Just buying a Z

Hi Zhead it would be really nice to actually have someone do the conversion with a fresh project. Over the life of this forum there has been lots of talk about this conversion by the armchair expert division but NEVER any action. Just loads of them "Wow Id really like that...." " Yeh im gonna go for it ....When I get the dosh etc" comments.
With your enthusiasm and budget there sholud be no problem. Mr F can supply all the kit and insider knowledge etc. And I know the installation will be no problem to your chosen engineer. Big bonus for me is I can hang my nose over the project IF YOU go for it!!

BTW. I think I know where MrFs old V8 240 is. (but its not for sale!!!)
Also ask Mr F about the 260Z hot rod that exists down his way.
Aparently set go go sub 10s very soon.
 
Hi,All........Mike has a v8 'for sale in October classified's 1972 v8,
with a G-nose see ad's....................................DJZ 60.
 
sean, i must admit i do want the original motor in the car for two reasons,

1. tripple carbs on a six pot look great and its not too far from original spec as opposed to v8... i think its more acceptable within the ranks, only if done in the best possible taste!...lol

2.money....i want a 240 too.....lol a 2+2 for wife n sproggs outings and a 240 for the chick outings...shit i cant belive i typed that !!!!!!!:D
 
Nothing wrong with a 2+2, it's, just the stigma, associated with
the early bad view's on even the 240Z, japanese car's etc.
All the crap about they are too heavy & slow is not accurate,you
drive a properly sorted 2+2 & you'd be surprised.
I also think The L26/L28 engine was a a great progressive design from the L20 engine & has stood the test of time.
So, Each to their own device's,Near original V's 'boy racer'.
" To be or not to be,that is the question?''......DJZ 60.
 
djz, sorry m8, but im doing your wish list. lawrence is comming down to give cost on doing body finnishing his costs and expertise sound good and spoke to g,bellamy today and he seems ok too for the paint. as for vthe motor,undecided yet may leave it with just tripple webbers,exhaust,cam and a gas flow...just not 100% sure yet....although ive done the box n diff in standard spec. bead blast, check for wear n tear, replace as nes. paint and new nuts n bolts..........so would be a shame to waste the dosh...then change for 280 bits etc....,will see how i feel when car goes away for body stuff.
 
Groll's youre doing fine M8, finish 260 & when it's done enjoy it for a bit,I'm sure you'll love it. Then when you've had a break you can look around for a reasonably priced,modded,up,conversion,to play around with.
The main,Advise I can give you is to ensure you have 7" to 8"
tyre width If you are gonna burn those Dellorto's,this cause,the
2+2 behave's a bit like a capri (back end).
Mind I take care on corner's etc,but on a straight road,Steve's your uncle..................................................DJZ 60.
 
I had a VERY long conversation with Mr F today and went through what I actually want the car to do, how I want it to behave and talked about how a very tuned up straight six will be too "tweaky" for my liking. What I want is grunt and lots of it.

With vast experience to call on from Mr F we went through the RB26 discussion, the turbo discussion and the twin turbo Supra discussion, all roads leading back to the word grunt.

There seems to be no substitute for cylinders and cubic capacity so............. I asked Lawrence if he would be prepared to build it ................................... and he said..........................................................YES !!!

This project has gone way over budget before I start because as I have asked, listened and understood, the spec has changed several times. It will take 12 to 18 months because of finance but it will be :

A US car with a UK 1971 240 bulkhead
Small Block Chevy
Probably Ferrari metallic burgundy
Black leather interior.

I will document every last nut and bolt. Lots of pictures, lots of mistakes hopefully not being made by asking millions of questions to those that have done it before.

Relieved that I now know what I want - amazing how you think you know what u want until you get specific, at which point you realise you have an idea and that is all.
 
Go for it!

Sean, I know what you mean. You have a point , so it will go round corners of course, but my emphasis will be straightline grunt. I want to have a car that I can drive to Santa Pod and then go bl**dy fast and bl**dy noisy on my way to a cracking road-legal time!

Pmac, I guess I'm a prime "one day I will build etc etc" candidate. It's a dream at the moment, but it will happen. One day :)

I just need the kids to grow up and move out. To pay off my mortgage. Sell my Wife. Rob a bank. Win the lottery....

One day is obviously a few years hence!
 
Zhead, I know how you feel - once the decision is made, the weight lifts ! Remains to be patient, VERY patient and start stashing every last penny away !
You've got balls mate and I 'm looking forward to seeing/hearing all about it !

What's your power/torque estimate again ? Will you be strengthening the chassis anywhere ?
Are cooling problems foreseen ?
 
Zhead,Sound's all good to me,& but you do need a good cash reserve to proceed with such a project. You get what you pay for.
DJZ 60.
 
Glad you came to a decision, is a shame that there won't be another twin turbo straight six zed around, but that is only my opinion as I like the 'tech' and revvy nature of the engines. I also like the way they can be tuned easily with bolt-ons.
I thought the 2jz supra engine is known for its torque, (apparently the reason why some rb26 engined supras have been done, so they don't have as much low-down torque). Have you seen the oz article about how the person that created my car went about choosing a power plant, I believe he went in a few different engined zeds before he made his decision..

Is only my opinion though, you have to go for what you want out of the car (even if that is a big lazy V8 ;) ). I guess that for NA low rev grunt cc is what you need to go for...

To be honest though I'm just envious of being able to build the car of your dreams. All power to you, and hope it all goes quicky and smoothly!
 
Thanks guys, you have all been seriously helpful. Unfortunately DJZ and Sean I think you are right about the cash :-(

My estimate is 12 to 18 months and I am aimimg at Ferrari metallic burgundy, 350+ BHP, 400+ ft lbs of torque. Exceptionally wide grin.

240Z - my next choice would have been the Supra for it's bullet proof nature, smooth ride and huge tuneability potential.

350BHP out of a SBC is a doodle, they can be shipped in pre built from the states in a crate. If I had the money (which I dont) much more is easily achievable - remember it is a big agricultural engine. If I had more than that (which I double don't) I would go the all aluminium engine, not too different in weight to the standard L series. Bit of lightening here and there, relocation of the battery and hey presto, you get near 50/50 balance back.

Mr F has advised me about the conversion kits available, mounts, electric fuel pump (because the L series is mechanical) etc. There are considerations like speedo and rev counter but there are cables and all the gubbins available to do the job.

Cooling a big V8 properly is also an issue, it has been pointed out that specialist radiators and fans are available, sometimes bonnet louvres help but I would rather not, I love the lines as they are.

This is nowhere near as adventurous as transplanting a modern engine IMHO - this has been done literally 1000s of time in the states, help, advice, mounts, parts and a lot of first hand experience are available to make it as painless as possible.

The car is in the contaner and on the way, the UK bulkhead is waiting, it is just a question of fitting it into the engineers schedules and my budget constraints. I am guessing at 15-20k for the car, 10k for the engine / box / conversion items, 3k for seats and leather, 1500 - 2k for suspension and 2k for wheels and tyres. A grand and scary sum of approx 30 - 35K over 12 - 18 months.

Sounds a lot but when u consider the new parts :

brakes, discs, rebuilt engine and box, totally stripped and rebuilt shell, suspension, new seats, leather trim, paint, wheels, tyres etc it is getting on for a new car I suppose.

That amount of money scares me to death but pales into insignificance next to the costs of the top 240Z rally cars.
 
you could save alot of money by rebuilding a sbc over here, the are very basic and just about any mechaic could do it for you. there are alot of shops selling bits for them, try speed and spares of america(there in leatherhead surrey)sorry cant find site so you'll have to search. i rebuilt a 351 vette motor a few years back and they gave me all the bits to tune at a good price...well worth a look cos the vette ended up needing a tyre and gas truck following it wherever it went but shit did it go......was a L83...thin k it ended up a about 12 mpg on a run...some thing to think about if its going to be a daily runner.
 
I saw a price list for "crate" SBC's a while ago. Actually surprisingly reasonable. There's a pretty big yanks and custom car scene over here (i've been going to their big summer show on and off since 1990) and all manner of bits are available new or second hand. I would have thought it could be done on a fairly small budget - maybe £7k or less. Blimey, you could buy a shagged yank wagon with a sound, rebuildable engine and tranny for peanuts. Actually, I wonder just how LITTLE it could be done for!

IMHO.

TL
 
Will keep tabs on the pricing and publish the whole lot after - I don't strictly have a budget, real money, as it will be paid in stage payments. I would prefer to wait 12 to 18 months and get what I want.
 
Count on it costing 150 % more than you thought, especially as your ideas will '' mature" (don't take that negative - it means evolve in French) as the project takes some time and you want to improve something or other !
Exciting isn't it ?
 
Very ! The last Z I had was a 260 with some of Spike Anderson's magic woven into it's fabric, however, it was was it was and I neither had the money or the vision to make it anything else.

This time round is different - I have a nice car already, my wife has a nice car already, there is no NEED for a Z, just a burning desire. This means effectively that if I get it tomorrow, great, if I don't get it for 12 months great...... just a little delayed.

The point is I am hoping to get MY car - not an awesome one that has already been built, but MY car, with all the idiosyncracies, choices, sweat and tears that go along with a restoration. The only thing that would make it more personal would be if I was skilled enough to do the work myself but alas, I am to mechanics what Sasha Distell is to thrash metal.

The project has not ACTUALLY started yet although the bulkhead is waiting and the US car is on it's way but as you point out, things shift. My initial "I suppose I could stretch to 15K" went out of the window when I started looking at what you guys have done, what has been recommended and most importantly when I actually figured out what I wanted from the car.

It was a great move to talk to Dave Jarman and visit Lawrence Evans, their experience in their respective fields helped crystallize my thoughts, Mr F too had a big part to play in helping me understand what I actually wanted. It is fine to say "fast" or "shiny" but how fast ? How shiny ? How do you want it to get that fast ? How do you want it to behave etc etc.

Sure my finished car will not be to a lot of peoples tastes but it will make me grin from ear to ear - the actual objective at the end of the day.

Il y'a 23 ans quand j'ai quitte l'ecole, j'habitait en France a une petite village qui s'appelle Gex, pres de Geneve en Susisse. J'ai oublie la pluspart de la langue maintenant mais je voudrais te remercier pur parler en anglais :) C'est plus simple a comprendre :)
 
Funny that 'cos this weekend I spent about 120 miles from there !
Sure, we'll keep it English - easier to write in ! I have the feeling I know more of your car than I should !
 
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