The Fenton race 240z that was up for sale got me thinking about alternative ways to meet my goal of racing next season. After spending far too long building a pile of parts that I call my 240z, I realized that it'd be much easier to pick up a parts car to finish it than keep sourcing and buying parts piecemeal. I came across a few over the past couple of months that the owners obviously had no intention of selling. This past week, one Craigslist listing (ugh, Craigslist) for a '75 280z with crappy cellphone pics caught my eye as a parts donor, and I went down to look at it after work on Friday.
280z vs 240z
Looking at it in the dark, I realized that it's far closer to completion than I had thought. It's also a bit heavier than the 240z in ways that make it slightly less deadly and should put it in a more competitive class. To top it off, the entire drivetrain is much more robust (r200 instead of long-nose r180 differential, better axles, stronger driveshaft).
Engines
The Datsun inline 6's aren't technologically advanced, but they hold a special place in my heart. Beautifully internally balanced components, a fully counterweighted forged crankshaft and rods, and cast pistons are all housed in a rugged steel block. A single overhead cam with 4 valves per piston manage it, foregoing fancy features like variable valve timing and multiple camshafts. I could send any of the n/a Datsun inline 6's out to Rebello or Spirit and have a 200whp powertrain delivered back before spring. Heavy head work can certainly go higher, but reliability becomes a concern at that point. They're also non-crossflow, meaning that the intake and exhaust manifolds are on the same side of the engine. It makes spark plug changes extremely easy, but plagues the engine with cooling issues in high-power builds They're known for their rugged reliability, a broad powerband, and ease of maintenance while making modest power.
The 240z came with a SU-equipped, carb'd 2.4liter inline 6 (l24). It was a decent enough power plant, but they're getting a bit pricey and slow in their old age. The 280z came with a fuel-injected 2.8liter inline 6 (l28e). The fuel injection was certainly nothing to write home about, but it's a great building block. I've always loved carbs, so I picked up a pair of n42 l28 engines (280z engines) and plopped round-top SU carbs on them (from the 240z, the 260z came with hateful flat-top Hitachi carbs). Unfortunately, combining the 2.8liter carb engine in the 240z puts it in a higher class than I'm comfortable trying to be competitive in for my first season.
Under the hood of this 280z isn't just another l28e, it's a (non-running) l28et. The l28et was a low-compression l28 with slightly less terrible fuel/ignition management and a modest t3 turbo bolted to it. They're incredibly reliable, especially considering the fact that it had no o2 sensor, no intercooler, no real blow-off valve, used a rising rate fuel pressure regulator to adjust for boost, had a labyrinthine downpipe design, and somehow managed to screw up the Borg Warner T5 design. With all that in mind, the l28et is a great way to make 200hp.
Immediate Plans
For now, the goal is to get the thing running and driving. That means service the brakes, replace/grease the wheel bearings, replace the tires, replace all the bushings, flush/replace all the fluids, removing the silly wing and side skirts (and probably that strange-looking bumper), and carefully inspecting for any hidden rot/rust areas. It's still down in Mass, and I'll have to register it this week so I can have it towed up to a friend's house for a weekend of serious thrashing. I've assembled a small 'crew' of friends that I can feed beer and pizza to get together this weekend in hopes that I'll be able to drive it home on Sunday. There will be many more photos of the work over the weekend.
Long-term Plans
The 240z gets the classification hit regardless of which 2.8liter engine I plop in, so I think it makes more sense to put the l28et in that than a n/a carb motor. The 280z will probably get one of the carb motors, since that'll fall into a stock classification. Looking at the worksheet, it looks like the 280z with the l28et and 14x7 wheels would end up in SP2 (corrected, I typo'd the engine displacement and thought it would be SP4), which would be pretty awesome! Putting an n/a l28 motor back in may allow me to stay in Unprepared, which would be a blast too. The firm long-term plan I have is to drive one of my Datsuns up all the hills in 2014. Whatever I need to do to make that happen is going to happen.
Photos
I really couldn't get any good photos since it was pitch black out, but I managed one at least:
