L28, -w- carbs and so on (help!)

[Phacade]

I, has my friends say, have the Z bug. I've had eight. Unfortunatly I know less about them than I'd like. My latest is a 1973 240z. It was purchased and then drove over 100 miles home. It ran little after that. After messing with it over and over again the decision was made to put a new engine in it. I have a wrecked 1981 280ZX in my driveway. So I pulled the L28, with P79 heads on it and cleaned off all the fuel injection crap. My plan is to rebuild it with the carbs on my 240z. Now the gentleman I bought the 240z from put double Webers on it. As these carbs seem to be in good working order I am going to reuse them. In addition I want to replace the 240z 4-speed with the 280ZX 5-speed, replace the 240z R180 rear end with the 280ZX R200 rear end, steal the rear ZX disc brakes.

Here is my question. Have you any opinion to what I am doing? Any tips? Suggestions? Help? Am I missing anything? Is this going to work. Most of my planning thus far has been from notes and vague references on the interent, so I really hope this goes well and does not cost a fortune. Please help me.

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"Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass his defences; hit him where he does not expect you" -Lao Tzu

[Roadman]

Hi Timberwolf:

The mods you are thinking about are tried and true. Since you're using the ZX trans and diff, you should wind up with a real performer.

The only thing I would question is the use of the dual Webers, which I'm assuming are DGV models. These carbs are downdraft type, and as such will not give you the punch that side draft carbs will yield. They will run fine when tuned correctly, but IMHO you'd be better off with a set of SU's fitted with the SM performance needles. With this setup you should be able to feed that L-28 the fuel it wants throughout the rpm range, and you'll gain in the ease of setting up and tuning with the SU's.

Roadman

Gulfport, MS

[Eftusk]

Timberwolf: I also own a 73, so here is my take on your mods. I have a friend, very close, that has done most of what you are going todo. First with the rear disc brakes. You can not properly mount the caliper onto anything on the strut housing on the 240. There are only three ways to get around this. First: Get a mounting "ring" from a 240SX for the rear calipers. I think Nissan is out of them and only one year will work and I do not know which it is. Second: Weld a mount onto your existing strut housing (extremely unreliable) and Lastly: Replace your rear strut towers with the 280Z ones. Other problem you will run into will be that there is nowhere for the emergency brake cables to go on either side. If you are looking for more braking power, try the four piston caliper swap on the front. I do not have a link for that yet. The differential: If you plan on putting in an R200, you WILL NEED THE MOUSTACHE BAR TOO! along with the diff mounting bar (underneath) and mount. If you are looking for optimum acceleration or maximum overdrive, then do your homework on gear ratios. I think the 83 non-turbo gear box is the best for accleeration with the 76 R200. Again, I am not too sure. My friend can probably help you more since he has already done most of what you plan on. His e-mail is: d.record@worldnet.att.net His name is Dave and if you give him a buzz, tell him Jeff sent you.

[Royce]

If you use the R200 diff you will probably need a different drive shaft. For sure the 240 one will not work because the nose of the R200 is a different length than the R180 and the same drive shaft cannot be used for both. I don't know if the ZX drive shaft will work but I do know that a 280Z driveshaft from a coupe (not 2+2) with a R200 will work. Frankly, I think the R200 is overkill and it is much heavier, I plan to change back. I would not use it, unless maybe because it has a better rartio (ie: 3.9 or 4.1). You can put the ZX motor and trans in with your stock rear and try it out first.

You have a good plan and that combination has been tried and true. Sure the DGV downdraft carbs may not be the best but use what you have first then you can always change it later. You will also need the ignition module from the 280ZX so you can use its electronic distributor.

See a good write-up on the Z-ZX transplants at: http://www.geocities.com/zgarage2001/z.html

Hope it helps! Have fun!