MAG58

Sounds good, I will def. be checking them out then, much tanks. For those of you anxious for a timing chain fix, the head got thrown on the ol' mock up block one more time, and I used the stock Datsun chain (Just to see where I'd land) put it around the cam sprockets and laid the Merc crank sprocket at the bottom. Lookin' at it, I couldn't find the stock Datsun curved chain guide, but that one should get kept (as marked by super high-tech finger technique) , right in the stock location, same with the chain tensioner, and I'll put the Mercedes chain guide on the right side (as pictured) Note: the chain's a little short, the crank sprocket is sitting where the chain tensioner is supposed to be... All I have to do is find the right chain length, all Mercedes have the same size chain as the Datsun, just have to find one that fits.

One of my friends who lives down the street from me lit his kitchen on fire, at which time he sprinted the 1 block to the fire dept. to tell them his kitchen was on fire... It took us 10 minutes with a fire raging to convince them there really was a fire and he wasn't drunk. That said, hourly rate on a turbine helo OR a big multi is in the 100's of dollars depending on the unit, so that alone could be a few hundred alone but I don't see why homeowner's shouldn't cover it if not the fact that you were within all laws and codes should help. Sorry about the hard morning... Glad everyone was ok and there was minimal damage.

Well the lower crank sprocket is actually within a few thousands between the M104 and the L28 crank snout, so I'm tossing around either milling the snout and using M104 crank snout dia to use the damper and the crank sprocket off of the M104 or just mill the crank sprocket for the L series. I'm leaning towards the former to maintain the strength of the crank sprocket and I'd only need to get the oil pump gear to run the oil pump, since it's going to end up COP or EDIS with MS timing wont be a problem. I'm currently tossing these ideas around with a local engine builder to see which will be best and this should solve my cam problems. Either way I look at it, the bottom end is in machine shop jail for a while, after that progress should quicken up. While I'm sitting around though I'm going to try to investigate the viability of the entire M104/M111 6sp assembly into a Z since it really is such a well designed motor, give me something to do while the professionals do their work...

Is it completely out of the brake caliper housing? Or is it just pushed out? If it's just pushed out, either pull off the caliper or open up the bleeder and press the piston back into place.

He was way before my time, but he was still one of the best news reporters I've seen.... RIP

I feel this phenomenon happens to everyone... You're driving down a back road, suddenly that certain song comes on the radio, or through the MP3, and the next thing you know it you're heel-toeing your way down a back country road and perhaps scaring whatever poor passenger was there to witness it... That said, what song does this for you guys? For me it's a mix of the following: Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress- The Hollies Trampled Underfoot Kashmir When the Levee Breaks - Zeppelin Bombtrack-RATM Probably more...

At first I'd say if you wanna keep it in the family go RB, but... This is HybridZ... Keeping it in the family is just a non-issue... So let's look at this analytically... The RB: Better Heads IMO Small Displacement Revvy Motor Similar Mounts/Easier Fab work. The 2J: More Displacement More Tractable power band (more torque provided you're not building a motor that is useless below 5k, but if you were I think you'd already know what route you'd be taking) Came Factory in the USofA... I think this is the most important, since the JZ came in a couple of USDM Toyota's, it's way easier to get parts in this country, and not have to wait for something rare... But it is kind of a heavy monster... 1J: Kind of a hybrid of both, revvy, less torque, but some 2J parts will swap over... It has a stronger bottom end IMO than the RB with a full counter crankshaft. Throw it all together and I'd say if weight isn't much of an Issue go 2JZ, there's already tons of aftermarket parts out there by US mfg's so you'll get direct support and even though I don't think it's head is quite as good, it's already been proven by many performance groups that it still has Zero problem making horsepower.

I live in the Middle of Nowhere, haha, I'm about an hour between both Lousiville and Evansville, the two river cities, and then about 3 hrs south of Indy. There's pretty much nothing where I live, but ERL performance is about an hour away by Louisville, and there are a ton of race shops in Indy. As for the valves, the ports aren't giant no, but they do pretty well compared to the L series, I'm still trying to find a reputable shop around here to flow them, but for what I'm building it to be I think they'll do just fine, nice straight ports with no funny casting quirks to get around, and there is some good meat left in the event I wanna port them.

I agree, but down the road at the Sonoco, 103 Octane E85 is 20 cents a gallon cheaper than 87 Octane gas. Oh the benefits of living in the Corn Belt...

If you'll notice in this pic, it looks like someone bolted an exhaust mani for a V8 on this side of the motor. That 4th runner is actually the crossover tube, as the ex. mani from the other side has a feed that just runs across the back of the motor over the tranny to that lil' runner. The turbo is then fed from both sides, it was just more convenient (cost effective) to run one turbo on that side with a crossover than twins like in the Z32.

This may have been equivalent to saying that AL sucks because they have a Designated Hitter... I got my combat helmet on, let's go!

Pfft. Insight BB is truckn' along no probs! Keep it up Phleb, it's nice to see some constant progress like this... Subscribed.

The Alky will toast all the rubber bits in the carbs and the lines and you'll need way bigger jets so depending on the application you have to see if SU's will even flow that kind of fuel...

I agree with BRAAP on everything but one: Napoleon Dynamite was an atrocious assault on the senses. I just felt IQ points shedding away as I watched that disaster unfurl on the silver screen.

Wow... that came out really well... That would look sick. Quite a fan.

But the LSx engines just flow so nicely in the heads for a compact OHV V8... That combined with their skimpy weight and beefy 6 bolt bottom end just begs for a flat plane crank...

I really think you guys wont be disappointed! I've used my Devilbiss guns ever since I started throwing paint down and even when I started when I took it slow it was super easy to produce a nice even coat of paint. Hope these guns work great for you guys.

Paul, I'll be following this religiously as I've always love the sound of a flat plane V8. That said, could you talk to Crower for camshaft options? I know they do from blank billet cams for really custom work, and IIRC they did a very similar project to what you were doing in the 60's or 70's with a SBC instead of an LSx engine. Just throwing some ideas around. Bob

Stick a big ol' blower out the hood just to stick it to the man...

I'm talking to him now, I'm going to see if I can get it one weekend that I have enough time to trek up to Chicago, though work is burying me right now. These are the best pics I can get of the M104 ports intake and exhaust, I really haven't had too much time to work further as doing body work for a customer is occupying 30 of the 24 hours in a day... Here are some pics of the Intake port, from the CC side and from the intake Side, they have NOT been ported what so ever, the only thing that's been done is I've hit it lightly with a wire brush to take the carbon deposits off. This is from the intake port, sorry about the blur, It's been overcast and lighting has been horrible. And again from the CC As for the exhaust port: Also from the CC-- An interesting note here, the two dark areas behind the valve guides appear to be cast in balance tubes? they only go from one side of the port above the valve to the other side and I cannot see any other transition they make. Pushing fluid through it only shows that it does indeed come out the other side. Anyone care to weigh in on these? I've never seen them before. On a descriptive note, I've been very impressed with the typical "German Engineering" that this head displays. It has VERY stiff conical valve springs and what appears to be case hardened retainers. All the valve stems appear to be micro-polished before they were put in (even at the undercut areas that the vavle guide does not contact) and the fit and finish has been far above what I'm used to seeing on our beloved L's or most American engines. A valve/spring/retainer from the Exhaust side: I'm going to be trying to document findings like this carefully so even if nobody dares to attempt this on their own, I want this to be informative to those interested on swaps like this... Bob PS: for those of you that are looking for a Head with the exhaust on the opposite Side, the M120 V12 is literally two of these engines grafted together on a common alloy V12 block, all ports bolt up the same and the exhaust and intake flanges are even equal. As far as SOHC goes if you're inquisitive about a single, two valve style head, the M103 is the ancestor to this engine (much like the RB30E and various DE conversions in relation to one another) and maintains the same bolt spacing and bore spacing but in a SOHC pattern. This engine has a dizzy drive off the front of the camshaft and maintains a larger following due to it's more economical nature and it's time in service. These heads are a dime a dozen around here and can be picked up for cheap.

That they are, though that's pretty much more than I'd ever pay for one.

use a crossover like the factory.

Sorry to cause all the animosity between you guys, the entire object of this project is to create an L series that is more livable on the roads than a big, slobbering, loapy, ported L head while still providing relatively comparable performance. This was never meant to be a fire-breathing monster, as I'm very sure an LS1, RB, JZ, SBC, and a whole bunch of other motors do that perfectly fine. This is more of an "it's never really been done before with this set-up" kind of forte into this realm. As far as flow goes, finding a shop that does GOOD head welding and has a decent flow-bench reputation is seeming to be the really difficult part. A few german sites list the intake at roughly the same flow as the KA head lift for lift and the exhaust MAYBE a little more. This may be way off, it was just my 2AM german translation and conversion from that pesky metric system. I don't intend this to flow better. As far as cost goes I do not plan on throwing lots and lots of money at this and as I go you will see the budgeted options I have to make this work without sinking an arm, leg, and a first born into it. That all said, the CR on the 2.8 was 10:1 using flat-tops, so with factory dished turbo pistons it should provide a very streetable turbo CR in the mid 9's, I will CC the heads for sure though Bob