240Z LS Swap - Advice Wanted

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Approached by a customer the other day about some upgrades to his wide body '73 240Z. It's not a particularly special car, no need need to keep it stock, so I suggested an LS swap.

 

Questions:

• does anybody make anything in kit form for this swap? If so, are the parts good quality? Do they look nice? Function well? Fit well?
• transmission - we'd like to run a 5 spd manual. Any advice on which trans fits best and handles the horsepower.
• motor - truck vs car. Truck intakes are taller, which may cause hood clearance issues, but the truck accessory drive may work better for the 240Z. Or is there a custom accessory drive that works well in these cars that doesn't look like the 1980's CNC factory threw up? Yes, we want to run A/C.

 

That's about it really. LS swaps are not new to me, but I do them mostly in trucks and older Land Cruisers. This will be my first Datsun LS swap.

 

Any input would be great. Anything except how we should keep the stock L6 ?. As I said, this car is not special, so the door's wide open for mods.

 

Here's a pic of my last swap so you guys know I'm serious.

 

[ol' 320]

I am staying tuned.... Matt, whatever direction you go, this will be awesome!

 

You must have been getting bored doing so many LS conversions in 4WDs....lol!

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Bored? No. I'm just getting everything sorted out to the point of jigs and possibly kits.

 

Thanks for being there Eric.

[ol' 320]

Seriously, Matt:

Ping Matt Dewitt in Oregon. Track down the thread about his neighbor's LS Z build.

 

This neighbor's build is just as ridiculous as most of your builds on the Expedition Portal....in a good way.

 

But I warn you reading that build is a time waster. Nothing is off the shelf. If I can find the link I'll post it.

 

Everything is custom.... just the way you build your stuff....lol!

Edited October 20, 2018 by ol' 320

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Custom is the best way to get exactly what you want, but it can be very time consuming.

 

Back in my cooking days, I worked for an old German chef that told me "if someone makes good ketchup, why take the time to make ketchup?"

 

I agree.

 

So I found a couple vendors selling LS swap parts for Z cars:

• https://www.cxracing.com/ESK-TM-LS-240Z-KIT
• https://www.cxracing.com/products-by-car/products-by-car-nissan-datsun/products-by-car-nissan-datsun-240z-260z-280z-s30/products-by-car-nissan-datsun-240z-260z-280z-s30-ls1
• https://hokeperformance.squarespace.com/store/s30-ls2-engine-mounting-kit

And I think Hakws Motorsports sells long tube headers that will fit in the Z car. It seems that a lot of these swaps are done with early LS motors, like and LS2 out of a GTO. The GTO accessory drive looks promising, but I have not used one yet. I try to stay with OEM brackets. They look better than the custom billet junk everyone sells these days. I like a motor to look like a motor.

 

Anybody have any tips?

[Lockleaf]

TBSS is known to be the best over all stock intake. However, the Dorman LS2 intake is shorter height and produces VERY similar numbers, so if height is an issue, i would suggest looking in to that intake.  It's also much nicer looking than the truck intakes.

 

 

There is an impressive array of LS accessory drive layouts.

 

This website from Chevy outlines most if not all.

 

https://www.chevrolet.com/performance/engine-components/ls-lt-lsx-series-blocks/accessory-drive-systems

 

Manual trans options depends on what performance level they are at and how they plan to drive it.

 

Obviously there is the T56 6 speed and TKO series 5 speeds can take more than 350 hp.  I've also seen the NV3500 used in car swaps, and after a short shifter swap, users have been quite happy. All of these can be fitted direct to LS, no adapting.

 

In addition, the AX15 and NV3550 are other available options.  And with what i read, there are a ton of gear options available to make it better perform in a car.  Novak makes an adapter that bolts the old gm 11 inch clutch bell housing to the ax15/nv3550.    As you may know, 5 of the 6 bell housing bolts cross over from SBC to LS.  You can use a specific Silverado flywheel to account for the LS crank being .040 recessed as compared to the SBC.  5.3 truck LS is supposedly right at the upper limit of those transmission capabilities.  Novak also sells a "HD" rebuilt ax15 that can taker more abuse as well.

Edited November 25, 2018 by Lockleaf

[Madkaw]

Have you visited Hybridz lately? 

[craZee]

I have done a few 240Z LS swaps.

I get the parts from Johns Cars. Same company as Jags that run. Good fitment and super affordable

If you get an LS1/T56 combo from an F body (camero, firebird, GTO) you are good to go. Shifter location is perfect

300hp is plenty in these cars. Super fun

[Sonee260z]

On 1/5/2019 at 7:00 PM, craZee said:

I have done a few 240Z LS swaps.

I get the parts from Johns Cars. Same company as Jags that run. Good fitment and super affordable

If you get an LS1/T56 combo from an F body (camero, firebird, GTO) you are good to go. Shifter location is perfect

300hp is plenty in these cars. Super fun

craZee,

 

I'm interested in performing a swap on a 260Z.  Any issues using Johns Cars for parts for an LS3 install.  

any recommendations on transmission choice. looking to build a daily driver.

 

Thanks

[craZee]

T56 Magnums seem to be the transmission of choice if you are going for 3 pedals. You honestly don't need the power of an LS3 for a daily driver. 300-325 HP at the rear wheels will be plenty, and is pretty easily obtained from an LS1 with some simple mods

Check with JCI to see if there parts will fit 260's. I have never owned a 260, so I don't know the differences

Edited April 10, 2019 by craZee

[petercscherer]

I agree with craZee, considering the 240z doesn't weigh much more than a MX5, 300whp is bordering on a handful to control. Also, being that the client's car is a Widebody, I'm guessing it has good sized tires on it to handle the power? You also will definitely want to do the WRX diff swap and possibly custom axle shafts too.

 

I've toyed with a similar build, but I'm just not as fueled by the "need for speed" as I once was...

~Peter

[ShawnM]

On 4/9/2019 at 8:46 PM, craZee said:

T56 Magnums seem to be the transmission of choice if you are going for 3 pedals. You honestly don't need the power of an LS3 for a daily driver. 300-325 HP at the rear wheels will be plenty, and is pretty easily obtained from an LS1 with some simple mods

Check with JCI to see if there parts will fit 260's. I have never owned a 260, so I don't know the differences

 

This is correct but these transmissions are heavy, costly and overkill for this chassis.

The Nissan z32 5 speed transmission is very strong, and replacement parts are a fraction of the price you'll pay for GM stuff.

 

lojkits.com offers LS swap kits for people to put an LS in their z32 300z.  I bought their adapter to put a z32 5 speed trans behind a 550hp LS3 in my s30 (looking for wheelspin in third). 😈  The owner is very knowledgeable about these swaps and responds quickly to questions.  My project is underway but the kit I got from them is top notch in build materials, finishing and packaging.

[Blackwaterdsm]

New to this site, but I have an LS swapped 240Z. I went the pricey path, but wanted the best. I’ve got an LS7 backed by a T56 trans and Apex Engineered front and rear suspension/subframes (Track Attack). Car is 630hp and is seriously a handful at times. You will absolutely need to upgrade to either an R200 diff, or run the Apex rear subframe which mounts to a Ford 8.8 IRS rear end. I first went the cheap path and the diff lasted exactly 2 weeks. The T56 is actually not super heavy. I don’t know the precise weight, but my scrawny 13 year old nephew can easily carry it around. Now, when you lay that much power down in a gutted shell, be prepared to do like I did and actually make a steel plate carrier mount in the rear end for ballast weight to keep it planted. This is an AutoX car so it rarely gets past 3rd gear on the track, but on the freeway, she runs like hellfire. Apex is the best of the best. John’s Cars also makes swap kits but they were very hard to work with back when I did my original build, as they only worked via fax and snail mail and literally didn’t even have an online ordering form, and rarely had someone available to answer the phone. Apex can also color powdercoat to your hearts desire. If you’ve got the green, go for their Trak Attack front and rear setup… you will NOT be disappointed!

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Thanks for the advice. That car has been crashed and is in the process of being resurrected now. No LS in its future. He got a Rebello 3.5 with EFI instead.

 

I'll check out those shops for futuree projects.

Matt

 

Oh, where do you have pics of your car? Are you on IG?

[yenpit]

FYI old thread, but Ignite is finishing up a 280Z with an LS1 swap & T56 trans.  We bought the CX Racing install kit.............it was cheap & a good starting point, but both the engine brackets & the trans brackets needed massaging.  Also bought their stainless headers & single exhaust.  Headers were decent, exhaust needed some tweaking.  Next one, will likely spend the mulla on Apex................