I have long lamented that Datsun 240Z prices have skyrocketed so much in recent years. But I remain optimistic because it seems like most owners of those cars are committed to keeping them nice, or at least doing something truly interesting with them. One of those owners is Tyler Powell, who’s done a monster drivetrain swap and body job with this 240Z.
On the latest Hoonigan Bonus, Larry Chen gets to know Powell’s Z and its transplanted heart from a C6 Corvette Z06. That’s the big daddy small block LS7, a 7.0-liter V8 which when stock put out 505 gloriously naturally aspirated horsepower. He kept the Z06’s transaxle too, which he had to shorten to fit the Datsun’s smaller body.
The result is the “Fairlady Z06″, which despite its unconventional engine is aimed at looking as true to a period-correct Datsun race car as possible. Chen, who drives an SR20-swapped 240Z himself, marvels at how ridiculously over the top this build is.
Powell says he built it for road course and autocross use, not drifting. The motor’s been modified with Holley and Lingenfelter parts to get it to about 550 or 560 HP at the wheels, and then the body was sort of shaped around the Corvette driveline.
Really, this is a phenomenal build—handsome, clean, innovative, extremely powerful and even tasteful. And it sounds intimidating as hell, too. Is this the Z build to beat in 2018?
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