Safari Brown... I mean Gold - The NSW Project

[Cozza]

If you think a LD28 crank in a L24 is something, LCR is building 'CBRJeff' on here a L24 based 3ltr - 85.5mm bore, with a 89mm stroke crank!

What sort of power at what revs are they hoping to get from that config?

[andyk_79]

If you think a LD28 crank in a L24 is something, LCR is building 'CBRJeff' on here a L24 based 3ltr - 85.5mm bore, with a 89mm stroke crank!

I'm starting to think I'll be going to Melbourne when I'm ready to get my engine done. Goddam they do some amazing stuff.

 

That rocker cover looks awesome Gav!

[EJ101]

I'm starting to think I'll be going to Melbourne when I'm ready to get my engine done. Goddam they do some amazing stuff.

 

That rocker cover looks awesome Gav!

 don't forget we do have Stewart Wilkins and James Flett who are L series gurus.

[C.A.R.]

I just looked at the bill for my Water-jet basted rocker cover & it was $200 to have done (inside & out). 

 

What sort of power at what revs are they hoping to get from that config?

7k and 290 to 300hp.

 

I'm starting to think I'll be going to Melbourne when I'm ready to get my engine done. Goddam they do some amazing stuff.

That rocker cover looks awesome Gav!

 

There is a reason why Les has SO MANY people from interstate & around the globe getting him to build L-series engines
There is also a particular twin cam head being worked on in there at the moment...

Edited January 23, 2016 by Lurch ™

[theremm]

If you think a LD28 crank in a L24 is something, LCR is building 'CBRJeff' on here a L24 based 3ltr - 85.5mm bore, with a 89mm stroke crank!

Yep have been following this build with great interest is there any merit to building an L24 with the LD28 crank and retaining original bore size for the reasons stated in my previous post? Sorry this is getting a little off topic from original thread..

[CBR Jeff]

What sort of power at what revs are they hoping to get from that config?

It's the 260 +/- ft lbs from about 3500 that will make the car.

[gav240z]

Right you lot, get your own thread to discuss the virtues of stroker options and their performance. All this talk is like discussing how great booze is in front of an alcoholic. I need pure thoughts of standard L-series rebuilds. Otherwise the tail is gonna start wagging the dog in this engine build.

 

However if you want to discuss L24 porn, perhaps you could discuss the 11041-E4621 (Safari Head) or the LY cylinder heads. Nissan's own LR24 engines. That I would permit.

I'll even get the ball rolling.

http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/10754-s20-for-sale/?p=127202

http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/2013/01/31/kidney-anyone-nos-datsun-competition-l20-head-manifold-and-50mm-mikunis/

http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/12457-twin-cam-head/

 

Gotta be far more interesting than some bloated diesel crankshaft surely? (Dissing my own wares here!).

[gav240z]

Update from the Candy Shop.

 

And boy am I glad I opted for the water blasted finish. I reckon it looks the ducks nuts. You can see how it looked before looking at the Overview Of L6 engine heads thread (the images of the E31 are this cylinder head).

 

 

Can't wait to get this thing fired up after 20 years of laying dormant.

 

[Sirpent]

Looks the absolute goods Gav !

[CBR Jeff]

Update from the

.

 

And boy am I glad I opted for the water blasted finish. I reckon it looks the ducks nuts. You can see how it looked before looking at the Overview Of L6 engine heads thread (the images of the E31 are this cylinder head).

 

Can't wait to get this thing fired up after 20 years of laying dormant.

Nice Gav. I recognise that table!!

Jeff

[PB260Z]

HI Mate

 

That water blasting looks fantastic.

When I get around to a motor and gearbox rebuild I will certainly be going with water blasting.

 

Cheers

 

PB

[gav240z]

Minor update.

 

Les Collins had run out of internally oiled camshafts, so I had to go to my donor N42 for spares. I simply undid the cam tower bolts and lifted the cam out with the cam towers. I numbered them all from 1-5 (front to rear) and also took out the lash pads.

 

 

Australia post have a special camshaft mailing device as seen below . 

 

For those that don't know the internally oiled camshafts have little holes in the lobes. Earlier engines had a spray bar that run horizontally along the camshaft and would flick oil onto the cam. The internally oiled design is better, but in order to convert to it, it's helpful to use the internally oiled cam towers also.

 

 

Interestingly it had an 'A' stamp on the camshaft, I thought early 240z's had these but maybe some 280zx's also had 'A' grind cams? It doesn't really matter anyway as the camshaft profile will be changed to suit a very mild L24 (no porting etc..) build retaining SUs as induction method for now.

 

 

I also sent along the front timing cover (water pump housing etc..) so that it too can be water jet blasted to suit the head and valve cover. Although will see if it's any good still when inspected by Les and Locky. It didn't appear to have massive corrosion issues but I could be wrong.

[gav240z]

So wasn't sure where else to put this update, so figured the build thread was as good as anywhere else...

 

I recently went on a work trip to San Francisco and had a free Saturday before my flight, I've made a couple of contacts in the S30Z scene over that way and this weekend I met a couple more folks.

 

A highlight was visiting a guy named Ivan who has a workshop in the Oakland area. Some of you may have seen this Petrolicious video here:

 

 

His workshop had a couple of C10 Skylines in it, along with his Kenmeri and a Honda S600, early air cooled Porsche 911 and E30 BMW M3, couple of early S30z's etc..

 

He is also working on a couple of 1200's that are getting the GTR front end treatment. Like this car featured on Jay Leno Garage.

 

By the way Ivan's looking for a B110 Wagon if anyone has any leads on 1, likewise for 1200 rust repair sections like lower radiator supports and rubber trims etc.. Please let me know? He seems to be keeping busy.

 

A first for me was being given the opportunity to drive a LHD S30Z and a 280Z, which was converted from EFI to Triple Webers.

 

Time in the day was running out and I had to head to the Airport for my evening flight, instead of getting an uber I was asked if I wanted to take the car for a spin and drive to the airport. Well I wouldn't turn down a chance to drive an S30z.

 

 

What's great about S30Zs is the boot space, I was only traveling a week and normally travel light. However in this instance I took a couple of larger bags so I could fit some S30Z parts in and bring them back with me.

 

So what was my impression of driving a 280z on the LH side? Well it takes a little getting used to the shift pattern but otherwise like riding a bike. The 280z had all it's bushings re-done and it really felt like a solid car. Since it was sans ugly bumpers and converted to early S30z rear lights it was like driving an earlier 240z/260z but a bit more solid and refined.

 

I had a lot of fun, although I didn't really stretch her legs since she's not mine and I didn't want to drive it hard. I think finding a rust free 280z 2 seater from the US is probably a good way to get into an S30z on the cheaper end of things and really they are a great car.

 

So what kind of treasure did I bring back with me?

 

See below.

 

These hubcaps were the 'earlier style', you can tell because the rear of them has less 'tabs' and the tyre valve hole lines up with the spokes on the cap. Later ones had more tabs and offset valve hole.

See valve hole position.

Sadly a couple have quite a bit of rust on the chrome part. Not sure if it will cause excess pitting or not..and make re-chroming difficult?

 

I need a set of these vents to make sure I drilled the holes in the right spot of my fabricated fluted rear hatch. Better to find out it's wrong now, than after it's painted.

 

Early steering wheel in need of full restoration.

 

Couple of license plate lamps.

 

and thank you for not smoking.

 

 

I also got some antenna switches and a couple of other small items. Given how expensive shipping of these items are, I ship them to an address in SFO and then bring them back with me in bulk.

 

A great thing about this classic car hobby is finding like minded individuals in other parts of the world and helping each other out.

[PB260Z]

Welcome back

 

Some nice scores in that lot.

Guessing you now have more ashtrays than clocks

 

Cheers

 

PB

[gav240z]

Welcome back

 

Some nice scores in that lot.

Guessing you now have more ashtrays than clocks

 

Cheers

 

PB

 

Sadly no Oscillator with this 1...

[Ponyo240z]

Not a bad work trip by the sound of it; Now's a better time than ever to ask you to sell me an ashtray... 

[gav240z]

Not a bad work trip by the sound of it; Now's a better time than ever to ask you to sell me an ashtray... 

 

haha, yeah it looks like I'm being greedy. However half of them have cracks in them. Either the lid or surround. I plan to use all the best bits to make good ones and then will see if I can figure out a way to repair the others.

[EJ101]

would have been good if you had time to see "Green Hornet"

[gav240z]

would have been good if you had time to see "Green Hornet"

 

Next time.. I don't know the owner yet but I could ask Les Collins, Peter Mac and try reach out. Good chance I'll be over there again in future.

[CBR Jeff]

Next time.. I don't know the owner yet but I could ask Les Collins, Peter Mac and try reach out. Good chance I'll be over there again in future.

Now that would be an experience.

[gav240z]

So last night I got around to testing 1 of my Hitachi TM-1081ZB(S) radio's. I'm happy to report it is working, but the front light isn't. I've got a video of the test and you can see the 'auto-tune' or as I call it 'ghost tune' function. Which I think is pretty cool for an OEM radio of that period.

 

Sorry about the letterbox format of the video, didn't realise it would come out that way.

 

 

Now to test the other ones I have and make sure they also work!

 

Also somewhat embarassingly I think I managed to blow up the Clarion head unit seen to the right in the video. Before I tested the Hitachi unit I decided to test the Clarion first - just in case something went wrong. Sadly I didn't put an inline fuse in before I tested it (lazy I know) and I think I fried a capacitor in it, as a bit of a pop and smoke came out.

 

I was a bit nervous testing the Hitachi radio after that, but it already had the inline fuse which made me feel better about it. I do wonder if the Clarion unit blowing up was just bad luck? Maybe the capacitors just get old and give up and when revived are not too happy about it? Either way it's a good lesson to be careful when testing stuff especially fragile old electronics.

[andyk_79]

Glad to see your test bench equipment includes an iron - vital piece of equipment that could be catastrophic if forgotten 

[gav240z]

So I actually tested another Hitachi radio (same model TM-1081ZB(S)) I have and the good news is that it works. However I have discovered that the auto-tune feature should go in both directions. In the video I show above you can see it goes all the way left and keeps going on an infinite type loop. However it should bounce back into the other direction (right) to seek a signal.

 

The second radio I tested does this, hence the reason I know the first 1 is not quite doing the right thing. I will need to disassemble them and and see if there is a broken wire, some kind of broken gear or another reason why it won't return. But I might start a new thread on Hitachi radio restoration or just use this thread to document what I do.

[gav240z]

I haven't updated this thread in a bit. The rear hatch is mostly done. Although the time suck will be all the little details that will be hard to show in photos.

 

I managed to pick up a bunch of spares the other week from Adam (previous owner of the Brown Hornet).

 

He was feeling charitable since he was knocking his garage over and wanted to get rid of stuff. Seeing what a NOS console surround piece sold for recently on eBay I also feel like I robbed him, but he did set the price. The good thing was it came with the defrost switch. So if I can find 1 I'd like to get an early rear vertical defrost hatch glass. I love the look of it on early cars.

 

I spent a bit of time on the tail light housings, I couldn't remove the brownish stains on them. Which are either from exhaust fumes or the yellowing  / aging of the plastic housings - perhaps UV exposure also?

 

The vinyl paint I got from Supercheap Auto was probably a bit too dark in colour. So on the next set I do I might try VHT light gray here. But I think they look 100% better than the brown / aged look. I also installed the reproduction chrome trim pieces for completeness. They are not perfect, but considering the cost of NOS housings + tail lamps I think they look good.

 

 

My tafe class is on break right now, so bodywork will probably wait a couple of weeks before more progress. It should give me some time to file my tax return(s) - haven't done last year and I'll know what I owe the government (not expecting a refund sadly) and once I've dealt with that I can start spending money on the bottom end rebuild and the 71A gear bag.

 

I also picked up a dolly from Jason (dat2kman) so I can put the shell up on a trolley type support and then remove the sub-frames for rebuilding components off the car.

[gav240z]

I haven't updated this thread in a while. Here is how the rear hatch is now looking after doing some more lead wiping last night.

 

What I like about the lead wiping is that you can't tell where the join / weld is. The whole hatch will get a skim of plastic filler to tidy up some edges and a couple of low / high spots and then it will get painted in some kind of primer to protect it.

 

Not sure what panel will be next?

 

I also polished a RH side tail lamp that came off HS30 00150 and was in much better shape than the other 1 I restored. Got a good pair now. (see photos). The biggest challenge with restoring these tail lamps is they tend to get hairline cracks under the surface that as far as I'm aware there is no way to repair. Not sure if the cause is age / UV or something else?