heavy85

Yeah I'm afraid another one was starting to strip on it's way to 25 ft-lb but I'm too scared to check yet. I also noticed that the cam started getting a little tight above about 15 ft-lb. I'm going to back them off to about 15 or so. Cameron

I had no intentions of even touching the motor - there's nothing special about it - F54 / P79 w/ mild cam, shaved head, etc. I really wanted a turbo someday but this would due for now as I didn't want to spend significant money on the engine right now (big sigh). It started as 'needing a tune-up' so I rebuild the carbs (tripple Mikuni's) in which I realized I needed new jets so ~$250 (going from memory here) later the carbs were done. It still wasn't right and I could see a lot of carbon build-up on top of the intake valves ... so I'll just do the head which was ~$120 for machine work and valve seals (excluding the die grinder and porting kit). Well I knew even though the compression was good that there was a lot of blowby around the rings ... so while the head was off I would hone it and put new rings - hoping to be done for ~$500. Well in taking the pistons out I discovered that the rings were all broken and the bearings were trashed ... so $266 in half-assed worthless machine work later I discovered that the crank was undersized and the bores were oversized / out of round. So now the crank is being ground under this week for another $120 (at a different machine shop) and the block has been riding around in my car all week because I have not had time to go back to the first machine shop and ask for my money back for their crappy work. So another ~$90 for gaskets, I'm guessing ~$100 for bearings, $74-120 for rings = I'm sunk for $1066 not including boring and new pistons which would be another ~$430. So assuming that I can find another block locally that I know doesn't need bored out (big assumption around here) it would still take ~$100 to clean / hone it. So the question begs can I find an engine locally for less than $300 that I somehow know is good or do I just continue on down the crappy irritating depressing path I'm already on? This sucks! Moral of the story boys and girls - before you do anything first decide what exactly you want because things spiral real fast. In the end it looks I will be down $1500 (most of my car budget for the year) just to get the stupid friggin engine right - and that's not even upgrading anything or adding air filters which I need to do. I could have had a turbo swap complete and been happy for much less had I realized up front what I was getting into. This is suppose to be my toy but right now I'm just completely fed up! Sorry for the rant. Thanks datsunlover - let me know what he says. Cameron

Anyone know anything about these VB pistons - I'm assuming their generic knock-off given the price? Is there any other sources for quality pistons or should I just pony up the $300 for a set of Nissan ones from courtesy nissan? Also, Nissan rings ($120), Hastings rings (standard - $74), or Hastings w/ Chrome top ring ($120)? In reading old posts it seems Chrome rings are preferred but in reading the Hastings site (http://www.hastingsmfg.com/Service%20Tips/ring_set_composition_recommendat.htm) I'm not so sure it really gets you anything? Cameron

I got it used out of an '88 300ZX turbo. I was leaning towards the Power Brute but my old R200 diff has an ungodly amount of backlash so once I figured either replacing it or repairing whatever was wrong plus the cost of a new LSD it started to get expensive. The one I got seems to be in real good shape, but we'll see if I ever get my engine back together. Cameron

Well I bought an LSD so the flywheel is out - by the way that diff is a lot heavier than I would have imagined, but I do happen to have an L24 flywheel in hand and yes it is 2 or so pounds lighter than the L28 flywheel. So is this a direct swap or is there some other bits that need to go along with it? Thanks Cameron

I ended up using a 'thread repair kit'. Sort of like JB weld which you fill the hole with, put release agent on the bolt and set the bolt into the stuff, let sit for 5 minutes, remove bolt and you have fresh threads. Well I wasn't brave enough to trust this so I ran a tap through the stripped holes so there was a little roughness for the goop to stick to then just used the goop to glue a new helicoil in. Worked good. Cameron

You may have seen my engine woes on previous posts. Well this time it's the block. Just looked at the freshly 'honed' cylinders and geuss what (those who've read the crank story probably can guess) - that's right there are still old grooves visible about 5 mm down from the top of the bore that didn't hone out Yes same machine shop that said the crank was OK. The grooves are only on the sides and not all the way around but still I know they shouldn't be there. I let the crank polish slide but I'm going to have to get my money back on this one. Enough complaining and on to my question and maybe I'm ignorant but I couldn't find a clear answer by searching - most of the relateds posts were in reference to forged turbo or way overbored stuff like using the 240 sx pistons. I'm guessing it'll now have to be bored over which means I'll need new pistons - double So where can I get pistons that are reliable yet low cost. I wasn't figuring the cost of boring and new pistons (let alone the grinding the crank) so this is killing me. It's N/A with moderate (F54 / shaved P79) compression so I don't need anything really more than factory stregth I dont think. Thanks Cameron

Took it to a guy that was highly recommended today and he wasn't overly concerned with the scratches either but several of the journals measured under min specs so he's going to grind it .25 mm (~.01") under regardless. This guy seems to know what he's talking about. Builds race engines at least part of the time, wanted to know the brand of bearing because they tend to come in on the opposite ends of the tolerance band, etc so I'm optimistic and wish I would have taken the rest of the engine to him to begin with. Live and learn and spend more than you thought you would. Cameron

Aint that the truth. One step forward followed by two or three back. Did I ever mention the one about the rear swaybar being installed upside down with a total of 6 (yes you would normally find 8) bushings - two of which were rubber the others poly, a rod end, a u bracket, and a couple extra nuts .... or the jet that wasn't even screwed in because it was cross threaded .... or the battery that was just sitting on the floor - not strapped down! .... or the cam tower shims that were different thicknesses .... or the 7 plus quarts of oil in it - which by the way makes a hell of a smoke cloud near 6 grand when it blows oil out the breather .... or .... dont get me started 'cause it'll take a while. I've had it just under one year and so far have taken what is 'fun to drive' and 'needs a tune up' and only been able to drive it around the block about 4 or 5 times and to work once This year it will see the autox track one way or another! To be fair to the machine shop they are nice guys and the parts department is really good. Also being in the midwest I assume they mostly taylor to farmers who tend to be cheap and only do absolute minimum (IMHO - so please dont take offense). I'll take it to another shop and have it ground properly. Thanks - so the saga continues. On the bright my LSD should be here tomorrow ... on second thought it's out of an '88 ZX so it'll probably need something too...I hope not. Cameron

Just got my L28 crank back from the machine shop. They just polished it and mic'ed (sp?) it and said it should still use standard bearings. Now my delimna is that it's still got scratches in the journals that didn't polish out (previous owners had installed bearing caps in random order plus it looked like a lot of trash had gone through which resulted in scratched in the journals). The machine shop is not concerned with the scratches and say it'll be fine and doesn't need to be ground but they would grind it undersize it if I insist. Any more experienced builders out there have oppinions here? Should I leave it as is like the machine shop recommends or pay an additional $120 to have it ground undersized? The scratches or grooves as they are vary from journal to journal from none to several which can easily be felt. By the way I plan on beating on this engine most of the time (tripple mikuni's, shaved head, etc) so it's got to be reliable. Thanks Cameron

That silver car with the Watanabe's has a really nice stance - drool. I'm halfway there ... well let's see flares came with the car, Watanabe's $1000++, tires ~$600 + .... OK so I'm not halfway but I'm still jealous. Cameron

The helicoil is what stripped and there is not room to use a larger bolt without getting into the counterbore for the locating pin. If you screw with that counterbore then there is nothing to positively locate the tower on that side. Cameron

I've got one (well actually two) of those early 5 speeds - some call them 'competition' tranny's but I haven't figured out why. Best info I have put together they are just an imported 5 speed that wasn't available in the US. The synchro's were from Porshe but I've never heard that the rest was. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than I has more but I've asked before and this is the best I could find - search and you will find more info. Thanks Cameron

My car came with 500 lb/in springs and that was just stupid stiff. IMHO it was actually unsafe on the street because there wasn't enough compliance and the car tended to just skip around bumps. If you are planning ANY street driving I would highly recommend against this stiff from my limited experience. I imediately replaced them with 225F/250R which is a popular choice for street/track use and from the limited time I've driven since then it seems much better. Cameron

Well after porting my P79 head, too many hours polishing valves, valve job, two sets of seals (dont ask), misc other machine shop work I finally get around to assemling it back together and one of the #@$%'in cam tower bolts strip out when I try to pull torque. Turns out previous owner(s) had been in there before and poorly installed helicoils. Well the helicoils pulled out and now there is nothing left, sigh. So now what to do? I took it back to the machine shop (who had nothing to do with the helicoils) and asked their oppinion. They suggested trying a precision machine shop and seeing if they can plug the hole and remachine it. Since it locates the tower through the dowel pin it obviously has to be right on. It's the short bolt on the side that also had the head bolt going through the tower so I was pondering ..... would it really be that bad to just not use that bolt since the tower is located by the pin and held down by the cyl head bolt anyway? Can I JB weld the bottom of the hole and tap new threads into it so I dont disturb the pin bore at the top? What can I do? Thanks Cameron PS - one of these days I'm going to rant on all the things the PO's screwed up. Lets see, cam tower shims that were different thicknesses, mis-matched main bearing caps, various different jets in each carb (tripple mikuni), one jet not even screwed in because it was cross-threaded, twisted throttle shafts, stripped intake manifold bolts because they need to be studs, throttle that only opened about 1/2 way - and I'm just getting started on the engine let alone the rest of the car.....erg

I searched and was surprised it didn't show up and the Haynes doesn't say. Thanks Cameron

I've made an aluminum baseplate and sandwiched it between the carbs and airhorns and made a template for the box but there's a few details I haven't yet worked out. First - how to seal the box against the baseplate. Second - how to hold the box to the baseplate other than zip ties or bungee cords. Third - how to secure the hose to the box. I'm thinking in the first issue to use some type of soft rubber lip seal if I could find something that would slip over the edge of the box. On the second issue I'm thinking of using a long bolt or threaded rod kind of like a stock airbox. The hose connection is the biggest unknown but I'm thinking if I could find the lip seal stuff I could make the hose cut-out a tight fit and line it with the seal for a 'press fit' with the hose. Others who have been there what's you suggestions? By the way the TWM is actually $360 for the three carb one! Thanks Cameron

Well since the engine is out being rebuilt anyway I was considering getting a nice light Fidanza flywheel but in reviewing the car budget for the year I dont think I can and still get the LSD. The flywheel runs about $320 and I think you can get the Power Brute (I think that's what it is anyway) clutch type LSD for about $500. I'm thinking it's a no brainer to skip the flywheel but want a few oppinions from those who have been there. It's for a '72 240 with L28 moderately build (tripple mikuni's, cam, headers, etc) used mostly for autocross and nice days on the street but occasional drag. I understand the benefits of a lighter flywheel but in a bang for the buck mentality is it really worth it much? Thanks Cameron

Well I didn't get pliers as the only ones I could find only said they were for removal and they were expensive so I got a 'Valve Stem Seal Installer Set' (8 different sizes in the set) which consist of basically very hard plastic tubes (NAPA part # 3372). This worked well - much much better than the socket method. Also got a seal removal tool which clamps around the seal and uses a slide hammer action - one pop and the seal comes right off real slick. If you are going to install / remove these Ford seals I would recommend using either the pliers mentioned above or the tools like I got. I got both the install set and remover tool for total of $23 on ebay. Cameron

I once pulled the engine/tranny from a GTI by basically cutting everything between the headlights with a sawzall and sliding it all out the front on a jack. The car had been rolled so was junk anyway and I was too cheap to rent an engine hoist. Worked well and when the JY came to pick up the shell it wasn't complete (since I cut the from end out) and hence didn't need a title. Funny side note - I wasn't there but my wife told be when they picked it up (the suspension had been removed and it was inside the garage) they suspended the front end off a tow truck and two people (a guy and a GIRL) each carried one end of the rear and walked it out onto a trailer. Wouldn't want to piss her off .... Cameron

Not sure how accurate it is but according to this: http://www.extreme-auto-parts.com/engine-calculator.asp it seems plausible 2000 lbs @ 300 hp ~ 10.85 @125 mph. Cameron

Main question is whether to use the vacuum advance or not? Some say dont because is hurts performance but Norm runs 12's and best I can tell he uses the vacuum advance. This will be a weekend warrior multipurpose Z (autox, drag occasionally, ect - but no trailer queen so it has to be streetable to at least get to the race) with the typical tripple 44 mikunis, headers, cam, MSD, shaved head P79/F54, etc. On a side note, it's got an electronic ignition dizzy which I just took appart to clean up and noticed the cage below the 'breaker plate' is broken. By the looks of it this cage was an engineers exercise in 'how far can we push it' or rather 'how thin can we make it'. Anyway, the plate doesn't seem to have any function since it's not really tied to anything? What exactly does this plate with the balls on either side do anyway because it's not obvious unless I'm just completely missing something? In determining what to do I read a bunch of old posts and it's not real clear the advantages / disadvantages of running vacuum advance other than 'better mileage' or 'better for performance'. What exactly are the benefits / downfalls? Thanks Cameron Oh and Merry Christmas - kids are now in bed ... well 'cept for the baby and I dont even have anything to put together this year:(

260DET - I've never seen frame connectors all the way out at that lip like you describe. All the one's I've seen (just do a seach on these forums and you will come up with a bunch) were extensions of the front frame rails all the way to the back but nothing going out to the sides. And you used 1 x 2" (25 x 50 mm) where it seems most have used 1 x 3 or even 2 x 3". Something to think about there ... a picture of your overall chassis stiffening scheme would be nice. Cameron

I just picked up my head and a set of these ford seals - they come with two of those little plastic installation deals. I'm using the socket method (12 mm deep well) but can't seem to get them on exactly square. I tried tapping them in place and just pushing real hard. Either method works to get them on but since there is no groove to set in like the stockers and you cant just push them till they bottom out because they are so short it seems virtually impossible to get them on square. Any suggestions? Thanks Cameron PS - if you have shaved your head (no not your head your engines head) and shimmed the towers and springs accordingly here's a hint - the inner spring shim goes on BEFORE the seal (don't ask me how I realized this .... lets just say $23 down the drain to another set of seals). By the way the only way I could find to remove the seals destroyed them since they are on SOOOO tight.