jamo240

Good to see a young bloke getting in way over his depth...But that's where we all started, so good on you! ENjoy the ride!

OH...and on the questions you asked, you can used SS wire with argoshield. Argoshield is a MAG gas (Metal Active Gas) meaning the gas takes part in the welding process rather than just shielding it as is the case with argon (MIG = Metal Inert Gas). The purpose of the CO2 blend is to both reduce the cost of the gas (important when you're using a lot), and also to reduce spatter...I don't know how the chemistry works, but that is what it does. You can also tack with mild steel wire and weld up with SS later, but obviously you will end up with a part of the weld that will rust. Just get a small roll of SS (or borrow mine) and use in your MIG/MAG machine with argoshield, then TIG it all so it's neat. Cheers Jamo

No probs Dave...least I can do. Let me know when and we'll do it. CHeers Jamo

Hey Dave...do you want me to bring my TIG to your place and do them for you? If you prefer, I have a roll of stainless MIG wire you can borrow to tack them and then I will TIG them for you if you want. You can borrow my bottle of argon if you want too. I've got some sources for bends too..the guy i use most at the moment is in mulgrave not far from Monash Uni.

I'm not sure about the configuration of the handbrake on R32's. Hydraulic handbrakes are a race (rally) car thing...from memory, the ADR requires the handbrake to be independent of the service brake, so I don't think a hydraulic handbrake would be legal on a road car. You can use a caliper with an integrated handbrake, but the packaging of the cable can be tricky (but not impossible)...

I put VT Commodore calipers on the rear of mine, but mounted to a VS anchor bracket and backing plate. The anchor and backing plate bolts where the original drum brake backing plate mounted to, and the park brake is a drum set up inside the rotor. The service and park brakes are independent, and i far prefer a drum brake as a park brake...the self energising design is superior to stop your car rolling away compared with a disc setup that is entirely dependent on park brake cable tension to function. I used HSV VS vented rear rotors. I have GT3 Brembo calipers and rotors on the front, and a 280ZX 15/16" master cylinder. Now this was all a fair bit of messing around to do, so not for everyone, but the point of the story is about choosing rear brakes. Caliper selection is partly piston diameter, partly pad area and mostly your required needs. When i first did the conversion i used the VS calipers, with a 36mm piston. With sticky 235 rubber on the back, these calipers could not stop the tyres...with full rear bias (from the adjustable proportioning valve), I could not lock the rears even if I tried (note locking rears is NOT desirable...it's best for the front to lock first)....the point is I couldn't do it because I didn't have enough braking effort. That is why i went to the 44mm VT calipers. These can easily lock the rears, and hence i can use the proportioning valve to balance the car, and achieve max rear braking effort short of creating lockups. Pad area is the next consideration. When the pistons clamp the rotor, the same force is transmitted to the rotor regardless of pad area...it is just spread over a greater area (to change the force, you need to change the piston diameter, NOT the pad area). Consequently, provided the pad friction coefficient is the same, different size pads will produce similar braking effort for the same pedal force. What changes is pad heating and wear rate. Small pads concentrate heat more and hence get hotter, and will wear faster. The temperature change also affects their coefficient of friction (depending on the compound, it usually goes up as the pads heat up, and at some temperature they go off, lose their C of F until they overheat, disintegrate and fail. So...choosing the 'right' caliper is about the application. If you are racing, you need to be able to dissipate a lot more heat than in a road car...so big enough to provide adequate braking effort as well as resist fade for the duration of the race are the constraining factors. For a road car, heat dissipation is a much smaller issue as you can't go fast enough for long enough to repeatedly put heat into the brakes...remember that the heat energy the brakes need to dissipate comes from the engine, so if you're not working the engine hard, you're not working the brakes hard either (unless you're coming down a very long hill). So for road applications, choose brakes that are adequate to stop the rubber you're running, offer good pad selection, adequate size to resist road car fade, and balanced against the master cylinder and front calipers you're running. You don't need super duper brakes on a road car unless you are chasing a higher impression ratio. Sure they look good, but you don't need them and they add cost and weight if you overdo it. Jamo

Good ideas Robbie...reasonably realistic expectations. As the lads say, it is cheaper to buy something that someone has already done if it's been done well. But those cars are rare, and often not for sale, or if they are, only for money that may be beyond your reach at the moment. If you're keen to do it yourself and start with a rough but complete car, then allow a good 2,000hours over those 5-10 years to do the work, and you'll be about right. Of course if you want to repower with an RB, re-plate every part, replace every rubber, seal and bush, then allow a fair few bucks as well. Happy to step you through my car when the time is right to show you what's involved. Cheers Jamo

The lads are right...emissions controls in the 70's and 80's drove car makers to bigger displacements to offset diminishing comp ratios and ignition timing/carburetion. The old adage that there is no substitute for cubic inches is true. If there was such a thing as an L40, we'd all have it! All things being equal, the bigger engine is a nicer thing on the street due to the torque, which is what you feel on the street. A 9.8:1 L28 with an A-grind cam and 240Z carbs is a very fun spec on a low budget. Jamo

Cylinder head porting is a very specialised business, with experimentation on a flow bench required to validate the value of your changes. To just buy a die-grinder and a few burrs and flap rolls and fly into it is a waste of time. You'll never know if you've improved them, or if each cylinder is balanced doing that. Best to give the job to someone who's got the knowledge, experience, tools and equipment to do the work properly, and most importantly, be confident through test results that the modifications have achieved the objective. It's not a DIY job. Jamo

Thanks Dimitri...look forward to hearing from you. CHeers Jamo

That will be enough out of you Simon!!....an RB25DET is exactly what Datsun wanted to put in the 240's, but the timing was wrong! Just think of mine as a 432T Z! You are all correct in that modern inertia belts are more user friendly, but I am not convinced they work any better than the originals provided the webbing is in good condition and they are adjusted correctly...obviously you can't move around while driving as easily though when they are...a bit like race car harnesses...everything has to be in reach. I am happy to re-web the belts if the fabric is suspect...anyway, let me know if you have a set you reckon are past it. Cheers lads Jamo

Hey gang Does anyone have a set of original belts they're willing to part with? I'm after the original look and need to pension off the Honda belts that are in the car now. Cheers Jamo

You're right Pete...you can't do this stuff for no money...even if you can do it yourself, the parts alone cost quite a bit. If you're paying for the expertise, then double or triple the cost. Jamo

I'll take some pics for you. Engine has a tube header exh manifold, modified L28E manifold, VS Supercharged commodore injectors, crank triggered ignition, Motec M48 engine management. NGK plugs, R32 GTR clutch. CHeers Jamo

Hey fellas...in my L28 Turbo, I run an N42 head (ported and improved chamber), in conjunction with 86.0mm RB30 pistons on L24 rods. I run 18 PSI boost in it and have never had problems with it knocking on SHell premium fuel. I can't say in my experience that the N42 head is a complete fail when turbocharged, but perhaps the P90 is better...never used one. That configuration makes plenty of torque to light up 235/40R17 Yoki AO32R's in 2nd gear, so enough fun for most drivers.

Hey gents I have an RB25DET in my 240, and I simply fitted a VL turbo speedo drive (the bit that goes into the gearbox), and then the 240Z cable screws straight onto that...even the tang drive on the cable is made for the VL turbo drive. It's that easy. Of course you lose the electronic input to the ECU, but that is only there for the speed limiter...it doesn't seem to upset the operation of the ECU to run the engine at all. You don't need to use the 90 degree angle drive either, as it gets too close to the tunnel. There is a Holden wrecker in Clayton who has a whole lot of NOS of the speedo drives ex-OEM Holden. Cheers Jamo

I think it looks like great value for $200...but surely you would tune it for looks over performance....if it produces any significant down force it will dent the hatch sheetmetal, which is not a structural panel. It's not my cup of tea as an old fart, but as a young bloke I would have loved one of them! Jamo

I believe there is a guy in Ballarat who can take your original buckles and re-sew new belt material onto them and certify them...I haven't followed up yet, but I think he does aircraft belts and can resurrect old belts so you don't have to fit non-original stuff. I got the set I am intending to use from the USA...they do not appear to be quite the same as Australian delivered 240 belts, and the labels on them show compliance to US FMVSS standards, not Australian ADR's, so I kinda have to re-web mine to achieve compliance....if anyone has an original set of Australian 240 belts they want to sell, I'm happy to buy. CHeers Jamo

Hey Pete. Sorry to hear you're giving it up for a living, but them's the breaks. Let me know if you want to have a go at working on locomotive engines....plenty of work at our place. Cheers Jamo

Hey men If Wildy does not want original type, please let me know, as I'd like a set.. Jamo

Sorry Simon...I've been a bit pre-occupied with a few other projects, but I was sorting wiring today, so I must be close to the end right!?? I still have to pull the engine and put the clutch in...but I will hit it hard this week after work and get it moving. 30 hours work left! Jamo

Thanks Gareth...that's what I thought...it's a very convenient area to put it. If someone wants one, I could make one...pretty straight forward, and I have the templates to cut out the material, so no biggie if you want one done. CHeers Jamo

Hey guys I thought I'd show you a few pics of the coolant catch can and (a corner!) of the radiator. I made the catch can out of 1.0mm stainless, so no rust. The overflow/breather has a bit of a curl inside the tank to avoid it ejecting coolant instead of being a breather. The tube to the radiator neck is 8.0mm. I was going to put a sight tube in but the packaging is too tight, so I decided to just use a dipstick through the fill port. I got a polishing attachment for the bench grinder to do the sill plates...thought I'd try it on the top of the can too...what do ye say men? Jamo

Hey guys...I worked with both these guys in the past...Paul Bottomley at Holden engineering, and David Stannus at Nissan back when they made cars here. Both guys are very good operators... Paul is perhaps a bit more cruisey in getting back to you, but has plenty of knowledge and practical experience with modifying cars. You can reach him at Roaring Forties (the GT40 replica company) if you're having trouble getting him at the other number listed in this thread. Cheers Jamo

Looks great Mick...a great colour for a Z. I will look forward to seeing it in the flesh some time when I am over in Adelaide!. Jamo