Sanchez

Thanks for all of the help, but my engine has just been decided fir me. Immediately after purchasing the E31 a local Z car enthuasiast (spelling ?) offered me a complete P79/F54 setup with trans and efi and exhaust for it, so this is my new project. Now I need to find out how to squeeze the most HP and Torque out of this engine. A moderator can feel free to close this thread if they do that on Hybridz.

That cost is for light machining only, I estimate another 1000-1500 on parts (valves, cam, pistons, etc.). Yes I am having trouble with tuning my SU's but after hours of troubleshooting I have discovered that it is my 40 year L24 that has sticking valves and the like. The SU's are fine its all in the engine hence my focus on the L28.

Im guessing these rods do not have a set of KA24's attached to them but I would like to see some pics. I will PM you my email address later.

Thanks for the insight. From getting quotes near me I came out to just over 500 for both block and head work, not getting any deep cleaning cause I will do that my self, and pistons will all be stock KA24 that I can get for cheap. The rods will be pretty cheap to. Luckily there is a great Z car garage/store called Zee-works near me and he has no P90 heads but he has a couple E31. Im gonna go for this and try to run up a total price sheet to see if it will fit my budget. If it doesnt I may just keep the stock bore and use an E31 on the F54 and try to lower the compression from 10.2:1 to my hopeful 9.2:1

All of the information I found about the blocks seemed to conflict to the point where I just went with the one I could get cheapest. I am glad to see that somebody is building a similar engine because I could find absolutley no information regarding this build, we should keep in touch while building our engines. I plan on doing a write up on my build as well cause I think this will be a nice, streetable, alternative to a stroker.

All of the information I found about the blocks seemed to conflict to the point where I just went with the one I could get cheapest. I am glad to see that somebody is building a similar engine because I could find absolutley no information regarding this build, we should keep in touch while building our engines. I plan on doing a write up on my build as well cause I think this will be a nice, streetable, alternative to a stroker.

I would like to get the 3.0 liters roughly without going the stroker route. And I already have the E31, I calculated this to have just under 9.5:1 compression ratio which will give me a decent weekend racer for use at the speed way and will run on the 93 octane we have in St. Louis

So I'm building a street engine on a budget and crunched alot of numbers to get this combo. Would the fine people here at HybridZ consider this an engine worthy of a performance restoration? F54 block, .120 over with L28 crank L24 rods and KA24 pistons. E31 head with 280z valves and hardened seats, light port and polish. Mild Stage II cam with SU carbs (might go triples if I can get the funds). Let me know what you think, thank you

I am looking to buy KA24 Pistons connected to the 73' 240z rods. This is not for a Stroker, just for a 3mm overbore in my L28 with an E31 head. Want them in usable condition for street use, not high performance. PM me with offers, thank you.

Well I heard that the square exhaust flows better cause it doesn't have emissions stuff on it... plus I can set it up to get the compression I want, 9.5:1 and a 2949cc displacement... and a valve job will solve the flow issues

I like the sound of the E31 its just that I am looking for something along the lines of simple yet sporty. I am concerned about doing any cutting into the wiring due to all of the hard-wires a previous owner did and the bad quality of the harness overall, so I would like to stick to SU's with the option of Weber's. I'm leaning towards the F54 Flattops and a P90 because it has decent CR and a freeflowing design. I would like to know the possible ways to boost CR on the P90 F54 setup, and possibly how much I can sell my E31 for? Edit: I did however just see an interesting concept about creating a "poser-stroker" engine that yields roughly a 3.0L engine without and LD28 crank, the one thing I cannot get my hands on and one thing I would probably not even buy if I could. It envolves the KA24E Flat-top pistons on an l28 overbored 3mm, l24 connecting rods and the l28 crank; all with an E31 head. It sounds very interesting and I would like to give it a try, anybody done this?

My SU's were rebuilt by Z Therapy just 4 Months ago so any air leaks would be in vacuum hoses or the balance tubes.

So I'm getting around to actually building an L28 for my 240z and I have a dilemma. I have access to any engine parts possible, from an E31 to a P90A and all block combinations. I dont want to make a race engine with streetibility. I would like to stay with the square ports exhaust and compression from 9.0:1 to 9.5:1. I would also like to keep machining and extra work to a minimum. So if you wouldn't mind telling me what combination you use and what mods are necessary, I also want to run SU's Thank you, If you have any more questions let me know.

Thanks for the response. If you are willing to help thats great, just shoot me a message when you are in the area.

I've been there man, except is was with SU's. My friend had 280z's FI system cut out on him about a week ago and it turns that he had an oil leak right ontop of his alternator and fried the entire thing, his system was not getting any charge at all. Might want to look into that.

Hey Hybridz. I got my Datsun 240z one year ago and have been trying to fix it myself but I am constantly being held back by the learning curves on this car. I learn better through experience not through reading, as most students do now-a-days. I am doing a Performance Restoration, but currently the car is mostly stock. My biggest issue is my SU carburators which I can get well tuned for about one drive then they fallout of tune again, this is probably due to my low vacuum at idle. I know I have sorted out the big problems with the car, but now I just have those little PITA problems adding up and causing this car to not run well. If you are one of those Z car experts on SU's or just other techinical areas in these cars drop me a line because I would be more than happy to make it worth your while if you could give me some pointers on a weekend or after I get out of school one day. I live in St. Louis city, just contact me, Thank you.

I talked to the manager of MSA today and he assured me that the 70-76 Header they sell will fit all Datsun z heads with square ports. Thanks for the help, hopefully this and some new gaskets will help solve my low vacuum issue.

Okay so I cannot get by on using just one header. I should get the N42 header?

Thanks for the speedy response. So one more question, should I purchase a P90 header from MSA and use that on my E88 for now or go for the E88 header and use that on my P90 when it comes time?

So about 6 months ago I was out of town and got a call from a friend telling me that I was getting fine notices for not registering my 240z which I had been working on (It is an early 1973 240z currently completely stock). I told my friend to take it down to the muffler shop and have them throw on an exhaust just to get it passing inspection; well my friend knew nothing about cars and It showed when he was talking to the muffler shop because they overcharged him/me and put on one of the cheapest most restrictive exhausts you could imagine (1 3/4 in pipe, cheap restrictive muffler, non mandrel bent pipe, and they slapped it on to the rusty manifold). I have been driving it since because I need it as a daily driver but now is the time to change it because I can tell that my engine hates it. This is were my dilemma sets in. I want to put an l28 into my car because the l24 is starting to give out on me and I am tired of putting in lead substitute everytime I refill costing and extra 10 dollars. I also want my 240z to be running until I have rebuilt the l28 and it is time to drop it in, but with the exhaust It is becoming more difficult to drive. I would like to put a header on the l24 and new 2 1/4 pipe all the way through the car. However I am building on a budget and would like to reuse the exhaust once I drop the l28 in. I have heard that the E88 (my current head) and the P90 (my soon to be l28 head with flat-top pistons) have the same square exhaust ports. Will a header built to fit an E88 fit on to a P90 head, and will the rest of the l24 exhaust fit under the car after the engine swap? Thank you, I hope this all made sense

Thanks for letting m know about the city lights. But how can I make use of them i.e. wire them into my system if at all possible. By the way I found this cool tutorial on making your own Angel Eye's/Halo Lights for any car for about twenty dollars. I just got finished installing them on my friends Mazda as a test and they look mean. Just look up how to make your own LED Angel Eyes.

So I got a wonderful pair of H4 Headlights from John over at H4lights.com and noticed after checking out the Narva XB3 Bulbs in there, that there is also a small bulb inside with another connector. What is this bulb for, and how can I wire it up for its main purpose? Regarding mods, I would like to put a nice set of LED Halos around the Headlights. Cut 'em off at a certain point, maybe 3/4 inch unlit, to give it a real mean look in the night; for fun. Are there any that won't be super permanent that other people have used? Thanks alot

Thanks for the help. I ended up just going for the H4 light special offered by John at h4lights.com (who by the way was extremely helpful and his product is amazing). Everything was fine until I got to the Headlight Relay Upgrade Harness. A previous owner removed the pair of the three pin plastic wire connectors for the passenger side headlight on the stock wiring. They for some reason hardwired that red wire which is used for the headlight. Where can I get just the little plastic connector/socket? And, can I just split the ugly hardwire and put the new sockets on and continue with the HLH as described?

So I found out, had to ask a cop friend of mine, there is no law in Missouri about the legality of the lights. As long as they have a highway light and a city light, turn on and are correctly aimed, you should have no problems whatsoever. It also probably helps that you drive a classic sports car, I realized how few tickets I get from cops even when I go 10 or 15 over the speed limit or when I get pulled over (The only question I usually get is "What Year?"). So that is in St. Louis, Missouri

I own a 1973 Datsun 240z... Just to get that out of the way. I need to upgrade my headlights... they are honestly the worst headlights I have ever seen. All of the 240z's I have seen have headlights just barely on par with a first generation VW Beetle. I have the MSA Headlight Upgrade Harness to install but I really need to just get some new, non-sealed beams. This seems like a simple task, but it is not; it is unreasonably heard to find a decent upgrade that conforms to all laws and standards. In addition it is next to impossible to find straight forward simple answers as to these laws and regulations any where. (E marked/ECE headlights are illegal, but the bulbs are etc. It's just to confusing). I need this car to pass inspection still and one of the headlights just went out which prompted my idea to upgrade. So, if there are any Z owners in the St. Louis, MO area who is running a decent H4 set up legally or know any of the laws about this, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I am currently interested in the pair sold by John on www.h4lights.com which is a pair of Narva XB3 bulbs and the Autopal E-marked lamp.