Wagz

Looking good J.P.!! The pics of the chassis on the rotisserie look familiar! You'll be passing me up progress-wise any day now...

Alex may be correct on the LT1 version bolting right up since, you have an '86 block. If I remember correctly, you only needed the Centerforce flywheel to adapt to the older 2-piece rear main blocks...

Back when I was trying to decide which direction to go, I determined that, in the long run, it would be less expensive to buy the aftermarket bellhousing and use whatever stock-type clutch I wanted. Over time, replacing the older style clutches would be much less expensive than replacing the clutch you had to use with the T56/aftermarket flywheel setup. The other advantage was the simple hydraulic throwout bearing setup that came with the Weir Hotrod bellhousing. Weir makes adaptors that will adapt either the LT1 or LS1 style T56. Here's some info about the Weir setup Since, then a few other companies have come out with adapters/bellhousings. I'm willing to bet the prices have come down a bit too. I think both McLeod and Lakewood have products now. So, I don't really know which direction will be more affordable these days. I bought my stuff almost 2 years ago. If you go the 5-speed route, look for late '80s to '92 Camaros/Firebirds. I'd do a search on the WC T5 and determine if it will handle the torque your motor will be putting out and how to identify it in a wrecking yard.

5spd: T5 from F-bodies will bolt up, but are a bit weak.The WC-T5 (WC=world class) will bolt up and is a bit stronger. If I remember correctly from my JTR book, there are several truck trannys that would work, but weren't recommended. I could be incorrect in that memory, though. 6spd: T56 will bolt up with stock bell housing, but will require a special flywheel. -or - T56 with an aftermarket bell housing (example: Weir Hotrod Products bellhousing)will bolt-up and utilize the stock flywheel and clutch setup. The LT1 T56 is physically different from the LS1 T56. Although, I can't tell you specifically what the differences are. (probably bolt pattern on the bell or input/output shafts) I don't know of aftermarket trannys other than Tremec or Richmond.

I decided to post rather than PM you in case this is helpful to anyone else. Ok. I lied. I only have two ports on the balance tube utilized on my car. 1) PCV valve and 2) brake booster. The vacuum advance for the dizzy is running off a small port on the base of the front carb. Everything else has been deleted and blocked off. Here's a pic taken before I put on the Ramflo air filters:

No sweat. I'll take a look this evening. I should have a digital photo or two showing my setup. I wasn't recommending Danny. I've never bought from him because he is ALWAYS more expensive than everybody else I try on used parts. I just suggested him because he is in your (general) corner of the state. I'll PM you with what I've got after I get home tonight.

I'm running an N42 block/head in my 260Z with older round-top SUs. I dumped the 260 balance tube and got a used balance tube from '71 240 that doesn't have all the emissions crud. If you can't find a used one (Danny's Datsuns is in your neck of the woods) delete everything but a port for the distributor vacuum advance, PCV valve, and a larger port for the brake booster. The valve cover breather on my car is running to the base plate of one of the air filter housings. I'm quoting from memory (not at home now) but, I'm pretty sure thats all I'm running on mine.

JTR makes the SBC kit for the Volvo 240!! I smell another small block swap coming... C'mon, c'mon, c'mon... Do it!

Honestly, brewing your own is super easy and, with a small amount of diligence, can be done without screwing it up. I've only screwed up one batch in several years and had to pour it out. For $50 or less you can get the basic equipment you need at your local brew supply store. There is a book by Michael Jackson (no, not the pedophile) that lays out the steps to brewing your own. I can brew a batch (2 1/2 cases) for around $15 in supplies. It's a lot like cooking. Everything is done to your taste. There are tons of recipes on the net. It gets to be more expensive (moderately) when you malt your own grains, setup kegs/taps, but man, it's fun. When I moved to the land of microbrew (Portland) 10 years ago, my very first new years party with friends was a micro-brew party. All the folks that showed up had to bring their own home-brews. What a blast. Tons of good beer to sample ( and a few bad ones). That's what started my brewing my own. It's easy and not really tought to screw up.

Hot, dry climates are the best places to find low-rust cars (I think "rust-free" Z cars are a myth). Try here: Z Car Source in Arizona. He has several shells, but prices seem to be a bit high.

If you're talking about my 'poor mans rotisserie', yes, I believe I picked it up at Harbor Freight. Because, the uprights on engine stands are angled back several degrees, I had to use the blocks of wood to make the uprights perpendicular to the ground. I got the pivots set at exactly the right height and perpendicular and the jury-rigged setup worked perfectly. I was able to rotate the car with one hand and lock it into whatever position I wanted. It worked well, but if I had it to do over again, I'd spend the time building one similar to the yellow one. Nicely done.

Here's a few: http://members.tripod.com/~mopar_roadster/body_rotisserie.html http://www.zparts.com/zptech/articles/restoration/phenley/rotisserie/index.htm http://www.geocities.com/kenshobnob/ http://alteredz.com/rotisserie.htm Picture of another member's rotisserie: My poorman's rotisserie using two engine stands:

He he. No, so far, the car and myself are both still intact. I decided to stay out of the shop for a few days and do anything non-automotive related. I didn't even cruise the HybridZ forum for a few days (got to be a record for me. I was flirting with withdrawl sysmptoms). I'll probably pick up a helicoil kit this week and get back to it next weekend. Thanks for the offer of the short block. Hopefully, I won't need to take you up on it. How's the GTO project going?

Yeah, Its tempting. I've got a fresh 355 and T56 sitting in the shop, but that is slated for the Velo Rossa... Now that I've had a chance to calm down a bit, I think I'll just end up inserting a helicoil or timesert into the block. I just wish I could come up with a method for drilling/tapping the threads perfectly straight w/o pulling the motor...

I am going light a stick of freaking dynamite under the 260!... Several weeks back, after getting this field muffin running for the first time in 10 years, I lost a lash pad, keepers and bent the #5 intake valve. I finally get all the parts, get the head back together and today I am torquing the head bolts... Yeah, you guessed it... one of them strips out on the last torque iteration... I followed the ol shop manual verbatim: 29ft/lbs on the first pass through the sequence, 43ft/lbs on the second pass. The manual says the final pass should be anywhere from 47 to 61 ft/lbs on the last pass so, I split the difference and go 55ft/lbs. I get to the last bolt over the #1 cylider and, as I'm slowly tightening, I get that really bad sensation you get when the threads start to pull... Oh, Crap! So, I backed the torque wrench off to 40ft/lbs and tried it again... spins fairly easily. So, now I have a stripped bolt/hole in the block. Anyone have advice? Should I use a 1/4 stick of dynamite placed under the full gas tank or should I see if I can buy a fair quantity of C-4 and really put on a fireworks show? Seriously, advice on the best way to go about repairing this? Helicoil? Should I even attempt a helicoil w/o pulling the motor? I'm afraid of not drilling/tapping the block perfectly straight...

KVR (http://www.kvrperformance.com) also claim their pads "require no warm up." I'm considering both the KVR and the Hawk HPS pads for a couple of my cars.

I'm going to be doing a brake job on my 260Z and on my Maxima. For those that may have experience with both brands: Which would you recommend between KVR and Hawk HPS pads?

These are great! I'm laughing my a$$ of and reading these out loud to my wife and she's looking at me like I'm an idiot... the kind of idiot that laughs at bad writing...

I've owned and restored 5 Fiat Spiders. True, reliability can be questionable if they aren't maintained. I had a '77 Spider that was so reliable that for 2 years I made it my ONLY transportation. I drove it daily, took all over the northwest, took it to college, up to the ski hills and everywhere else I wanted to go. It never once left me stranded. That's either a testament to it's reliability or proof that I'm just a lucky moron... My friends still insisted on calling my car "Tony" as in: Fix It Again, Tony

I'll take that! Wish I had a few extra bucks hanging around...

Pretty decent prices. $259 for a Suspension Techniques kit with 1" front, .75" rear and urethane bushings. Front or rear bars are $139 separately.

Larry - Thanks for the pictures and piston offer. I'm going to put this thing back together (after I drain and clean the tank) and get it running again. After that, I'll be checking the cam lobe wipe on the lash pads to make sure I'm not running off the end. Now, back to the garage...

Bastaad - I'll bet you are right on the money. I can all but guarantee that old gas varnish was the problem here too. I had the same scenario, car sitting for 10 years, decided to cut-corners and not drop the tank and clean it, drained the old gas and put in 5 gallons of new stuff. Everything was gummed up from the SUs to the tops of all the pistons and everything in-between. Lesson learned. I stopped at the local Nissan dealership this morning and ordered up a replacement intake valve, keepers and upper spring seat. I'll be dropping the gas tank this week... Damn, cutting corners can get to be expensive and time consuming!

So, after a fair bit of work, I finally get the 260Z fired up. I picked this thing up for waayyyy cheap and towed it home a few months back. It was in a lot of pieces and came with many boxes of new and used parts. It's got an N42 block and head and I'm running 4-screw round top SUs. Anyway, the guy I bought it from had the head re-worked by a local shop years ago before the whole project was shoved in a corner of his garage and forgotten. The head had obviously been tanked and cleaned. The valves looked like new. The cam looked like it was original with minimal wear. Anyway, I looked it over, did a cold check on the valve lash and it looked to be in good shape. I planned on doing a hot adjustment after I got the carbs adjusted and synched up. I got the car fired up and it seemed to run pretty darn well right out of the gate. I synched the carbs and did a few turns around the neighborhood. There was no valve noise beyond what is normal for the L6 motors I've had in the past. I was pretty happy. The next morning I go out to do some more work, fire it up and... WTF???!! A TON of bad clattering! I quickly shut it off and pulled the valve cover. I found two lash pads and the keepers (split colletts) for one valve. SH!%@*! Pulled the head and found this in the number 5 hole (not the quarter - just the damage): The number 2 intake valve didn't lose it's keepers, just the lash pad so, there wasn't piston to valve contact. I'm considering reinstalling the lash pad on number 2 and replacing the bent intake valve on 5. I don't know if the rebuilder put in incorrect lash pads, or if I screwed-the-pooch when I checked the lash when it was cold, or??. I'm leaning toward not replacing this piston and seeing if I can make this bad-boy run for now while I scare up another motor to rebuild. Opinions on my cutting corners?