I am new to this forum and am just looking for some information. I owned a sable colored '81 new , It was the car at the Sattle car show. It was one of the vary best cars I have ever owned. What I am here for is that I now owen and am restoring to a strong driver a '73 Datsun 240 Z . I am presently running an auto in this car as I whish to keep it a cruser. I have a '82 #54 engine from a 280 ZX that I am installing and want to run a 4 speed auto . The Z tranny is a 3 speed , so I am looking for information on the Maxama auto . I read some where that the first three gears are the same as my three speed and the 4th is overdrive. Any information will be much appriciated. Are some of the early trannys controlled by the computer or electrically controlled ? Will the tranny automaticly shift into fourth at the proper time or is it controlled by computer ?I have a line on a '82 unit and wondered if this one is compatable . Please help if you can , Thanks Gary Portland Oregon .

 

Gary, I pretty sure the fit is the same. The maxima has the exact same motor as the 240Z, the L24. The only difference is they turned it into a fuel injected car, rather the dual side draught carburated like the 240Z. The fuel injection is the same as that in the 280ZX. If the 280ZX uses an ECU, which I'm not sure, than it's very likely you will need a controller with the transmission. If I were you, I would try to located a 280ZX auto tranny to go with the motor. This is my opinion, but if you can save the L24 and rebuild it, I would. The L24 was the best of the L-series motor, it has the most power. The reasons the bigger L-series motor(L26, L28, L28E) have less power is because they had to meet strict emissions standards of the 70's. To compensate for the loss in power from the emissions equiptment, they bored out the motors, but even then, they couldn't boast the numbers of the L24. To top it off, the L24 is a beautifully engineered motor. Last thing to not, stay away from the L26. This was probably one of the most unreliable motors Datsun built. You will have nothing but trouble with them. That is also why you don't see many 260Z's around....they are very very rare now.

Hope this helps a bit.
S

 

Thanks for the quick reply , I have since received some information from my trans. shop and have decided to stay with the Z auto unit. I was advesed that the modification wouldent be worth the effort involved. And yes it is a direct bolt on exchange. As far as what you said about the L24 engine that is vary true of the design , and being a great engine. What you said about the 260Z engine being inferior is true to a point . The L-26 is the same block as the L-24 only different stroke I believe , but mostly the biggest difference and the cause of it's short use was due to the change in intake. The "newer design" SU carbs. were and are junk and dident function well. That and the detuning of the engine resulted in less that desireable engine . Change the carbs to '70-'72 SUs and install a '79 ignition and you have a runner. especially if you change to flat top pistons which increases the compression to about 9.5 to 10 to 1 . The L28 engines are again strong engines and really are the same design as the L-24 the only difference is weather they have dish pistons or flat top. In '81--'83 the block casting was changed to strengthen the block and thats all , the non turbo engines have flat top pistons and the turbos have dished. But as long as they built this great inline engine they are all interchangeable, which is so great, if you want to increase POWER and PERFORMANCE . I am an old dude '63 in Feb and have been playing with this stuff over the years and only recently have I gotten into Z-Cars. It's like a lot of things the more I learn the more I realise I dont know. Thanks again for the post Gary

 

One thing you gotta love about the original Z, they set a mark that even some future Z's, including the new ones have had a tad bit of trouble meeting, not that I'm dissing them, I'm not, but the original 240Z was the best of all the Z's overall.

Sarin

 

Yup, the L24 was an extension of the 4 cylinder L16 from the 510. These series had almost perfect bore/stroke. The L16 could rev and make power to well over 7,000 rpm w/ a set of modified 240z carbs(the SUs for the 510s were small) As I remember the 240z had the better head but I don't know if they had a SSS version on the Z as they did for the 510 L series engines.

I bet the Z Dual SUs are probably a little small for the 2.4 liter but if you have one of the early SU carbs, they were extremely simple and clutter free. I had a set that I wanted to adapt to my 510 but ran out of time. One thing on these SUs is the throttle shafts tend to wear and allow air into the carb. I hear re-sleeving is easy and common though.

Just for reference, on my L18, I used a magnetic disttributor from a later 200sx and I adapted to a MSD 6A ignition. That really helped keep the plugs clean and lower the emissions. It also helped cold starting and low end pick-up. Points really suck!

 

Yeah points do suck, our family have a 78 BMW 320i. That sucker would eat points, to the point we replaced the entire distributor. Then my dad rearended someone with it.

S

 

I agree about the 240s . In the Z community the 350 is known as the "toad" nuff said. I hope my 240 will last a long long time.