{"id":57521,"date":"2020-06-19T18:04:32","date_gmt":"2020-06-19T23:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=57521"},"modified":"2020-06-19T18:10:15","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T23:10:15","slug":"1972-datsun-240z-swaps-from-a-s38-to-a-s54-inline-six","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=57521","title":{"rendered":"1972 Datsun 240Z Swaps from a S38 to a S54 Inline-Six"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"1972<\/a><\/p>\n

Several years ago we shared<\/a> Christopher’s Datsun 240Z with a BMW S38 inline-six. Earlier this year he replaced the S38 inline-six with a 3.2 L S54 inline-six from a 2001 BMW E46 M3. The new motor produces around 343 horsepower with a less restrictive exhaust. Besides the increased power, the engine is 3.5 inches shorter and comes with a rear sump oil pan. This made the installation easier than with the S38. Christopher turned to Kassel Performance<\/a> to build an engine wiring harness and tune the factory ECU. The S54 came with a Getrag 420G six-speed manual transmission and thanks to a custom driveshaft, it now sends power to a R200 differential. He also replaced the old brakes which consisted of Toyota 4\u00d74 and Nissan Maxima parts with a new set of Wilwood disc brakes. Christopher has been driving the new setup for a few weeks and reports it was worth the work. You can view more photos and follow the project’s entire progress in the build thread<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Source: Classic Z Cars<\/a> (build thread)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several years ago we shared Christopher’s Datsun 240Z with a BMW S38 inline-six. Earlier this year he replaced the S38 inline-six with a 3.2 L S54 inline-six from a 2001 BMW E46 M3. The new motor produces around 343 horsepower with a less restrictive exhaust. Besides the increased power, the engine is 3.5 inches shorter… Read More »1972 Datsun 240Z Swaps from a S38 to a S54 Inline-Six<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":57529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-240z"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/1972-Datsun-240Z-with-a-BMW-S54-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=2200%2C1462&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18991,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=18991","url_meta":{"origin":57521,"position":0},"title":"Datsun 240Z with a BMW Inline-Six","author":"swaptastic","date":"November 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Christopher was ready to move on from his 1987 BMW M6 to the next project. After realized there was little interest in the BMW M6, he would swap the freshly rebuilt inline-six and transmission into a 1972 Datsun 240Z. After three years of hard work this 240Z is a cut\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "240Z"","block_context":{"text":"240Z","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=93"},"img":{"alt_text":"1972 Datsun 240Z with a BMW S38 inline-six","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/1972-Datsun-240Z-with-a-BMW-S38-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/1972-Datsun-240Z-with-a-BMW-S38-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/1972-Datsun-240Z-with-a-BMW-S38-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/1972-Datsun-240Z-with-a-BMW-S38-inline-six-01.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":127664,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=127664","url_meta":{"origin":57521,"position":1},"title":"BMW E28 Race Car with a S38 Inline-Six","author":"swaptastic","date":"February 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This 1987 BMW 5 Series (E28) race car started life as a E28 520i LUX powered a 2.0 L M20B20 inline-six. It is now powered by a naturally aspirated S38 inline-six making approximately 360 hp (264 kW). It features an Accusump oil reservoir and custom stainless steel exhaust. 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The car was previously powered by a turbocharged 3.0 L VR6 and Samsonas sequential transmission. It is now powered by a turbocharged BMW S38B38 inline-six producing 685 hp (503 kW) to the wheels on 1.95 bar (28.2 psi) of boost. Behind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "RS 5"","block_context":{"text":"RS 5","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=1095"},"img":{"alt_text":"Audi RS5 with a Turbo BMW S38 Inline-Six","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Audi-RS5-with-a-Turbo-BMW-S38-Inline-Six-02.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Audi-RS5-with-a-Turbo-BMW-S38-Inline-Six-02.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Audi-RS5-with-a-Turbo-BMW-S38-Inline-Six-02.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Audi-RS5-with-a-Turbo-BMW-S38-Inline-Six-02.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Audi-RS5-with-a-Turbo-BMW-S38-Inline-Six-02.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":106924,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=106924","url_meta":{"origin":57521,"position":3},"title":"Ford Escort with a BMW S38 Inline-Six","author":"swaptastic","date":"October 31, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Nikos Papadopoulos competes in Greek hillclimb racing with his Ford Escort Mk2. The race car is powered by an S38 inline-six from a BMW M5 E34. It is destroked from 3.8 liters to 3.3 liters. The naturally aspirated motor produces 550 hp at 10,500 rpm. Watch Nikos compete at Kimi\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Escort"","block_context":{"text":"Escort","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=242"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ford Escort with a BMW S38 inline-six","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Ford-Escort-with-a-BMW-S38-inline-six-04.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Ford-Escort-with-a-BMW-S38-inline-six-04.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Ford-Escort-with-a-BMW-S38-inline-six-04.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Ford-Escort-with-a-BMW-S38-inline-six-04.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Ford-Escort-with-a-BMW-S38-inline-six-04.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107514,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=107514","url_meta":{"origin":57521,"position":4},"title":"Datsun 240Z with a S50 Inline-Six","author":"swaptastic","date":"November 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Luke Oxley from Fullboost interviewed David Fettell about his Datsun 240Z. David built the car with a 3.2 L S50B32 inline-six from a BMW E36 M3 making around 321 hp. The motor features stock internals, factory ECU, custom headers, and custom exhaust. Behind the motor is a ZF five-speed manual\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "240Z"","block_context":{"text":"240Z","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=93"},"img":{"alt_text":"Datsun 240Z with a S50 Inline-Six","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Datsun-240Z-with-a-S50-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Datsun-240Z-with-a-S50-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Datsun-240Z-with-a-S50-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Datsun-240Z-with-a-S50-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Datsun-240Z-with-a-S50-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":147453,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=147453","url_meta":{"origin":57521,"position":5},"title":"1973 Datsun 240Z with a Turbo RB26","author":"swaptastic","date":"April 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"This 1973 Datsun 240Z is powered by a turbocharged RB26 inline-six built by PMC Racing Engines. The motor features a billet block, ItalianRP rods and pistons, Tomei 270 camshafts, and Garret GTX3582R turbocharger. 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