kiwi303

As far as the "can't see from the far seat when passing" problem, one suggestion mooted is to get one of those rearview camera systems and epoxy/glassfibre it onto a bumper.

I don't think those are painted brake drums on the honda, looks more like he painted the steel wheels metallic blue under the clip-on areo-rotating hubcaps

Kay Jay Forgings? would those be the guys in India? make OEM cranks and also supply customs?

Mine so far? $300 for the car, $400 to get it back from Chch (thats extra fuel towing and a thirstier tow 4x4 and the trailer hire above what was budgeted for a business trip in the van), $100 for misc bits, and a $100 Rover 3.5 V8 which will cost $54 to ship up from Chch. I'm only just starting I'm expecting about $2000 on rust fixing (minor) and dent removal, and another about $2000 for a good paint job. the engine is likely to soak up around the same by the time it's ready to install, maybe $1500 for actual installation and modifications/cradles. Brakes and suspension are likely to be about $3500, and a new interior carpet and upholstery I'm guessing $2000. all over the course of 3 to 4 years... as I said before, I'm just starting The engine cost guesstimate is for a mild refresh assembling and dissasembling bits myself and having shops re-grind the crank etc... if I go flat plane it could climb to the sky.

A little google work gives rod to stroke for the 4ag as being 1:1.53, not sure if that is a custom setup or stock, or which model year. but thats what showed up in the results. http://www.6gc.net/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t24821.html Rod Length: 122 Crank throw: 38.5 Stroke: 77 Bore: 81 Other news is none of the foundries in Nelson can do cranks, but theres a place in Dunedin and a place in Auckland. I've emailed the Auckland place for a quote, they do ISO 9002 quality investment casting in specified alloys. and work closely with a heat treating place that can do all the stress relief on the crank and induction hardening of the journals. Now to see how much they say it would cost! *winces at the thought*

On my MGF VVT convertible, slightly better Pwr/Wgt ratio and better handling than a Miata, I had a set of Nankang directionals, EX601 model, they're a mid-performance passenger car tyre rather than a high performance sports tyre. On the other hand, they did a good job, I also put them (A different set) on the V3000 Mitsubishi I had as well when it's tyres needed replacing, went from spinning the old tyres (goodyears) on launching to zooming away with a bit of chirping, they're a good compromise between grip, comfort, and noise. over 12,000Km on them on the V3000 when I crashed it, and about 80% wear left in them. I took them off the wreck and stuck them on the D22 navara then with the 15" alloys off the Bighorn SUV holding them. They'd do fine as a DD N/A tyre, but something a bit more aggressive would be a better fit for a turbo or V8 swap.

I know what you mean about everything either being tomorrows job or taking years I was expecting to take a couple of years slowly building up a cleveland bit by bit alongside chassis/body work when a rover V8 landed in my lap at a price I couldn't resist so it'll be engine first, then bodywork As per PM I'll be talking to a foundry next trip to town on the possibility/practicality of doing a crank for me. so there could be a new thread soon Thanks for all the data in one lump, especially the pictures of the different cranks in one mass lump to browse through

believe it or not, you can blame the ROMANS! did you know even the size of the space shuttle was dictated by the romans? Those pesky romans made the first real roads, and the first road laws to keep traffic from being in a mess on them, and even after the romans dissapeared and became italians, (who don't HAVE road laws that I've noticed), it was easier for everyone with a roman road through their town to keep using the same side because otherwise they'd brake axles in the ruts. By the time roads were being built in the new world, they were new roads with no ruts... so the decision on which side of the road to drive was a political rather than practical decision. so if you don't like having to drive on a different side of the road as every other civilised country and many of the uncivilised, go write a letter of complaint to congress Back to the space shuttle. it's size was dictated in part by the ultimate size of the rocket boosters strapped to the outside. they are made and then shipped by rail to the site, through a tunnel. the tunnel size was dictated to clear the carriages in use at the time of construction, the carriage size was dictated by the width of the track, the width of the track was made to fit the width of the first trains axles which were simply horse drawn carts on rails, the width of those axles were dictated by letting the wheels run in the ruts in the roman roads, those ruts were made by roman chariots, which were made to a standard size throughout the empire, which was dictated by the size of the horses butts that were roped in front of the chariots It's strange to think that the size of a roman horses arse partially dictated the size of the space shuttles

Hmm.. this is where for me, "Proof of Concept" rears it's head. As a first effort, I would personally be looking at a simple, cheap setup, where the only swap outs would be the crank and the cam, keeping the bore/stroke size standard plus keeping the 6,500 or 7,000 rev limit. Therefore leaving things so that the only top end changes need be switching the injector and ignition leads around to reflect the changed firing order. The cam need only be a standard duration/lift with the cam lobes transposed with the firing order change. Once the engine is determined to be surviving satisfactorily, then start the new valves, ITB, new springs, smaller stroke, custom rods/pistons route for a full on skys-the-limit-revs engine. At that point selling off the proof of concept cam and crank to another ethusiast would mean a bit of cash made available to spend on the more expensive project, and allowing someone else to enjoy the exhaust note of a flat plane. Strokers and aftermarket standard cranks are often cast, so a 180* standard displacement standard rev-limiter should manage being cast as well, especially as it would not be used for all out power tweaks.

How difficult is it to make a casting of suitable quality to form a crankshaft? Looking at the pics above, particuarly this one: I count 6 internal balances and two larger end ones, plus the shafts. it does not actually look all that difficult for a woodworker to cut out 6 identical pieces, to larger ones for the ends and shape them, then screw turned dowelling on for the bearings and journals. If one was to make up a crank in wood, slightly oversize on the bearing faces and journals, and take that to a metal casting workshop with a good reputation and have them duplicate it in a steel casting. Would a crank shop that re-grinds old crank journals be able to grind it to a useable form? How involved are drilling the oil passages?

[quote=Oddmanout84;941180 -I hate shifting with my left arm... Hate it! It just feels so... weird... Look at it from the point of view of us in RHD countries the one time I ever drove a LHD (chev impala) I kept trying to change gear and hitting the door armrest

I hadn't even thought about the standard intake manifolds... *sits down and pulls on a dunce cap* I don't suppose there are any blocks cheaply and readily available that can be milled down like that? It just seems to me that the longer rods give a longer area to be bent/compressed, and would be heavier than equivalent strength shorter rods. I suppose the extra ounces are the penalty for the exhaust sound.

by reducing the stroke, is there a chance of reducing the weight as well by using standard length rods instead of long rods, and milling the deck height of the block down? Given that custom pushrods will be used (you mention carbon fiber) having them made shorter won't add THAT much more to the price. how much weight would be saved taking 1/2" to 1" off the block deck height? Edit: I realise this will affect the choices of #4 in Post 4 earlier in the thread, but given a trade off between TDC dwell and sidewall loading, how tall a rod/stroke is "perfect"? if the design ends up at 3:1 and the "perfect" ratio is 2.4:1, then would trimming the block to provide a 2.4 as opposed to 3, be beneficial?

Aye Aye sir got one coming up from Chch now I don't suppose Ants actually did a swap? I see 2 posts against his name... I'm lookign for more detail on what peoples rover swaps involved...

No idea on shipping, but a 250Kg engine across the pacific as part of a container load of loose cargo would be well up in the $500+ range since It would be likely either transshipped via Miami, south america or Jamaica, broken out of cargo there and then re-packed to local Caribbean freight, from what I could find on a shipping schedule page.

how much work would be needed for a custom cam? since it's changing the firing order that means the old cams would be worthless?

PR280Z there's another that was pulled as a running engine available in Chch for $250. from a land rover from the looks, this one I've got looks like a P76 engine. No idea on what shipping to P.R. would cost from NZ but probably cheaper than finding a rover V8 where you are

for a wedge, possibly grab a small tomahawk from the wood pile and de-temper that? (chuck it in the fire and leave in the ashes as the fire goes out..

Snap... two posts as I type so with 3 posts pretty much saying the same thing, we can't ALL be wrong

Brute Force Helps. I prefer B F & I myself, Brute Force & Ignorance. the hub should protrude out the back of the rotor a bit. put that on a block of wood and lay another block of wood on the rotor, then whack it sharply with a hand sledge. rotate the rotor about 120 degrees and repeat the bashing, keep doing that until your arm hurts or the rotor comes off. the wood keeps the hub or rotors from being damaged.

by 4 bolts, you mean bolts that attach the hub to the rotors or the wheel studs themselves? you'll probably need to remove the wheel studs before the rotor will separate from the hub, that's what had to happen with my hilux rotors.

I've seen quite a number of BIG cranks (10ish litre straight 6 diesels I suspect, from trucks) concreted into the ground with a mailbox on the top.

Hey Grumpyvette, I've picked up a cheap ($100) rover V8 to work on and get running until my current crop of Hire Purchases are paid off and I can do some serious work on the Z, with money to spare. Do you have much in the way of links and info on the Rover 3.5? It's a Buick 215 and I've heard that the engines Buick made using the moulds and tooling before selling them to rover, can have the valves swapped out for Volvo valves for better flow, bit no mention of which volvo engines to scrounge them from... presumably if that is the case and Volvo valves can be used in buick 215 heads, then will they also work in rover heads?

I've bought a new engine, a 3.5L rover V8 for $100, just got to organise shipping to get it up from Christchurch (450Km) now. then to start pulling it apart. I still want a Cleveland V8, either stroked or with a pair of hairdryers on a std displacement. but this is a lot cheaper and parts are a lot more common.

The 280Z Fairlady (JDM 280ZX) sitting in my hayshed has 225/60R15's on it now, with about 5mm between the stock suspension and the sidewall.