datsunlover

Sounds like something is hanging up and not allowing the bearing to come back to release the presure plate.. Is the release/throwout bearing instaled correctly? Or.. while the engine was out, did the clutch pedel get pushed maybe? With no clutch/engine to push on, it would just pop the slave cyl piston out, and maybe it's jamed/stuck out, therefore holding the fork forward? (would cause the clutch to be constantly dissengeged..) Simple check would be to have someone press the clutch pedel while another person watches for movement of the throwout fork on the side ofthe tranny..

I'm not well versed in triples, but I have had good expiriance with my su's and they really are the simpilest carbs known to man. I 'slapped' them on last year to my tired l28 (FI was failing) and was very impressed.. but now I'm noticing some issues with high RPM power though. I had the motor rebuilt and added a .510/280* cam, as well as a slight bump in c/r. The cam is suposed to make power from 3000 to 6500 (and after 3K rpm it SCREAMS) but anything over 5500 feels.. weak. As it is, it's a little rich on the low end, but seams to lean out up top.. I'm gona try to mess with the needles a bit, but I'm thinking of shipping off the spare set I have for a core/rebuild and getting some big bores, or maybe even try it myself (I'm a 3rd year machinest apprentice, I SHOULD be able to do it.. ) I'm really liking the power after 3K and I'd like to keep it going to get to the full potential of this cam. I've thought about going with triples.. but personaly, I would like to stick with the SU's as I am familiar with them now, and they are quite simle to set up. Even with the drastic change's I made to my engine, I simply bolted the SU's back on, ritchened them a bit, and the car ran.

Holy mother of god.. 1: really f'ugly 2: KID has typical attitude 3: it's scarry that people are DRIVING things like that on the roads! Guy tries to defend himself saying "Hey it WORKS! And I did it on a budget.." Yada yada... It looks rediculous and unsafe no mater how you spell it... Looks to me he was just too LAZY to do it properly..

Nope, exceeded too.

If the car's been sitting a long time (not running) and you're trying to fire it up, I'd pour some oil down the plug holes and let it sit for a while. Then try turning it over by hand from the crank pully.. (I don't know if it'll make a difrence, but I've been told not to rotate it the oposite way that actually runs.. Clockwise) Might help...

Uh...What the crap?!? Thats just.. not... right...

If you know what rear gear ratio you're running, what size tires you have, and what transmision you are using, you should be able to figure out which color plastic gear to use on the sender unit (located on the passenger side of the transmision) to get the spedo in check. I don't have the link, but I've seen it posed a few times.. actually, there are a few pages on the web that have all the numbers and charts you'd need to figure it out. Maybe someone else will chime in who has a link..

Meh.. there's a bone stock 83 280zx in the ontario autotrader right now that the crack smoker is asking $25K for. The one under it is going for $12K I think...

I spent a few hours last night searching and some more tonite, but I can't seam to find the post.. It was probly about a year ago, and I cant remember even who it was that did it.. It was basicaly using a set of easily atainable honda (Accord?) springs (might have been aftermarket.. maybe? ) and home made adjusters/rings built from plumbing pipes and colars (I think.. ) I have a slight 'coil rubbing tire sidewall' issue in my front end and the stock springs have had it anyway sooo.... The while I'm at it thing got me. I have new strut inserts for the front, and rotors for the 300zx/toyota brake conversion (have to buy the calipers and build the spacers still) and figured I might as well do evrything all at once while the front end it ripped down. Can't really push the car as it is now (bad brakes, dead suspension, risk of tire getting shreded, car getting wrecked, you know.) so I wan't to do something sooner rather than later... Can anyone help me out? Thanks. EDIT: Found a post about using honda springs that just 'slide on' but links are dead, and really, my front spring pearch is doing some of the rubbing to.. so smaller diameter springs alone will not do it..

Well the Z's runing pretty good, its a nice sunny night and me and the girlfriend go for a cruise. She bugs me about a coment a girl at a bar made last saturday night (Me and a buddy did a turn around in a bar parking lot, girl on the patio yells to me in my car "Hey, I lost my phone number.. can I have yours?" We laughed.. my girl friend was a little bothered when I told her the story.. heh) but she's only playing, not really mad. So we stop at a gas station, and it takes her 10 minits to go in and get a pack of smokes.. wtf?!? She comes back and says "Sorry, I was talking to my friend, she's working this shift" Turns out she asked her friend what she thought of my car. This girl said "Meh.. I don't like it... I've never really liked Porsches.." HA!! My Z's pretty much stock, with the exception of the 'whale tail' out back, an 'origin unknown' front air dam, and 16" aftermarket 5 spoke rims. I'm still smiling..

Very cool. I have a friend who is known as "The Jeep Guy" and he drives a Cherokee similar to yours as a daily driver. His off road beast is a rotting 87 YJ with 6" of suspension lift and just added this year, 35" BFG mudders. Holy crap the thing is huge.. His Cherokee is all stock for now, and will probly stay that way.. his girlfriend won't let him lift it and put big tires on it. I wana lift my 93 Nissan a bit and stick 33"s on it.. My goal is to be able to park the nose of my Z under the middle of my truck. Looking cool man! Just beware.. the Jeep thing can bite you as bad as the Z thing.. You DO know what Jeep stands for right? (Just Empty Each Pocket)

I'd say keep going.. by the end of it, you KNOW what you have, and can say that YOU rebuilt it. Plus, you build it up the way you want it (prepared for V8 swap, ect) My 75 280z was in about the same condition when I got into it. (btw, your front floor pans are better than mine were, and my rad saddle was non-existant) Took just under a year to weld her back together, do the whole body job, and make it roadworthy. I supose by the end of it if I had been able to just save the $3500 I spend along the way, I maybe could have got a 'ok' 280z but I still would have had to do... something to it I'm sure. You may find a better shell to start with, but ANY old Z is going to have a few rust isues, unless it's been restored already which makes them.. well, a little pricey.

Well she's alive and burbling. Did the warm up/cam break in thing, re-tourqed evrything and changed the oil. (another few weeks and I'll do it all again and put synthetic in it) Took it out for a rip with no hood, got some weird looks, and a big smile on MY face. Still trying to tune the carbs a bit, I think I'll have to go to diffrent needles (too rich on botom end, seams like it goes lean at higher rpms) but wow she's got some go now! Pretty much the same car as last year (well, a little smoother) till 3000rpm then the exhast tone changes and it really starts to move! Sounds like a race car.. damn it's loud! Only isues I'm having is a 'run on' after shut down. Timing is about 10*, idle is only about 800rpm, but as soon as I turn off the key it pops and diesel's for a few seconds... bad gas maybe?

I dissagree.. I think the 350z is more like the old Z (s30) car than the late model 300zx's!! As for the name drop, well, it was ALWAYS Nissan anyway... ever look at the valve cover? The '350z crowd' IS a little bothersome though.. Most have no clue at all.

Well, it apears to be all in order now. I don't think the bottom end will be an issue.. I'm positive the cam misalignment was the root of all my problems. Guy told me thinks its possible he aligned the timing marks as if it was a GM V8, IE; crank up cam down. Bang. He came over and spend all day yesterday puting it back together while I was at work (my girlfriends father was here with him the whole time) When I got home he tells me he had to leave and come back 3 or 4 times to get tools, two new bolts, sealent to reaseal the front cover (cause he droped the chain and the tentioner poped out again. heh) Bla bla... So we do a compresion test first thing and get 150psi on all 6. He had to go cause some guy was calling him every 10 minits about HIS motor, that has yet to be built. Poor guy.. I know what's coming for him.. Anyway after the engine builder left, a friend showed up and we got evrything back on the engine last night. Aside from a minor gas spray (missed a hose clamp) it fired right up. Only ran for a minit though, it was 11:30 at night, and REALLY LOUD with just the 2 foot pipe off the manifold. Runs great when all 6 pistons are getting fire!! I'll re-check the valve lash before I do the 'real' warm up and break in tomorrow or saturday. Although, if it's too loose, I can't see any mechanical damage occuring.. the valves just won't open as far as they should.. And now that I think about it, I should probly LOOSEN them a bit.. don't want it to heat up and end up holding valves open..

Heh.. Well, guy shows up here a few hours after I posted that last message. Funny how people show up when you talk about them... So we go through the compresion test again. He sighs and he sais "Hmm...$hit" So off comes the head. Well well.. look here.. #'s 2 3 and 6 ALL have bent valves, and little hits on the pistons. On the plus side, the head gasket looked to be still good, and the pistons arn't tottaled, just a little dinged. He's gone to his shop as I type this to get some good valves (out of the other head I gave him, had no seals left in it but valves/ect are fine) and fix the thing up. Should be back together tonite, and fired up tomorrow when I get home from work. Well, after I pick up my truck from the shop. Blew a brake line tonite. (Only AFTER I spent $150 re-newing my drivers licence and getting plate stickers. Figures..) So hopefully it'll run on all 6 cylinders tomorrow, and I can be driving the stupid thing this weekend. Oh yah... I'm still not paying him.

Thats just sad. Hey.. doesn't Aux drive a neon? Oh dear..

Um.. woha there.. stock 4.38 rear dif?!? I dont know about that... And as for the auto, The shifter/linkage should be workable (not a bolt in, but with a few mods possibly..) I think mechaicaly it will bolt up just fine, driveshaft and all.. but I doubt it'd last very long behind a turbo engine.

As far as I know, even the 280zx used the exact same 'knuckle/ball socket joint' on the firewall. The rod that rotates to actuate the carbs is diffrent however, as on 280z and 280zx it operates the throttle body (using another ball/socked'd rod) for the FI. It's concevable that you could get the whole assemply from a 280z or zx and modify the long rod to work your carbs... I go on the assumtion that 280z/zx's will be more plentifull as they are newer.. may be a few in yards still.

Well either way, I got a head gasket set on order, and I'm trying to track down some head bolts.. Still can't get a hold of this guy, but I'm sure he'll be wanting the rest of his $$$ so you'd think he'll be trying to get in touch with ME. I want him to see it and hear it run for a minit before I rip it apart. I'll let him to the compresion test and go through all the checks I've already done 3 times. I was woried about bent valves from the begining of this fiasco, and this guys kept saying "Nah, the clearances are so tight, you'd hear if the valves were bent. It wouldn't hardly turn over" I'm not so sure.. Either way, If he comes good for it, its STILL more time waiting for parts, and STILL questionable workmanship. I figure for all the effort I have put into this (and remember I gave it to him so I would NOT have to put this effort in) and extra $$$ spent on my part, I'll just use the rest of the money I had set aside to pay him to buy some parts to do it myself. I'll be 'out' time I wasn't planing on spending, but at least I won't be out too much more $$$ than I'd already budgeted for. I think at this point, he only way he will get the motor again is if I give it back to him (striped of any parts of value; carbs/intake, dizzy, polished valve cover, alternator, ect) to use it for a boat ankor.. big paper weight... or something. You know, so I can do that V8 conversion...

Well if THAT guy can get his insurance to cover THAT mess, I should roll my pos 280 into the driveway tomorrow and light a match under the gas tank.... Hell, I might do it anyway..

HA. POS... Well, it DOES run, BUT; on ONLY THREE CYLINDERS!!! GRRR.... I got her going and warmed up tonite, and didn't think much of the rough idle and what not.. New cam, carbs need to be set, you know.. I notice LOTS of coolant evrywhere.. coming mostly from between the head and block. Insert apropriate curse words here... so I torque the head bolts properly, (They were at about 30foot pounds) and start it again. It seams a bit better, so I shut it off after it was up to a good temp, and adjusted the valves. .025 intake, .030 exhast. Ok.. fire it up again, fiddle with timing and crabs.. hmm.. chokes are off, timming isn't to far off.. can't get rid of this stumble and miss.. I know ther's fuel, my eyes are burning after a few minits.. Check spark, all is good. My friend who is helping me figures we should check the plugs, and then the compresion.. Ok, might as well.. # 6 plug looks like it's been sitting in a can of gas. So we get the compresion tester out.. Holy CRAP this is bad. Goes like this; #1 150 psi #2 0 psi (thats right, ZERO!) #3 0 psi (WTF?!?) #4 150 psi #5 150 psi #6 0 psi (you have to be kidding me..) And the damn thing RUNS!!! I can get about 3000 rpm out of her too! Can't get a hold of the engine builder on his phone.. I see NO reason to give him the rest of the $$$ I 'owe' him at this point.. In fact, I think he should give me some back.. not like thats gona happen though. I am about ready to give up on this.. I know where there is a good running 305 (carb) and auto (350th, just rebuilt) I can have for $50. I drove the car (88 caprice) 2 weeks ago, I know it's a decent powertrain....

Well it was a HUGE problem, and I had to throw money at it non stop for 3 days, but the ol L28 actually fired up and ran tonite!! Looking back on the past few days, it's almost funny.. (if not for all the STRESS I have and money I've spent..) Here's a rundown on all the 'issues' I've had; Motor is 2 months late from the re-builder get it in the car, hook evrything up and... Starter is shot; replace ($110) No start; replace old dead coil ($40) Iratic spark, fuel issues.. 2 days of chasing this leads to the discovery of the timing chain being improperly set (markes not aligned correctly..??) Guy who rebuild motor is here for this... Take cam gear off, find sheared alignment pin Pull front cover (to get tensioner back in place) find chiped balancer, wrecked oil slinger and front seal. again, Get new oil seal ($5, $10 gas to drive 40 mins to GET the thing..) , discard oil slinger, JB weld balancer (for now, I'll get a new one asap. it's just where it rides on the oil seal) put front of motor back together. Now the battery is shot. Just doesn't have the cranking current. Guy leaves (had to go back to the city), I go buy new battery. I'm cranking a gear reduction 280zx starter, turning a freash 9.5:1 c/r engine with a hotter cam... wont start, have to crank over a lot.. 1050 cranking amps should do it... Now it gets really interesting.. No start. Discover the guy re-instaled the oil pump/dizzy drive shaft about 90* retarded. As I'm fixing this, my girlfriends father (who is now giving me a hand) says "Hey.. wtf is this all about?" I crawl out from under the car and look... The rocker arms are about.. oh.. .060 - .070 AWAY from the cam lobes!!!! One of the little round pieces the rocker is suposed to push on the valve with, is GONE!! I find it next to another valve in the bottom of the head... omfg... SO; We set the valves to .020/.025, hook up the plug wires and VAROOOMM!!! She fires on the first crank!!! I still owe the engine builder a bit of $$$.. I don't think I should give it to him. Hell.. I spent at LEAST the amount owed in new parts, gas $$ driving around GETTING new parts plus the 30 hours I put in this weekend on something I was PAYING HIM to do in the first place.. Oh well. At least it runs!

Jesus H... You're lucky it whent DOWN and not up or to the left some more! Wow.. scarry stuff...