Datsun Z's for Drifting?

[Goodwrench Z]

Hey does anyone know how good the old Datsun 240 Z's are as far as a drifting is concerned. It seems as if the 80s cars are considered old, but im talking even older, as in 69 1/2-73. I have a chevy motor that is going in a Z, but i havent seen anyone drift with these cars. To see an example of what im planning, check out this video http://servinitup.com/videos/240z.mpeg

[Ris4drift]

great platform to work with. get it out there to an event!

[Piner]

should be real good for that man. Just remeber its not really about the power of the car. You need to really work with the susp cause since its so old all the bushings springs and whatnot are gonna make the car handle.... "mushy"

power is nothing without control

[Ris4drift]

if your planning on running a blown lt1 liek that guy you better be ready to have a lot of meat in the rear so you dont just light up the tires until the top of 5th/6th

[Goodwrench Z]

I do wanna run a blown LT1, most likely a Paxton Supercharger. Motor is going to be fuel injected too. Im gonna try to fit some 9" wheels or 10" at the most if its possible (anything is possible, right?!!), and do the entire suspension, put discs all around, make the car handle as close to a modern car as me and my wallet can get it. I heard Takumi races an LT1 powered Z in the final episode of initial d, and looses! haha

[Stannyboy]

unda unda unda unda unda.. nice looking car.. how much power you got.. you can drift any car.. its the driver.... that makes the car go side to side not the car..

[Ris4drift]

if your running a lt1 id hope you run fuel injection :P

[Goodwrench Z]

yeah, well the block is a 400, bored out to a 406. Most of the small blocks that are refered to as LT1s are in the 90s Camaros but all of them are really LT1's, even the carbureted small blocks from the 60s and 70s. I know its not all about the power, but I was just concerened about the car itself, because I havent heard of anyone really using these cars for this. But thanks for all the replies

[Dead Roman]

I do wanna run a blown LT1, most likely a Paxton Supercharger. Motor is going to be fuel injected too. Im gonna try to fit some 9" wheels or 10" at the most if its possible (anything is possible, right?!!), and do the entire suspension, put discs all around, make the car handle as close to a modern car as me and my wallet can get it. I heard Takumi races an LT1 powered Z in the final episode of initial d, and looses! haha

darius from servinitup(the guy in the vid. is running 10's in the rear in that vid. he runs low 10's in the quarter because he cantr hook up, that car has over 700 hp. curently undergoing a widebody conversion so he cant fit some 13 inch rubber in the rear.

[sukimoto]

i haven't driven a 240z, but i have a 280zx and she loves gettin sitdeways
installing my bushings soon, and i think i need to replace a ball joint :-/

[free motion]

The biggest problems with running a supercharged 400 in a 240z will be getting a decent weight distribution and suspension setup. But if you can tackle those problems then it'll be very very cool. I was thinking about finding an FC and putting in a 350. May do that someday...

[Ghost of Duluth]

The problem with the old Z's is that they love to understeer. They are alot like an older 911 in the fact that the rear end doesn't like to come out but when it does it comes around real fast. Hard to catch. I wrote this once before but you can compare Drifting and it's different cars to Baseball and it's different bats. Each car has a different "Sweet spot" like a bat does. A 240 has a large sweet spot as in it's easier to control. A Z has a smaller sweet spot so it's harder to master. Add in the weight of all that stuff you are adding and it becomes harder to master. Doing donuts is easy. Start adding in switchbacks and alot of weight transfer and it becomes harder to not spin out in a nose heavy car. One of the main reasons I took the 306 out of my Z. Mucks up the balance. Kinda wish I hadn't now since I don't slide the Z. But hey, go for the conversion man if you have the money. V8 Z's are just fun for the whole family. Darius's car is a holy terror.

As for the V8 in the FC, you might try something else. There is a guy in Athens Ga that has a built 4.3 in one. Man that thing is awesome. I can find out the info for you if you want to know what he has in it. Might even try to get that thing from him. Man is nice.

Here's my car before I yanked the 306. It was good for almost 400 hp.

[CrazyHawaiian]

Actually, LT1's are the second Generation SBC design (reverse flow). They were OEM in 93-97 Camaro's, 92-97 Vettes, Impala SS's, and some other cars (Caprice w/ police package?). The older SBC's (60-92) were Generation 1 design, and alot of them had codes to identify them. One of these codes was LT-1 which can make things confusing. Other codes were ZL-1 (badass), L-82, L-88, LG4, L69, L98, LB9, etc, etc. But all of them were Generation 1 design.

If weight is a major concern a Generation III LS1 is what you want. The block is aluminum and weighs about 50 pounds less than the Generation I or II iron blocks (just the block now, its got aluminum heads too). Much better for your type of swap.

If you already have a 406, I'd guess its a Generation 1 motor. If you wanna go EFI you can modify the LT1 (gen II) intake to fit (www.lt1intake.com), but I'd recommend the Holley Steath Ram. In my honest opinion, you should use a carb (750-850cfm) with that 406, but of course its up to you.

[Tsunami]

I heard Takumi races an LT1 powered Z in the final episode of initial d, and looses! haha

I wish that were true. A V8 in Initial D. Hearing the motor to the music would be great.

V8 Z's are just fun for the whole family. Darius's car is a holy terror. Here's my car before I yanked the 306. It was good for almost 400 hp.

Ghost, the Z looked nice with the Nissan powerplant. But it's gorgeous with that big V8 in there. Btw, where did the SBF wind up?

[swifty949]

hasn't this subject been brought up a few times already in other threads?