A 280Z will probably be a little easier to obtain in a straight and relatively rust free condition .The myth of a rust free Z has pretty much been busted, but a 280 is less likely to be completely rusted out than a 240 due to age and slightly better efforts from the factory towards corrosion prevention. The cosmetic bits that make a 240 look like a 240 can be bolted on to the 280 if you really need the look. A healthy weight reduction plan can get the 280 down to nearly the weight of the 240. Deleting the A/C and most of the extra crap in the rear cargo area will shave off close to 100 pounds if not more. Any extra weight over the 240Z at this point will be wiring and structural. Structural is good. The 280 tends to be a little stiffer than the 240, and is probably a better platform to build on if going for moderate power levels (under 300 horsepower). More power than that requires some added structural support such as subframe connectors and strut tower bars if you want to be able to open and close your doors a year from now. The manual transmission versions of the 280 will also come with the R-200 differential (The 240Z came stock with an R-180). The general consensus is that the R-200 is good for around 500 horsepower, the R-180 for somewhat less than that. The exact amount one will hold is open to debate, but again the general consensus is that it's probably better just to use the R-200 and not worry about it. The quick and easy way to get into low 13's or high 12's is to swap in a junkyard 280zxt motor, turbo, and ecu. This requires little fabrication and makes a pretty decent daily driver. The down side is that you will ALWAYS have V8 envy Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brazilian Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Eh im not to worried about V8 envy i had a 69 nova and i currently own a lexus SC400 that has a V8 so no biggie about that. Although i do like the idea of the 350 swap. Would i still want to do that though if i got a 280 or just mess with the motor it has? And is it easy to find a runnin 280zxt or am i just destined to find the motor at a junkyard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 If you can find a running 280zxt for cheap, definitely go with it rather than a junkyard motor. The non turbo L28 engine that comes in the 280Z can be made to produce pretty good power, but it will never be as streetable as a turbo motor of the same power level. The cam profile required to make an NA L28 get decent power often make it nearly un drivable on the street due to the rough or non existent idle. Turbo L28 or larger engine (V8 etc.) conversion is the way to go for daily driver in my opinion. Check out this thread to see an awesome V8 swap done on a budget: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=118146 Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brazilian Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 so im lookin at a 78 280z hella clean for super cheap. If i decided on the 350sbc swap what ecu would i need? my bad i meant the 280zxt swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 ECU?... None if you opt for carbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brazilian Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 can the 240z handle a 350sbc swap as easy as the 280z? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 can the 240z handle a 350sbc swap as easy as the 280z? The steps for swapping an SBC into either the 280z or the 240z will be pretty much identical. You'll probably want to swap out the differential on the 240z (R-180) for one out of a 280z (R-200) if you plan on doing many 1/4 mile runs. Before tackling a project like this I suggest you spend a few months just searching on this site for information, along with purchasing the JTR engine swap manual for the Z https://shell7.tdl.com/~jags/OrderingBooks.html Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brazilian Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 does the same go for a 280zx i dont know how they differ from just the 280z? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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