Just Jim

Made 3 runs at Irwindale's 1/8 mile yesterday. I short shifted it at 5500 until getting more familiar with the car and a new shifter.Best time was a 7.86/85+MPH (12.35 or so 1/4) with a 1.67 60 foot.The small 215/60R14 BFG Drag radials worked better than I thought with the 4.11 Oklahoma Posi (welded spiders).Got kicked off the track for too much smoke. The C4 trans vent is blowing fluid onto the exhaust.Better than the first time out 2 weeks ago when a freeze plug blew watering down part of the end of the track. http://images19.fotki.com/v32/photos/4/42437/4197285/IMG_1509-vi.jpg

You're lucky the trans works at all after all that.Try these guys for some help. http://www.network54.com/Forum/260730/

I tried to weld equal amounts at each weld area to keep the unit somewhat balanced. I did clean the gears well for good weld penetration but didn't preload anything. The welded rear will only get used for testing around the block and drag strip use until a Power Brute LSD is installed in the other 4.11 R200.Welding the rear seems kinda Mickey Mouse to me and doesn't seem like a reliable way to go.

I just replaced an open 4.11 R200 with a fresh from Pic A Part 3.70. I welded the spiders on the 3.70 prior to installation. The new rear is really noisy and makes noise under power or not.I was expecting tire squeal and clunking when turning but the noise is more of a whine and high pitched squeal.I'll check the pinion dust seal flange but is this noise normal for a welded unit? Maybe the unit was noisy from the get go coming from the junk yard?

First make sure all the head bolts are removed as you might have missed one. Put a long pry bar in an intake port and pull away from the block and the head should come loose.

It has a 40amp rated relay. Since hooking up the 2 speed fan to low speed and thus less draw it doesn't blow the fuse.

Yeah,I'm hoping to be able to remove the drain plug all the way. I'll find out when the motor gets some more miles on it before changing the oil.The standard Ford filter fits after chopping off the original Datsun motor mount tower from the crossmember.

Ferd,thanks for the info on the alternator. The fan was hooked up to high speed which caused more of a current draw and spun the fan faster than really needed. I wired it up to slow speed so now the engine doesn't slow down at idle now when the fan kicks on. The timing pointer is a metal piece bolted on to the drivers side of the timing cover. I used an early pre '70 water pump with the inlet on the passenger side.The '83 302 damper timing marks were made for a passenger side pointer so I just used some timing tape on the damper aligned for TDC with the metal pointer.

Sorry it took so long but here's a pic of the oil pan. The pic shows the front oil drain and the rear side of the crossmember which I haven't cleaned up yet. The gray colored lines are trans cooler lines.

Really showing my age here but when I was in high school the hot set up was a 301,a 283 bored 1/8 inch over. Not all blocks could be bored that far but it was commonly done. The 327 isn't a bad buzz motor either using the 3.25 stroke crank.

Nice looking valve covers. Makes me want to do the same with a similar set that were on my '83(?) H.O.. Wonder if those covers will clear roller rockers?

The pump I used should work fine with your fuel line. Vapor lock was never experienced with my other car or the 240Z but the Datsun hasn't been driven much since the V8 swap. Usually vapor lock occurs when using an engine driven mechanical pump which is pulling fuel from a rear mounted tank. Rear mounted electric pumps pushing fuel to the motor shouldn't experience vapor lock. Insulating the fuel lines in the engine compartment wouldn't hurt though as it does get pretty hot under the Datsun hood.

The coated headers were $178. Summit also sells uncoated versions for less. The headers may not work for every application but fit fine using my homemade crossmember locating the motor very near the firewall. The front oil drain plug of the dual sump Foxbody oil pan bearly clears the rear of the stock Datsun crosmember.

I hooked up a Carter electric pump near the tank and used the stock 5/16 line with no return line. The pump puts out about 7PSI and requires no regulator. The same pump fuels the 351 in my Falcon which runs high 11's in the 1/4 with no fuel problems. http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=CRT%2DP4600HP&N=700+0&autoview=sku

Here's a pic of the header / steering shaft. There is about 1/2 inch clearance.The ceramic coated Summit # G9063-1 were a good deal IMHO. They are repackged Patriot brand.

The motor is in and running and driveable but still needs a lot of small stuff done.The Summit street rod headers clear just fine. I used a Thunderbird SC 2 speed fan using low speed only. Even with a 100 amp GM CS alternator the motor will slow down when the fan kicks on. The fan wiring has a 30 amp fuse which doesn't last long until it blows. I'm still working on that problem.

My 302 install looks similar. Summit street rod headers worked good , cleared the steering shaft just fine but require a smaller PMG starter. http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=SUM%2DG9063%2D1&N=700+0&autoview=sku I got a small starter on E Bay for about $60.

I picked up a '78 hood at the junk yard but am having a hard time finding the vents for it. If there were a local place to punch louvers in the stock hood I'd do that. Both my Morris and Falcon have louvered hoods which made quite a difference in cooling letting the hot air escape.The place that punched the louvers years ago is no longer in business. I'm going for another test drive today. The car is fun to drive and much quieter than my Morris which is like driving a 10 second V8 powered trash dumpster.

Took the car for a drive today. Runs pretty good for a newly completed swap and seems like it might run my goal of low 12's in the 1/4. But,the Mallory Hi Fire ignition box which is mounted near the windshield washer bottle was almost too hot to touch due to the underhood heat. Guess this is why the factory put vents in the hood on later 280's?I'm going to relocate the ignition box to the front side of the radiator support behind the grille. All the heat under the hood must be normal,huh?

Thanks for the input. I'm not running cats though as no smog stuff is required on a '72 in California. The 3 inch Super Turbo has an offset inlet and center outlet and cost about $55. Funny thing is the center in center out is $135 at Summit. Maybe it is 3 inch all the way thru but doesn't seem to be worth another $80.Hopefully it isn't too loud.

UPS just delivered a 3 inch in/out Dynomax Super turbo for my 302 240Z. The shorty headers are connected to two 2.5 Dynomax bullet mufflers then to a 3 inch outlet "y" pipe then 3 inch pipe and mandrel bends to the Super Turbo located in the stock location. I'm just finishing up the exhaust in preparation to start the car for the first time. The 3 inch Super Turbo has 3 inch in and out but the internal tubes seem to be only 2.5 inch not 3. Is this going to hurt anything or should I get another type of muffler that is 3 inch all the way through?

I found a '89 300ZXT at Pic A Part today. Had my tools out all ready to roll around in the dirt to pull out the R200 3.70 CLSD only to discover somebody beat me to it. Had to settle for a decent radiator over flow tank off a 280Z($2.98). Maybe next time.

I spent almost an hour pulling a Taurus fan at my local Pic A Part yesterday only to find out it was a single speed instead of 2 speed. There were quite a few Taurus/Sables missing the fans which must have been 2 speed. I ended up getting a 2 speed off a '94 V8 T Bird for $12,only to find out it's too big. Guess it's back to Pic A Part. Is the single speed Taurus fan sufficient?

My 1998 NHRA rule book says 6 inches but it's no big deal. Do you ever race at Irwindale? If you look close the padding can be seen near my white helmet. http://bowtie0069.fotki.com/102705_irwindale_pix/img_5327.html

The NHRA rules require the hoop to be a maximum of 6 inches from the drivers helmet. Not sure about the SCCA rules though. Good info being posted on the S&W rollbar.One thing for sure it seems to require a curved crossbar to allow the seat to move back far enough. With enough requests for the curved bar maybe S&W will include it in the kit or at least offer it as an option.