Location: the right wing extremist formerly known as "clutchdust" NV
(O/T) 4.3L V-6
i'm considering buying a '72 240Z from a friend and i'm thinking about the possibility of future mods. the thing that really struck me was a 4.3L with a T-5 tranny. the reason i was thinking of the 4.3L was i had heard they are really a 350 minus 2 cylinders. i'm thinking parts interchangability is a good thing. what do you guys know about these?
i heard one built up to 300+hp N/A on a drag racing program a while back and it sounded spooky bad at 7500rpm. :reddevil
You'll have minimal choices on building your V-6 . I checked out available speed equipment when I was thinking of adding more power to my wifes' boat. I found there was no middle road in doing so. Either you build one for all-out racing or or you can mildly-modify (cam/carb) your stock one...the after-market is just not there. If I remember right there are only two aftermarket intake manifolds available and one set of aftermarket heads. Cranks will need to be custom made. I don't believe there are any aftermarket race-blocks unless GM has one of their own. SFI-spec harmonic balancers and flywheels will be another issue. I'm certainly no expert in this but maybe someone else can back me up in what I found out (I was searching about two years ago). Deen
I agree with DeenHylton, limited parts availability could make it more expensive than just using a V8. Except for length, the 4.3 V6 is the same dimensionally as SB V8's and both are shorter than the straight six that was stock in the early Z's. I'm pretty sure that pre-made headers are still available for a V8 swap but you might be on your own with the 4.3. Besides getting a lot more power for less money with the V8, I'd expect resale value to be much higher also.
Hot Rod had a 4.3L build up a few months ago. Comp Cam & Crane Cam both have camshafts. Edelbrock has a Performer intake. I think the limiting factor is the cylinder hads. Stock or racing heads from GM Performace Parts. Maybe someone can port & polish stock heads to get "middle of the road".
Location: the right wing extremist formerly known as "clutchdust" NV
Re: (O/T) 4.3L V-6 (69stingray)
thanks guys. so far, i'm not looking for boatloads of power. i just want a punchy little car that is nicely balanced. i'm thinking that i should be able to get an easy 250hp out of one of these, maybe more. my neighbor has a '90-something s-10 with the 4.3L and it's rated at 210-220 stock. i've got a partial set of 5.7" HD rods from a truck block. two rod bearings spun so guess what--i have six rods, how convienient. planning on using the stock crank and heads, just mildly porting the heads and a buddy has an '85 camaro with a 2.8 blown motor. i've convinced him to give me his TPI set up from the 2.8 complete with computer. maybe a little extrude hone and i'm thinking i should be right there where i want to be. of course, there are other options but i guess first thing first, i should secure the purchase of the car!
The 60º 2.8 and the 90º 4.3 are totally different engines and, except for a few minor components, no parts are interchangable. Even if they were, why would you want to strangle a 4.3 engine with an intake designed for a 2.8? As already posted, if you want more power for less money, go for a V8.
I have a 94 S15 Jimmy with the "enchanced" 4.3 Vortec CPI motor. I'm trying to sell it (and the trans) so I can put my Vette motor in it. If you're interested it can be had for cheap.
Location: the right wing extremist formerly known as "clutchdust" NV
Re: (O/T) 4.3L V-6 (nastee383)
ahhh, such is my life. either a day too late or 2000 miles difference. nastee, i would be interested if i didn't have to figure out a way to ship it from FL to NV. seems like the freight would offset any deal it came out to be. besides, i'm looking to drive the original straight six while i build the 4.3L
about the 2.8 intake, i was thinking that extrude hone could probably really open it up and i like the idea of MPFI but i see what your saying about it being too restrictive. extrude hone may not even be able to compensate for that. maybe i'll just fabricate an intake set up. if i go to this much trouble i don't really want to put TBI on it but it's the only thing i'm aware of coming on the 4.3. let me know if there is a MPFI set up available and you bet your butt i'll be looking for that!
I played with my 4.3L in my 89' P/U. TBI no less.
You can get 250hp easy with a cam, intake,headers,computer mod,head massaging..........and they do sound good at 6K+ :smash: :D
I drive one in my jimmy every day. I thought you could put a vortec blower on them???????? I've even seen the inside of it before, when I had to fix the CPI.
Are you not interested in building an I-6 at all? They can get up to 3 liters and some had aluminum heads I think. If your interested email me and i'll hook you up with my brother. He's owned/owns like 4-5 240s and 260s, he might be able to offer advice on the purchase as well.
Keith Hogan
years ago I built up a 231 ci odd fire V-6 to the low to mid 300 hp range for SCCA in a 76 Monza Spider. IMO it was a waste of good money and time.
Without serious improvements 240 -260Z were a very poor excuse for a sports car. They are very unstable at speed and down right dangerous. I was around them when they were brand new :nonod:
Location: the right wing extremist formerly known as "clutchdust" NV
Re: (O/T) 4.3L V-6 (gkull)
gkull, interesting. i haven't heard that. all the people i know that own them think the world of them. granted, i haven't had the opportunity to drive one yet. the one i'm thinking about buying is in rough shape. honestly, i just want to get something to put around town in that i can get past smog. the vette has no emissions crap on it so they won't even talk to me :rolleyes: stupid people, stupid laws :nonod: car is only on the road about 3k miles a year.
anyway the Z may or may not be a go. the wife doesn't want it and i'm not sure. i'm just doing like we all do when we think about this stuff. i look at the little car and before long i see 17" wheels with good rubber, 300hp and a 5-speed and on and on and on :) but don't we all?
It's time for you to get to know someone who owns or works at an emission station in clark county or befriend someone outside Clark. My car is registered in my daughters name at a friends house in another non emission testing county. DMV did not know that she was about a year old at the time. She is now nearly 18.
I had to do something because even though it passed the sniffer this SOB failed me because of the visual inspection. No unleaded gas restriction, no cats, and no smog under the hood.
I talked to my Z buddy the other night and I mentioned what I though of them. He has 3 240's One is a parts car, a 260, and a 280. He totaly agreed with me. They were just ***. Poopie on the road and without serious work. uncontrolable at speed
Location: the right wing extremist formerly known as "clutchdust" NV
Re: (O/T) 4.3L V-6 (gkull)
gkull, the only way i've been able to 'smog' my car since i moved to NV was to take my friend 'grant' with me. the guy that was doing this has since told me that grant isn't welcome any more and he wants to meet mr. franklin next time :eek:
i have a friend who lives in pahrump (nye county). i'm thinking about leasing some of his property out there just to set up an address. not only for smog but insurance is about half in pahrump than vegas.
as the Z car goes, i'm still thinking i might do it since i'm only talking about $200-$300 to get a decent running car to putt around town in. i'm not looking to go racing or anything and the idea of building the car like i described above is mostly just bench racing, day dreaming. save the vette for the track untill i can rebuild the engine so it stops smoking.
ahhh, such is my life. either a day too late or 2000 miles difference. nastee, i would be interested if i didn't have to figure out a way to ship it from FL to NV. seems like the freight would offset any deal it came out to be. besides, i'm looking to drive the original straight six while i build the 4.3L
about the 2.8 intake, i was thinking that extrude hone could probably really open it up and i like the idea of MPFI but i see what your saying about it being too restrictive. extrude hone may not even be able to compensate for that. maybe i'll just fabricate an intake set up. if i go to this much trouble i don't really want to put TBI on it but it's the only thing i'm aware of coming on the 4.3. let me know if there is a MPFI set up available and you bet your butt i'll be looking for that!
No matter what you do the intake from a 2.8 won't bolt up to the 4.3. the 2.8 is a 60* v6 while the 4.3 is a 90*. In short the manifold won't reach all the way accross from one bank to the other.
Without serious improvements 240 -260Z were a very poor excuse for a sports car. They are very unstable at speed and down right dangerous.
My wife used to be a heart specialist before an accident, she and her friends always loved the look of the Z's but stated that they were the leading cause of leg amputations from accidents.
Location: the right wing extremist formerly known as "clutchdust" NV
Re: (O/T) 4.3L V-6 (gdh)
Quote:
My wife used to be a heart specialist before an accident, she and her friends always loved the look of the Z's but stated that they were the leading cause of leg amputations from accidents.
Corvette Store
(O/T) 4.3L V-6
