Stealth-Z

Cool find. I have been on the hunt for another one for some time now. Finding one made with a little bit of quality is the hard part. They say you get what you paid for. But I want to find one without having to sell a kidney!

autoxzx, You are not alone with this problem. My stock 78 gets hot during idle. The higher the outside temp, the closer to 250 it gets on the gauge. Soon I will find out how it reacts to 100 plus degree Sacramento Valley temps. Here is what I have done so far. Replaced Radiator, water pump, and thermostat. Interesting thing is it does not use exessive amounts of oil or coolant. All the spark plugs show normal sediment patterns. Next on my list is the temperature sending unit.

My RB30 oddesy began in 2004. It was offered on ebay. Here is a breakdown of what it cost and the process. This is what the break down was then. Series II non-turbo short block off ebay (block, crank, rods, pistons, rear seal, and beat up oil pump) $305.00AU ($218USD) Shipping and handling from Australia $304.00AU Total $609.00AU or $439.20 US Dollars The block was picked up from the sellers door and loaded into a container consigned by Brennan International Brennan International Shipping Company charges into Port of San Diego Documentation $50.00 Terminal Handling Charge $45.00 Chassis Fee (No idea what that was) $2.00 Port Security Fee $25.00 Customs Exam $19.55 Total to Brennan $141.55 St. George Warehouse of Oakland Forklift $35.00 Customs Entry Fee $50.00 Documentation Fees $5.00 Handling In/Out-General $35.00 Total to St. George $125.00 Now on top of all the above, I drove from Sacramento to Oaklnd to pick it up. That was a 200 mile round trip. So figure about $25.00 for gas. The St. George customs entry fee was for filling out a single piece of paper that needed U.S. Customs clearance signatures. I had to drive a few miles to the customs office to get it signed. No big deal. As you can see, it ended up costing me around $730.75. Figure about $500.00 in shipping alone. If you have to ship further inland, figure more on top of that. All the above should give a good idea of what is involved. Shipping heavy items can be troublesome. RB30 motors may be cheap and plentiful in Australia but remember someone has to go through a lot of time and effort to ship it.

And with a nice Supercharged Z you made a quick getaway! Larry, you will be missed in the old valley area.

All the additional mandated safety equipment adds to the no skill requirement. Not that I am against safety but one should know how to drive in the first place. We now have cars that parallel park themselves.

A friend of mine in the auto dismantling / scrap business said something that resonates in my mind. "The ultimate value of any car is how much it weighs" People just have different views than we do about cars. You should see some of the stuff they crush in other countries. It would make a used car salesman here in the U.S. cry.

Plus 1 on that. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=99258&highlight=rb30

The zhome registry is selective. It would be difficult to say how many are left these days. Recently I started collecting the engine compartment ID plates out of S30's in the wrecking yards. Searching State DMV records might be a generalized basis for registered and non operational status. But I know in California they drop off after a certain period of time. I have a 75 280Z that is not in the California DMV system. It was last registered in 1992. I do have the original California title. DMV still wants to visualy inspect the VIN.

Thank you Chris! I could not extract one out of the RB20 block for a percise measurement. Any chance I could pay you for a blank solid one as well? I still need to block off one of my oil feeds.

Depends on the engine. RB26's only need one. They are solid lifter and do not need as much oil as the hydraulic lifters. R34 RB25's may be solid lifter but am not sure. RB20's have two. RB25's have up to three depending on the model. My RB30 has two, I will be blocking off one of them. Here is a write up about it. http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=110680&hl=oil+restrictor

I will see if it is possible to extract the factory restrictor out of an RB20 block. Since it is pressed in I may be able to get it out.

Looking at JGY's website, the fuel rail allows RB25's to use top feed injectors like those in the RB20 and RB26. Perhaps they make shorter mounting brackets? You will have to call them and ask. Personally from the photos, I do not think the injector on the left will even work properly. When I get home tonight I will compare the oem RB20 rail to the RB26. They look simular. Also I have a Bee R aluminum fuel rail. I will look at their dimensions. "You want, we made it. (pictured is the prototype, finished units are now in stock!) RB20 and RB25 JGY fuel rail - $159 It also fits the Greddy intake manifold. This will allow the use of top feed injectors on the RB25 (as the stock ones are side feed). It allows the use of an aftermarket or stock style FPR. As with all our fuel rails, fitment is guaranteed and warranteed"

A little confusion here. The stock RB26 injector is the one on the right of your photo. Does the injector on the left even seal properly in the intake manifold? The RB26 gasket sets come with new rubber seals. So take out and toss the old ones.

He is looking for this one. I am in need of one as my machinist lost the first one.

I agree with Terry (Corzette). Getting parts for U.S. market V8's is difficult. It is like trying to get RB parts here in the U.S. After coming back from Okinawa in 1987, I sent alot of parts back for my japanese friends. One had a 67 Firebird rag top with a 455. The culture there is different as well when it comes to cars. Some of the stuff you would see in wrecking yards would make you cry. Here in the U.S. we tend to drive a car till the wheels literally fall off. There cars are just a commodity. Funny how you could look at a car and tell it was owned by an American service person. A Japanese person would not own it once it reached a certain condition.

If it is a California vehicle, DMV can do a search for it. For a fee of course! http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/inf/inf70.pdf http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/inf/inf70_r8_2004.pdf Another option would be to run a carfax on the VIN. At least then you could find out a general idea of where it might be.

Balancing my assembly also included the rod & main bearings.

The GTR shop never sent parts I ordered off their website. They sent an email confirmation about the order. My credit card was never charged nor have I received any further emails from them. After a few emails requesting order status, I just gave up. No loss on my part other than the time to type out emails. The crank collar on mine came from http://www.rhdjapan.com. After looking on their website, I do not see it listed. They have not been to good about returning email requests lately. All I get is a generic response. Sorry I am not being much help.

When I was in Hong Kong last year, everywhere I walked people would come to me and say "Copy bag, copy watch". They would then show pictures of the expensive designer handbags and watches. Labels mean nothing unless you know for sure who is backing the product. Quality control is a big issue in China. Any business that wants a good product from China will have to have a stringent Quality Control program. If anyone wants to import and sell their own name brand rods, here is where you could start. http://www.tradekey.com/selloffer_view/id/54673.htm

It was 2 years ago since I started this threat. At least we know people are searching the RB forum to revive it. $1,400 or P70,000 for the RB26 drivetrain actually sounds about right for the area. Like everything else, you have to shop around.

Basically it is a RB25 block with an RB20 crank & rods. Pistons most likely have a different compression height. Never got a chance to tear into one. This version of an RB24 seems better than the RB26 crank and rods into a RB20 block.

From my previous research, yes. It was intersting seeing a carburator on it.

A few months ago I saw a 2 by 2 model on ebay. Some one in Australia was trying to sell it. The price was rather steep, I believe around $125.00 USD for it. It was 1:24 I think.

In response to this paragraph. This is what I have run into with DMV on multiple occations. Non-op is not considered registration in California. Non-op does not allow you to park it on public streets. If it gets a ticket for no registration, then you are responsible for back registration fees and penalties. Different California counties and cities have ordinances about non-registered cars. It depends on enforcement rules and neighbor complaints. Some counties, like Sacramento, have ordinances about even parking them in your driveway. It has to be out of site. http://www.saccounty.net/planning/enforce/vehicle-abatement.html Victor, In order to get a title, chances are DMV will want to see the car to varify the VIN. They have been doing that for years. Every time I buy a car that was last registered over 5 years, it had to get the VIN varified. At one time it could be by CHP, Sheriff, or Police officer. Tomorrow I will find out with the 75 280Z I recently aquired. It was last registered in 1992. I can say for sure you will not get your 280Z registered if it is a 1976 or newer without a smog inspection in California.

That was Corzette's 2+2. Those are tail lights from a 78 - 80 or 81 Skyline. Not sure of the exact years. I have a set going into mine.