Datsun 240z Owners?

[BeyondTheGrave77]

Hey I was wondering if anyone on here owns a Datsun 240z. I recently saw one and even though the one I saw was in terrible condition, I still saw great potential in the car. After doing some research alot of people end up doing swaps (l28et,rb25/26,sr20det,etc) and so I was wondering if any supraforums owners have a turbo 240z and if they would reccomend it as a project car , since they can be had for pretty cheap nowadays.

[Small Shot]

2J's are a common swap too. Finding a car without rust is an issue. There is nothing cheap about doing a project build. Paint/body restoration would be 5-10k, right off the bat. Suspension, wheels, brakes, and drivetrain... the shit adds up quick. I threw the idea around a few years ago. They do look really nice though.. IMO, find one thats already done w/ the owner looking to move on..

[BeyondTheGrave77]

Yea , If I end up getting one then I was going to get a full repaint of the car with the 240zg wide over fenders molded on to the chassis. This makes the car look much more modern and clean. As for the engine swap I was thinking more along the lines of the l28et engine which I believe is from the later 280zx car, I was reading that with bpu mods it can max out to around 300hp which I think would be good for a sub 2500 pound car.

[superfan]

If your looking for a rust free Datsun Z car, The southwest is full of clean project cars that have absulutely no rust. Cheap would be sbc convesion, but the original inline 6's have a lot going for them too.

[CRM33184]

71, 240 was my first car. strigh six with tripple webbers and a shit load of rust... great car though, I would def consider another as a project.

[mavisky]

Still trying to sell my DSM to start the basis for one.

[BeyondTheGrave77]

Yea well my dilemna(sp?) is that I want to get another car somewhat soon. The supra is slowly becoming a garage queen and so my original plan was to get a 4 door audi/bmw or possibly porsche 996 coupe as a second car, but the more I think about it i'd rather have a rare car that is fun to drive and something that can be kept for years so that I amass a bunch of differnt unique cars in my garage. So my plan for a 240z would have been widebody fenders molded and some wide rims, with a new engine/brakes/suspension. Something similar to this car:



Except the color would either be a ferrari rossa corsa color with black rims.

[MadMaxx]

^ pretty sure I'd have sex with that.

[lowinfinity]

Is there a reason it has to be a 240z? Those are probably the rarest and hardest to find in good rust-free condition. If you just like the style of the 240z, and intend to modify the body, just pick up a 260z/280z. They're a smidge larger, but the difference is negligible if you're just going to modify it.

[TrueSlideXL]

The best swaps are the old school 350 conversions. Imagine an LS7 in one of those.

[dixond]

Originally Posted by TrueSlideXL

The best swaps are the old school 350 conversions. Imagine an LS7 in one of those.

I approve of this statement.

[veilsidedragon06]

I have a rust bucket 240Z project that has gone basically no where for a while now. I basically got the chassis for free, but when it comes to project cars, there's nothing free about it. There's rust on the tranny tunnel, floor pan, rear fenders, firewall, and front crossmember. The only real blessing in that is that it makes it easier to adapt what I want to it, without worrying about screwing up any perfect condition body parts.

That being said, the plan is still to cage her, and tube frame the front end, drop a SR20 in there using a Vildini kit, flatten out the underbody and raise up the tranny tunnel slightly so I can tuck the exhaust in there more efficiently than stock. work on some aero mods due to the piss poor aerodynamics of the Z. I love what SPL Parts does with other model nissans, so I'd love to develop something with them for the Z's suspension, which would be made easier due to the Z's tube frame. But of course, money is the issue here, and being a broke college student, doesn't help financially.

As to someone making a comment about the subtle differences between the 240 and the 260/280. Well yes, the average guy won't know the difference, I personally think there's a lot of small differences by themselves that add up to be quite noticable all together. I personally LOVE the 240 over the 280. There's some pretty significant changes in styling between the two. The 260 was more of a transition between the 2 models.

Just some FYI's. They have a limited top speed due to stock aerodynamics and limited gearing( on stock engine and tranny). There was issues with exhaust fumes entering the cabin without the use of a rear spoiler, again due to aerodynamcis. while yes there is a ton of room in the engine bay, the stock crossmember as well as the relatively large strut towers can cause somewhat of a pinch. I'm avoiding this problem all together, but really it's quite easy to work around. Parts are easier to find than one would initially think, due to the love for the Z car, and it's decently large aftermarket support. HybridZ.org is pretty much the staple site for all Z stuff. It has a plethora of info and the Windtunnel Test and Analysis subforum is filled with engineers and car geeks and gurus. Great info there.

Just a little insight to my dream 240 look wise, check this guys build out. He's a genius and has been working on his chopped, lowered, and LS7'd( just for TrueSlide's pleasure) 240.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/645045

Man I love Z's. You got me all worked up now OP

edit: I just wanted to say how much I love OC. Looking back on some threads we've had in the past where there were supercars galore, and a single 240Z, and the Z would get more comments on it than anything else. You guys rock.

[YoshiFD3S]

My brother Dave over @ Lethal Injection in Alpharetta, GA was rockin' a ~450rwhp RB25 in his '78 280Z. He made a hell of a name for himself in GA.

"Z U L8R" as his license plate. hehe...it was my idea! XD

Z's are freaking fun as hell when you clean them up. The interior has that nice little cockpit feel to it, and once it's cleaned up.

There was a guy, John I think his name was, he had an orange Z where he had replaced every single stock gauge with Autometer carbon-fiber gauges, and it was VERY clean. Perfect black leather interior.

RB's fit VERY well into the 240-280Z chassis with little to no modification.

A 2JZ would be sick, and I've pondered the idea myself before having jumped into my current money pit.

After about 500rwhp though you need to consider things like spot-welding, to increase rigidity in the frame, etc.

My Brother's Z:





Some other favorite Z's of mine....















My 2nd Favorite:


My Top Favorite...only because of the color:







Z's rule.

:]

[2JZFC]

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/Z...40Z_104277.htm

[Rusty Peak]

#3 in yoshi's post is my favorite.

[Mercennarius]

Originally Posted by BeyondTheGrave77

Seen that car at a few local shows...absolutely stunning...powered by a 600HP~ RB26DETT...

Some more S30 goodness

[BeyondTheGrave77]

Well everyone in this thread is proving how badass these cars can be made into



But yea I am 99% sure I am getting one as long as nothing unforseen happens.

[TheTwinZ]

I was just talking with my dad about 240Z's since he's planning to buy an old camaro or mustang to restore it...I was trying to convince him to get a 240Z instead and swap a VG30DETT or RB26DETT in it...That would be a fun ride!

[bigk]

Darius z looked so much better before the drastic body mods IMO.The blue twin turbo vh45 powered Z is nuts.

[GT42R]

.

[Total D]

teaser of what we are working on.

260z



The inlet pipe didnt stay like that, we just messn around haha.

[YoshiFD3S]

I believe the rivet-style wide-body fenders on this Z and several of the others posted are called the MSR Wide-Body Fenders..

I think they look better than the molded wide-body fender look.



Seriously, the fenders on that thing are a little ridiculous...

x_X

[Rusty Peak]

Wow I retract my previous statement that blue one next to the new Z car is pure sex.

[BeyondTheGrave77]

all those riveted fender flares are a variation of the 240ZG fender flares. The 240zg was a japan only 240z which was a limited edition and came with those riveted fenders, a different front bumper and mirrors on the hood. I think they look good aswell but something about that silver molded z makes it look really modern, after a certain point I think the fenders can be too wide like with that black z yoshifd3s has in his post. But I think the silver z has a good amount of wideness that doesnt distract you from the rest of the body.

[Supra469]

Those are beautiful Zs. I like the 280Z though, they just work for me.