NZeder

I have a RB26 head that I could take a photo of when I get a change to clear some stuff out in the garage and get to it again. I think I have a RB26 head gasket and L28 (both metal) here too that I could take photos of for you.

anything is possible just time and $$. Most have one and not the other or you might be like most of us and have neither of both I like the idea and I think if someone can make a L31DETT using 2/3 KA24DE heads then using a RB head should be do able too. I believe one of the problems with the RB engine is too much oil getting to the head and hence the large return/drain in the block. I guess this could be over come with an external return - I believe this is what some of the RB guys do anyway. Here is a pic of my block when I had the head off replacing the head gasket - you might see that all the water galleries on one side of the block are no longer there this engine was build by a well know Nissan guy here in Auckland (he knows lots of tricks apparently) and my car has no cooling issues (does have a 5 core radiator, head gasket blew due to lean out at higher RPM = detonation) So do this and now you only have one side of the head to deal with - the bright circles in the pic on the header side are the fulled/welded up water holes.

All the L6 powered cars I have seen have had the engine leaned over like the 240z/260z (Skyline's, 260c, 280c, Laurels etc) but some not quite as far by the look - hard to tell as the engine bays are a different shape so that might be off putting. I am not sure about the lean and if you were to put an RB head onto a L6 if this would cause any problems but if running carbs then the manifold would have to level up the carbs so the float levels in carb would work with the carb angled down they might not full correctly = lean = boom Also the other real issue is chain vs belt drive - however this could be over come as the last of the LD20 II (that is a 4 cylinder L4 style block) was belt driven so you could get one of these and see how Nissan made the L4 block a belt drive then replicate that to the L6 block. The other technical issue would be dizzy you would have to remove this as it would foul with the wider head so you would have to run a coil on plug setup/wasted spark = more $$ for ECU then if you do this you might as well run EFI = fuel changes to support the EFI pressures, surge tank yada yada so now your budget goes up again....hmm makes the RB conversion looking more and more like an option. Can you tell I have thought about this too - this is why I have RB30E long block and RB26 head in storage for when my budget will allow me to complete a rebuild and replace the current L6 in the long term project 260z (it will be DE not a DET mind - NA power is enough for me)

I guess anything is possible but I guess the reason it has not been done before is the following reason - Just put a RB block in too. I know that both the RB and L6 have the same bore spacing and head bolt locations but that is about it. I have also seen L6 blocks that have had all the water galleries on one site welded up (I assume due to the large bore it was running it was offset bored so the non-thrust side was thinner and this was the side the water jackets were full welded) If you do put a RB head on a L6 the engine is still leaning in the stock location which is the wrong way for the intake of the RB head so you will want to make different engine mounts - then you need to sort out the gearbox angle too (you could use a 4 cylinder Z series engine bellhousing = same bolt pattern but leaned over for the crossflow head that is on these bottom ends, the Z series block is basically a L4 block) so if you have to do all this just but a RB engine/gearbox in and be done with it. It is for the above that no one has done it yet = too much $$ time and engineering involved this does not mean that it can't be done just the old question why? And people said the same about building a DOHC for a L6 using KA24 heads and now someone has a car running with this hybrid head/block combo.

Yep I was at Manfield the other weekend and Neil Tolich had his K-code GT Mustang ie just before the Shelby GT350 was released - you will know the car given you love the pony car too it is the ex Fleetwood GT Mustang and the first Mustang race car in NZ back in the 60's. Did you know it still has all the original panel's (some need bog to keep them straight these days) and is period correct with all the same kit it raced back then = brakes are a problem. Anyway good to here both cars made to OZ in good shape. Re the number of zed in NZ the ZClub records show more than 500 different S30 (240z,260z,FairladyZ, import 280z) how many are still on the road these days is a different story - take me for example I have 2 S30 my 260z which has been of the road for 10 years, then my 240z (Paul had it off the road for 9 years and it is currently off the road getting the head gasket fixed)

Could be a blown head gasket but not around a water gallery but to the outside of the head/block = no compression on that cylinder and when it warms up it is puff'n out that = noice? I am guessing

compliance? WTF we are talking a NZ new 260z that John has now imported to his new home in OZ land there were no compliance anything. It is always good to see the ADR tag on a 240z/260z here in NZ as we know it was imported from Oz at some point in time we can then compare to the non ADR tagged cars to see the differences between a U spec and M spec car and remember we are also talking about the 70's when Nissan was still selling the cars to the export market as Datsun's so if the marketing or sales when wrong the home market brand (as it was only used in Japan back then) "Nissan" would not be damaged. It was funny back then when you looked at a Datsun you lifted the bonnet and there was Nissan all over the engine and then you had to ask who is Nissan and why are they making engines for Datsun (we had not heard of Nissan back then and there was so internet to search and find out either and hell I am only 36 I was just born with petrol in my veins not blood)

I believe Mr Camo is correct that due to local rules etc there were no manufacturing date ID tags on our cars (NZ, AU and no doubt other RHD countries too ie Japan I have not seen a Manu date on any of these you have to look at things like the QC date stamps on the tach, speedo (if they are still there)) so we are guessing most of the time and as Gilltech (Hi John) states build and sales dates can be very different. Like Gilltech my new 240z (John you will know the car ex Paul DeLatour) sold here in NZ new and first registered Jan 1972 but it is not a 72 car as the chassis code is too low for a 72 it is a late 71 car. So gilltech 260z is a 73 build but sold 74. Today it is a different story with cars ID tags have more info on them like the factory they were build, if Auto or manual and even the diff and ratio on the ID tags (talking Nissan here - I know it is different for other makes ie look at the Mustangs - older than our Zed cars but they had things like the K in the chassis number, any Ford/Mustangs want to answer what the K stood for.......moving back to topic) So with the S30 range it is very hard to tell what you have - was it an auto when it left the factor or a manual? Is it an early bodied 240z or a later one? Also we did not get cut over cars like the US did - ie they can say that upto chassis code xyz the car has this body with this type of center console etc. We can't say that, 1. we don't have manu date ID tags/cods on the car to help, going by all the 240z/260z zeds I have seen it looks like the RHD market cars were made using the parts that were in the parts bin's at the time so if new parts came out they were phased in not just a cut over, also if there were two production line many one line used up the older parts first then the next was still using some of the older parts. This might help explain you I have seen two cars with very close chassis number but the newer/later chassis number had earlier stuff on it that the other car did not. So your guess is as good as mine and Nissan did not keep any of the accurate information on the production figures/dates due to a worker/employment issue so this info was lost to help management cause (we did not produce that many cars so the works don't need that pay increase, and all that stuff, it still happens today in different work places all over the world) So even the info I put on this site from the Parts Catalogue is vague ie do you think if Nissan got to a 260z that was chassis number 15000 by 3rd of July 76 that they would stop production until Aug 76 to start chassis 15001 no so this is just approx info anyway.

no no no - these are figures for all RHD export so that includes Australia, New Zealand, Asia (not Japan), South Africa, Europe. How many for Australia your guess is as good as mine - and Nissan might not have those figures now. I believe the first 240z into Australia might have been U models ie General RHD export version and did not have ADR tags - this was quickly changed and the M version were made to meet your rules.

Correct I will lookup the book later and edit this post - but going by memory U = RHD (general spec), A = Auto, M = Australian and Q = Europe Both my zed NZ new 240z and Naru new 260z are U general RHD spec and are slightly different to the M = Oz spec cars I have seen here in NZ EDIT: my memory is correct.

The following information is for a Factory Nissan parts catalog I have (Final edition printed in 1979) overall length (mm) 4,136=240z 4,115=260z 2seater 4,425=260z 2+2 overall width (mm) 1,630=240z/260z 2 seater 1,650=260z 2+2 overall height (mm) 1,286=240z 1,280=260z 2seat 1,290=260z 2+2 wheel base (mm) 2,305=240z/260z 2 seat 2,605=260z 2+2 tread --- Front (mm) 1,356=240z 1,355=260z both --- Rear (mm) 1,347=240z 1,345=260z both Here are the production figures also 240z=HS30(A)(U)(Q) Applied Date Oct69-May71=00003-00500 Jan71-Aug71=00501-01500 Sep71-Jun72=01501-14000 Jul72-Jul73=14001-101537 260z 2 seater=RS30(A)(U)(Q)(M) Applied Date Aug73-Aug74=000001-005000 Sep74-Jul75=005001-010000 Aug75-Jul76=010001-015000 Aug76-Aug77=015001-021000 Sep77-Jun78=021001-021384 260z 2+2 seater=GRS30(A)(U)(Q)(M) Applied Date Oct73-Aug74=000001-005000 Sep74-Jul75=005001-010000 Aug 75-Jul76=010001-015000 Aug76-Aug77=015001-021000 Sep77-Jun78=021001-021767 So a 260z either in 2 seater or 2+2 form is a rarer car than a 240z I don't know the production figures for the LHD/US market cars (I will see if I can find out) or the JDM S30 and S31 range. This info might help you when looking for parts for your 240/260z as you can work out the production year from the chassis number Smile Cheers Mike EDIT - US Production figures 240z=HLS30(F)(A)(U)(V)(N) Applied Date: Oct69-May70=000013-021000 Jan71-Aug71=021001-046000 Sep71-Jun72=046001-120000 Jul72-Jul73=120001-172732 260z 2 seater=RLS30(F)(A)(U)(V)(N) Applied Date: Aug73-Aug74=000001-060000 Sep74-Nov74=060001-200000 260z 2+2=GRLS30(F)(A)(U)(V)(N) Applied Date: Oct73-Aug74=000001-015000 Sep74-Nov74=015000-060000 280z 2 seater=HLS30(F)(A)(U)(V)(N) Applied Date: Dec74-Jul75=200001-270000 Aug75-Jul76=270001-350000 Aug76-Jul77=350001-420000 Aug77-Jun78=420001-470009 280z 2+2=GHLS30(F)(A)(U)(V)(N) Applied Date: Dec74-Jul75=000001-030000 Aug75-Jul76=030001-060000 Aug76-Jul77=060001-110000 Aug77-Jun78=110001-124742

Not the reason - the correct answer is have you every tried to remove it after an accident? It does come off but you are talking massive amounts of labour = write your car off and get another one the labour will kill you to remove the stuff and with older cars like ours try and find new panels = old ones have to be repaired = POR-15 removal = get a new car just walk away and I don't want to do that with either of my zeds.

Are there any panel beater on the site? Do you recommend POR15? Reason I ask is by brother is a panel beater and restores cars for a living (hence my car has taken 10 years so far - family wait) he also does media blasting, he has restored Jags, Ferraris, Lambos, MG's, American mussel cars, hot rods, worked on racecars etc anyway he would not and never use POR15 and the panel shop next to his is of the same school would not touch it. So my question is why and do other panelbeaters recommend not to use it too?

No rails are still there I guess it is just the angle etc - it rains too much here in Auckland not to have them...then again it would look cool....hmmm stop putting idea's into my head. Sorry for the hi-jack but back to the rims/tyres - so what tyre will you run with Fu? The issues is getting anything larger than 245/45/16 you can get 255/50/16 but that makes for tall tyre = clearance issue and if you go slicks you can get 265 something (well you used to be able to here in NZ)

Thanks man - it is a long time coming the car has now been off the road 10 years. What do you mean by shaved rails?

Ok I have some 16x8.5 -6 and 16x9.5 -19 RS Watanbes with 225/50/16 and 245/45/16 - however my car is not on the road yet (still waiting for the panel finish) but I have installed them on the car to check if the custom flares were ok. So here is pic with on the car you can see the stretch (not too bad) this pic was taken with no springs to check the clearances (just blocks of wood at lower than full coil bind). I hope this helps

The problem with doing them hot - is by the time you finish the last few are no longer hot = they will be wrong. In the past I have always done it using the cold setting and with the engine cold. I have done them once hot and the trick is get it hot, then if you have asbestos fingers/hands get stuck in, if not use gloves to remove all the retaining springs at once - then quickly loosen all the adjustment nuts (17mm locking and 14mm for the height adjustment) then with your big socket on the front pulley get the engine to TDC and work your way through the adjustments as stated above as quick as you can before the everything cools down. Ideally you should torque the locking nuts which means using a crow foot spanner the real trick is keeping the setting when doing up the locking nut as it will move if you are not very careful and it is for this reason I do them cold with the cold settings as I have to keep going back to the doing it again as it moves when I go to lock it off.

I have bid a few times from different seller in Japan using a proxy service there a many around - or if you know someone living in Japan. Anyway I spotted a few of these some months ago - keep getting out bid all the time - they are going for around $1000 AUD at the end of the Auction - I think I have see 8 get sold so far. I have an Electric power steering unit in the UK that I need to ship back to NZ so I can have a go at making one my self the trick from the research I have down is getting the correct wheel speed sensor to tell the ECU you are moving fast enough and that power assist is not longer required.

not a lot but they only made just a little over 20000 of them in RHD export form vs some almost 200000 240z in RHD export form - if you include the LHD market different numbers but as the US got the 280z for a large chunk of the mid/late 70's you can say the LHD 260z is rare given it only produced for 1 1/2 years so this is good old market confusion again - guys in the US state the 260z rare and then everyone else thinks they own are rare car if they have a 260z - not quite again depends on the market. Our market - yes rare vs the 240z but then again in Australia that might also depend on the number of 240z imported.

For zed history the book by Brian Long "Datsun Fairlady Roadster to 280zx" is good And the Tom Munroe, Frank Honsowetz book I also use/read often along with the old "Hot to HotRod & Race you Datsun" but Bob Waar

Ok so I thought I would post a pic of my new 240z that I have now had for a few months it has some of those 3 piece arrow wheels on the car. This is how I got the car I just put the number on the side for an event (never got there head gasket blew - long story) Anyway the car runs stock spring perches and the fenders/guards are standard too. The rims are 16x9 yep that is right 9" with stock setup - well not quite the car does have offset bushing in the front and the rear to change the camber. Tyres are 225/45/16 so have a slight stretch. The offset I calculate works out around -7.4mm offset on the 9" rim.

Yep different markets different specs - same thing still happens today. In the US there were 2 type of 260z too - the early ones had bumpers like our 260z while the later models had a sort of US 280z bumper just not quite as big but more than big enough. If you have a look at our RHD later bodies S30 ie 260z you will also see below the bumpers large bungs covering the holes where the 5mph shocks that connected to those big ugly bumpers. For the record I prefer to call the most cars by the model (that is not the marketed model but the model code). I will list some examples. Datsun 240z = S30 model Datsun 260z = S30 model Nissan Fairlady Z = S30 model Datsun 280z = S30 model Nissan Fairlady Z = S31 model Nissan Fairlady 240z = S30 model Nissan Fairlady Z = S130 model (what we know as the ZX shape) Nissan Fairlady 280z = S130 model Datsun 280zx = S130 Nissan 200sx = S110, S12, S13, S14, S15 (starting to get the picture) These are just the base model codes there are more to it than just the S30 part of the model code. ie HS30 = L24 power S30 but a straight S30 in the chassis tell us it was a L20a power S30 and a RS30 = L26 power S30 (aka 260z) now there are difference between each model as parts were changed/improved over the life span of the model range. I am by no means an expert on all this but if you are zed nut like me you learn.

Have both - The L26 and L28 share the same crank/rods. The difference is the bore and pistons (well the block is different too) but you could always do what others have done before (I know of 2 that have done this). That is have one of your L26 blocks sonic tested to see if they can take a 3mm overbore (Nissan state any of the L6 series can take 2mm without sonic testing - however do to age of the block sonic testing any 2+mm is recommended if used for racing - however for a road car you should be fine but best you find a good engine builder and get their advice as I work in IT and no nothing of rebuilding an engine so this is just info I either know or have read in books) So L26 block with a 3mm over bore = L28 spec ie 79mm stroke, 86mm bore and 130.3mm rods is another option however not the cheapest and this is one of the reason some say get a L28. Now with that said - there is in the UK? A 240z or 260z 2 seater? (I can't recall) but it has a L26 block with a 2mm overbore = good and save the very very rare Nissan FIA rally LY hemi head, triple carbs (not sure of the cam etc) but the engine put out 270HP (I assume a lot and I mean a lot of this is from the that rare head). From the reading and talking to people who build engines for a living the problem with the 240z/260z/280zx engines is the heads (not really a problem) what I am trying to say is performance gains come from the head first then any extra cc for the big HP. If you zed is a road car and you are happy with your stock L26 performance then why not just do a fresh'n up (depends on the buget) balance, and some head work then stick on some triple 40's (45's would be too large for a L26 with mild work for a road car + the 40's will give better MPG for a road car) + 40's are cheaper to purchase with a good cam for this setup your car will go very well - won't be the fast zed on the track but it will be fun to drive on the road.

Also see http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/31/portuguese-barn-find-hoax-still-going-strong/ for the story of the hoax - and people keep the whole NY purchase barn find story going.

Found it see http://www.sportscarmarket.com/articles/archives/1110 for the full details but here is a small bit of the story behind the story