Finding a 240/260z?

[Orphan]

Hey Guys,

 

Well I've been wanting a 240/260 for a couple years now and as im pretty settled I would like to start looking for one to buy. Now from what i've read rust seems like the big issue, is this just an issue with all or more common in cars on the coast? Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to find a decent 240/260? I'm not too worried about engine and gear box, but body and rust are the two big factors for me. I plan to swap in a VQ30DET and 6 speed box in, obviously going to be a fairly long term project. Getting the engine and trans in shouldn't take that long but I imagine it will take me at least 8-12 months to get the body and suspension to where I want it as most work will be done evenings and weekends.

 

Also does anyone have specs on the weight difference between the 240 and 260? From what I can find on the net it seems the 240 is 1068kg and the 260 is 1100kg but I can't find anything all that reliable.

 

Thanks.

 

David

[C.A.R.]

Your location would be helpful!

 

Perhaps someone could put you in touch with Issac...

[Orphan]

Sorry I should have mentioned I live in Brisbane but also have a place up near Hervey Bay. Its too bad I can't just get a list of every registered z around and telemarket them haha.

 

Is there anyone on this forum that is knowlegable about the 240/260's suspension? I guess I want to figure out if its worth spending 2-3k to put some tein coil overs in + extra goodies or if its not worth it and just to stick with shocks and springs.

[stevo_gj]

Is there anyone on this forum that is knowlegable about the 240/260's suspension?

 

There are quite a few guys who are knowledgeable about suspension (not me) but they are gonna ask you what you really want from this car before they can answer your question. Race car? Daily? Somewhere in between?

 

I daily drive mine and I am very happy with my Koni shocks and King springs.

 

Also it would be awesome if you could put Brisbane in your location section on your profile, so it shows up when you post.

 

You should come along to our next Brisbane meet, check the QLD section.

[Orphan]

Thanks for the reply Stevo. I updated my details.

 

Well its really only going to be a road car but I'd like it able to perform at least half way decent on the track as well. Obviously can't finalise spring and shock specs until the car is done and corner weighed. I guess I'm just trying to find out how much you can realisticly get out of a 240/260 or if its better to just keep it pretty standard.

 

I'll be the guy that doesn't turn up in a Z haha.

 

EDIT: I guess another question I have is if there is any real amount of rust that needs repair is it worth stripping the car and doing a full spot weld job? What body/chassis mods/strengthening have people done? I mean if the car is going to be apart and need a new paint job anyways may as well do a propper job of it while you can.

 

Does anyone in QLD have a copy of the rules relating to engine swaps up here? (moved up from the A.C.T.) The only thing I know about qld regulation is that the engine can't be older than the car. Are you required to keep the engines emssisions equipment or do you just have to meet the standards of the day etc? I realise there is also some regard to adequate brakes for the power of the vehicle but thats not really an issue as brakes will be taken care of. Another thing, for the guys that have got an RB or whatever other engine in their Z what engineer certificates are required to get the car road registered? Is there a one off total inspection you can do rather than getting every little change certified?

 

Thanks

[modular9]

I have the retro rides mag with the 240 z with the vg30 swapped in it. Keep meaning to scan it in. Good article. He basically went nuts on the suspension and brakes and so forth . If my memory is right i think he had to modify the firewall. I will attempt to scan in and put it in the gallery here.

 

QLD rego rules are tough. Real tough. I bought a rb30 and a rb25 head to do that old rb30dett thing you can do .1500 for engineering approval alone. Of course with a weapon like that you'd need excellent brakes etc. For what its worth the rego authorities here said that if the engine is newer than the car ( which it is ) then all emissions must be met for that engine which means cat's,  and other emissions stuff. They even said I might have to uprate my seatbelts !?!?! cos of ADR regs. Anyway they said go to an engineer who would be able to help me more. They have a list of recommended engineers you can talk to but they will charge ( not that I have a problem with that afterall it is an expertise i dont have ) for their time.

 

I sold all the parts off and bought an l28. I wish i had persevered though. Good luck with it all. Qld membership must be growing pretty well.

[24OZ]

i briefly owned a 260z with a vg30et in it,bugger all room to get to anything on the motor ...and that had only one turbo on it

i think i have a few snaps on one of my hardrives,if you wanted a bo-peep i could dig them up

why do you have your heart set on the V6,especially the DET,they are a complicated donk with not much aftermarket gear available,and what is around is extortionate

rb for the win and it's kinda in keeping....nissan straight six

[Orphan]

I figured it would be a bit of a hassle to get registered. Its pretty much the same down in the A.C.T. Yet in the A.C.T. you can't even have a full cage or 6 point harness as they aren't legal lol, good enough for race drivers who are at 200km/hr+ a lot of the time but not good enough for our max  road limit of 110 on the east coast. I would love to see the scans from that magazine modular9. Have you seen that blue twin turbo VH45 240 over in the u.s.? That thing is mint, all titanium exhaust and intercooler piping.

 

I guess i'll have to speak to an engineer before starting to plan out what needs to be done to meet the requirements.

 

24OZ if you have some pics that would be great but I wouldn't worry about spending too much time looking as I have found quite a few pics of the couple of VQ installs floating around.

 

Just making sure you saw the Q, the VQ30DET is a 3L low compression turbo version of the VQ35DE in the 350z. Its not that my heart is set on a v6 as originally I wanted to put a VH45DE in. For the VQ almost everything is interchangable with the other VQ engines and even share the same exhaust flange and bolt pattern. I'm not sure if you guys have seen that blue 240 with a VQ35 in it but if not I have included the link below.

 

http://www.vq240z.com-a.googlepages.com/DSC_0196Large.JPG/DSC_0196Large-full;init:.JPG

 

The VQ is a lot shorter than an RB so keeps the weight behind the front strut towers and its considerably lighter than RB series engines. It weighs in at 148kg without the turbo, though i'm not sure if that included any ancilaries my guess would be no. I do have to admit I like the sound of the straight 6's far better but besides the sound the VQ30DET seems better in all regards, lighter, shorter, better head flow, larger capacity besides the RB30, standard internals have been proven to hold 500rwhp standard so with a goal of 300rwhp it should be very reliable not to mention the VQ30 has quite a short stroke so with valve springs and retainers can safely be revved quite high, the weak point seems to be the pistons so 8,000 is about the safe limit on them. To me its everything I would want out of a light classic FR sports car. There is a guy in newcastle doing the exact swap I speak of, pic below. The biggest issues are plenum clearance, wiring and replacing the standard exhaust manifolds but its easy enough to fab up a new steam pipe manifold to do the job, besides that I can't see it being any harder than putting an RB in from scratch.

 

 

 

I have worked on cars before but I have never done an engine swap and to me the 240/260 seems like an ideal car to do it on as it has no complex systems to get in the way. The wiring harness can stay almost standard and using nistune software any ecu tuning can be done to the standard ecu without having to buy a stand alone unit. The only other concern is whether to fit it with a powersteering rack or not and if I go the p/s way then getting it set up right with the p/s pump on the engine. My step brother is a great welder and I'm not too bad so the majority of welding and fabrication is taken care of. I just need to read up a bit more about the best hub and brake options to find something suitable.

 

Thoughts?

[MickyG]

Rust shouldn't be a problem with this one - it's mostly fibreglass...

 

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/datsun-260z-body-shell_W0QQitemZ170350312606QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Cars?hash=item27a9ab7c9e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

 

And it's only a shell so you can do what you like suspension/engine wise with no fear of chopping up a good Zed. 

[.]

Fibreglass can only be used in 25% of the body. So you are only reducing the risk of rust by 25%.

[xa1973]

Fibreglass can only be used in 25% of the body.

 

Can you roll out a bit more info on this...................

[.]

well you can do the bonnet, guards and hatch.

 

At a pinch you could do the doors, roof and rear panels but not many people do. Particularly for a road car.

 

The worse places for rust are the floors, sills, rails etc. None of those can be replaced with Fibreglass.

[xa1973]

 

 

Thanks Mate

 

I thought that was the case, always good to have a follow up reference to confirm

 

Cheers...