Nissan L24 L26 L28 - What makes it GREAT? ICONIC ENGINES #4

A correction: I said "cast iron pistons" in the video. My tongue slipped as I mentioned the cast iron block earlier. I meant to say cast aluminum instead.

Today on iconic engines it's time for some real old school cool! It's time to step back in past! it's time for some 70s grooves! it's time for the beautifully simple, obscenely reliable Nissan L24, 26, 28 inline six engine!

To be able to fully understand and appreciate where the Nissan L24 L26 and L28 engine comes from we have to go back in time to the early to mid-60s. Back in the early 60s Datsun was selling the 410 sedan in the United States, and while they did get Pininfarina to design it to make it look more European and distinguished the car had one major problem that was hurting Datsun sales in the states. It was slow. The 410 was equipped with a pretty miserable inline 4 cylinder pushrod engine and Mr. K could see his 410 cars struggling to keep up with Traffic on the US freeway. Merging onto the Freeway in the 410 was a nightmare. So when it was time to introduce the successor to the 410 which was the Datsun 510 Mr. K saw an opportunity to make things right. He went to Japan to convince the big shots in the Nissan HQ to give the Datsun 510 a brand new engine, since the original plan was for the 510 to have the same pushrod misery engine as the 410. Eventually Mr. K managed to convince HQ to give the Datsun 510 a brand new overhead cam 1.6 liter that made 96hp and was called the L16. It would later serve as the basis for its bigger brother, the L24. Unlike the 411, the 510 no longer was slow and no longer had problems keeping up with freeway traffic. On top of that it had a great four wheel independent suspension and was actually really fun to drive, and still is today.

The roots of the Nissan L engines can be followed way back to a licensed overhead valve design made by Mercedes that was being manufactured by Prince Motor Co in the early 60s.
The first inline six in the L series was called the L20. It sucked. But Nissan engineers quickly fixed this. For L series inline six attempt two they decided to use the new L16 design as a starting point to develop the next generation of inline six in the L series. It was called the L20A and it didn't suck.

Right around the time the inline six L series was being developed Mr K. was putting his master plan into action. Ever since coming to the States to build the Datsun dealer network he wanted to bring an exciting Datsun car to the market. Something that everyone would want to own. The 510 was great, but Mr. K wanted more, he wanted something that would compete with the likes of Jaguar. He wanted a sports car with a sports car engine. And he got it! After more lobbying with the Nissan HQ in Japan and being very involved in the entire design process Mr. K got the Fairlady Z. The car was everything Mr. K envisioned, except the name which he changes to 240z in the states. And to make it go, it a 2.4 liter inline six engine, called the L24, built on the base created by the L16 and l20a! It all came together in a package that was not only fast, but beautiful and sexy, and desirable, and fun to drive and to top it all off. It was affordable. So what about the L26 and L28 Nissan engines? Well they came out later with the 260z and 280z and were for a large part an attempt to keep up US emission controls that forced reductions in ignition timing and compression ratios.

When it comes to the specs the Nissan L24 engine is beautifully simple and because of this its incredibly reliable. The L24 L26 L28 Nissan engines are all a cast iron engine block and an alloy reverse flow cylinder head. The head is a SOHC design with only two valves per cylinder.

When it comes to tuning the L24 L26 L28 Datsun Nissan engines they are a bit different than modern engines and ultimately limited in maximum power potential, largely because of the outdated cylinder head design. But they score incredibly high when it comes to engine sound, style and charm. Triple Webers on a l24 l26 l28, or triple Mikuni carbs for that matter, will sound absolutely incredible and be extremely fun to drive. Remember the S30 chassis, the 240z, 260z, 280z are all very lightweight old-school analogue cars and even with the stock 150hp they are incredibly fun to drive. Squeezing an extra 50 hp out of the l24 l26 l28 engines is actually a lot easier than from modern engines that are already tuned from the factory, so more fun is on tap. If you want obscene power from a 240z, 260z, or 280z you will need to swap out l24 l26 l28.

#d4a #L28 #iconicengines #L24 #L26

[da]

Also my tongue slipped in the video when I said "cast iron pistons". I meant to say cast aluminium.

[CycloneRotor]

If you can find an L28ET, they already make 180hp/203 lb-ft from the factory, and it's neither hard, uncommon, nor expensive to make 250hp+. But where the turbo L6 truly shines is not horsepower, but torque; these things are super stump-pullers with the right setup!

[haryosoo]

The L-series engine tuning routes in a nutshell:
Small power increase -> DIY
Big power increase -> Kitami Jun

[etravix]

Very well said and all true. I've been the owner 1970 240Z for 40 years. It makes a great sound that still turns heads today. Far from stock with triple Weber 40, Arias pistons 40 over, comp cam 490 lift/290 duration, electronic ignition and a bunch of other stuff. Cheap to build and loves being run between 3000 to 7000 rpm. Puts out @300 hp on a 2200 lb car. But it's at home just cruising along and idles fine in traffic. Runs good on pump gas and is a beast on 104 octane. Oh, and as you mentioned it's a great DIY engine to work on. And this setup has been on the car since 1984.

[NekoDarksing]

This was actually motivational for me, I was about to put down the wrench on my 280z but now I'm more motivated to go back at it and work on it.

[MtnBoy]

I worked with Dave Rebello in the mid 80's in Concord, CA. He built a killer L20B for my 510 that I raced in the SCCA for a couple years and several engines & chassis for friends and co-workers. After I moved back to So Cal in late 85, I went to work at M & G Z cars in Montclair for about 10 years. I built many, many L series engines for many customers. Most of them stock or mildly built, a few turbo monsters. I've stripped down countless Z cars to the bare tub and rebuilt back to new bolt by bolt. I was always impressed with the L series engines. After they closed doors I worked at a few Nissan dealerships in the area, in 2001 at technician training in Costa Mesa I had the chance to meet Mr. K.
He was very cordial and seemed very pleased that I so much enjoyed being a mechanic. I feel very fortunate to have met & worked with some really talented people in my career.
Two years ago I ran into an old customer, he was still driving the 83 280ZX I rebuilt for him, we spent a good time catching up that afternoon, glad to see that car again so many years later !

[TRUTHUNO]

After sitting for 20 years my 260z started right up. Didnt even turn over just fired up!!! Mind you new battery, new gas and SUs sprayed with carb cleaner. But I swear it started up like it was driven that day. No cranking at all. I had a buyer standing next to me and he jumped for joy. I was thinking this is a sign from the Z gods and had to retrack the sale. Fortuneatly he was a work collegue and friend. During covid I restored her.

[kyushaspeed]

You cannot beat an NA L series hands down! 👍

I spent a long time thinking if I wanted to keep an L series in my 240Z about a decade ago. I’m glad I stuck with an L28 and stroked it with an LD28 crank when they cost $150NZD.

Thanks for featuring some of my channel (around the 25 minutes mark). Much appreciated! 👍

[Ghostwolf]

This guy gets it. Theres a certain feeling the L powered Z cars gives that gets in your soul. Everything he describes, the sounds, the smells, the analog driving experience; it's pure bliss for a true petrol head. Great job man. Love this video.

[hdad]

I bought my first 240 back in 77 and the current 71 240 I have now I got in 90. Been a daily driver up to 3 years ago when I stripped it down and putting together a show car. I am 95% complete after $45, 000. I am very excited to get it road worthy soon. Great vid by the way.

[robwhitez]

The most important part of the L-series motor is the mechanical roller ( slipper ) valve train allowing for a very big valve lift and duration camshaft.
The only advantage of a cross flow head is to keep heat away from the intake side
Datsun Z-cars in Japan with L-series motors are making 400+ HP N/A and running low 10's for the 1/4 mile

[da_aloha_z]

I want this man to be my auto shop teacher, and tell us everything that we need to know about engines, transitions, etc...

[albertomorales]

I am getting my 83 280ZX L28 back on the road! It has been about 7 years since it has seen regular service. Great video.

[ZepolWorkzGarage]

I messed with these back in the 90’s. Made good power I had L28 with the L26 head that gave me 10:1 compression. Clifford 4 barrel intake with Holley 450cfm. Also had 5 speed from 83 280z all this was in my 1979 Mazda GLC Drag car had a lot fun. Nice to see you made video on these great engines.👍🏼

[TheSkrillexRemix]

My 82 280zx has a 688k and still running strong, only issue is headgasket likes to go around every 60-80, 000 miles. I beat the piss out of it too

[MindDezign]

I am a big fan of the L Nissan 6 motors grandma or not they are very cool
You, my friend have a natural touch for what you do ! Very Cool !

[BlazebeatRacing]

The L28E is my favourite engine for many reasons! All of which where mention in this awesome video! 😁

[glennshewin]

Back in the early 90's in Australia, i owned a 1974 Datsun 240K coupe. Which was actually a Skyline, it had from factory a L24 engine. It was very reliable and it could rev to 8000rpm with no issues at all. Unfortunately the car rust got that bad i ended up losing it :(

[t-ray]

Awesome power plant for a 50 year old engine, reliable almost bulletproof apart from the mechanical fuel pump which was prone to fail due to the rubber membrane splitting, also the clutch wasn't up to the power output, from memory I found that I got about 6 to 8 thousand miles before it began to slip. The good news is these are easily rectified with more modern alternatives. Looking forward to rebuilding it with all the improved parts. Really glad i never sold it even after 47 years.

[godofgaming]

Cant wait to say that I've been here since 30 k when he's at 500k.