# Z car on history channel SLOW?!



## Hans_Snarcher (Jul 10, 2004)

there was show on the history channel, i forget the name, but 2 teams work on a stock 240z from the 70s and it was a pretty good show, they put like headers and edelbrok or whatever and various mods, who evers car came out faster won both cars. so at the end

the quarter miles were in the 20s and 0-60 was around 14, 

WTF?!?! is that normal?!?! all those mods and the cars are slower than VW BUS?!!


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

Hans_Snarcher said:


> there was show on the history channel, i forget the name, but 2 teams work on a stock 240z from the 70s and it was a pretty good show, they put like headers and edelbrok or whatever and various mods, who evers car came out faster won both cars. so at the end
> 
> the quarter miles were in the 20s and 0-60 was around 14,
> 
> WTF?!?! is that normal?!?! all those mods and the cars are slower than VW BUS?!!


 Mega speed and 1/4 mile times was not that cars strong suit. Handling was.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

Not having watched the show I can't say, but it sounds like some of the mods they used were probably too "big" for the car to use effectively. It's a common problem I see every day. But I would have hoped the guys doing these mods were professionals.


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

I don't know the guys building are Supra guys but they seem to know some stuff. Something was wrong though a stock 240Z would of raped those cars.


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## Hans_Snarcher (Jul 10, 2004)

they put on a red thing that makes the spark plugs spark 7 times, headers and exhaust, a new cam, big throttle body and thats about it

my friend has a 240Z from the 70s and it does the 1/4 in 13.7 with a turbo, so i guess its just one hell of a turbo??

nun the less it was a great show because its an awsome car, its more of a documentary really, they show tosn of videos of them racing in the 70s

Full Throttle
1971 Datsun 240Z. 
Tune In:
Wednesday, November 10 @ 11pm ET/PT


In this episode, Japanese hustle meets American muscle! The Datsun 240Z was the first affordable people's sports car. We get an up-close look at the 1971 Datsun design engineering that proved light years ahead of its American competitors. Diving into their overhead cam engine, we tear it down and build it back up for a head-to-head drag race at full throttle! After supplying two teams with the classic cars, garages, tools, parts, and 20 hours of repair time, we hold an old-fashioned drag race on a legal, certified track with safety devices for the drivers. As we follow the teams, we interject history at each step they take, including factory footage and interviews with the legends behind the vintage vehicles. TVPG


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## winstonsmith (Nov 10, 2004)

Yeah. I watched that too. I was watching them race and thinking "wow. those cars don't seem very fast". They were nice looking though.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

Hans_Snarcher said:


> my friend has a 240Z from the 70s and it does the 1/4 in 13.7 with a turbo, so i guess its just one hell of a turbo??


 Nah prolly the same size at what I have. I have stock T3 and managed a 13.9 not even properly tuned and with an open diff.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

JAMESZ said:


> I don't know the guys building are Supra guys but they seem to know some stuff. Something was wrong though a stock 240Z would of raped those cars.


 But I wonder if technology oriented Supra guys would even know how to use things like carbs and headers. Take guys from an F1 garage and put them in a NASCAR garage and I doubt they'd even know where to begin.


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

[email protected] said:


> But I wonder if technology oriented Supra guys would even know how to use things like carbs and headers. Take guys from an F1 garage and put them in a NASCAR garage and I doubt they'd even know where to begin.



x2 they are way different natured cars


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## niky (Jul 20, 2002)

That is just freaking strange... I thought 240Zs were something like 0-60 in 8seconds???

What did they do, swap 1.6s in there?

BTW, were these beaters, or fresh cars?


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## Hans_Snarcher (Jul 10, 2004)

they looked mint


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## Binger (Aug 29, 2002)

the producers probably made them drive slow so no one watching would get any big ideas and hurt them selves...probably a liability issue.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

Binger said:


> the producers probably made them drive slow so no one watching would get any big ideas and hurt them selves...probably a liability issue.


 Possibly true, but I'd consider it unlikely. No other shows on television would seem to limit performance in this manner, none of the popular shows, such as Monster Garage, seem to.


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## niky (Jul 20, 2002)

Still beggars the question... WHY SO SLOW?


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## 240ZT (May 9, 2003)

Slow because those guys are idiots. They actually made the car slower. They threw on a 4 barrel Holley carb  with a big cam (no specs). Putting in a big cam without raising compression is worthless. If they did a before and after dyno I'm sure they lost power. They would have done better with a good tune up.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

240ZT said:


> Slow because those guys are idiots. They actually made the car slower. They threw on a 4 barrel Holley carb  with a big cam (no specs). Putting in a big cam without raising compression is worthless. If they did a before and after dyno I'm sure they lost power. They would have done better with a good tune up.


 You can put a somewhat larger cam in without raising compression. Raising compression ratio is not absolutely required to get the benefits of a larger cam, however raising airflow ability is. I'd have to watch the show to be certain but I bet they didn't do a few of the things needed to take advantage of a bigger cam. Getting air out is just as important as getting it in, did anyone see what exhaust system they installed?


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## winstonsmith (Nov 10, 2004)

They did change the exhaust but I don't remember what exactly they put in. I know one team used the biggest cam they could get in there and then ended up needing custom made exhaust as well. I taped it. I'll have to go back and see what they did exactly. None of them seemed to be super knowledgable on Z cars though. That was the impression I got anyway. They seemed like they had some casual knowledge of the car but none of those guys had probably ever done any extensive work on that kind of car before.


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## 240ZT (May 9, 2003)

Yeah, you can throw in a mild cam but they didn't offer any specs so who knows what they put in there.


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## das280zx (Jul 17, 2003)

that show was dumb. Mot Z people know that the 4 barrel carb converision is a waste of time. I cringed when I saw them drag that out. The cars were also automatics, which made them alot slower. This was not the way to make a z fast, the whole thing was kind of pointless.


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## niky (Jul 20, 2002)

4 barrel?!? I thought triple Holleys were what fit the engine... WTF?


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## Datsun240Z71 (Nov 24, 2004)

The original road test in Road & Track magazine (April 1970) of a 1970 240Z documented a quarter mile time of 17.1 seconds and 84.5 mph. 0-60 was 8.7 seconds. 0-100 was 27.1 seconds, and top speed was 122.

Yes...I have that issue!


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## morepower2 (Apr 19, 2002)

[email protected] said:


> Not having watched the show I can't say, but it sounds like some of the mods they used were probably too "big" for the car to use effectively. It's a common problem I see every day. But I would have hoped the guys doing these mods were professionals.


The cars had automatics.


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

Datsun240Z71 said:


> The original road test in Road & Track magazine (April 1970) of a 1970 240Z documented a quarter mile time of 17.1 seconds and 84.5 mph. 0-60 was 8.7 seconds. 0-100 was 27.1 seconds, and top speed was 122.
> 
> Yes...I have that issue!


Are you in the Middle Tennessee Z Club?


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

morepower2 said:


> The cars had automatics.


 So does every other 12 second dragster beast.  That just means they should have been modded appropriately.


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## Datsun240Z71 (Nov 24, 2004)

JAMESZ said:


> Are you in the Middle Tennessee Z Club?


James,

Yes, it's me Randy. Hope to see you at Tail of Dragon in May (if not sooner). Don't bring the BMW guys! :loser:


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

Datsun240Z71 said:


> James,
> 
> Yes, it's me Randy. Hope to see you at Tail of Dragon in May (if not sooner). Don't bring the BMW guys! :loser:


HAHAHA they will never come again plus that car might not survive to ever get back there the way that guy drives. Are you going to be at the holiday party the 11th?


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