BRAAP

Pete, I apologize for that. I should’ve been more clear in what I wrote and should’ve said, “I would assume it could prematurely wear out the front cover” instead of saying “it could” wear out the front cover”. My claim was based purely on speculation; I have no hard data or experience to back it up. Your first hand experience does show that it shouldn’t be an issue to leave the quill shaft alone. Based on that, I guess cutting the quill shaft is just one of those final touches that are optional. Oh, and it is an oily mess to pull the oil pump with the engine in car…. YEUCK….. I apologize if I mislead anyone.

Sorry, no I don’t. If I were to, the price would most likely be more than the radiator itself. Thanks for asking though, Paul

As Ron mentioned, we do sell the Aluminum Ron Davis Racing radiators which are ALL aluminum welded construction, NOT epoxied!!!! (similar to the HOWE). We have a few radiators in stock ready for immediate shipment that have the Chevy inlet and outlets. These radiators are excellent for V-8 conversions and will work in L-series powered Z cars as well. We offer two sizes so specify if you have a 240/early 260 car, or a late 260/280 car, (the 280 radiator also fits the 280ZX as well.) They fit the between the frame rails and upper and lower core supports perfectly. These are a “base” radiator, meaning that they do not have mounting flanges and the inlets and outlets are sized for Chev V-8, outlet is 1 ¾”, inlet is 1 ½”. We have ad up in the classifieds as well… http://classifieds.hybridz.org/showproduct.php?product=1851&cat=17&page=1 These radiators will also work with the L-series with any carb or aftermarket EFI set up, (the inlet to the radiator at the top is located in such a place that it will not clear the AFM of the stock 280-Z EFI). For use with L-series, it would be best to special order the radiator with the inlet and outlet sized more closely to the Datsun sizes and also to angle the outlet to clear the alternator, (just mention that you want the “L-series conversion” which includes the appropriate sized inlet and outlet and the outlet is angled to clear the alternator). Mounting tabs are also a separate option, but for those wanting to save a few dollars and aren’t afraid of a little fabricating, building your own radiator mounting system is pretty straight forward. The JTR V-8 conversion manual covers radiator mounting pretty well. As a side note, the base radiator will still work with an L-series as is, but requires a reducer at the radiator outlet and VERY creative clearancing of the lower hose of the alternator, (wont clear as OE). In the case our race car, (which I installed a base Ron Davis radiator), I just relocated the alternator to the driver side and used a reducer in the lower hose. With any of these radiators, you will need to source your own radiator hoses. Most auto parts store don’t have a problem with you picking through their inventory of pre-formed radiator hoses. For finding optimum hose lengths and shapes, you can take measurements or mock up using a coat hanger or whatever, then head to your local parts store and find that perfect upper and lower hose, or you can even join two separate hoses with a coupler. Here is the base 240 radiator as mounted in our race car currently.

As Pete did, I just bolted on a piece of aluminum plate roughly shaped to fit the old Dizzy hole. ALSO…. You will want to remove the quill shaft and cut off the top portion of the shaft, (at the magenta line in the picture below), so it doesn’t flop around in the front cover. The Distributor USED to locate the top end of the quill shaft, (again see inset in the picture below), so with the distributor now collecting dust in your used parts bin, the top portion of the quill shaft will wobble around and “could” prematurely wear out the area that located the quill shaft in the front cover. Also, being as there is no longer a distributor, there is no need to “clock” the quill shaft anymore as its only function is to drive the oil pump. HTH…

What induction system are you running, carbs, aftermarket EFI, OE EFI? If you are running the Datsun EFI, LEAVE the stock cam in the engine as that will deliver the BEST performance with the least compromise for the OE EFI. I’ve tuned and tuned many a Z car over the many years with OE EFI and aftermarket cams, and when going to back to the OE Cam, performance was better, (this only applies to the OE EIF). But if you are running aftermarket EFI or carbs, hands down, an aftermarket cam will deliver better performance. Good luck…

The FIRST factory available Limited slip differential offered in any Z car in the US was in 1987 and as far as I know, it was only offered in the limited edition pearl white cars only. This also applies the ’88 300 ZX. There were absolutely “NO” factory installed LSD diffs for ANY of the 280ZX cars that made it to the US shores, (and possibly even overseas, though don’t hold me to that…) Though it is not uncommon for z enthusiast to find those rare LSD R-200’s and install them in their early 240, 260, 280 Z and ZX cars. Those diffs are RARE and spendy… .

So why do we degree in our cams? In hopes of getting the most out of our cams, right? The exact cam timing specs as listed on the cam card or given by the cam grinder are really nothing more than a starting point. For most of the street crowd, they will set their cam to these specs and leave it, which is usually just fine for 90% of cars/drivers. For those of you that are into fine tuning your power band to get as close as you possibly can to your intended goals with the car, just remember that there is NO “set” cam timing figures for any particular cam that works best on all L-series build ups. Your “ideal” cam timing specs will vary for reasons such as gear ratios, gear spreads, track conditions, driver comfort levels in street applications etc. For those of you that are anal about extracting every last bit out of your engines, those figures quoted on the cam card are merely a starting point, and depending on your induction and exhaust system, head work, type of track or street driving you intend to do, gear ratios and gear spreads, etc, you will no doubt be playing with advancing and/or retarding the cam from that starting point to shift the power band around up or down the rev range to maximize the power where you’ll be using it most. Just like finding that ideal ignition timing curve, ideal fuel map, ideal gear ratios, etc, playing with cam timing specs is another tool in the engine tuners tool box, used to “dial in” the engine for maximum performance for its intended purpose. Good luck, Paul Ruschman

Ian, I talked with Dave Rebello today and he told me, with your cam and your large displacement L-series, (3.1) to set your cam up between .010” and .020” advanced. If you want more high RPM breathing he said he would lean towards less advance, i.e. .010” or even a little less depending on where you want your powerband. Paul Ruschman

Dave decided to bag on Monday night and now is coming out Thursday…

If memory serves, it is located on the passenger side fender well, either behind or in front of the wheel well, or it maybe on the radiator core support, but still on the passenger side. I do remember it being hidden from “causal” view, but it is easy to access. HTH….

Small world… Yeah, Dave Lum is a close family friend. We also know Mike Spreadbury as well. Then you probably know Kelvin Dietz as well and Gary Savage. Kelvin just happens to be my Datsun Mentor and I hold him 100% responsible for allowing me to get this deep into these cars. A little side story when Dave Lum, Mike Spreadbury, Ron Tyler, Myself and Cary McCalister all met for an Import Drag day at Woodburn drags strip in ’98. Dave brought his N/A VG30DE in his 510, Spreadbury brought his VG30ET 510, (Casper, broke a half shaft shifting into second gear),, Ron Tyler brought his LT-1 V-8 Z and I brought my V-8 Z. Cary rode up with Mike as a spectator. All in all it was fun day. This was my first trip to the strip with my V-8 Z and we all felt my V-8 Z was maybe worth a mid to high 13 second time slip as it was SO docile and easy to drive, it couldn’t be too fast. First run down the strip was a 12.4 at just over 110, beast was 12.3 @ 113. None of us could believe it as the car was just so docile and easy to drive. Any how, Dave Lum is coming over tonight with an all stock ’78 280 Z for me to look over. He plans to sell it and being as Dave is a 510 guy, not a Z guy, he wants me to give it a once over to make sure it is “ok” to sell. I’ll tell him you said HI.

Ian, Since you purchased your Rebello cam elsewhere, I don’t know where it needs to be set. If you send me all the info you have on your cam, I would be more than happy to contact Dave Rebello and get that info for you. Thank you for allowing me to use pics of your Cylinder head for pics in this thread. Paul

LMAO… Well, it’s probably not close enough for him as he lives on the right coast, BUT, it is plenty close for us (we live in Sandy between Portland and Mt Hood), and since we are building his custom cylinder head, if he ends up wanting to go P-90…. We come to Eugene quite often, (that is where I do most of my autocrossing with the EESCC), also good friends Dustin Rinehart, Kelvin Dietz, and my father live in Eugene. Ron Tyler’s wife also makes several trips to Eugene every month, (she sometimes works as our Portland to Eugene courier service.)

UPDATE! degreeing a Rebello cam….. Since the aftermarket cams we prefer use and sell in our Cam kits are from Rebello, I thought we should also post some details and pics on how to degree in your Rebello cam since this procedure is entirely different than the typical cam degreeing procedure posted above. You will only need a degree wheel to find TDC for cylinder number 1 and to verify that the piston hasn’t moved while degreeing in the Rebello cam and you will need 2 dial indicators. When you first read through this, it may sound complex and confusing, but its not really. After you take it all in, you’ll find that this procedure is really quite simple. First off, I’m going to assume that you already have your timing gear installed and that you set up the shiny links and all that jazz, i.e. the cam timing should be close and the valves “shouldn’t” crash into the pistons while you rotate the crankshaft getting all set up and that you have set your valve lash to the proper specs as well. Now you will need to set up BOTH dial indicators so that each one is resting on an intake and exhaust retainer respectively, (see pic below showing one dial indicator set up as described). Now there are several ways to go about the next step, but this is probably the easiest with the least math involved. Rotate the crankshaft so that bot the intake and exhaust valves for number 1 cylinder are on their seats, i.e. closed. Now “zero” the dial indicators. Next, you will need the number 1 cylinder at TDC of valve overlap, both cam lobes pointing down approx equally. This is the end of the exhaust stroke, beginning of the intake stroke, or put another way, NOT TDC of the firing stroke. (see pic below of both valves open). If your intake and exhaust lobes for the number one cylinder are pointing up equally, then you are on the wrong TDC, just rotate the engine through one more “crankshaft” revolution, (this ends up being one-half cam revolution), and you will be set. Remember, you will need the piston to be EXACTLY at TDC as described at the very beginning of this thread using the degree wheel and piston stop to find TDC. Now with piston at TDC, depending on how your adjustable cam sprocket operates, you will need to rotate the cam WITHOUT disturbing the crankshaft. This is where the degree wheel comes in handy. Keep a close on eye on it to verify that you have NOT altered the crank position or you will have to start over. Keeping an eye on the dial indicators, rotate the cam WITHOUT moving the crankshaft, until both the intake and exhaust valves are open the exact same amount. In engine building speak, this is called having the cam timed “straight up”. At this point you can re “zero” both dial indicators or just leave them alone. I recommend to just leave them alone but do make note of the reading you have on both indicators, (which should be the same on both). For this example, I’m going to use the specs for the Rebello .520” lift cam we ordered for Silent. Dave Rebello recommends for hot street L-series engines using this cam, to set it up between .025” and .030” advanced. “Ok, what the heck does that mean”, you are thinking right?. Well that means that the camshaft needs to be advanced till the intake valve is open between .025” and .030” MORE than the exhaust valve during valve overlap. SO, now all you have to do is rotate the camshaft WITHOUT disturbing the crankshaft, till the TOTAL amount of difference between the intake and exhaust valve opening is between .025” and .030”. You did make note of the dial indicators reading when both valves were open the same height, right? Just checking. This could mean that the intake valve opens up between .0125” and .015” more which would correspond to the exhaust valve closing that same .0125” to .015”, (that would give you the .025-.030” OVERALL difference in valve height that is needed), but being as these camshafts are ground with asymmetrical lobe profiles, chances are it wont be exactly that, but it will be close. No matter if the intake valve “moves” more or less than the exhaust valve, the important point is that the sum of both indicators ends up totaling between .025” and .030”, which would be ideal in this scenario. Now lock down the adjustable cam sprocket, verify that the crankshaft did NOT turn during all this, double check that your intake to exhaust opening spread is where you want it and you are set. Both intake and exhaust valves off their seats during valve overlap… Dial indicator on the retainer…

Daniel, My best guess for why Rebello camshafts need to be adjusted at the valve stem vs at the cam lobe, like most other aftermarket cams, is because the opening and closing ramps of the cam are ground in such away requiring such a tight lash clearance that it is easier to get more accurate lash adjustment at the valve stem than it would be at the cam lobe, (approx 1.5 times more accurate due to the rocker ratio). That’s my best guess.

Since the aftermarket cams we prefer use and sell in our Cam kits are from Rebello, I thought we should also post some details and pics of the Rebello cam adjustment procedure since it is little different than the typical lash adjustment, well, the point where the feeler gauge is used is different, the rest of the lash adjustment procedure is the same as you would use for most other cams including OE. Rebello cam lash adjustment. Rebello has their cams ground with what Dave Rebello calls a, “tight lash lobe profile”. That just means the lash clearance is a little tighter than what we are used to seeing, and Rebello cams should have the lash checked/set at the valve stem, NOT under cam lobe as most other aftermarket/OE cams are done. The easiest way to do this is using a feeler gauge between the tip of the rocker arm and the lash pad. The trick here is the ears on the top of the lash pad prevents using standard feeler gauges, so unless you have special narrow feeler gauges, you will have to modify a set of feeler gauges just for this using a pair aviation tin snips. Since Feeler gauge sets are quite inexpensive, (can be had for under $10), this shouldn’t be a big deal if you after just shelling out big $$$ for a custom head and Rebello cam kit… (or maybe we could just supply that special feeler gauge in the cam kits that we sell?... Hmmmm..) Here are couple pics of a custom P-90A head we just built for a customer in the UK with his Rebello cam showing where to check/set the Rebello valve lash.

Ian, Your head is finished and yes we did find you that piston stop, identical to the one pictured in “how to degree your cam” thread. Being as your cam is a Rebello cam, the lash adjustment is checked at the valve, not under the cam lobe. Here is a picture of a modified .008” feeler gauge while I was “cold setting” your vale lash prior to bagging the cylinder head. If you don’t mind, I would like to use the pics I took of your head to update the “How to Degree your cam” thread referencing Rebellos lash adjustment procedure.

Yes, you can grind out the webbing, but it would be a whole lot easier to find an earlier intake that doesn’t have the webbing.

Hmm.. That is a new to me… Definitely odd. If someone did weld it up and machine the port exits round like that, it seems like a lot of unnecessary work just to use a round port header/exhaust manifold. We have been using Round port headers on square port heads for over 15 years with no issues using Victor Reinz , (aka NAPA), square port manifold gaskets. Hmmm… It almost looks like it is factory… Maybe a JDM head of some ort? Anyone else ever see this before? Cylinder number 1 sure looks awfully clean… Blown head gasket/cracked head in chamber #1? That hexagon carbon imprint you mentioned is typical of the Felpro manifold gaskets as they are universal and will work on both round and square exhaust ports.

While hanging around Dave Lum and John Kurzhals and their 12 second turbo street cars and Ron Tyler was building his mid engine Turbo L-28 Z, I found my self suffering from “Turbo envy”. All the while my daily driver is just a ’96 Infiniti Q-45, sort of quick compared to the local Honda’s, but not quite as quick as my buddies cars or any of my previous street Z cars. Well it didn’t take long to satisfy this male craving for boost. Ten minutes on eBay and I secured the biggest baddest Turbo I could find, (I couldn’t be out done in by my buddies right?) Ok, this mega turbo arrived and it is everything I had hoped. It is HUGE, it spins, axial and radial play is acceptable and everyone that lays eyes on it is green with Turbo envy… Even Dave Lum‘s eyes got REAL big when he stopped by today and took a peak at it…. (Heh heheh hehehe…) A small problem did arise though. The turbo itself is just a shade over 60lbs in weight and right at 12” in diameter, just a skosh heavier and a smidge bigger than the typical puny turbos installed on L-6 Z cars, or Twin Turbo 510’s, (John K. and Dave L. respectively). Without some serious hacking on my project street car, I am having a hard time finding space for this incredible Turbo in the engine bay. Also, being as it just a tad heavier than those weenie little Turbos that John and Dave are using, am I going to need some sort of bracing, or framework just to support the Turbo itself? Here are couple pics of my mega hair dryer next to an OE Turbo from a 280ZXT. If I am not able to get this thing installed in a Z car, I’m sure I can find another use for this gargantuan Turbo… hmmm.. maybe turn it into a home built Jet Turbine project… Yeah that’s it….

LMAO… Silent, No I’m not upset at all. We just want to make sure you are happy with the end result no matter what route you choose to go in regards to your Z car. I was beginning to think maybe you were getting upset with me for not posting the pics of your N-47 as I promised I would do a few weeks ago. Sorry bout that. More on that further down. As for your Z dilemma, I feel your pain. Your new street toy is spoiling you isn’t it? To get an all motor L-28/31 to run as good or faster is going to make for a street car that is not quite as docile as your current street ride. Boost will definitely get you closer to your intended goals or better with less sacrifice in around town street ability. SOOoo… do we need to shelve the current N-47 and start a P-90? We still have that P-79 as well…. BTW, your N-47 will be finished and ready to ship in a couple/few weeks, “but” that is only if you plan to keep going the N/A route. I should be posting pics of it during the first week in Oct. Sorry I didn’t get them up sooner. As has been the case this entire summer, we got really behind. I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to go boosted if retaining the L-series under the hood FWIW, if you think you may want that P-79 instead of the N-47 for boosted head, you better speak up quick as Ron Tyler has his eye on that P-790 we originally started for you and he will most likely end up with it if you don’t… Keep us posted on what you want to do and if we can, we will try and help out the best we can. Paul Ruschman

Here is a picture of a 60mm TB bolted to custom non EGR N-42 intake. I flipped the throttle valve upside down and then carved on it so it would cosmetically match the intake manifold itself when bolted up. Hope this helps…

Yasin, Those rockers sold by MSA should be just fine. MSA buys their rockers from the same supplier that we use, and those “should” be actual Nissan rockers, even though they may not be “bagged” with Nissan part numbers, (though they might be). If they visually resemble Nissan Rockers, you are totally safe and should have no worries. If they resemble the wide and balky Ford Pinto style rockers, those are the bad ones. As for your wipe pattern, no need to adjust. The .170 will be just fine. Truth be told, based on your pics, you could even safely get away with .160, my public mentioning of .170 being the limit was conservative allowing for other factors such as wear, etc. You could theoretically go out to the very edge of the rocker, but that would be getting greedy for pretty much no gain and chance inducing unwanted valve train noise as well. In short, your .170 lash pads look just fine. HTH

You can purchase a pre assembled Mega Squirt already set up and configured for everything that you will need, i.e. Tacho output pin, EDIS ignition, and even control the electric cooling fan for the radiator. I purchased my Mega Squirt already assembled from RS Autosport and the craftsmanship is first rate, (solder joints look nicer than the OE Datsun EFI stuff). DIY Auto tune also offers fully assembled systems and everyone that I’ve talked to including my partner Ron Tyler who had DIY do some work on his Mega Squirt, have had nothing but praise for their craftsmanship and customer service. When digging for EDIS parts in the wrecking yard, from a Ford Exploder or Windstar with the V-6, you will need the “control module” and the “coil pack”. The control module will say EDIS-6 on it. This will be the EDIS-6 system which will work on pretty much any 6 cylinder engine, inline or V-6. (EDIS-4 for 4 cylinders, EDIS-8 for 8 cylinder engines.) From a Ford Escort, (4 cylinder, 1.9L, ) pull the damper and the VR sensor. That is what I used. You can use ANY 36-1 wheel from ANY Ford vehicle, just make sure you also get its matching VR sensor as the 36-1 crank trigger wheel and VR sensor ARE matched. For more details about this and other good tidbits of EDIS info I encourage you ALL to please read through our EDIS Test Bench thread linked below. LOTS of good technical information regarding the Ford EDIS ignition that will help anyone wanting use the Ford EDIS set up. There are also some great extended exposure pictures the EDIS system running on our test bench http://www.msextra.com/viewtopic.php?t=14920

As Veritech stated, the intake I first pictured, (gray one with the 60mm throttle valve as used on our race car), I did tap the holes and installed brass pipe plugs, ground them down, filled all divots and crevices with JB weld, then just painted the manifold with “Cast Blast” paint, color is cast Iron gray. (see the “in process” pics below). The intake pictured in the mid Engine Z project had all of its holes welded so that it could be ceramic coated. I am currently modifying another N-42 intake in the same manner for ceramic coating, but minus the throttle linkage towers and machined for O-ring injectors like our Race car intake.