More pictures here: http://www.diyautotune.com/cars/proj...e_89_240sx.htm
This is a project that's being put together by the DIYAutoTune team. Jerry, the boss man here, has been going to Bonneville Speed Week for a long time, and we finally took the plunge and bought a car to run on the salt. We wanted something RWD as the class we initially wanted to run in - F/Gas Coupe - doesn't allow moving the driving wheels to the other end of the car. So, after comparing a bunch of drag coefficients and frontal areas, we decided the best body shell to start with would be a first generation Nissan 240SX fastback. Very small frontal area, low CD, and enough room under the hood that people have stuck all sorts of engines in there. We found a sub-$1000 example on Craigslist - it had over 200,000 miles on the clock, the suspension was a bit bent, the original 2.4 SOHC motor ran on three cylinders because the wiring was shot, and the clutch was toast. (Actually, if the clutch had been lined with burnt toast, it may have grabbed better.)
After testing a couple bits of electronics on the stock motor and completely ruining the clutch, it was time to pull that out and sell the stock motor on Craigslist - now running firing on all four.
So the question was what to replace it with. The class rules require from 2 to 3 liters for a four stroke piston engine, but allows just about any swap and any mod besides forced induction. We considered quite a few options - destroking the new 350Z motor to keep it all in the Nissan family, an early 2000s BMW M3 slant six, a Chrysler Hyper Pack 170 slant six, a used Cosworth Formula One V8 (until we saw the price tag), and even putting a LS6 head on a four cylinder Mercruiser outboard. In the end, we decided we really needed something relatively cheap and with good aftermarket support so we didn't need to spend a couple years putting the motor together (or saving up to buy it). So, we went with the 2Jz out of a Lexus SC300.
You'll notice that isn't a Toyota transmission behind it - it's a G-Force four speed, with a Quick Time bellhousing. This car is about as far from the typical ricer crowd build as is possible for a 240SX with a Toyota six. We're also planning to run a GM 10 bolt rear, for low friction and good gear selection options.
First order of business, though, is to gut the car and install a roll cage. As we plan to try running this car in several classes and hope to eventually work our way up to something capable of 250 mph, we wanted to have a Funny Car style cage put in there by the experts at Fat Cat. They're seam welding the body while they're at it, and they will be doing the solid axle conversion. Some photos of their work in progress:
I'll be posting regular updates in this thread.
This is a project that's being put together by the DIYAutoTune team. Jerry, the boss man here, has been going to Bonneville Speed Week for a long time, and we finally took the plunge and bought a car to run on the salt. We wanted something RWD as the class we initially wanted to run in - F/Gas Coupe - doesn't allow moving the driving wheels to the other end of the car. So, after comparing a bunch of drag coefficients and frontal areas, we decided the best body shell to start with would be a first generation Nissan 240SX fastback. Very small frontal area, low CD, and enough room under the hood that people have stuck all sorts of engines in there. We found a sub-$1000 example on Craigslist - it had over 200,000 miles on the clock, the suspension was a bit bent, the original 2.4 SOHC motor ran on three cylinders because the wiring was shot, and the clutch was toast. (Actually, if the clutch had been lined with burnt toast, it may have grabbed better.)
After testing a couple bits of electronics on the stock motor and completely ruining the clutch, it was time to pull that out and sell the stock motor on Craigslist - now running firing on all four.
So the question was what to replace it with. The class rules require from 2 to 3 liters for a four stroke piston engine, but allows just about any swap and any mod besides forced induction. We considered quite a few options - destroking the new 350Z motor to keep it all in the Nissan family, an early 2000s BMW M3 slant six, a Chrysler Hyper Pack 170 slant six, a used Cosworth Formula One V8 (until we saw the price tag), and even putting a LS6 head on a four cylinder Mercruiser outboard. In the end, we decided we really needed something relatively cheap and with good aftermarket support so we didn't need to spend a couple years putting the motor together (or saving up to buy it). So, we went with the 2Jz out of a Lexus SC300.
You'll notice that isn't a Toyota transmission behind it - it's a G-Force four speed, with a Quick Time bellhousing. This car is about as far from the typical ricer crowd build as is possible for a 240SX with a Toyota six. We're also planning to run a GM 10 bolt rear, for low friction and good gear selection options.
First order of business, though, is to gut the car and install a roll cage. As we plan to try running this car in several classes and hope to eventually work our way up to something capable of 250 mph, we wanted to have a Funny Car style cage put in there by the experts at Fat Cat. They're seam welding the body while they're at it, and they will be doing the solid axle conversion. Some photos of their work in progress:
I'll be posting regular updates in this thread.
Comment