TimZ

Okay, my main winter project this year is to put in a T56 magnum, and I've been looking at a few different options to do this - the cleanest (but not the cheapest!) option would be to fit an F-body tailshaft housing and have a bellhousing made. I've been looking at the bellhousing that Quicktime makes - they have a Nissan RB to T56 bellhousing and I think that it might be possible to get them to do one for the L-Series. As far as I can tell through various searches the RB engine's bolt pattern is pretty close but not exactly the same as the L-series - can anybody confirm this? Obviously if the bolt pattern were the same then it would just be a matter of getting Quicktime to build me one of their RB bellhousings with the trans flange rotated to suit the L series. Even if it's pretty close, it might not be too hard to get them to make an engine side flange to match the L-series. As a one-off this would likely be kinda pricey - am I the only one crazy enough to consider this, or would anybody else be interested in such a bellhousing? Even if you didn't want/need the Magnum, this would still allow you to bolt up a an F-body T56. I'm not necessarily looking to do a group buy or anything at this time, but it would be good to know if I need to look at this as just a one-off for myself or something more than that...

It's not a terribly big deal at this point but 18.4psi boost does not result in a PR of 2.55 - more like 2.25. Typo maybe, or trying to account for losses through the induction system?

40 plus years later there's pretty much no such thing as "factory pieces" - maybe it's been machined and maybe it hasn't. Odds are very good that it has been. You simply have to measure the deck height of _your_ block and go from there.

Well, for one thing the 207.85 figure was when it left the factory. Any subsequent machining operations (e.g., truing the deck or align boring) that may have taken place in the intervening 40 years will decrease that number.

Again, it could be any of those things. I can't hear the noise from here and you don't seem to want to look. Is the chain loose?

Could be either. Or something else. Sounds like it's time to pull the valve cover and look.

You're going to need to be measuring bearing clearances in the 0.001" range, so you'll want a micrometer with resolution down to 0.0001" (or better). I was able to borrow a set of nice Mitutoyo digital Mics from work. Mitutoyo, Starrett, Fowler, etc are all likely good brands (I'm not an expert on which is best). You may be able to get by with something cheaper if you can verify that they have the required accuracy and repeatability. For the outside mics you will need to be able to accommodate the main and rod journal diameters, plus your desired bearing clearance. Generally for the inside mic you use a small telescoping rod to find the ID and then lock down the rod and measure it with the outside mic, if that makes sense. Then subtracting the journal's OD from this ID gives you the bearing clearance. It takes a while to get the hang of this and your first several measurements will likely be wrong. Don't trust your measurements until you start seeing the same numbers several times in a row. You'll also want a dial indicator and mounting system for measuring the crank straightness and of course for dialing in the cam.

I'm looking at mounting a T56 magnum behind my L-series in my '78 - were you able to clear the mounting ears for the stock crossmember? Measurements I've made so far look like this point will be really tight - there's only 8" between those ears. Also, where did your shifter come out? It looks like the standard magnum shifter location is too far forward and the XL is too far rearward, at least for where it would end up bolting up to an L-series...

Yes - apparently they can do up to three lights to your specification - I'm having them do a red brake warning light and an amber check engine light. You can also specify whether it is activated by applying +12V or ground. The turn signal/high beam lights for the speedo are obvious on the ordering page, but no so much for these "new" lights. I just RMA'ed my tach to have the lights added - happily they are willing and able to retrofit (for a fee), but it would have been nice if I had known beforehand.

I just bought the 4.5" gauges and they fit really well. a small amount of filing/sanding down the ribs on the retaining ring until it was a snug fit inside the stock gauge pod, and then three small pilot holes where the ribs were contacting the pod to insert 3 small screws to hold it in place. Here are some pics of the speedo: Also, I found out after ordering that they can add a check engine and/or brake warning light to the tach, with logos. It's not obvious at all, so you have to know to ask. I just sent my tach back to have these added.

Looking through the wiring diagrams in the 1976 FSM, I don't see how disconnecting the tach or speedo should be able to remove power to the other gauges - have you checked the stock wiring diagrams to make sure you were splicing into the correct wires? Also, the connector for the clock only gets battery power (hot at all times) - no switched ignition signal goes to it, so that connector probably won't be helpful for you.

This is fine as a temporary test to see if everything else is working, but this is indicating that the elastomer in your damper is failing, so it will likely slip again, or even worse come apart. Probably time for a new damper, or get your old one reconditioned - TonyD mentions a place that can do this here: http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/117357-damperpulley/?hl=%2Bdamper+%2Brecondition&do=findComment&comment=1100309

No, you are correct- I have the full set of Defi 60mm black facegauges, but not the tach, and they don't make a speedo. The Defi tach that works with my setup has been discontinued, so I went with the Speedhut speedo and tach so they would match. My winter project started out as trying figure out how to put a T56 Magnum in, so it looked like I needed an electronic speedo, and it just kind of ballooned from there (like it always does )...

Note: Crank the engine over _BY HAND_ to try to find true TDC. Also the method above will get you close, but it's pretty difficult to find dead nuts TDC this way, since the piston doesn't move much vertically +/- 10 degrees from TDC. Go get a piston stop: http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/PRF0/66792/N0869.oap?ck=Search_N0869_-1_-1&pt=N0869&ppt=C0150 ...and do it right. from your pics assuming you lined up TDC with the crank pulley and it wasn't wrong, it looks like you are of by a tooth on both the distributor and cam timing. Of course this could also be a problem with the crank pulley having slipped. So - find true TDC, verify your crank pulley timing mark, and then verify the distributor and cam timing.

No, I don't have them installed yet - just sent the tach back to add the engine and brake warning lights Here's a few of the Speedo mounted in the stock gauge housing: ... I just had to file down the ribs on the retaining ring until it was a snug fit in the gauge pod, then I drilled three small pilot holes around the periphery where the ribs were contacting the pod and added three small screws to hold everything in place. Couldn't have asked for a better fit!

I just received mine a couple of weeks ago. I don't see any way to select such an option on their website. I probably already know the answer, but is there any way to retrofit or send it back for mods for a fee? EDIT: I just spoke with Speedhut, and they gave me an RMA to add in the two lights, so that was easier than I expected!

Sorry - slightly off topic but that tach appears to have check engine and brake warning lights - I didn't see an option for this (still don't) when I ordered mine, or I would have ordered it that way. Was that tach supplied like that or was it modded later?

Not really - Google didn't turn up too much. Maybe try Courtesy Nissan to see if they can scrounge a set up?

The block is machined to receive the stainless o-rings

Gasket 11044-E4621 Rings 11045-N3120 To answer your other question, they have pros and cons Pro: they are MUCH harder to "blow out", so they are more tolerant to high cylinder pressures and detonation Con: they are MUCH harder to "blow out", so they allow you to run with more detonation. On a poorly tuned engine this can mean breaking ring lands on expensive pistons instead of just having to replace a $40 head gasket.

Yep. Is it the separate gasket/fire ring combo that looks like this?