HizAndHerz

1 fast z, on another forum you recommended the N42 block for a stroker build: There's one reason for choosing the N42 over the F54.

I've installed ES master kits a number of times, and the end links are a pain. I use a big C-clamp to bring the sway bar and control arm closer together along with some vise grips to keep the C-clamp from sliding around. Makes that job a lot easier.

Thanks for that info. I'll probe a little more to see if anyone has an RB plate. And thanks for the offer Arnie and OTM. I'm up to my armpits in blocks (I've got two N42 blocks, two F54 blocks and a complete turbo engine).

Stock '77 AC has an adjustable idler pulley and compressor bolts solid to a steel bracket. The 280ZX compressor mount is different (aluminum). The ZX AC pulleys all use a thinner belt than the 280Z to make room for the extra power steering belt. Most dealer installed compressors I've seen use a swing adjust bracket for the compressor. Do you have a Hitachi SWP167 compressor? If not, it is most likely from a dealer installed AC system and you'll need a different bracket or a different compressor.

Yeah, it would be great if the L28 machining gurus here could shed some light on the availability of torque plates. Heck, I had the crazy idea of hacking oversized cylinder holes in a junk head, then have it milled flat. Shablam! Poor man's L28 torque plate! No? Another hairbrained idea: have cylinders bored within a few 1000ths of the target, then bolt on a head and hone the rest of the way from the crank side. Probably not practical or effective, but hairbrained, yes. Signs of desperation!

I've called several performance machines shops in the Houston area and nobody has a torque plate for an L28 block. The shops included Westside Performance and G&G in Tomball, others shops didn't know what an L28 was. G&G was reluctant to try boring 0.120" over without a deck plate. Westside said it would probably be okay without a deck plate as long as the block was sonic tested. So, how safe do y'all think it is to bore that much without a deck plate? Can a deck plate be rented? Can one be made from scratch? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. It's taken me over a year to collect parts for this stroker motor project and now it looks like I might not be able to find anyone to do the machine work

Even after rebuilding both of my 1980 ZX transmissions with new synchros and bearings, I still had the problem. Tried Redline and Royal Purple but did not make a difference. The "fix" is to adjust the baulk springs by heating and stretching them slightly or by replacing them. Also, resurfacing the cone gear that mates to the baulk rings (synchros) is a good idea. I resurfaced the cone gears on one tranny using valve grinding paste and an old synchro. Someone said that its a bad idea to wire wheel the surface, but I did it anyway on my other rebuild with a mini brass wire wheel on a Dremel tool with no problems. Very carefully deglazed the polished steel surface to make a crosshatch pattern. After adjusting the springs and resurfacing the cones, shifting was a little stiff which went away fairly quickly. Bye-bye ka-chunk and crunchy shifts.

The bad ones that I am aware of were way too fat to fit inside the moustache bar. Someone looked up the part # and found that they were for a Corvette. It took a full week to get my replacement bushings and I needed my car so I used a hole saw to cut the larger bushings to fit.

It's been too long since I installed mine to help you, but you may want to verify you have the right parts by checking the #'s on the bushing with the ones on the parts list. Two of the three master bushing sets I've installed had wrong parts. ES said that it just never happens, but I know of at least two other people that had the wrong mustache bar bushings in their set. ES did send me new parts without me having to send them the bad ones.

Andrew, Here's a similar thread where I was asking similar questions about piston to head clearance: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=124248 Good information in that thread from those who know their stuff. Just ignore all the ignorance I displayed there.

I've got a 12 by 30 foot area next to my garage where my parts washer lives. That area is fenced off from the rest of the yard and I now use it strictly for wet blasting and paint removal. I can contain and clean up any mess I make pretty easily except for the blasting media. Pretty soon it will look like it was purposely black topped with asphault! All of the H/W stores around here keep the sand outdoors so it is never completely dry from the store. I'm sure there are better places to get levelling sand. For now, I'm going to use up the Black Diamond I have and then try smaller grit to see if it will siphon more evenly. The good news is that we are making major progress on the body work on my son's Z. At first, he thought we'd never be able to do it ourselves but he's encouraged to see some results. Fenders, hood, doors are about ready for sealer primer.

I have tried a few over the counter parts cleaners, including Berryman's, and personally, I prefer mineral spirits and ATF. On old recipe for a relatively safe but effective parts cleaner is 1 part ATF, 1 part mineral spirits, 1 part deodorized Kerosene, 1 part Acetone.

Incredible cars, awesome scenery, beautiful drive. Looks like too much fun! Thanks for capturing that on video and sharing it. I would love to go on Z drive's here in Houston, but the Houston Z-club has more 350z owners than classic Z's. It takes the fun out of it for me. Hey, we've got 3 classic Z drivers in our house, add a couple of our Z friends and we have our own Z club. If we could just get everyone's car running One question:How in the world do you blokes get used to driving from the passenger's seat?

When I've tackled a project on one of the Z's, such as replacing suspension parts and bushings, replacing all the coolant and fuel hoses, etc. I put all the worn and corroded fasteners in a bag and drive to all the auto parts and hardware stores. Most of the time I'll be able to come up with replacements. Some won't be exact but will work (in some cases a large head bolt might be an okay replacement for flange head, etc.). Most auto parts stores carry a metric bolt assortment in a plastic box that is reasonably priced. These are usually 8.8 grade and only come in coarse thread, but they'll do in a pinch. Whenever I visit the PickNPull, I throw every fastener and hose clamp I remove in my tool box. They might charge for chrome lug nuts. I like to clean small parts in mineral spirits mixed with ATF (auto transmission fluid). I let them soak for a long time, sometimes weeks, then wipe them down a little and put them in storage boxes with the little drawers. I've also got a 10 gallon parts cleaner filled with Zep degreaser for cleaning larger parts. A bench grinder with a brass wheel makes cleaning threads easy. Rambling over.

A little update on DIY wet sandblasting. Play sand and levelling sand are cheap but both clogged up the blaster since I could never get it completely dry. I bought 100lbs of "Black Diamond" abrasive for around $30. EDIT: 2003z is correct below: $8/50lbs at NorthernTool, so I actually payed $32 for 200lbs. This stuff is heavy and did not come out evenly from the blaster, but still did a good job of removing rust from the nooks and crannies of fenders and suspension parts. I feel confident that blasting + Ospho treatment is good way to remove rust. No way would I do this in my driveway. I ended up doing it all in a corner of the backyard. The results are great, but I still hope to find lighter media that is inexpensive. Maybe Black Diamond in a finer grit.

Ditto. $10 at the JY.

Here's another interesting tidbit I found from Bryan (1_fast_z): http://forums.hybridz.org/showpost.php?p=736826&postcount=3 Bryan, can you provide a little more detail? Are you saying that material should be removed from the combustion chamber to make clearance for the piston? If so, how would you determine how deep to go?

Storing camshafts: use heavy wall mailing tubes trimed to length. Storing crankshafts: stop by a carpet store and "scrounge" a couple of roll "cores", cut to length and mark the outside. Seal the ends with a couple of plywood "plugs" held in place with screws.

If it makes you feel any better, I had the same issue with the FP driver. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=121743 I sure hope you get your ignition problem figured out soon.

I've got a couple of stroker crankshafts and a few camshafts that I need to store. Obviously they would be best protected if installed in the block or head, but otherwise, what's a good way to store them? I've hit them with WD-40, slathered them with grease for rust protection then sealed in plastic bags. How do you keep them from warping or getting damaged? How about shipping them? A custom wooden crate would add a lot to the weight. Tthat's how I received one of my stroker cranks and the box protected it very well, but it was crazy expensive to ship. One last question: any tricks to storing heads?

Paul, Thank you, thank you for sharing your insights! LENGINE.EXE reports a deck height, or as you say negative deck height, of 0.030mm or 0.0012". That's way off from the measurements you guys have taken. I went out to the garage and measured a F54 with flat pistons and came up with 0.021" but that was with a straight edge and feeler gauges. One thing is clear to me, the engine calculators can get you in the ballpark, but that's it. Also, there are different specs for the L-series engines floating around out there.

One more quote: So, more than 0.025" clearance and quench is not efficient, but less than 0.022" results in clashing pistons. Very interresting. I gotta ask: are those tollerances really obtainable? How might engine wear affect all of this? Your knowledge is appreciated!

That's good because my pistons have not actually been shaved completely flat (the full 0.5mm). With any luck there will be enough to play with when the engine is assembled. If they're too short already, I guess I can have the block milled.

Ahah! Here it is:

If those are both accurate, that would imply that you can't use a 1mm (0.039") head gasket with OE flattop pistons, no? 0.039" - 0.25" = 0.014" clearance I read somewhere that flattops + 1mm gasket + Maxima N47 was a good setup.