In our last blog post,
Dirt Cheap Collectible Cars, we commented that we were glad to see the Datsun 280Z named as one of Money magazine's favorite low cost collectible cars.
We can't believe that this is a 40 year old design. It just goes to show that some designs are so good, so in touch with what really makes people feel good about cars, that they are timeless.
The "Z" car is a two seater with low-to-the-ground seating that makes drivers and passengers feel like they're going a hundred-miles-an-hour, even when it's standing still. But this car is not just a styling exercise, it has the makings of a real sports car under that pretty skin.
This is a vehicle that came onto the North American market in 1969 just a few years after the Ford Mustang and the Chevy Camaro, yet while those cars have solid axles and leaf springs, the "Z" has coil springs at all four corners and a fully independent suspension all around. The Datsun engine, an inline six, while no match for the American V-8s, was a pretty good choice for the much lighter "Z" car.
Today this car still has a strong fan base. The sporty styling, the excellent suspension and the roomy engine bay, have made this car an engine swapper's dream. The engine of choice has always been the Chevy small block V-8 and that hasn't changed with the advent of the LS1 series aluminum V-8. Team the LS1 with a T-56 six speed out of a late model Camaro, Firebird or Corvette and you've got something hot. Add some floor stiffening ribs and a big brake kit and you have a car that is almost track ready.
The engine bay is so accommodating that chevys are not the only engines that have made their way into "Z" cars. Ford V-8 drivetrains are common too, but swaps involving exotic power plants like the BMW V-12 are not unheard of. For our money we think an inline six is what Datsun intended and what this Datsun deserves. It's just that we think the six of choice is a Toyota! The 7M-GTE engine out of the '87 - 92 Toyota Supra Turbo, with a matching Asin R154 transmission, is the dollar for dollar so much fun for so little money that we wondered if we ought to keep it a secret.
The 7M-GTE is an electronically fuel injected, turbo charged engine that makes 240 hp in stock form. The incredible thing about this engine is that it has internals that are bullet proof to roughly 500hp. The engine control computer on the 7M is has simple wiring and is easy to fool into much higher power output, so with some exhaust tweaks, an upgraded turbo, some larger injectors and a good head gasket you can add an easy 200 - 300hp. Did I mention that you can often buy a Turbo Supra donor vehicle for less than $1000 and a nice fresh Japanese import engine, with no more than 50k miles on it, for about $795?
If the 7M engine is too mild for you there is one other Toyota inline six that is a good match for the "Z" car. It's the little known 1JZ--GTE. This was a successor to the 7M motor, but it was never offered in any North American market Toyota. Yet it is easy to import and substantially cheaper that the popular 2JZ-GTE that came in the '93 - '98 Turbo Supra that has become one of the most prized sports cars on the planet. The 1JZ engine has less displacement at 2.8 liters, but it has a shorter stroke that allows it to rev to 8,000 rmps. Tune one of these up to 500 - 600hp, put it in a prepared "Z" car and you will be treated to the rush and the music of something you could only experience on a racetrack in a professionally built race car.
We are talking about so much fun, for so little money, that I almost can't imagine another project that I'd rather be involved with. Well, there are a few other projects that are in the running, so stay tuned. I'll be writing about those soon.
A super source for Datsun Z info and images is
HybridZ.org
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