ZedZilla

lww, all the power to ya, although it might be a teeny bit slower then an LS1 powered Z

You missed my point totaly. Its still a Z engine as we and everyone else in the world knows it. In fact I am surprised Bleach hasn't enlightened us just yet.

Even though the engine's origins may be suspect, it's various iterations have long since become synonymous with the Z car. Essentialy no one cares what happened to make the engine generate into a Z car engine especialy dating back, as you say, to 1966. Its common for successful technology in the world to be borrowed from someone or some company that had the original idea and developed it. If what you say is accurate then the Z engine is just an example but that still doesn't change anything...its still a Z engine, not a Mercedes etc. Try telling someone its a prince motor co. engine and I'd probably hear them laughing all the way up here in the great white north. Eventualy you may get a shrug as a response as they work away on their prince mo co hardware...

Regardless I am not here to change any one's mind about swaps. Merely expressing my own humble opinion.

ZedZilla

j, I totaly appreciate what you are saying. However I never said you want it to be the baddest, rather simply "the best Z out there". I also believe you when you say that you chose the Z car because of its qualities. Ultimately it remains that out of the numerous choices out there you still picked a Datsun not a Daihatsu. As well if Daihatsu had made the same car at that time rather then Datsun undoubtedly it would have been just as successful in sales etc as the Z. Although no one might have admitted openly to actualy buying it . So yes! count me off of the Daihatsu bandwagon.

The paramount reason the Z raises such sentiments in us Z car lovers is because it was made. You can not undermine the fact that Datsun made it and no one else did. That includes the entire package not just the styling. The "what ifs" are pointless.

ZedZilla

Ummm, so given the choice you would PREFER Nissan as a brand name over the best product ever branded a Chevy? Cause in your earlier post you said you chose a Z because you like it not because of who made it. Sounds like you bought the Z for more then its looks. Can we say BRAND LOYALTY?.

Bleach

You're doing fine without my input.

I go for what is cheap and easy. I already know the L-series so the L28 turbo is what I would be most comfortable with to maintain.
Brand loyalty is where its at.

jfairladyz

Oh no doubt, I love Nissan. But I have to attribute that fact to the Z line. If it wasn't for these cars I wouldn't have this affection for Nissan that I have. And I guess you're right, it wasn't based solely on looks. It's the entire package. The Z has burned a place in my heart and in doing so, has made that same mark for Nissan. But I have to admit, I'm not about to go out and buy any other Nissan vehicle, just the Z. Not just the 280zx, but if I did get a Nissan, it would have to be some form of the Z car. So I guess my loyalty is with the Nissan/Datsun Z/ZX. Well, maybe if someone dropped a skyline in my driveway and said just take it. You know, I couldn't just say no Oh, and nuclear, I wasn't disagreeing with anything you said. Just after reading your post it inspired me to write what I wrote, thats all. All I'm saying is everytime I drive my Z I get a sense of pleasure out of it, as I'm sure all of us do (well those not having driveablity issues at the moment ). And anything I can do to make that drive more enjoyable and make me even more proud of my Z, I'm going to do. And the LS1 allows me to acheive those goals without taking out a third mortgage and selling my first born(it'll only take two mortgages and I get to keep my son ). I DON'T CARE WHERE THE ENGINES COMING FROM AS LONG AS ITS GOING INTO MY Z AND IT MAKES ME HAPPY!!! And one more thing, I just got my Z home finally. I had to replace the alternator yesterday after driving from CO to NE, then 30 miles later, I had to replace the water pump. But now it's hear, so I'll be posting pics of project Zspec on my site soon. She's not the prettiest thing but shes got a long ways to go. And all those repairs were done with a few combo wrenches on the side of the hwy a half hour from a town in either direction Now that was fun. And hey, it's still going to say Datsun on the title when it's done and there's no disputing that, no matter whats powering it.

WildmaN

You said a mouthful man, long live the Z cars! There is nothing out there remotely close to this fine sportscar! Nothing compares, born to own and drive a Z, and will for the rest of my days. And thanks for thinking of the poor souls who can't drive their Z yet! Hopefully sometime this year I will get him on the road! Whatever it takes, it will happen!

jfairladyz

Yeah I like to ramble. I don't do it on purpose though. But by the time I hit submit I've written a novel Yeah my Z has seen a lot of downtime too, but man it's worth every second spent working on her when you get to drive it again. Since I got mine out here she's become quite the celebrity. Nobody's seen anything like that in these parts. It's great, and she's not even pretty right now. I can't wait til I get her straight and paint her!

WildmaN

Yeah I remeber when Z's were abundanat out here. I would see some about every week. Now it seems I see fewer out here, maybe a few a month. If I am lucky, and yeah it is all worth it in the end. No matter how much trouble my Z caused, as soon as I went down the road, everything like the problems, went right out the window! But it is kind of cool that my cars are scarce now, it makes them nostalgic!

jfairladyz

Yep thats one of my favorite parts, not everyone and their mother has one. Even when I lived in SoCal I'd only see one every so often. Out here I still haven't seen one. All I ever see are the Z33's and the occasional Z32.

383ZJUICED

WELL ALL THATS JUST GREAT. I HAVE A 1980 280ZX WITH A CHEVY SMALL BLOCK. ITS AN 85' STYLE LONG BLOCK WITH 4-BOLT MAINS I GOT BRAND NEW FOR $1100, OLD SETUP (EDELBROCK INTAKE MANIFOLD $120, EDELBROCK 600CFM CARB $260, WET SINGLE STAGE PLATE NITROUS SYSTEM ON A 100 SHOT $300 (USED). STOCK BOTTOM END, HEADS, CAM, IGNITION. WITH A 700R4 (4 SPEED AUTO)$1200, MADE 330HP AND 425TORQUE AT THE WHEELS. SHALL I ADD IT UP? IT COMES OUT TO ROUGHLY $4000 INCLUDING ALL ACCESORIES TO MAKE IT OPERATE NORMALLY.

NEW SETUP :COMPLETELY FORGED 383 STROKER ROTATING ASSEMBLY $1300,NECC BEARINGS $120, BLOCK MACHINE WORK $300, NITROUS CAM $119, MACHINE WORK TO HEADS TO ACCEPT CAM LIFT $160, HARDENED PUSHRODS $60, COMP LIFTERS $85, ROLLER ROCKERS $110, HOLLEY 800CFM CARB $380, 2 MORE SELNOIDS $170, GEAR DRIVE TIMING SET $85, MSD 6AL $230, MSD TIMING COMPUTER 130, MSD COIL $75, MSD ROTOR $10, NGK7 $20, HIGH VOLUME OIL PUMP $35, EDELBROCK MECHANICAL FUEL PUMP $50, B&M SHIFT KIT $60, B&M 2500 STALL $340, WELD SKINNES WITH TIRES $100,
McCREARY DRAG RADIALS $100 EACH ON WELDS $100. ROUGH TOTAL:$4100

NO DYNO NUMBERS YET, BUT I RECENTLY WENT TO THE TRACK AND ONLY RAN ONCE. DUE TO SAFETY EQUIPMENT NOT INSTALLED. ANYWAY, IF YOU HAD .3 OF ANOTHER FINGER ON YOUR HAND YOU COULD COUNT THE SECONDS IN MY QUARTER MILE.

WITH SPENDING ONLY $8100 FOR A 10 SEC PASS, I THINK THATS PREATY DAME GOOD.

Skully

ill have to go with an engine out of a Yugo...45 - 45 hp 0.9l (903 cm³)

SHADY280

i would say put in a all aluminum engine from a rover car, 250ci and you can easily get 300hp, that and the motor only weighs 310 pounds complete and running, minus the tranny. my buddies got 5 of them, he also has a tr-8 with one in it, what a rocket, and it only has 150hp, imagine one with 300hp.

hoov100

what about a rocket engine? there was atleast one guy who did it.

thxone

Ok here is my 6 cents. I would love to put a high performance Nissan engine in my 280zx to keep it all Nissan but wrap this around your brains for a bit...I don't know why nobody has suggested this for power to weight or bang for your buck. In 1987 a General Motors company built a car that is still feared by many on the streets and on the track, with underated numbers at 276hp@4400 and 360ft-lbs@2600 of torque the tiny 3.8L Buick GNX engine would be a perfect choice for a 280zx swap! Pardon me Mr. Honda man wanna race for pinks? I got some things I want to buy and me selling your car would help out alot.

jfairladyz

I've seen that in a couple earlier Z's but never in a ZX. But when you figure the LS1, being all aluminum, doesn't weigh much either