Enzo Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 G'Day Mate, I think at this stage you need to have a good sit down and think about this engine. I know money is limited so you need a few options. From what I can see in the photos, the bore is glazed and top of the pistons have oil /carbon residue. This could be caused by bad rings in a worn bore or valve guide seals. Valves have contacted the pistons and all valves could be bent. The water galleries look to be full of gunk.The head and cam setup needs to be addressed but you don't know if there are problems with the bottom end as well. To get the car on the road again I would probably suggest getting a complete cheap motor off one of the members and take the time to rebuilt this motor at some other time when cash is available. I would hate to see you spend money and refit the head only to find other problems. Put pen to paper and work out the pro's and cons of different options and what suits you financially. Regards David. Quote
bullzed Posted January 5, 2011 Author Posted January 5, 2011 Cheers David, You're completely right, I need to start thinking about another engine. Pen to paper would be the most logical thing to do at this moment. Running it with a stock engine until this one can be rebuilt into something more than it is now sounds quite tempting and fits in well with my financial situation. I'll update everyone with what's going ahead after this and that'll probably be the end of it all. Thanks everyone Zac Quote
Scoota G Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 I picked up an engine just a while ago that had washers put in there deliberatly and then the motor was turned over by hand so the washers fell into the bore. I never tried to start it but just pulled the head off and found them there. Lucky. Those bits look nothing like should come from the inside of the engine. Quote
bullzed Posted January 5, 2011 Author Posted January 5, 2011 Zac, sorry this is turning sour for you. :'( You said" maybe its time to look at a L28", put the time and effort into that. Thanks mate, much appreciated. It's definitely time to look for another temporary fix. Scoota, that's definitely lucky as they would have done MUCH more damage than what these little bastards have done. I have no idea where they came from because the only way in or out is the spark plug hole assuming the engine is fully assembled. I really do think something stupid/intentional happened. Quote
Zeddophile Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Well, there is a screw head for one, a piece of brass weld and 2 metal clips with "Australia" engraved into them. I wonder if it was a hose clamp..... Looks like the right type of screw head to be off a hose clamp, and the two metal clips with Australia on them could be part of the mechanism too.... To get the car on the road again I would probably suggest getting a complete cheap motor off one of the members and take the time to rebuilt this motor at some other time when cash is available. That would be my suggestion too, we have enough members around your area that someone should have a motor known to be good floating around. Probably an L26 or 24, but there's been few guys wrecking 280zx's lately too, so you may get lucky. Then in the future use the buggered one as a base to build up a hot motor without having to take your zed off the road. Quote
PZG302 Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Zac, That's not good news...... Looks like it might be time to bite the bullet and get that performance motor!?!?!? What are the bores like in your current motor??? If they are good or a rebore will cure any scratching or scores we can work something out for one of my spares. I wouldn't be using the pistons in the motor so no need to worry about them. You might even get away with just using the pistons out of my motor, a hone and new rings and bearings The motors I have are, as far as I know standard, but haven't been run for a few years, so will need a freshen up, but should be OK to use as a base. Let me know what you would like to do. Matt Quote
bullzed Posted January 5, 2011 Author Posted January 5, 2011 Matt, From what we can see the block is in alright condition, would you like to come around and see whether it's suitable to do a swap? I realise that if we swap, the motor I receive will also have to be recondition a little bit but I'm assuming it will be an easier recondition. Quote
Moderators Zedman240® Posted January 5, 2011 Moderators Posted January 5, 2011 I wonder if it was a hose clamp..... Looks like the right type of screw head to be off a hose clamp, and the two metal clips with Australia on them could be part of the mechanism too.... +1 with the hose clamp. I've done exactly what everyone else is recommending; a $150 temp engine for the moment while the $5000 race motor is being built. It is lucky I'm doing that, I've almost cooked this temp motor twice while I was sorting out a cooling system issue and a few other things. Aint good to cook any new motor while its being run in! Plus you still get to enjoy the car instead of watching everyone else from the side.. Quote
Scottz Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 Zac, I'm away from home right now, but can help you out with a standard L28 crank, rods and pistons. Like a lot of Aussies I work a fly in fly out job and I don't get back to Qld until Feb. So I can drop them off for you about mid Feb if you need them to rebuild your engine, while using the temporary replacement. Send a pm if you can use the parts. I got them from Otomoto for a project, but ended up buying a complete engine, so they are now surplus to my needs. Yeah - looks like a hose clamp. The previous guy probably didn't bother to cover the deck when the head was off and the hose clamp fell off a hose end and dropped into the cylinder bore. When installing the head back on he didn't check inside the cylinders. I wonder if he was searching for the hose clamp later saying..."I'm sure that hose had a clamp. Where the bloody hell is it now "... An old guy taught me never to rest tools or loose parts inside the engine bay when working on a car. Always place items on a workbench. He told me a story of finding a small spanner torqued up under a head. Don't know if it was true or one of those jokes pulled on apprentices, but it always reminded me to keep all the bits and pieces out of the way so they don't fall into someplace unexpected. And cover/block off anything that is open. Even an insect up a hose can cause a problem. You're doing a great job. Keep at it mate. Quote
bullzed Posted January 8, 2011 Author Posted January 8, 2011 Found the thread part of that hose clamp guys! Don't worry, you can stop looking. Stuck above the exhaust valve. Quote
dazzed Posted January 8, 2011 Posted January 8, 2011 yeah but if the car has su carbs how would it get in , you would have to lift the dash pot up and hold the butterfly open at the same time and also the air cleaner would have to be off, but if the air filter housing was off and being used to store engine parts , ie, carby screws, small hose clamps and etc and a clamp became caught and the housing and refitted there is a big chance it would become sucked in , but just dropping it in the snout of the housing it cant get past the air filter unless a filter was not fitted, other than that, its the only passage in that i can think off , no hose clamp i know of holds anything on inside the motor its a big mystery this one Quote
luvemfast Posted January 8, 2011 Posted January 8, 2011 Sabotage? sab·o·tage (sb-täzh) n. 1. Destruction of property or obstruction of normal operations, as by civilians or enemy agents in time of war. 2. Treacherous action to defeat or hinder a cause or an endeavor; deliberate subversion. tr.v. sab·o·taged, sab·o·tag·ing, sab·o·tag·es To commit sabotage against. 3. Put odd parts into anothers engine induction 4. Awsome Beastie Boys song Quote
dazzed Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 Sabotage? 3. Put odd parts into anothers engine induction 4. Awsome Beastie Boys song If this happened to me I wouldn't have even thought sabotage, but yes all of the above, i would have thought that it would have knocked the earth electrode on the spark plug down , being a N47 head which is closed , maybe it did. This is time for the forensic team to count down the seconds to disaster?? . Quote
bullzed Posted January 11, 2011 Author Posted January 11, 2011 Hey everyone, we've bought the gaskets but weren't able to pick them up from Right Spares today because of the extensive flooding. Once we've cleaned everything up and gotten rid of all this water, we'll be doing the valve grind and putting the engine back together. Unfortunately, my parents and I have decided that it's become too expensive to keep the Z, especially because I just started a new job and I'm not receiving enough shifts to continue payments on all my long term expenses. This means that once the car has been put back together and is running perfectly, the old Z will be up for sale. It's not the ideal situation seeing as I've spent the last 18 months working on it (which is long for me), however it's been decided that it's in the best interests of everyone if I sell it and pay off all my debt, I'll be moving on to a Valiant VG hardtop (still looking for one, if anyone knows of a cheap one? ) with the funds I have after selling it, back to the start again! Thanks again to everyone who helped me along, especially Matt. Quote
C.A.R. Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 I'll be moving on to a Valiant VG hardtop (still looking for one, if anyone knows of a cheap one? ) with the funds I have after selling it, back to the start again! Your kidding me right?! If you think a Zed is expensive, wait till you get a Val... Quote
bullzed Posted January 11, 2011 Author Posted January 11, 2011 Your kidding me right?! If you think a Zed is expensive, wait till you get a Val... I know I know! Dad has a VE which he's done as a rotisserie build, it's ready for a motor and a paint job. Up to date we've spent about 4 grand on it, however I'm not going to be a perfectionist with a VG. No rust and a motor that runs is good enough for me! Just, wasn't a good idea to dig myself this deep into debt at such a young age, I have to ease myself into debt slowly Quote
luvemfast Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 At least VG hardtops had galvansied sills, so rust wasn't too bad. But finding a cheap one thats not buggered? Good luck Quote
bullzed Posted January 11, 2011 Author Posted January 11, 2011 But finding a cheap one thats not buggered? Good luck There is a Stirling Moss VG Hardtop on eBay at the moment for 2.5k. That sounds alright except first step is selling the Z. My dad having loads of spare parts and guards for A-Body Mopars is a helping factor though. Quote
bullzed Posted January 30, 2011 Author Posted January 30, 2011 Hey Guys, I know this thread has been abandoned for a while now but I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for their help, especially Matt who gave me spares that helped with the job. It turned into a massive job over such a little thing but it's finally up and running great. Cheers Zac. Quote
PZG302 Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Well done Zac. Glad the motor is now running well. Hopefully after a few trouble free runs the thought of selling goes out the window. As much as I like my vals, the 280 would be a much easier daily to live with. Matt Quote
bullzed Posted February 1, 2011 Author Posted February 1, 2011 I forgot to tell everyone, I have organised a way to keep the Z! Didn't want to leave the community after all the help I got. You'll be seeing me around still. Quote
Scoota G Posted February 1, 2011 Posted February 1, 2011 Excellent News, you would have regreted it i'm sure! Quote
Zeddophile Posted February 1, 2011 Posted February 1, 2011 I forgot to tell everyone, I have organised a way to keep the Z! Didn't want to leave the community after all the help I got. You'll be seeing me around still. Hopefully with less hose clamps Quote
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