A to Z

Today I got a good start on the engine compartment, and also fitted the brass oil port screws to the 4200 block. The engine compartment will be factory color, with clear coats, and the engine compartment will be shaved, I also went ahead and bought a rewiring kit for the car form Jeg's.

I started the day with some kitty litter and cleaned up a big oil spot from the gear oil int he transmission when I pulled her out....yeah I didn't drain it. So, the brass fittings I bought to go into the side of my 4200 block for the oil ports I bought from Auto Meter. They were almost long enough to thread in. Then I noticed there is a stepped portion at the base of the threads. I used my die grinder carefully and ground that down, then I was able to get them in and gooped them up with pipe thread sealant to make it worry free. Then I was able to locate a bolt that would thread into the port on the side of the oil filter boss. I cut it down so it would tighten up flush, then drilled the center out. Once I get my 1/8" NPT tap I will tap it and it will become the supply for an oil pressure gauge.

Well my air dam and rear spoiler for my 260Z came in from Motorsport Auto (MSA) today! Replaced my new engine hoist that bent under weight at Harbor Freight, and finished up the turbo manifold header wrap for the 4200. Pretty cool day!

Well my air dam and rear spoiler for my 260Z came in from Motorsport Auto (MSA) today! Replaced my new engine hoist that bent under weight at Harbor Freight, and finished up the turbo manifold header wrap for the 4200. Pretty cool day!

10-15-2025. Busy morning in the garage. My 260Z gave up its engine and trans to make way for a future ATLAS install. And yes, it fought me A LOT. My new Harbor Freight hoist gave out midway through, but I got it to limp along with 2 floor jacks and a neighbor guy to basically wrestle it out. From now on, engine only....no more transmission attached for me. Yep....I cut the firewall bracing. It was my plan to do so anyway, and to reinforce and make it removable. I measured before cutting it and sure enough it widened 1/4 inch after cut. After I have made the brackets for re-installing the piece, I will simply use a ratchet strap to pull it back to the correct distance and bolt it in with grade 8 bolts. All nice and pretty. reinforced with thick plate steel. Inside the tubing I will put a spacer for the bolt to go through so when tightened it will keep the tubing from buckling. We move forward!

Thanks jhm. Probably get a lot of mean looks taking such a clean shell and making a hot rod out of it.

That's Merle. He still has it. He got it running, and all is well. In the 6 cylinder portion of this webpage is the build of my 4.2. got a good start on the header wrap for the 4200 today. ran out so waiting for more.

got a good start on the header wrap for the 4200 today. ran out so waiting for more.

I have been building my ATLAS 4.2 for a little while now, and I have an AR5 transmission from a 2WD Chevy Colorado truck for it. I found a good deal on this Z car online. 1974.5 260Z. The "Big Bumper" 260Z car. Build date of 10/74.....so it's really a 280Z to me as the drivetrain is going away pronto. I love that it has the thicker sheet metal in the subframe and all those extra bends in the floor, that is more rigidity, and it already has the R200 rear end with the 3:54 gears I wanted to offset my transmission gears and work better with my engines power band. Yesterday I took the front panels off of it, looked the whole car over and I am amazed. No rust in rails, no rust in doors, no rust in fenders, no rust in rear hatch panel. 5 rust locations and somehow the hatch itself on one side is completely missing from rust. I ordered the patch panels needed from KF Vintage JDM except the under battery tray rounded piece, which I got form Z Car Depot. Also ordered a new hatch from Resurrected Classics. So soon, the shell will be completely done. This is a long term project, but at least I have a home for the ATLAS, and finding this Z so rust free has made it an absolute keeper. I am thinking about the Rocket Bunny knockoff kit. 1400 bucks delivered is a good deal. Opinions on that? here are a few pics:

10-09-2025, This morning I trial fitted the tight 90 turndown on the turbo, clearanced the boss on the head that was touching the turbo compressor housing, and then masked and painted the engine. Once dry I can then mask and paint the crank pulley. See pics:

4200 Progress, 10-08-2025: Finished the cleaning of the engine today, using a can of gas (not recommended) and an old toothbrush and a shop cloth to wipe it up, razor blade on gasketing surfaces and other spots as needed.......then I mocked up the turbo header and turbo.....yep, my turbo is a bit bigger than what was expected I guess. I can get some space with another flange stacked up with the aluminum plate gasket for the second one, will probably need to put a wrap of header tape just in that spot as well. Also have a small boss sticking out on the head touching the compressor housing. I can just carefully grind it down a tad for clearance. Big T-76 turbo sticks up there huh? Good thing I will run an intercooler huh?

Today was a cold snap, but I managed to get a job done I have not been enthusiastic about doing..... removing the oil screw in plugs from the block. Metal plugs in an aluminum block and have been in there for 19 years. I had to use a pipe wrench, hammer, hex wrench, PB Blaster, a MAPP gas torch, and a cold chisel. I found that the cold chisel is the most effective at getting them loose and off, but it will take several cycles of PB blaster , spraying it where the bolt face touches the block and letting it seep in, and then MAPP gas (2000 degree F or close to it, maybe more) held around the bolt to heat up the aluminum and get it to expand, then hitting the head of the bolt a few times hard with the hammer, and then putting the chisel on an angle and beating on it with a hammer to shock it loose and turn it. These bolts are M16X1.5 thread, with the exception of the bolt facing the side at the oil filter. The bolt facing straight ahead is the same size, M16X1.5 but the one to the side where the sensor normally is..... is a coarse thread bolt, M16X2.0 thread. I have ordered brass plugs from Auto Meter to install into each port that are drilled and tapped with a 1/8 NPT center. I will put brass plugs in #1-3, #4 is for the oiling system re-route from the front facing port at the oil filter, number #5, the last port on the block at the very end is for Turbo oiling feed. The side port at the oil filter, the bolt will be drilled out in the center and tapped to 1/8 NPT so I can use it for an oil psi gauge. Sure feels good to have this done. In the pics you can see how the factory really gooped up the threads when they installed them. Pics follow. Cheers!