Sam280Z

Yes, use the soldering iron to melt a slit down inside the metal retaining ring (not crimped on). The new hose will them push down in there (with a little WD40) and seal without the need for a clamp. There is no need to cut on the rings.

Kroil: http://www.kanolabs.com/ Way better than PB Blaster. I've never used FreeOil.

IMO, you should use 6 gauge / 3 conductor romex. There will be 3 insulated wires: red, black, and white. There will be 1 uninsulated wire for the safety ground - size of the ground wire is not critical. I second the notion of putting in a subpanel. You will use the welder relatively infrequently as compared to other electrical devices, you can run a 20A 110 circuit for a couple of outlets. This is what I did for my Miller Synchrowave 180SD. I also ran a 30 Amp circuit out of the subpanel for my air compressor. I just switch it's breaker off when I switch on the welder breaker. I also recommend installing a service disconnect near the welder. Sam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline#Ethanol Smog and ozone are why they add ethanol in Atlanta. We have it here in Baton Rouge too.

I don't know what the machine shop did. I have seen shops take a bent head and only machine the bottom. This leaves a curve in the top surface that binds the cam. In the case I saw, the camshaft snapped in half after a few seconds of running. Machining the L6 (or any OHC head) is not at all like machining a chevy V8 pushrod head (what most shops are familiar with).

STOP! You really need to have a much greater understanding of what you are doing before you finish this job. Valve geometry is critical if you want the engine to not just run, but also to last an appreciable amount of time. You definitely need to get the How to Rebuild book and should probably get the How to Modify book. You can get them both together for $30.04 at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Rebuilt-Your-Nissan-Datsun-Engine/dp/1931128030/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b http://www.amazon.com/Modify-Your-Nissan-Datsun-Engine/dp/1931128049/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211566578&sr=8-2 The shims are required to move the cam back to its original location relative to the crank if you shave the head. But this can move the cam away from the valves (similar to a regrind). When you move the cam away from the valves, you affect the wipe pattern on the rocker arms. This needs to be centered and is adjusted by using different thickness lash pads in the top of the valve keeper. The valve adjustment is done on the other side of the rocker arm with an adjusting nut and locknut. Hope this helps, Sam

I've been running one with no liners for over 10 years now. No problems. Never put it on a flow bench though. 1_fast, are you speaking from experience when you say it shows no improvements and potentialy hurts flow? I'd like to see some hard numbers since I'm getting ready to build another motor and have a few unmolested heads lying around... Thanks, Sam

What kind of clutch did you get? I have seen one case where a brand new ACT pressure plate was too thick (244mm L6 setup). Another possibility is too much runout in the clutch disk. Sam

I put the 57.5s in. It seems a bit better, but may be on the rich side now. It still only takes about the same number of turns out, which leads me to question the advise in the "how to modify" book.

The float level has more of an effect at idle than at speed. To get at the idle jets, remove the screw holding down the inspection cover. The idle jets are the smaller brass bits poking up to the outsides of the larger brass bits. They will have the size stamped on the top. I highly recommend joining the sidedraft central yahoo group and reading Keith's white paper on carb tuning. http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/sidedraft_central/files/Weber%20Tuning%20White%20Paper/ If you want to fix this problem, you will need to really understand how these carbs work. They are basically the same as Weber DCOE and Dellorto carbs, so almost everything in the sidedraft group applies.

By choke, I mean the constriction that provides the venturi effect. They are also known as the main venturis. They are changeable to tune for better low end or high end. The set screw holds it in place behind the auxiliary venturis. Your symptom sounds like your idle mix is on the lean side and when carbs get hot, vaporizing fuel makes it go leaner and leaner until you get a misfire. Let us know the idle jet size and how many turns out the idle screws are. Have you checked your float level? Also, are the 44mm or 40mm? What is their history?

1st picture is the hose fittings for running coolant (not engine coolant) through the carb bodies. This is not required and I have never hooked these up. You can hook them to the fuel return to keep the carb bodies cool. This will not effect the idle. 2nd picture is where the set screw, lock washer, and lock nut goes to hold the main chokes in. That choke is loose now and you probably have a *small* air leak through that carb. It is before the throttle so should not effect the idle at all. What is your idle problem? What idle jets do you have? How many turns out are your idle mixture screws? Take them and turn them in, counting the 1/2 turns, until they just seat. Do not over torque as you can break the tip off. Write down how much it takes to turn each screw in, and you now know how far to turn them out to at least get back to your starting point. You can then take each screw out and clean the tip, check for damage and spray some carb cleaner/compressed air in there. You might get better results posting in these types of question in fuel delivery. Sam

I count turns as 360deg. I thought 52.5s were small too. but according to the "How to" rule of thumb, that would be too large (I don't believe this is the case). My next size up that I have on hand is 57.5. Thanks again

Thanks Tony, pictures would help a lot. I have blown air though them. The stuff in the bottoms of the carbs when I rebuilt them was almost like concrete. The thing that concerns me is that I have 52.5 pilot jets in and it takes 1.75 turns out on the idle screw for the best/fastest idle (measured with a vac gauge and tach on my timing light). The "How to Modify" book says that if you have less than 2.5 turns out, you probably need a leaner pilot. However, depending on the weather, I can occasionally get a lean pop out of the intake at cruise.

You need to join this yahoo group: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/sidedraft_central/ Read this: http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/wELxR3XnCS3bdLD-PdBHXndAciOO_pZGzkmRMruYWkv7OzcIQ0MFXYc4h4d9HUNDk0u5Sh-6GJyS1oaiO-Dd0nyPk2XN3A/Weber%20Tuning%20White%20Paper/Weber_DCOE_Tuning_White_Paper.pdf

Thanks for the response. After I posted this i went out and fiddled with them a bit - took out the idle screw and jet while it was running. No change in running without them. When I put them back in, that cylinder picked up and started running again. Must have been a piece of junk in there. I rebuilt the carbs a few years ago and there was a phenomenal amount of encrusted beige powder (kind of the consistency of drywall dust) in the bottoms. My concern is that some of this may have made its way into the pilot circuit passages. Webers and Dellorto have the inspection cover you speak of. Mikunis have a plug that has a slot in it like it may have been screwed in. But every slot on every carb is aligned perfectly; they are peened to the carb body in two places; and they are labeled "L" & "R" with "L' on the left barrel and "R" on the right. I'm not scared of undoing the peening, I just don't know what lies beneath and if I'll be able to reassemble.

I have triple Mikuni 44phh carbs on my 280Z. The number two cylinder seems to be dead, but only at idle. I want to remove the pilot circuit covers to look inside but i have no idea how to remove them. I do not want to damage the carbs. Anyone know how? Thanks, Sam

whoops, brain fart. I knew that and over-thought the problem. I'll edit my original post to reflect reality.

Did you clean the bolts and bolt holes before you put the locktite on? A tiny bit of grease will negate loctite's effectiveness. The discussion of the differing rates of expansion interests me. I doubt it was a factor. If Al expands at a greater rate than steel (~2X http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coefficient_of_thermal_expansion), the bolt hole would get larger relative to the bolt. I'm not sure that this difference would be enough to have much of an effect on the clearance between the threads. Regardless, the locking of the bolt in the threaded hole is effected by the "stretch" or springiness of the bolt as the thread engagement pulls the end of the bolt away from the head. (everyone needs this book: http://www.amazon.com/Fasteners-Plumbing-Handbook-Motorbooks-Workshop/dp/0879384069/ref=pd_ys_iyr25) The expansion ofthe Al in the orthagonal direction would actually add tension to the bolt. It looks like you had insufficient torque. 12ft/lbs is not very tight. A mis-calibrated torque wrench could exacerbate the problem. Sam

OK, It is leaking. Where is it leaking from? Out of the throat? From the bottom? How are you setting the float level? Could your floats be damaged and have absorbed gas causing them to sit lower in the fuel bowl? Do you have a heat shield? The gas may be boiling in the bowl. the best info for sidedraft carb tuning I have found is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sidedraft_central/

Need more info. What do you mean by flooding? A single barrel should not flood without the other as well.

Tanstaafl

A safer way to help some one build their credit is to make them an authorized user on a credit card that has a good history (no late payments, etc...). They do not need actual access to the account (no CC#, pin, etc...). All credit history of that account will be attached to the person you are helping with no worry of a loan default or late payment affecting you. Sam

Do I have to count tools and house/garage modifications?

If you use distilled water, you will have to boil the water twice. Once to distill it, and once for the live steam. That does not seem that efficient.