adam

Bought them second hand locally. Would go for the Brides if I were to do it again.

Sold

Hi all, Chasing a 260z, 280z or a 280zx (?) tachometer for use in my 240z to remove the induction loop. Must be in working condition. I am located in Melbourne and happy to pay for postage should you wish to post. Thanks,

I believe the plots on my blog are all out of date. I've since tinkered with the jets some more and AFRs in top end are at 12 -12.5 now (from memory) which shouldn't be far off the mark. Believed I could do with one step up in air jet but wouldn't have thought it'll give that flat feeling Gav's also referred to.

Yep, 34mm is still accurate. I've done a heap of reading and experiences of hitting a wall and just making noise from 5krpm isn't unusual it seems. I will give the cam upgrade a go, it will eventually happen anyway and if that doesn't improve it, I'll definitely go see a pro. Loving the car though, if only we could go for a drive!

Just wanted to report back because of iso boredom. Ended up getting the spare motor built, standard crank, aftermarket H beam rods, 1mm oversized dished pistons and your usual ARP bolts, fresh seals, etc. Got machine work done, bearings to suit from machine shop so it was just a matter of slapping it all together at home. Was going to go flat top pistons but supply and concerns around detonation with stock cams, i decided it wasn't worth the effort. Before Victoria/Melbourne went into our first lockdown, I managed to get the motor finished and installed. Did a few drives to run the motor in and what can I say, even standard build, the motor has so much more torque than the old motor. Blows less smoke, mid range pickup is amazing. This was literally no changes to carbs or cams as these were swapped out and over into the new motor. Would be interesting to dyno this motor and see what power it makes now after run in. To answer my own question of whether it was worth it, with my goal, this was enough. More than enough power to blast through the hills or cruise through it in 4th gear. The power drops off dramatically from around 5krpm though (so did old motor), so I'm currently looking into a new cam to open it up a bit. A 72 with high lift (which will require new springs and retainers) is looking like the choice at the moment as I don't intend on revving it any higher than 6.5krpm. Also got the spare flywheel machined and lightened too but didn't install it as it's a 240mm item while the HD clutch I had and transferred over was only a 225mm. Will hopefully get this in at some point.

Awesome! So no matter what route I go with the rebuild, it should be a huge difference. I actually didn't think the power was all that bad power wise; good to know there should be a bit more in it! Will definitely try and strive for Lurch's build on that customer's car minus head work I think at this stage.

84rwkw from memory

Thanks, Bonkers, that's the kind of response I was expecting.. No intentions on doing a motor swap at all. I have a spare L28 here that's stripped and ready to go in for a rebuild but was on the fence about going that little more or a stock standard build. As mentioned, completely understand that everyone's responses will be different but I was hoping to create conversation. Was actually expecting someone to say, 'dont even waste your time on small/minor modifications, go hard or do nothing at all'. And Cracker, already dyno'd current motor. Would be nice to compare before and after's but it's another complete motor going in. Original intention was to sonic test bores, go largest flat top pistons possible, standard stroke, just cleanup ports of the head with mild cams and call it a day. Didn't know whether it was worth going over bore if there was minimal gain. Now I'm thinking of just fresh bearings and rings lol

Apologies, quite evident that I didn't elaborate enough. The zed I have wasn't built to go fast, it's predominately a weekend twisties car. It has plenty of go at the moment to be fun. Although it has plenty of go, it's at the point where, 'it could do with a freshener'. By that, it's losing a bit of oil in it's usual places and blows some smoke (could be from running a tad rich also). I have another car which is tracked and is the 'go fast car' so I don't necessarily need another. But in saying that, if I were to go and build a motor, those that have spent the little extra coin for head work, oversized pistons or even going to flat tops from the standard dished, has it been worth it? Should I spend the extra coin on a cam, new pistons, head work, etc. For an additional... 20hp gain? Or if I was to do new rings and a hone, do I just leave it at that because the extra $500 per horsepower isn't worth it? Obviously the response would vary from person to person but I am just curious to hear thoughts, create conversion and activity on the forum social media platform again. Also thanks for the link, I have read it before, definitely to the level of something I would consider doing.

Hi all, Thought I'd be a little old fashioned and use forums instead of modern age Facebook social media. Those of you who have rebuilt your L series motors, whether it be L24, 26 or the L28, has it been worth the effort? Let's be honest, in this day and age, you can buy much quicker cars and motors. I'm currently running a stock L28 with triple carbs and a full exhaust, it does the job and love the fact I can squirt it around town without breaking speeding fine records. It's a little tired, chewing through oil, leaking a bit here and there. Was thinking of a standard rebuild, possibly flat tops and mild cams but the question, did you take it a bit further? Was it worth it? If you could do it all again, what would you do differently? Original L series is my goal but should I waste my time? Keen to hear from those who have done it. Thanks, Adam

Thanks for all the input, fellas. I'm thinking I'll have to convince myself I need upgraded cams to minimise the detonation!

Ha! After a quick google search to verify (because you need to double check everything these days) you are absolutely right. 98 ron = 94 US (R+M)/2 , some average of RON and MON Was not aware of this. Thank you sir..

Hi all, In short, can you run flat top pistons (whether it is standard 86mm bore or oversized at 87/87.5mm) in their N42 equipped head on their L28? No head work and a stock/mild cam? The general consensus is that no, you can't due to poor head design resulting in pre-ignition - however, a lot of these reports are based off American zed owner feedback; a location where fuel is lower in octane/grade in comparison to Australia. Their premium is 92/93 octane compared to our 98. I know some might say the following: - Why not run dished pistons, the extra points in compression to dial back timing is going backwards in power/response. - Why not run a P90 head as this is more suited to the flat top pistons. - You need to run a more aggressive cam to reduce chances of pre-ignition. - The higher compression is pointless with a stock/mild cam. But.. I just need the above question answered based on personal experience or known facts using 98 octane fuel. I have a spare F54/N42 that I am looking at doing a refresh on and it requires a minimum 1mm oversize due to a lip on the bore; thought I'd take the opportunity to go flat top pistons while I'm at it to increase compression. I've got a copy of the 'how to rebuild' and 'how to modify' your Datsun OHC Engine and didn't come across any details on the above. Again, this book is based on American quality fuel. Any advice or feedback on the above would be much appreciated. Thanks, Adam

Just thought I'd give it a crack, money was never the concern. I take it these books are definitely worth having? Seems like it but I don't want to buy a book for information I can find on this forum, for example.

Hi all, Just wanted to see whether anyone had a copy of the 'how to rebuild/modify your Datsun engine' books for sale before I buy new? I am in Melbourne but items are small and am willing to pay for postage. Please let me know. Thanks, Adam

Headlight covers are cheap!

I wouldn't recommend the Unisyns for triple carbs. Perfect for stock SUs but with the triples, there isn't enough vacuum from my experience.

I had a very similar issue a few years back. Getting to operating temperature would always involve coolant blowing out of the overflow tube. I noticed it had something to do with the thermostat opening. Turns out the jiggler may have possibly been installed the wrong way on the thermostat (I know! How stupid does that sound). I pulled that little sucker (jiggler) out and all has been well since. I'm guessing it was something to do with the jiggler not releasing pressure since the flow of water had caused it to close the hole (being the wrong way). Now before you say it, thermostat was actually thought to have been installed the wrong way, I flipped it over and the over pressuring/over heating had stopped but temps would never stay consistent or warm (for example driving on a freeway). Looked online and it was indeed installed wrong so I flipped it back, ripped the jiggler out and everything's now good as gold.

Received, in time for the weekend Thanks Gav

Nothing yet mate

Hi Gav, Funds were transferred on Sunday night via Comm bank. Let me know if it doesn't clear by Thursday. I should have just transferred from my Westpac acc! Thanks

Hi all, I have just been involved in an incident with my 240z and am looking for recommendations on panel beaters who have experience with early model Zeds and their value. They must be a registered business who can deal with insurance claims located in Melbourne. The damage itself isn't severe with damage to my front right guard/headlight bucket/OEM chrome trimmed headlight covers. General panel work, any panel beater can repair but my concern is around my damaged OEM chrome trim headlight covers and trim themselves which have been damaged in the incident. Very hard to come by items and expensive. In short, a guy deciding to turn right at an intersection has changed his mind last minute and turned left into me. Any assistance/suggestions would be appreciated. I do recall a similar thread regarding insurance claims but I can't seem to track it down. Thanks, Adam

Great drive and opportunity to share experiences and knowledge with other fellow zed owners. Thanks for organising and look forward to the next one!

Expressing interest in attending but just a quick question, what pace are we thinking of (or do we normally) drive at during these cruises?