Careless

No shadow here, stony. I can put my finger nail into it. I had not even looked at the skirts because I was concentrating on the ones I was grinding. Then I left that one for second last (oddly enough), and it's poorly casted. I'm pretty sure it was a downright bad casting, due to the fact that there's a funny looking area just to the left of the upside down "2" casting. It looks as if molten iron had dripped and burst the cast somehow, or caused it to run and sag just a touch. its as if the entire journal slumped a mm or so, and it was evened out during the main journal grinding. I'm not going to use this block for anything but practice.... but hey, now I have a block to use for engine mounting in bay while I build mine over the winter unless I have to give it back. In that case I'll offer up what I think it would fetch at the scrappers (30 bucks probably), as I think it's a good idea to use it so that my real engine doesnt get dinged and dropped and such. And because it's much easier to move with just the oil pan on it than with the crank and rods and all that in there.

So I've talked to the engine importer and he said I can pick up another block, but they've been transported to a warehouse quite far from where I live (not too far, but have to spend a good portion of a night going there). I'm surprised something like that passes quality control, seeing as the casting is almost connected across the entire main skirt

I'm not sure of the integrity beneath that bubbley casting area just beneath the crack. And thanks for the compliments on the grinding, but I enjoyed doing it =) I actually wouldn't mind doing it again. Gives my our huge air compressor a work out though. I think next time I'll take it slower and do 3 journals, and rest the compressor for an hour. damn 90 gal can't even keep up.

still searchin' for hope of good news :'(

lol... did he end up crumpling the rear quarters due to torque or something?

you didn't even read the caption under the pic

I can still get another block from the same guy. He said I can exchange it. Hmmmmmm...

took me about an hour and a half to do all the main girdles. I dunno if i should put money into this thing. has anyone with similar blocks had bad experiences? =( Grinding was fun though.

can i ask why the rear wheels need wheel covers? I know this doesnt help your thread at all, but everytime i see an EPV i wonder why the wheel covers are like that.

watermarking right in the middle of the photo is even better. that'll get you credit.

who'dunnit?! Me finks you're looking for either 16603G or 16603F

So, Here's what I'm talking about. The picture below is a detailed shot of what I was doign when I discovered this. On the left we have the deburred main-tower. It's not complete (has to be slightly radiused at the sides), but the top and bottom near the main girdle seat and the oil-pan mounting surface has been ground out already as well (not shown in the picture, but it's done). The area near the main-girdle mounting surface was carefully done so as to not ruin the good interference fit these girdles have. The interference fit can always be re-tightened by getting a cold-steel chisel and giving it a firm pop when the girdle is in place, and bolted down (before final assembly, or any align honing). This usually tightens the metal upto the girdle, but must be done carefully enough so that it doesnt shift the girdle out of place. Just a light tap to squish the metal a bit. Anything hard and you'll crack it, or warp the interference fit. Ignore the rust. That's what you get when an "engine builder" claims to be a machinist, and uses improper practices to clean and prep a block.

Hmm, ok so well it might be a good idea to get them from one source. LOL and since you're both in the US it would be cheaper and faster. Let me know by tomorrow, and I'll clean it up if you want me to call UPS on Tuesday to get it down to ya'z!

Haven't gotten thus far in my build, so no updates for me yet. sorry.

I remember you, specifically, mentioning this information about the IMSA car and the barrel throttles in another thread, and I did some research back then. I found this here: http://www.autocar-electrical.com/roller.pdf Looks like a really good system. Almost like a coates roller-barrel cam. But I have a question regarding the actual airflow dynamics. With throttle plates having their shaft in the way, and with barrels having a top side that would create a high-pressure zone, or slow down air-flow (looks like a slight restriction, considering the size of the air horns), why hasn't anyone come up with an aperture blade or iris type throttle body setup? I was toying with the idea of using a system similar to minolta camera blades, in that it has a spring that when pulled on, moves a bearing ring around which causes a pin holding onto the back of each blade to move further away from the pivot point. I think with about 7 to 9 blades, it would work exceptionally well. Infact, I think using the flap design from a jet engine woudl work even better because it wouldnt be a flat set of blades... they'd actually be angled into the trumpet, and it can make full benefit of the bell-mouth and air horn/runner ID size, no?

I can't get the spacer for you in that time, However, I can send out the pulley express on Tuesday. Shall I use the address in your box of pistons? Let me know.

To pull off my drip rails, I used a flathead screwdriver and very carefully pushed away from the roof, if I remember correctly. I then put gloves on and slid them down and off at the front for the stubborn one on the drivers side. It slowly slid after I pushed it far enough so that it wasn't holding onto anything anymore. Just don't force it too much, don't hammer it, and don't scrape it. mines ended up looking the same way they were when they were on the car. I just did it slowly. Just look at the way it's on, it's not that hard to take off in most cases, i'd assume (unless someone replaced and glued them on)

Ahh, so I guess the only benefit is the rigidity and counterweights. It seems a lot of RB engines can do without it, so it's easy to understand why you've kept the factory unit. (can you take a look a little later in the evening at the thread regarding block cracks that I made? I'll be posting pictures later) Any news on the car itself? How'd the wiring go, or what challenges have you come across in getting the proper setup. Keep on keepin' on!

I have an RB30 water pump pulley which I believe is the same as the RB26 one. i can clean it up and ship it to you. Injector spacer I can order. let me know

w00t w00t!

OMGOZZLES! I overheard my friends just chatting about my datsun a while ago (love it when that happens, even though it's a heap in it's current state), and then they mentioned the new 350z commercial, with the kid looking in the car, and all that.. and it's raining, and how it had all the cars in it. AND NOW I MUST WATCH IT! *searches*

I picked up a Firewall gasket of fair size compared to other Toyota ones I've seen for 99 cents a piece at Princess Auto. Check your regular cheap-o parts or tools place, they will have these for 1.99 if they're not on sale. OH WAIT, they'd be less in price in the US because even though our dollars are the same, we haven't benefited from it much at the retail level. Anyways, it will be good for what you're using it for. You might just have to use a die grinder to increase the size of the original hole.

I have a patch of lead just over the quarter window, but it's not in between the roof or the drip rail sills. Is that common? Both points that Austin covered were things I thought of. And while I love the look of it, I think I just might keep them on. It's a tough debate in the name of form vs. function. =(

Guys, since we're on the subject of RB20 transmissions and KA/SR transmissions, here's a good rebuild thread. Looks pretty fun to do, and could mean the difference between yummy synchro shavings, or even yummier seat time in a car that actually moves =) http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread/239220

Yeah, you read that title. Even though it's not that common, I think I've discovered a crack in my main journal web casting, or just a weak casting from the get go. I'm at my parent's house, but at home I have it on digital camera. I'll post them later, but I'm just making this post so that I can sleep well tonight. LOL Basically what I was doing was grinding the flashing down off my main journal webbings, just as one would when finishing a set of stock SBC cast connecting rods. Some say it doesn't do anything cause RB blocks are monsters, but hey, I like to do stuff that makes me feel good, ok? When I got to the main journal that holds the thrust washer in place, I noticed that JUST under the oil pickup tube location, there are a pair of what SEEMS to be cracks. But, I THINK it is a casting issue, and I'm wondering if the RB30's all have this problem. Now, my previous builder said he checked for cracks and he also hot tanked it... But yah, he hot tanked it in some environmentally friendly stuff that can't even strip soap from sink, and he also left the casting plugs and all that removable stuff in there. So I don't trust him with the magnifluxing. I am taking it to someone else, but since I had it at home I decided HEY LETS WORK ON IT first. So I get to this area, and it's got a valley that runs from the top of the webbing, around the inside of the block, and passed the cylinder and then halfway back up. I don't know what to think, and I can only hope that the pictures came out good. I mean, I AM going to radius those valleys as best as I can so that they don't actually crack... but being on the thrust bearing webbing, it's a big concern. Is this common on the RB30 castings? I'm going to re-dip the block and have it checked for cracks again, but I'm not going to mention anything to the machinist this time, to see if he can spot it. If he doesn't I'm going to look elsewhere. My idea with that crack is that if he says "well there was a slight casting issue on the middle webbing, but I think it will be ok", then chances are i'll leave my engine there and have him do the machine work. But if he doesn't even mention it, i'd be curious to know if he really does care about the outcome of this engine or if he wants to see his customers come back later with a new project to spend money on. I'm worried guys, make me feel good