luseboy

dont put an n42 on an f54... the water ports dont match up. The f54 should only be used with a p90, p90a, or p79. I'd steer clear of the p90a, and unless you're running a turbo, don't sweat between p79 and p90. I've decided to keep my p79, it's a nice head as long as you aren't running a turbo. But I should ask this: what block/head do you have right now? Do you have stock efi or carbs? tell us more about what you have right now, so we can steer you better. If you have carbs, consider going for triples or 4bbl(that's the route I'm going anyways). Either way you're gonna be happy with a light flywheel and free-flowing exhaust. Then you can start looking into cams. If you're really into it, you could drop the dough on a stroker set up, or spend a considerable amount on head work. Your wallet is your limit.

Thanks man!

Well Here's an update+me being less lazy. I painted my valve cover and cam sprocket timing cover (or whatever it's called) today. Really happy with how they look. I'm still not done with the valve cover, I'm going to sand the paint off of the "Nissan . OHC" and the lines that run the length of the top, I think that will look really good. I'll do that tomorrow or later tonight and post some pictars of it . Anyways I've got the pictures resized. I tried to put them in the first post... but for some reason I can't edit the post anymore... really strange (mods, if you want to move the pictures besides the valve cover pictures to the original post, I'd appreciate it! You can delete what resides in these parentheses as well ). Anyways tomorrow I have no school so I'm gonna spend the day welding in new floor pan patches, hopefully I'll finish the front of the driver's side pan, that'd be awesome! I'll also grind down my ugly welds and clean everything up too. I'll have to pick up some por 15 or maybe just some plain old spray paint that matches (or sorta matches) the paint that's already there. Also the whole engine is totaly dismantled right now, and luckily, no machining will be needed. The only thing it needs is new gaskets, which are coming tomorrow. Even the bearings look fine. So happy with that. I paid $100 for a engine with no issues! So awesome. I'm going to paint the block metallic gold this week probably. I know it sounds dumb, but I'm confident that it will look good. At least it will be original . Anyways this car is gonna be so awesome, I can't wait to drive it. Pics! here's the cam timing cover: Valve cover: Super cool from close-up: Here's how the driver's floor pan looked: How it is currently: Look at the lack of rust under the fenders ) The rear hatch area cleaned up nicely, I did this while I had the hatch off to weld the hinge back onto the pass. side: Really like this view for some reason... Anyways I've also been thinking a lot about what route I'm going to go with, figuring out all the parts I want to use and what not. I've pretty much got it all figured out. The next thing I'm going to buy is a tranny. I had been planning on a zx 5 speed... But a local guy here offered me a 240sx 5 speed with L-series bellhousing for a fairly good price... It may be the route I go, still undecided. Does anyone have a 240sx tranny? I haven't searched that hard but I have yet to see a detailed install of one... all I know is that I need to get my driveshaft shortened 2 inches. Any ideas on pricing for that? Anyways sorry I've been so lazy... I guess I've just been really busy with a lot of stuff lately and whenever I have free time, I spend it welding. One of the patches has taken me about 6 hours so far and I'm not even done... It's the big one in the center. But I probably only have another 20 minutes of welding to finish it. I just have to decide what I'm gonna do about the piece I have to weld to because it's really thin before more rusted through metal starts, which is right at the seam of the firewall and the floor pan... Anyways I'll finish it up tomorrow! Its funny how much work this takes, but its so enjoyable for me, I can't explain why, I just love it!

You can get a limited slip diff out of a 300zx and if you change the rear cover and the mount for the driveshaft, it pretty much bolts right in. There's many posts about it on here and other places. Also another thing you might consider for your build is a lighter flywheel. There'd be no way for them to know it was there without taking off the tranny, and it makes your power more efficent. Personally I plan to use an arizona Z car 12 lb flywheel with an aftermarket 2+2 clutch kit. You could do an aluminum driveshaft too come to think of it, MSA sells one. I'd think if you painted it black they wouldn't be able to tell. Also you haven't talked about carbs yet. I assume you need to use your SU's. Check out Ztherapy, apparently they do a great job of modifying SU carbs.

Hello, Looking to buy a 280zx 5 speed tranny to put into my 240z. I really need it, as I don't have a tranny at all! I don't really need the shifter or the shift knob, if it makes a difference in price. I can pay cash or paypal. I also have many items I would be willing to trade. Please let me know if you have a tranny. I'm located in the bay area, CA. Contact via pm. -Austin

very good points! I guess I see now how since the rocker panel is already the stiffest part, it wouldn't make sense to focus on stiffening it. And in thinking... not being able to repair the rocker panels means having to scrap a complete chasis should something go wrong with them. Not probable that anything would go wrong.. but you never know. And that's too much of a downside to have to possibly scrap a classic car that are becoming fairly rare... so this makes me not want to do it, just for fear of ruining a great chassis.

Hey, So I'm working on my 240z and today an idea popped into my head. I remember when I was way into modding my MINI, I had seen people talking about filling different chassis pieces with urethane foam to stiffen them. Apparently it makes a "noticeable" difference. Well in my research I've read that the rocker panels are what hold the chasis together front to back. Assuming this is true, what about filling them with foam? there's plenty of holes inside the car to fill them sufficently. Seems to me it would add a lot of stiffness to the car.... I have read about different other chassis stiffening methods... but they all seem too obtrusive for a street-driven car. This one would be totaly stealth once i put in an interior. My only concern is rust and if i ever have to weld anything to the panels (heard of people scrapping shells because they couldn't fix them after the foam was in there). Any other things that could pose a problem? Am I just being an idiot? seems a little too good to be true if it really does make a difference... Anyways looking forward to what everyone thinks

Interesting that you did that. I had been planning on getting a jegs roll bar for a while but decided against it for the time being (decided I had other priorities, like getting the car rolling). The interior looks great!

Based off of what I have heard... the f54 block and p79 head are not ideal for a turbo application. For one, the flat-tops apparently have too much compression for use with a turbo (I'd think this would be fine). Also, the exhaust liners are known to break apart under pressure. This is no big deal if it runs through your exhaust, possibly damaging some tubing or a muffler. But it is a big deal when it takes out your turbo's exhaust turbine! You can remove the liners though, I've heard. I am not very knowledgable on turbos, but these are the things I have read. I have the same block and head and I decided to keep it NA. The choice is yours.

well the 4.11 sounds like the one. I'm not racing or planning to turbo or supercharge anytime soon, so one you liked for N/A will be the better one I'm sure. Thats a good point about the lsd... i hadn't really thought about it that way. I think I'll just stick with the diff I have already for now, it will save me some cost for my build. Maybe I'll do an lsd conversion or some other diff later on. Well looks like all my questions relating to this topic have been answered on this thread... once again! I love this place, best forum I've ever been on. thanks for all the help guys!

My mini has a 1.6 liter supercharged engine and weighs about 2600 lbs. It is probably putting out around 175 hp. Stock is 160 hp. I can see what your saying, and I'm glad to hear it haha. Like I said, I want something that feels fast. I'm more interested in feel and driveability than the numbers. As I understand it, with my planned mods, I will be putting close to 200 hp to the wheels. so thats 10 lbs per hp, roughly, which is awesome! The throttle will also react faster (damn drive by wire),and I will absolutley love driving this car! So if I did that cam I talked about, and a 5 speed tranny, which diff would I want? I want a vicious lsd out of a 300z if I can find one... But an open diff would be ok too. So what size tranny would I want? A 3.9? Or would a 4.1 suit me better? Like I said I want power a little lower than most people.

awesome! sounds like the winner! Well I'll go with that one then .

is there any other source for lash pads? I thought rock auto sold them as well? if lash pads aren't available... then I guess I can't get a camshaft... unless by dumb luck I am able to find the right lash pads in stock... isn't this a good selection of all the ones anyone would need? http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PEM02/10-2041

your car is so awesome! Definitley a different route than I plan to take my car... But I forsee our cars running together at some point

Aww well I wish I had gone! haha I'm in san anselmo, I'd love to have a ride (in your car lol). And I'd love to check it out just to get some nice ideas for my project.

I know, I wish I would have gone! I had a friend that was going to come here that weekend, so I thought I wasn't going to be able to go. he ended up getting sick and couldn't come here. But then I went and picked up my engine that day so it was either get the project started or go see some Z cars. It was gonna be at least another week till I would have been able to get the engine so I went for getting it then. I guess I'm used to my MINI where cams are a selection of street, semi-race, or full on race. I was under the impression that that's how all engines are. But I have realized that I am very wrong in that impression. Well I've decided to go with the one I had planned on, the web "91" grind: 260 duration. here's the info sheet on it: http://webcamshafts.com/pages/automobile/datsun/install_data/tc_001800_001086.html does this sound like a good cam? or should I go more aggressive?

If you're taking 101 to petaluma and you don't have to downshift... I'm impressed! That one hill on 101 in novato, I always have to downshift in my mini to hold speed. I'm excited for my Z . Well yes, I realize there is a give and a take to it (just like everything else!). I know... I know. I keep kicking myself because I want to know what a bone stock Z drives like. But I don't really have that option because my Z is undriveable, and if I'm going to rebuild it, then I'm not gonna go back to a stock car! so unless another member from the bay area wants to go for a drive somewhere, I'm pretty much just going to have to trust that everything I did was worth it.

what part of the bay are you from? in marin it's really hilly, well in the part I'm in. I'm having tons of fun with my stock cam too! It sits in my engine on it's stand waiting to be used haha. I've never driven a Z before so I wouldn't know. But since I'm rebuilding the engine anyways, I figure I will try and do it right the first time!

This car is awesome! So clean! the only issue I have with it is the rims look way too big... but that's just me, I'm into small rims. Anyways I really like your car! I plan to paint my '73 green hah. how did the por15 stuff work? and how is that roll bar? I'm looking into getting one...

Ah that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation, I really appreciate it!

well I wasn't saying I wanted it to have peak power there or anything... really just saying that I want it to at least be able to move the car without stalling at that rpm... I live in a pretty hilly place so its important to have enough down low to get you moving. I would never expect to be trying to drive it quick in that rpm range. 3k is about where I want the power to come on, in thinking.

haha sounds interesting... is it as straight forward as it sounds? would you be able to (PM if you want) tell me how this is done?

now that is starting to sound more like what I want. so would the cam I mentioned be more on track with what you're saying? Its not too aggressive. I don't plan to ever race this car. I will probably do some track days and some auto-x, but no racing on the track, I'm sure. This is going to be a street Z, but I hope to make it a fun car!

sounds like you and I are after different things... I want something for the low-end. Something that will pull from a low rpm, on up to a mid-range. Although top end is important to me too... So it needs to be a little more aggressive. I think I'll go with my gut and go for the second from mildest cam that web offers. How do I know when I have the right lash pads? Where's the best place to get lash pads? Anyways thank you for your reply! I appreciate your input.

Well I searched... and surprisingly didn't find anything. I'm wondering if anyone is using a cam from Web Cams? here's the link: http://www.webcamshafts.com/index_blank.html?pages/vehicle_search.html You have to search for the right cam for the L, but they're there (under automobile-datsun-Z). The price for a re-grind sounds great, and they have quite a few grinds to choose from. I've seen them mentioned in other places and they apparently hold up really well. For a street-driven N/A Z with some basic upgrades, and driven for fun, what would be the right grind? I was thinking the .450 lift, 260 duration? Seems like it would be a great street cam. I'm more interested in the "feel" than the numbers. So basically something that feels good on the street. Any insight on this? And when I replace the cam, I need new rockers and lash caps, correct? What size lash caps with this cam? Thanks for any help in advance! -Austin