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zredbaron

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Everything posted by zredbaron

  1. Well, I searched and searched and was inundated with unrelated results. It's almost embarrassing to ask! Ok it totally is. What I want to achieve: To minimize the visibility of these hoses and filters without compromising engine requirements. Race motor, in the off-chance that is a factor. I basically have them joining at a T-junction under my air box, where the hose is then routed into the transmission tunnel and a small 1" universal filter is attached. Pics of my tentative approach below. Any issues with doing this? Does it matter that the filter is several feet downstream? I previously followed a mechanic's advice and had the block breather closed off, but decided to go back to the original design and trust the engineers. I considered routing them into the air box, but didn't want to fabricate supports at this time. In the future, would feeding the hoses to an air box be "more ideal" or irrelevant? Thanks!
  2. Been making solid progress on the engine reassembly project as I am hoping to drive into the trailer under power within a few days. For whatever reason, I'm completing yet another engine project right before moving and starting a new job. I wonder what that's all about? Here are few long-overdue pictures of the twin idler pulley kit and the CNC rocker arms. I'm very, very pleased with both! I knew the idler pulley kit was going to be nice (and it better be at that price!), but I wasn't sure how impressed I'd be with Brian's rocker arms from ZCCJDM. Very glad they didn't disappoint!
  3. Wow, that's way better, I agree Garrett! Good find. By the way I decided to take the "easy" route for heat as an intermediate. I ordered three of the underside steel shields from Pegasus racing (above) and I'm going to send them to Swain and get them ceramic coated with the same material I put on my headers. Not sure if I'll like it or how much it will help, but I'm going to give it a shot and call it good enough for the time being.
  4. While we're on the topic of air box and visual appeal, if I do go the fabricated airbox route, then I will be getting rid of the TWM fiberglass box. It's a good box, but with my setup it rubs against the shock tower (Canon intake manifold's runners are longer than that of TWM) and I've had to patch the fiberglass internally more than once due to wear. After 15 years and several engine rebuilds, mine is visually shot as well from a show perspective. I don't really consider it worth the price of a new one ($400). Tony D, speaking of aesthetics, how did the blanket look over time? (Though I doubt I would want to hide my headers.) Hopefully this is contributing to the post rather than hijacking it!
  5. Fantastic thread idea. Here's an honorable mention, a cheap and easy idea for those that don't want it visible and want a bolt-on that "helps." https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productdetails.asp?RecID=5379 Here's my outgoing model which used asbestos on the underside... which really was space age material back when the race to the moon was still on! Haha. 240zip, I think I saw the same heat shield. Was it honeycombed material? Anyways, as per the pic, this was clearly back before I didn't know that header wraps were such a bad idea! It was crudely attached by tightening nuts onto all-thread rods curved behind the headers, and also a coated clothes hangar as a not-so-safe "safety wire." For my next iteration, I'm going to take the Kameari image and fabricate a template to design a shield and also a cold air box as 240zip mentioned. I'll take my sheet metal fabrication and have a professional fabricator make me a pretty one with pretty welds. (I'm hoping for a single piece, two if necessary.) As for heat insulation.... I'm looking into ceramic coating the outside of my intake manifold and the heat shield in entirety. I'll likely repaint the top half of the shield since the ceramic coating is a dirt sponge. (Swain White Lightning is my personal recommendation for ceramic coatings.) As with many of us, aesthetics are a top consideration. It's hard to dress up race motor that likes to play car show from time to time...
  6. Oh and Garrett, that's great news about your springs. I'm so glad it all worked out and thanks for posting the info to this thread and keeping us up to date!
  7. Well, my friends... I'm pleased to announce an update! The block has been installed, and I'm waiting on several boxes with various hardware details needed to finish assembly. While cleaning my intake manifold, I played with some calipers and the intake manifold gasket and determined that my intake manifold needed to be opened up a little bit on the head side. My intake ports on the head are 36mm, whereas the intake manifold's exit was 34.7mm, restricting flow needlessly. (The carburetor side of the intake manifold is 40mm to match the 40 DCOE Webers, so it's still a nozzle.) Wow, to think that in addition to being undercarburated, I also wasn't even providing adequate runners from the carbs. Attached, a couple more pictures show the porting I had performed on my manifold. I was pretty pleased, he did a much better job coning the runners all the way down than I would have thought! (The machining on the flange was to eliminate the need for stepped washers; now it's the same thickness as my header flange.) I still can't believe I got all of that for $120! ($/hp ratio is much higher here than for my Kameari parts, to be sure!) Later, while installing the studs to mount the carburetors, I used the carburetors to look down the chokes and I saw that on cylinders #1 and #5 the intake manifold's entry port isn't round -- enough so that a ridge is encountered, creating turbulence. (Hopefully this is why I had to "average" the synchrometer flow numbers on a couple of the carburetors' individual cylinders!) So here we are. On Monday I'll take the manifold back to the machine shop to get it port matched on the carburetor side, too. I must say, I rather enjoy discovering my intake manifold is a choke point.... that's a very, very cheap upgrade! And man, does it feel good to be making some real progress again!
  8. Point taken, NewZed. His PM to me did ask for help getting the word out, but you're right, I could have made it anonymous. For now, I'll leave the post as-is; I can always edit it as appropriate if you end up being spot-on.
  9. To those that have been following Jim Thompson's head work mentioned this thread, a bittersweet update is appropriate. Jim Thompson has been highly valued by myself and John Coffey, and I know that we both have had wonderful results from his work. HybridZ member Redzee and I have been in email contact for a couple of years now regarding his attempt to work with Jim to commission similar head work. I received the following email from him earlier today. It's always appropriate to mention there are two sides to every story, and we don't know what Jim would say. JohnC and I did not know him to be a con artist at all. That said, this news is of course difficult to read and is appropriate to share with others following this thread in case anyone else tries to commission similar head work. This experience is being shared so that anyone looking for head work from Jim would be well advised to proceed in as an informed manner as possible. Personally, I'm hopeful that there is an explanation for all of this and that Redzee will receive his head as expected one day. Clearly, more communication from Jim would have been helpful. I can only imagine how frustrated and crushed Redzee feels with such a disappointment. Redzee, if and when you do hear from Jim, please PM me or update us here. Best of luck to you, sir!
  10. Arizona Z Car is the only vendor I know of that has these in stock *right now.* I don't like these for two reasons 1) they are aluminum and not as strong as steel and 2) the geometry is basic. The stock and competition arms are made by Nissan and Nissan Competition respectively, and the steering arms themselves are asymmetrically angled in alignment with the angle of the tie rods from the steering rack. The hole expecting the ball joint is also deliberately off-center. As we say in aviation, you aren't going to out-engineer the engineers. (Not always true, especially in the restomod arenas, but I trust Datsun/Nissan's design more than I trust AZC for this particular part.) The two vendors I know of for the pricey competition / quick steering knuckles are: Motorsport Auto (http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PSDC11/23-4181) New Datsun Parts (http://www.new-datsun-parts.com/datsun-240Z-parts-exterior2.html) Unfortunately, neither have them in stock. Both vendors are waiting on Nissan of Japan. MSA has an order in, but no expected arrival date. I ordered New Datsun Parts' only pair two weeks ago, only to receive two RH parts with no LH part available (evidently the error was on Nissan of Japan's end). For now, I'm waiting on Japan and putting the stock knuckles back in the car. I can attest for the stock knuckles' strength... I tried to bore the steering arm hole to 5/8" to receive upgraded tie rod mounts (TTT), but my DeWalt 20V drill lacked the torque to cut through them. Off to a machine shop I go!
  11. The man that built my motor is Ray Ingram, the shop owner. Neither he nor anyone in the shop specialize in Nissan/Datsun. Years ago when I was still in the Navy, I rented a room from a master mechanic / repair shop owner in town and he steered me over to Ray. There are a few reasons I drove all that way to a non-specialist for my rebuild. For starters, we have a special relationship. As such, he took his time on my motor as he would his own. I also didn't get a warm-fuzzy with any of the local shops I visited in OH. My main reason though is scientific... I like to control my experiments with as few variables as possible. When I get back on the butt and chassis dynos, I want confidence that the engine was built to the same standard. I don't want to wonder if I gained 3% due to parts and have no idea if I gained or lost 1% due to build technique. I want to observe the difference made by the parts in as controllable a manner as possible. This may be moot in reality, but I'm a big fan of peace of mind. Plus my job paid for my fuel and I had other reasons for a road trip. In short, Ray will build you a stout motor to your specifications. He is not an L6 or Nissan consultant in any way, but he is a seasoned expert and has my utmost confidence as a general builder. This probably wasn't the answer you were hoping for, but maybe its enough. Tell Ray that Mark Haag sent you if you do pay him a visit. He'll take good care of you.
  12. Thanks Jon, confirmed as per the pic below and the fact the 3/8" difference equates to 10mm. Weird how that works... haha. I figured I'd upload a pic of the stock steering knuckles with a ruler in case anyone is searching for this info, now it will be forever archived on HybridZ... Stock steering knuckles:
  13. It does, thanks Daniel! As luck would have it, new-datsun-parts sent me the attached picture. Two confirmations leave me with a tingling warm fuzzy... I clearly have OEM knuckles. Problem solved! Quick steering knuckles:
  14. Hey guys. Quick question, are these steering knuckles stock? I could have sworn I had the quick steering knuckles installed, but these seem awful long. The only details I can find online is that the quick steering knuckles are 10mm shorter than OEM. The pictures online don't quite leave me confident, either. (Parallax error + low res photos.) Details: I see a Nissan / Datsun shield cast into them, but it appears the MSA and new-datsun-parts.com offerings are made by Nissan Competition, so that doesn't help. (Very cool, though!) Overall length is 7" (190mm) Length from center of ball joint hole to center of steering arm hole is 4 3/8" (110mm) Thanks guys!
  15. Hey, alright! That's great news! It isn't very often that I have the information another HybridZ member is looking for, so I definitely enjoy the moments where there's a chance I can contribute back to the community. Thanks for the valve-geometry lesson. Good trade! Unrelated... I forgot to mention in post #214 that I also bought the Kameari heavy duty timing chain. They claim the improved chain is 4x as resistant to wear, resistant to stretching and lower friction. Seemed an obvious pairing to the twin idler pulley investment. And t-tom, thanks for the sentiments. As fate would have it, surrendering to concepts like "unconditional love" and "if you love someone you'll let them go" made a full circle. My fiance came back with an enlightened perspective on things, so all is well now. It doesn't always work out that way, but I'm sure glad it did!
  16. As for an update with my project, I had some logistical snags on property with a tractor and some other boring details. About a week ago I was able to *very carefully* reverse the car out of my trailer using furniture dollies, a rope and intermittent use of a lightweight jack. My stock front control arms weren't able to bolt into the crossmember after I strengthened and relocated the pivot points. Whoops. The wheels would individually toe in or out every six inches or so, at random. Slow, but safe. Success! At present, I have the stock control arms, TC rods and outer tie rods removed and my new Techno Toy Tuning low-friction parts are awaiting installation. After that, I may or may not elect to reinforce the ARB mount points since one of the holes seems weakened and I'm running the DP Racing low-friction bar without poly. I'd much rather have any welding performed before I put the block back in the car. So, the engine project is slowly-but-surely getting closer...
  17. Hi Garrett, Thanks for sharing your homework regarding the Sunbelt Race Cam #2, glad to hear you were able to track one down, even if at a "masters" price! (You are talking about the outer-springs-only style of springs, correct? Your part number infers this, of course.) According to my spec / install sheet: Set Hot cam lash at .010" Set up lash pad thickness so that gross valve lift occurs with zero lash. For 7700 max. RPM: Use 1W901 outer spring only on both intake and exhaust. Intake Installed at 1.680" with 54 lbf. Open height = 1.130" or .550" lift with 193 lbf. Exhaust Installed at 1.680" with 54 lbf. Open height = 1.130" or .550" lift with 193 lbf. **Note: The exhaust valve spring installed height was 1.650" on race cam #1 and it is now 1.680" on race cam #2. It needs to be installed at 1.680" so that there is .035" clearance between full lift and coil bind. It *appears* you purchased the "correct" springs as per the part code. When I had Integral grind my cam, they couldn't source the springs and referred me to Jim Wolf Technology at (619) 442-0680. After some digging, they called me back claiming to have what I needed. My receipt (dated 12/13/10) says: Item number: AVG3E-L6SPR Spring/shim set VG30E & L28 Outer spr. only, I/H 1.600" 68lb. on seat .490" lift max. I don't speak valve geometry, so I called my engine builder and he said the numbers might not reflect valve lash. He confirmed the springs didn't bind and had about .050" to spare. So he says from memory (he rebuilt it with same springs about 9 months ago). The engine ran quite well before it seized due to improper storage. (Still sighing out loud three years later!) Good luck, and let us know what you find!
  18. "Weber main jet sizing nomenclature refers to the flow rate in hundredths of a millimeter (0.01mm). A 150 main jet, for example, flows the same as a perfect hole with a 1.50mm diameter." This is important. You never, ever want to use jets that have been drilled by anyone other than Weber, because Weber flow tests all jets and *then* stamps their flow rate. "Size" isn't as important as its usefulness, after all...
  19. Gotcha. Speaking of ARB arm... I noticed that most of the droop limiter pics (from various users) are mounting the bottom half of the limiter to the ARB arm instead of mounting directly to the control arm. Does this also not matter since they are attached to one another anyway? (Tidier solution due to a shorter cable?)
  20. Cool. I'm probably not the only one interested in pics of your final solution whenever you get a chance. I'm still debating where to attach the upper end of my droop limiter. Unlike you, I still have my stock fenders and firewalls in the way, so I was thinking it would be nice if I could fabricate something that would mount on the underside of aluminum camber plate holding the bearing / top of the strut. I don't like the idea of it tugging on the plate, and I don't like that it won't be parallel to the strut. (Perhaps both are moot?) I haven't come up with a graceful idea yet. Thoughts?
  21. Wow, really surprised to hear that! Glad it happened on jack stands and not on the track. Several months ago I looked into sourcing cables / ends / turnbuckles from sailing accessories manufacturers. Composite sailboats have turnbuckle-tightened cables for their mast(s), and they are subject to considerable loads, most notably when the main sail swings from one side of the boat to the other. Thought I'd share in case you were looking for a new hardware source. Unfortunately I didn't bookmark the manufacturer's URL. Google "sailing turnbuckle rigging" or variants and you'll see several. Not sure how pricey they are or are not compared to other solutions... Thanks for updating us, Jon.
  22. I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned enclosed trailers. I bought mine in '06 and it's still in great shape. Continental Cargo brand, not the greatest but just fine after 8 years. The trailer with my Z in it weighs under 4200 lbs actual. 16'x7' (narrow clearance but it fits if you're skinny like me and can weasel through a barely open door). [EDIT -- I thought an enclosed trailer for under 2000# was pretty light. This trailer hauls just fine, though I do use a weight-distribution hitch to help out my old Chevy pickup a bit. Highly recommend one to everyone hauling their car, no matter what the trailer. Hauls nicely!] My next enclosed trailer will be 8' wide... the narrow clearance wasn't worth the savings in trailer cost in retrospect. I also won't get a v-nose next time. The aerodynamic / hauling mpg benefits are negligible. I'd rather have the extra real estate inside the trailer. Evidently I've only ever taken a picture of it when it was new:
  23. Been sleeping on this with some mild tossing and turning. Both the Woodward and electric assist seem like great solutions, the Woodward being the obvious choice from a performance standpoint. For now, I'm going to stick with manual steering. I'm stubbornly outclassed in XP, so I might as well be proud about my decision to have a blast as a priority over being competitive. (I absolutely concede that I may feel differently after a season or two as the suspension and driver continue to evolve.) Thanks again to all the contributors!
  24. And Jon, if you haven't already unsubscribed, you have me thinking about assisted steering. I'll be pouring through your thread tomorrow or whenever I get the chance to really sit down and digest it. I took a closer look at socorob's suggestion. Looks to me like that solution would require the steering rack mounts to be an other-than-stock position, correct? Not sure I'm comfortable going that route unless I have an example of someone doing it with positive reports. I'm not the fabricator/designer type, after all... and I'm getting antsy with my desire to get my motor back in after three years without a drivable Z. Thanks again to all the contributors!
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