EP
240ZEP
240Z
Engine Development
The SCCA Rule Book lists the modifications that can be made to the L24 engine. Things like bore, stroke, compression are all limited. I usually build all my own engines, but with the other work I am doing to this car (and other pending projects) I decided I just didn't have the time to develop an engine alone. After a great deal of research, I decided to have Dave Rebello build a turn-key engine. Dave has been building some of the best racing engines for years and knows just what it takes to balance horsepower, torque, and reliability.
Exhaust
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This is the full system after fitting to the car. The header is from Rebello Racing and has true equal length primaries. The pipe is made from 3" dia. mandrel bent tube and runs through a Borla stainless racing muffler. The muffler is required since one of the tracks we run at has a 100 db noise limit. This set up usually registers about 97 db. |
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The muffler runs under the floor where the passenger seat once was. This sheet metal box closes out the hole in the floor to create a recess for the muffler. This provides the greatest amount of ground clearance since nothing is below the level of the floor pan. |
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This is the opening created in the rocker panel for the muffler to exit. A short section of mandrel bent tubing will finish the exhaust. |
Clutch
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With the horsepower the engine now makes, an OEM style clutch be destroyed in no time at all. This is a twin disc 5.5" diameter racing clutch. You may notice something funny about the "flywheel". That's because there is no flywheel. This set up has a button-style flywheel mated to an automatic transmission flex plate. This set up is pretty much bullet proof and allows the engine to accelerate and decelerate quickly. |
Oiling System
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Although worth only a few horsepower on the dyno, I decided to go with a dry sump oil system. The system supplies oil from an external tank (rather than from the sump of the oil pan). This provides a constant supply of oil and eliminates the worry of oil starvation in corners. |
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This is the tank and lines required to plumb most of the system. Some of the fittings get a bit pricey but you just have to keep reminding yourself that you are protecting a very expensive engine. The dry sump tank was a bargain. It came from a former NASCAR shop that was closing up. Cost was about 30% of a new one. |
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The tank mounts were fabricated and welded to the roll cage tubes. There are not a lot of options for putting a 4 gallon tank in a 240 Z. This shot also shows some of the new roll cage tubes added. EP rules allow tubes to pass through the firewall and tie into the front strut towers. This goes a long way toward stiffening the chassis. |
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These panels were fabricated to create a box around the dry sump tank. All panels install with Dzus fasteners and were made from .050" 5052 aluminum. |