Subaru Powered Datsun 240Z

crankwalk wrote: Good luck though. With the strut towers and frame rail modifications, just make sure it's safe.

I am going to follow uni-body common practices. Certainly not going to try to do Finite Element Analysis. The top uni-body of the Z will have to meetup with the button uni-body of the WXR in common places, floors, strut towers and wheel wells etc... The two halves will certainly have some areas where patchwork will be necessary and I will seam weld like they do in rally cars. If i dont feel like I can achieve an acceptable union once the WRX roller is finished then I will of course have the option to bail.

A roll cage for the Z is in my mind as well.

In reply to badfrogg:

You need to get in touch with Mr Maule for pictures of his challenge mustang's interior. Complete with shifter relocation and almost back seat seating position.

Just a thought... Hunt down a IMSA style body kit, and bond the front sub from the subie to the 240 tub. Tubes to the firewall/interior cage for upper strut mounts/strut bar.

Not a fan of the IMSA Look. You should expect something, well... not so shiny

This example will be a target for me and my budget. I think that it's inline with the GRM style anyways.

I always thought the short-nose ones looked better anyway. Never was a fan of the sharknose ones.

Spinout007 wrote:

They call it "The Torch" and for good reason! Lets see how far a $22, 5-pack goes.

Well this will never be a WRX again.

I is impressed. Took me a week to get the Miata tub skinned down to that level.

Who ordered the Chop Suey!

Dude, slow down. You're making me look bad.

NOHOME wrote: I is impressed. Took me a week to get the Miata tub skinned down to that level.

Took me a month for the Lexus. LOL

Im going to try to get all the major cutting done this weekend.

It light enough now to move around by hand

With progress like this, you'll make believers out of the "nay-sayers". Keep it up.

badfrogg wrote: Not a fan of the IMSA Look. You should expect something, well... not so shiny This example will be a target for me and my budget. I think that it's inline with the GRM style anyways.

I will leave this here...

^ I like that.

Is it me, or does the exhaust tip on this thing look undersized for the car?

In reply to NOHOME:

not very menacing is it?

You're a busy guy. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

Wow, this project is nuts. I'll stick around to see how it goes. Cutting all that up looks like fun!

Yeah. I'm just pushing through this. I expect that at his point things will slow down a bit. For one thing my body is aching like crazy and I will need to give it a brake.

Also, I am now at the point where cuts will become more precise and welding and fabrication will begin. It was fun hacking away though and the Subaru really does dissemble easily.

SO here is where I leave off the the week. I put the empty engine case and heads back together so I could start mocking things up. I removed the firewall and transmission tunnel which give really nice access to everything that I will need to modify.

You can see that I have already notched out the frame rails to get the engine set back. This is just very preliminary still but looks promising. I am trying to retain all suspension mounting points as to not have to get into suspension design and geometry at this stage.

I will also need to build a jig at some point before I start welding. I may just create some anchor pints right into the concrete like datum pints that I can attach the frame to in order to keep it straight. We will see as I have not quite figured that out yet. Still just roughing and sketching, if you will.

Here you can see how far back it went. This location still puts it very comfortably in the Z engine bay. Oh, and, you can see how I turned the intake manifold around.

Damn, put that sawzall to work! Cant wait to see where this goes.

Super interesting project, in a (good) bat-E36 M3 crazy sort of way. I'm a genuine fan of the boxer engine layout, but I'm also a even bigger fan of the straight-6, so I've got mixed feelings about this one. I don't think a Subie boxer would be my first choice for a 240Z. But hey, you have both so why not? It's different, the 2JZ swap has been done a million times, ditto for the BMW straight sixes. If I was going to attempt a really unusual 240z swap, I'm not sure what I'd try, maybe an Audi 5-cyl turbo? One of the new Ford 2.3 Eco-boost motors from a Focus ST? That would be pretty cool, wonder what the 2.3 weighs? I think, if I remember correctly the Datsun L28 is about 400lbs. I'd probably try to find a great, lightweight NA option though, something unusual for sure. Wonder if you could get a 2.4 v-6 from a Dino 206 to fit? It'd sound awesome at least. Of course you'd have to actually find one to use.....

Enough of that. Looking forward to seeing how this one turns out!!

Supercharged I6

But THIS one's getting a boxer.

SVreX wrote: Supercharged I6 But THIS one's getting a boxer.

Ohhh.....I do love the noises those big Jag sixes make too. Might be a tad on the heavy side though, I don't really know all that much about them. I changed the water pump on a buddy's mid-80s XJ-12 once, that's about all the experience I have with Jaguars.