dhartig

My '72 originally came from California but spent most of its life in the desert. It is as rust free as they come, same color and wheels as the one your looking at. Now it never sees the morning dew, let alone any rain. There were about 40,000 more miles on mine. The PO gave the car a good general resto for almost all of the wear components and a new suspension, 2.4L engine with an AZC manifold and a Holley carb. Badly cracked dash. I paid just over $5k. I would check closely for all the usual rust areas (review them on this forum), oil leaks, and run a compression test. Price would probably be between $3k to $5k depending on the outcome. If there is minimal rust you can't go too wrong. Buy it and get it into a garage. The few Z's that are still rust free deserve good homes.

Your compression numbers are high for L series engines. The good news is they are all relatively equal. Check the side of the block and you should see the casting number. Run a search on the number and you will find a lot of information.

For an updated traditional look you could use the SpeedHut dial kit. http://www.speedhut.com/custom_gauge_dial_description-auto-Datsun-auto_number-480.htm I would replace the clock with a dial boost gauge, but there would be an issue of continuity at nite. In the glove box goes digital AFM (I would not use a dial gauge) + any other gauges. Most of these will be used for datalogging and not daily driving. Close the door and you have a very traditional look. Open it and you can check readouts as long as you don't mind the head turn. I haven't searched this but I would think you could match the Datsun oil gauge to a better sending unit. Anyone with thoughts on this please jump in. This setup would probably not work for those who want to closely monitor other readings while driving fast.

The Turbo Tom setup had a separate chamber at the bottom of the carb adapator housing to flow cooling system water. That was how he prevented icing up on cooler days. At higher boost (I think >8 psi) the meth injection turned on to cool the charge.

Nice clean engine. I think the workmanship looks good. How smooth does it feel at the gas pedal, and do you have any concerns about vibration causing the cable to slip off?

This is a great tool to see CR with various options: www.ozdat.com/ozdatonline/enginedesign/

This is a great topic to do a search on, or to run thru the history in the Turbo/Supercharger forum. My current 4barrel: Old school Turbo Tom kit: The problem is not boiling the fuel in the carb since the major heat is at the other end of the turbo. Freezing it can be the issue on cold days. EFI would be easier given today's technology.

Thanx Tony D. That clears it up. Now to pick up a progressive injection system, and an AFR gauge.

I am mocking up my TT system on an old block and head so I can pre-buy the appropriate lines and connections for a fast install later. I think I have all the connections to the intake log and the carb correct, but please let me know if any of you see something amiss. Where I am getting lost is the connections that are open to the air/fuel stream in the casting that supports the carb. There a three lines coming in, one on each open side. Can someone in the know let me know what connections are made to these openings? I can see one for NOS, but I am not sure of the others. Thanks

Clutchdust, I had my carb "tuned" by some guys who run older Ford trucks and cars. They have years of experience on all types of carbs. I saw a slight improvement after they played with it, but then it always has pulled strong through all RPMs. The only fault is a drop in revs when hard stopping. The Holley was installed by one the PO's of my car and the Ford guys thought the jetting was OK, I'm not sure what it is though. I plan to purchase an AFR unit, probably the Innovate unit, and then datalog to see if I can improve it some more.

Here's a good site for Z cars. This page discusses the engine / head combinations. http://datsunzgarage.com/heads/

Citjet, sounds like we are of a same mind. I just added a turbo return line bung to my L24 oil pan. I have an L28ET sitting here, but I am going to first put a Turbo Tom system on the L24. The mid-pan location of the L24 fits the TT system better so I will keep it when I swap later to the L28.

My carb is a 8007 which makes it a 4160 model with electric choke, 390 CFM. It is supposed to have side inlet bowls and from what I see in the Haynes Holley carb book it appears to be unmodified. Here's how it is setup in my '72.

I run an Arizona Z intake and a Holley but I'm not sure of the carb number. I have the reverse problem and get a drop in RPM just after stoppoing. There are no issues when braking before the stop. I think I might look into the Holley conversions if I get too frustrated with the problem.

Beautiful job!!! Beautiful workmanship!!! It's been fun to see the project transform into such a great looking engine.

Hi Jerry, since we live close to each other I would be in for a set. I know the work will be first class.

I think z-ya and WizardBlack are both saying take a conservative approach to dialing in your tuning. We can get pump gas at 94 octane here in Canada so we don't have to guess at a mixed fuel octane level. My plan is to start rich and then use the AFR to dial in the tune. Then add a few more psi of boost and slowly repeat until it all looks good.

Also coming into play is the surface condition of the hiway. Check the police report and see if they identify any extraneous factors that may have initiated your brakes locking up. EG: it looks like you are near water in the photo. If there is sand on roadway it could have induced premature brake lock and excessive skidding even though your speed was low. I'd suggest taking photos of any conditions that might help your case. Photos taken as soon as possible after the accident can greatly assist your stated claims.

I was looking at this tonight as I want to install a turbo on my old L24 before swapping in an L28 later. The L28 is a rear sump with the tubo tube at 16" from the front. The L24 is still on the car but it looks to have the sump set about 4" forward of the L28.

There are a few other places to check for rust such as under the rear deck lid. Do a search and you should be able to tell all the places to look. For price take a look here, craiglist + other sites for what has sold in an "as is" condition and you should have enough knowledge to negotiate a deal. But make sure you get underneath it before you finalize the price.

I would be interested in this too. Posting the link would be most appreciated.

I picked my '72 up off ebay which provides some measure of security. Thought about driving it from AZ to Ontario Canada, but deceided that's too far for a car a didn't know. I used a transporter to move the car to a family member just south of Detroit, and then took a train to pick it up. Taking it across the border myself saved about $800. Had my paperwork at customs 72 hours in advance (no more... no less... LOL) and it was smooth sailing home in a great car. The only glitch was having to put wipers on the car under the Ambassedor Bridge in Detroit when it started raining. The PO said he didn't need them in AZ since the car wasn't a DD.

I would love to have a copy too.

There is a current issue Assuie turner magazine out focusing on Skylines and showing a "money no object" RB26 package with best of the best accessories. For $82k you get about 900 RWkW's. While I save my lunch money for that package (+ S30 body strength upgrades) I like the L28ET route. It lets you put down ~300 RWHP, and you can dial in your suspension and brake adjustments as you grow comfortable driving the power to weight ratio. After that you can always upgrade to another engine package, and sell off the L28ET + accessories.

If you do some searching you will find the N42 block has true siamesed cylinders and is a little stronger than the F54.