2eighTZ4me

While I haven't measured explicitly, I am almost sure the Lonewolf runners are longer than stock. I'll have to put the two side by side and get out the tape measure to verify, but from a cursory glance, the Lonewolf seems to be longer (and definitely bigger!)

Just got the car aligned yesterday and also took care of the exhaust (3"). The car is nearing completion. I will be taking video tomorrow, and will hopefully have it uploaded by Monday. Will take video around the car as well to detail the flares. I was told by John Williams that the molds for the flares are still available and could possibly have another run made. As an update - I did indeed toast the rear end. I put it back in (full of dope this time) and ran it up the street. I'm sure the bearing(s) are gone. Roared like a lion. Fortunately, I had a spare CLSD that I got from this forum that had 80K on it. Popped it in and it's smooth as silk. Spent the whole weekend dorking around with taking out and putting in rear ends. I'm good at the process now though! Gotta take care of a few little gremlins that are arising (as they always do) - but will be ready to hit the track as soon as the next event rolls around. Oh yeah - I need tires too. Egad...does it ever end? Hmmmmm - NO!!

Precision all the way. IF you're buying a kit. I would recommend getting it from Oliver at ZSpecialties. Great deal for what all you get in the kit. http://www.datsunstore.com/product_info.php/cPath/11_35/products_id/305 Others have bastardized weatherstripping from just about any vehicle you could imagine. I've heard of Dodge Caravan door seals working with some trimming on a S30. Some folks have bought rolls of blank stripping from McMaster Carr and cut them to fit.

It unscrews from the block just like an oil filter would.

If he's going to sink valves and carve out the head, he's reducing squish as well. The gasket just does it evenly across the bore, rather than concentrating it in a valve pocket. Your "mixing" would occur at the induction phase on its' way to the cylinder, although, I would imagine more mixing could occur in the cylinder as well, but the theory is to have the fuel/air charge atomized and mixed before it even gets inside the combustion chamber. I'm not a professional machinist, nor a pro engine builder, but would like to hear a little more explanation on "lean spots" inside the cylinder. I need to be educated on this point. Have you pulled your front cover yet and spun the block to TDC yet? If you have a stroker, you should have the piston sticking up out of the cylinder about .6mm at TDC. I may not have read it in the post, but have you mic'd your pistons to find out the bore size? That will help narrow down half of the equation.

Running E85 requires a complete overhaul of the fuel system. It eats rubber, and isn't very fond of aluminum either. Reference this thread for a more detailed explanation. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?p=964008#post964008 I would think just by going with a 2mm head gasket, you could save yourself a bit of money in machine shop costs. The gasket is pricey, but would probably negate your cost from the machinist, or at least be fairly close. Then it's bolt on and go. I'm not good at the math, and haven't studied cylinder volumes in detail, but a stock HG compressed is supposed to be 1.2mm, that would give you .8mm additional unswept volume across a 90mm bore. What does that equate to? They also make a 3mm head gasket (believe it's a Kameari part) - so there are options other than carving up your head. Sinking the valves just doesn't sound like a great option to me. But hey - I'm not a machinist! Keep us posted.

Well - that doesn't help too terribly much. Have you checked for spark and fuel? Need to start there. You may have damaged or grounded a wire to the ignition system perhaps - you won't know until you get a test light and make sure you have power going to the coil with the key in the on position. Pull the coil wire and position it near the upper strut tower bolts. Spin the motor over with the key and check to see if there is spark arcing from the coil wire to the strut tower bolts. Also, pull the plugs to check for fouling. If they're dark black, it's running rich and can/will potentially foul them. See if the plugs are wet and smell of fuel. That would indicate a (excess) fuel issue. Pull the hose off the fuel pump to the carbs and place in a bucket or other catch device. Spin the motor over and see if the pump is putting out fuel. Get back with us after these tests have been performed and keep us posted.

Freakin' nice Matt! Going through the same thing myself. Great work bro. Keep it up!

I live in Lawrenceville and could help to a certain degree. Need to know what is out of whack first off. What is preventing it from being street legal? I'm knee deep in my 240 project, as well as a friends 77 200SX GT3 car, and another buddy's 510, but could try to help as much as time permitted. Seriously though, you need to itemize and prioritize what items are preventing the car from being roadworthy. Being that you are on a budget, you will need to base your spending on what items are absolutely critical to your (and others) safety while on the road. Brakes come to mind here.... I have a fair collection of parts, and what I don't have, you may be able to find at a place on Buford Hwy. in Norcross called Z Car Atlanta. it is a huge Z graveyard. Lets first find out what your needs are and we can make a plan from there. You can PM me if you wish to get in contact.

If you wore down to a main cap, you would have more than likely spun a bearing inside the main cap and screwed it up that way. If a bearing is good, it should protect the main cap - unless of course, you spun the bearing and the crank and main cap started making friends. You'd hear that as an obnoxious knocking noise when the car was running. I'm with Paul - you can get a used motor/bottom end cheaper than rebuilding the one you have. I used genuine Nissan bearings, and those alone for rods and mains were $150.

OK - I screwed the pooch. johnc moves to the bonus round for his quick (and correct) answer. No gear dope. Go ahead and think it, but please don't post it - I beat myself up thoroughly last night when I pulled the plug and a couple ounces came out. No excuses. Blatant stupidity. I thought I had filled it when I put it in over 8 months ago. Funny how old age and memory tends to fail somethimes..... On the good side though, when I unbolted the shafts with the suspension at full droop, they both pulled right out of there with almost 1/4" clearance. No marks on the endcaps, so I did indeed have the clearance I needed. I must retract any bad statements or connotations about MM - their product works as designed, and is a very good product(s). I checked the pinion bearing and carrier bearings. Smooth as silk with no binding whatsoever. I checked the ring and pinion gears. No chipped teeth or anything broken. The ring gear was worn dry, but no bluing had occurred from heat, so at this point, I'm gonna clean the heck out of it, chuck it back in (and then fill it with dope) and run it and see what happens. The drain plug magnet had some fine shavings on it, but no chunks, so I think I'll be ok. I've really got nothing to lose at this point. What do you guys recommend for gear oil for the CLSD? I've used the Royal Purple before and it says it has the limited slip additive in there, so was wondering if that is enough, or what "cocktail" you all use. Apologies again for my own stupidity and oversight. Anybody got any barbecue sauce for the crow I'm eating??

On the good side - it happened real close to the house, so I basically coasted in and tried to avoid putting any more pressure on the unit. Again - I compressed the suspension about 3/4 of the way from where it would be normally operating at in order to get the shaft in. Under full compression, it will give me additional clearance. Top that off with the fact that I'm running 345lb rear springs - the suspension does not travel much at all. I was not going around any wild corners or doing any off-roading - just putzing about the neighborhood on flat roads. Will go over everything with a fine toothed comb tonight and probably take pics for your opinions. One other thing. I have the AZC adjustable rear LCA's. Would it behoove me to take the adjusters out as far as they will go to allow more clearance? Makes sense that it would.

Nick - you rock buddy. That's a great idea. Especially after seeing getz's shafts after he ground them. There was metal shavings all over the place. That must have been fun cleanup work. So - did you guys use a bench grinder, or a die grinder with a cutoff wheel?

When I installed the CV's, I compressed the rear suspension to get enough clearance to fit them in. Didn't compress all the way, just enough to get them in. As I read in another post, you get more clearance the more you compress the suspension. I had a tougher time with the conversion of the DD than I did getting this together. I will pop off the end caps of the shafts this evening and see if the shaft end has made any marks on it. That should tell me if there is any bind on the axle. For safety sake, I think I am going to grind off the excess on the shaft end. At this point, I'm almost convinced the diff is going to require parts of some nature. I guess I'll know when I pull everything apart tonight.

Yes - Royal Purple gear oil filled while car leveled until it dripped out the fill hole. I'm thinking the same thing - a side preload from the long shaft pushing something cockeyed. I can't imagine a sideload on the carrier bearings translating up to the pinion bearing though. I'm not in the least bit savvy with rear ends, so hopefully someone can educate me. I'm just going on what I've read on this forum.

Finally got the racer roadworthy and took it out yesterday for a little extended spin. A little history first. R200 CLSD that I had put over 60K on with in my DD. MM billet Z31 CF's. Factory axles out of 87 turbo car. Pulled and labeled by myself - with cages flipped. AZC tubular LCA's. Solid AZC diff mount. AZC mustache bar and diff hanger. Rear ride height set to 7.25" I had driven the car up and down my street a few times with no evidence of binding, grinding, or otherwise at low(er) speed. Got out on a 45mph street and I go about 2 miles (and a couple heavier throttle takeoffs) when all of the sudden this horrid howling sound begins every time I hit the gas and put a load on the diff. Let off the gas - sound goes away. Reverse = no sound. It is literally loud enough in the car to rattle your brain and give you a headache. I was lucky to be very close to the house when it started, so I coasted it in for the most part, hoping to avert possible further damage. Pulled the car in to the garage and put it up. Both wheels still turn the same direction, everything rolls smoothly. Took it back out up and down the street. Was able to make about 2 laps (1/2mi.) with no noise, and then it starts again. Guessing it may be heat related at this point. I have the diff 95% of the way out as of last night and will be draining/inspecting this evening. I've read on other posts that pressure from the longer shaft can cause undue stress on the pinion bearing. I'm guessing this is the case, based on the conditions under which it starts howling. I put 60K on this diff in my DD, and while it made a little whirring in that car, it howls like a banshee now in the 240. I've also done the CV conversion to the DD with the weld-on MM flanges, and I've put over 1200 miles on the car with nary a problem at all. My question is - is it possible for a fairly mechanically inclined individual to replace bearings inside a R200 CLSD? I don't know at this point what all is trashed (but something sure as heck is), but is sure sounds bearing related, and based on what I've read, am almost sure of it. Will be grinding the ends off the shafts while the diff is out, and go back with an open diff I have lying around, while tending to the bruised and battered CLSD. I had heard gnosez killing a Quaife, and he wondered if it was specific to those LSD's. Can't say my situation was 100% caused by the shafts, but I'm leaning heavily in that direction, and it was a factory CLSD, not an aftermarket. Where would you guys recommend getting bearings from? Pull the old ones out and take them to a bearing retailer and have them match them up. Or is this a part(s) you would buy only from the dealer? I believe I am the first on this forum to eat up a CLSD, as I've read over every thread pertaining to this conversion, and have not read of anybody else eating up a factory unit. Just crap.........don't even get 5 miles on the car and I've torn something up already. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.....

Here's a start.... http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=134199&highlight=240SX+speedo+sender

If I recall, Tony D used a 240SX speedo sender in the tranny in place of the mechanical sender. I can't tell you details, as I read it a while ago, but I believe with the proper amount of searching, you can find the thread. Believe it was a simple fix. Good luck!

Keep drinkin' man!! Looks great!! That is a nice blue BTW.

Short side = driver side. Long side = passenger side. Getz - wasn't it you that chewed up a Quaife? I know it was someone on this forum. They started hearing grinding noises after a couple hundred miles, and ended up losing his ring gear due to pressures on the diff from the tight fitting axles. On my racecar, I have the R200 LSD diff, and while I've only driven it maybe a mile total, I didn't hear any creaking, grinding, popping, or otherwise. My DD which has an open diff - I've put probably a couple thousand miles on it so far without any problems. I'll have the racecar going soon, and will know for sure, but as it stands, I personally can't answer that question 100% positively. I've heard the problems are more prevalent on "lowered" cars, but my DD has the Eibach/Tokico package, and the racecar is on Bilstein coilovers and has an extremely low ride height. No audible/visible problems as of yet.

Myself personally - I WOULD hang on to that N42 head and block. The P79 is a decent head as well, but not as "capable" from a performance standpoint. The P90 heads are going to drop compression considerably (especially with dished pistons), which would be fine if you intend to turbo the car. Not so much if you stay NA(unless you shave .080" off and shim the cam towers). I would stay away from the hydraulic lifter heads if at all possible. There are threads on this site from folks that converted the hydraulic lifters to solid, so I can imagine there is a preference of some folks to stay away from the hyd. lifters. WRT pistons - factory turbo pistons are no different from factory NA pistons. You will not gain anything from a cast piston - turbo designation or not. Forged pistons are pricey, and unless you're running boost through the ceiling, are not necessary either. Any combination can be made to run well, it's just a question of what your goals are and what your budget is. Horsepower = $$$ squared. I think right now, you just have to figure out a way to have all your goods shipped to your next destination. I would definitely hang on to what you have if at all possible. You're that much further ahead of the curve when you get to S. Ga. - meaning that you don't have to go scrounging for parts. They'd already be there.

The shafts you need are out of a TURBO 300ZX from 84-89. The late 87-89 Z31 turbo's had the LSD diff, but all the turbo cars from 84-89 had the 4 bolt shafts that work with the MM comp. flanges. I would HIGHLY recommend sourcing a set of used pieces off a car that you absolutely know has factory shafts. I've heard nightmare stories of the AutoZone shafts (made in China) not fitting worth a damn and causing all kinds of fitment problems. One guy even had his Quaife LSD eaten up by shafts that were too long. Get the shafts with the green ends - and avoid remans if at all possible. I'm surprised MM didn't send you a .pdf file with the instructions on how to flip the inner bearing cage to achieve the proper shaft fitment. They sent it to me via e-mail with my receipt of payment. May want to shoot Ross an e-mail and ask him for the document. It's terribly simple (greasy as hell - but simple) and takes about a half hour.

OK - I've been working on the "minor" things trying to get the car roadworthy. The exhaust that's on it is a P.O.S. 2 1/4" system that's been hacked together - but it was free, and it will suffice to get it to the exhaust shop. I've already got the "S" pieces for the rear of the exhaust in 3" mandrel bent, and I've also got 2 sticks of 3" that I'm going to take to Random Technology and have them mock up the existing exhaust system in 3". Spent yesterday getting the headlights and taillights wired up with WeatherPack connectors and getting them blasted and shot with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator (which, by the way, WILL dry sufficiently in 55 degree weather) so the taillights are in and functional, AND I got the car tagged last week, so the only thing holding me back now from getting to the alignment shop (and subsequently, the exhaust guy) is getting the front fenders mounted and the headlights/buckets installed. Hope to do that tonight. Then I get to futz with the custom air diverters the PO built to direct air around the air dam, then get the air dam mounted. I was hoping to do video last weekend, but decided I'd rather wait to get the new exhaust done. Have the Borla XR-1 muffler ready to go, so it shouldn't be long. I have a couple vacation days left this year, so hoping to take a few soon and get this all wrapped up. I WILL take video this weekend though just for a "before and after" with the exhaust. I'm giddy as a kid in a candy store, as I've put my foot into it a couple times in my neighborhood (no fenders, hood, or rear deck lid) and it has NO problem spinning a set of 11.5" slicks, so I'm very optimistic that I will have a nice running car. RisingSun - would love to hook up with you when you come to the A.T.L. let me know when you're coming. And to answer your question, my battery is mounted in the back next to the fuel cell. Not sure why the PO put the battery behind the driver instead of over on the passenger side, but I'm sure he had is reasons. Thanks for all the kind words guys - it's nearing completion!!

THANK YOU!!! Wasn't that what I was trying to tell you guys all along???!! Maybe I didn't do it in the clearest of fashion - but that was EXACTLY what I experienced with my head and the different retainers/springs. I even had it documented in another post. THANK YOU - I've been cleared.

Au contraire. The later N47 Z head (1980 on) also had the head temp sensor that you speak of. 1 fast Z pointed this out in a prior thread. He stated there is a specific marking on the head that would denote an N47 or a MN47, but the head temp sensor was NOT the way to identify. He was rather vague about the particular marking in his post, but nonetheless, I have been corrected on this misinformation myself, which is why I bring it up.