A. G. Olphart

Does the depth of the sensor affect performance or lifespan? Looks like Tim's adapter would hold the sensor out of the actual exhaust pipe, while a simple nut might put the sensor directly in the path of a very hot gas flow. Just curious, have never seen an O2 sensor. .

Five acres- We could just about do tents... a 'Z' centric Woodstock. .

Wife has one, Chrysler blue, no pics.... sorry. .

Really nice gear set, but prompts me to ask: Will the case itself take that kind of torque load without splitting? Could be interesting... perhaps aftermarket tranny cases to bolt to aftermarket blocks? .

But Grumpy, magazines are written by authors (not mechanics) and sold as entertainment. Just look how thoroughly entertained you have been... Isn't a magazine that twists a person's crank that quickly worth what was paid? It is no worse than what passes for the reporting of news. Damn... That says a lot about our society. .

Cute twins... .

Valid point Jake; soft bearing materials will wash out, given high oil pressures and tight clearances. IIRC, they also tend to pit/crater when overloaded for a long time. (Sorry; can't check this at the moment as my old Federal Mogul bearing book is in one of a zillion boxes waiting to be unpacked). I don't think anyone intentionally runs dirty oil, but as Pete could probably confirm, **** happens. A chunk of grit too large to 'flush right through' can make a mess. Did your buddy's crank polish up round, or were the rod journals a bit flat on one side? .

A person would jump in and out of a few until finding one in which the battery had not yet gone dead... Oops. these are all NEW cars; Sorry. .

I like the obvious disparity in 'good' bearing characteristics as described in the two flack sheets. Their soft bearings tout the material's thickness because embedability is a good thing; their rock hard bearings brag on how foreign materials are flushed right through. IIRC from classes long ago, embedability is/was a good thing. The old cast babbit bearing material from the early 20th century had it in spades, but was too soft/ deformable for extended lifespans. Really hard bearings (like Aluminum) had extreme load carrying capabilities, but zero tolerance for dirty oil. I've no personal experience with racing, but have read that dragsters use soft bearings to minimize crank damage from any metal to metal contact that occurs. They also expect to check and change bearings regularly. (Real Racers, please stand up and correct me if I'm wrong). King's SI bearings would probably last forever as long as the oil remained good and clean. (But, personally, I don't see crank polishing as a bearing function). I like trimetal bearings: a bit of embedability, yet hard enough to go the distance. (Again, just personal opinion). .

You're right about the oil and water emulsion... creamed coffee color. The black you found isn't too far from purple, and is the direction the color will shift eventually due to heat/contaminents. I'd guess it was mainly still purple, and just a trick of the lighting. (Unless this is a high mileage engine, in which case it may have been cleaning out old deposits created courtesy of PO). I notice that you are in Illinois. A 20 base weight oil will be thick there in the winter. I like 20-50 here in rainy CA, but it seems that your engine would become hard to crank in the cold. I remember using head bolt heaters to keep rigs warm enough to crank over, and in one really cold area, running one of the early synthetics (CONOCO Polar Start) where heaters weren't an option. Yes, fuel thins oil. /

old Chrysler wagon.

In line with this thread, I noticed that blindchickenracing uses and recommends a cheap tubing notching jig from Harbor freight. Seems to work. http://www.blindchickenracing.com/Tools/Tube%20Notcher/Tubing%20Notcher.htm I like JohnC's beer can procedure for truly complex cuts. (Especially emptying the cans whilst contemplating the level of difficulty involved). .

Totally alone. I checked out one car club, but it is (as you mentioned) a social club. Road trips, dinners and such. My larger problem is that the Z is a ways down the list, primarily behind the not quite finished but gotta move in now house project. (Lots of sub- projects in that one).

There has been a long thread on exhaust smell recently... it may be related to rust holes in floor and firewall, so check carefully as you install your insulation and air conditioning. Your new seals can't hurt if they fit; some door seals have a rep for being too thick. The neatest driveline phasing trick I've seen was the fellow (never can remember names for attributions) who made a couple of magnetic LED pointers at 90 degrees to their base. With one on the diff flange and one on the trans output shaft, a little smoke/fog under the car and all is aligned if the beams are parallel in all planes. (I wonder how far the output shaft moves under full load? That might explain to your observed full throttle vibrations). I really like the Ron Tyler front diff mount. Look here for plans and a discussion of driveline phasing: http://alteredz.com/drivelinemods.htm. (Thanks Pete!) HTH .

So how do you like it? If you are like most on the board, it will never really be 'done' like a factory car. .

Yup, this phase is done. Darn, now you get to drive it!

http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Datsun_Z_V-8.html JTR P.O. Box 66, Livermore, California 94551 E-Mail: JTR@JagsThatRun.com They wrote the book: Buy one!

Every party needs a pooper... IMHO- a really bad idea, save your money. Even regular wrist pins are hard, and IIRC titanium has a rep for being almost impossible to machine. (If there is sufficient meat in the rod end and piston, perhaps they could be made to fit the pins)? This response not guaranteed to be well informed.. .

Your transmission of choice will be an experience in itself. Most stock units will die young in a performance vehicle. That said, it is what I'll be running. I recommend the overhaul and modification book available through Chris at ckperformance.com. He wrote the book, and makes a lot of parts to help them live. From the factory very few 200R4s had decent shifts... basically the Buick grand nationals (BQ, BRF coded trannys, the Hurst Olds (OZ, OZF? coded) Monte Carlo SS (CZ?, CZF) and the turbo Trans Am whose code I forget altogether. A lot of the garden varieties short shift to second, and their governers are set for around 3000RPM max (auto shifting) rather than about 5000. All 200R4s have a tag on the passenger side near the output shaft with the code on it. As I recall, pre 84 trannies are to be avoided, and the latest ones had a few better parts as GM got wise. Here is a good basic rebuild parts list: http://turbobuick.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139593. and some other stuff you may find interesting: recent post on tools http://turbobuick.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174820&highlight=tools Another Tool thread http://turbobuick.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169654 a 'first rebuild' thread http://turbobuick.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104751&highlight=tool+reverse+ebay the other manual http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GM-200-4R-ATSG-Transmission-Service-Repair-Manual_W0QQitemZ7996770170QQcategoryZ33727QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem One Guys howto http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/transmission/200rebld.html The easiest way to make a good shifting 200R4 is to pick up a Caddy with an AA/ AAF tag and buy a shift kit from Chris. You will need a larger 2nd gear servo. I recommend using only the wide red Alto band and Alto red clutches. For real power there are mods to add a clutch disc for OD and to dual feed the direct clutch (that mod will break a stock trans, requires some aftermarket bits). WOW--- An entire post just hanging out there, unrelated to anything you mentioned. . Shall we blame it on beer, dislexia, reading too fast for my brain to keep up, or just the aging process? Guess I took R200 as 200R4- I do almost see them in my sleep. I'm leaving the post as it could conceivably help someone who searches. HTH.

Welcome, Joey. Since you've been searching a while, you have probably noticed Grumpyvette's posts. He's posted quite a few engine combinations and sources over the years, and is worth a dedicated search session both here and at chevytalk.org (where he's a moderator). One caveat- many of the cams he recommends are fairly serious- not mileage grinds. (If this is a weekend only car that may not be a concern). Since you are in CA, Mike (Wolfplace) is a machinist in Mendocino county who is well repected on on chevelles.com. You might want to ask him about a 383 short block or engine that fits your needs... you never know until you ask. Here's his home page: http://www.lewisracingengines.com/pages/702073/index.htm He has a rep for decent prices on aftermarket heads as well. Luck with your project! .

I agree that dead links and missing pictures can be a problem, but board members here try hard to help those making an honest attempt to help themselves: If a person quotes such a thread and asks a related question, chances are it will be answered politely, accurately, and with care. /

Z-Tard, I've seen salt air paint panel tests in the past. To give corrosion a chance in a reasonable amount of time, they put one long, deep, (to the metal) scratch down the center of each sample. Without that, it might be a while. Sorry, memory fade... they made an X. .

I'm with Dan... I have a friend with one of those in an old pickup. Besides having little power, it got lousy gas milage until he put a 4BBL manifold and 600 Holley on it (neither of which is a cheap item). You might consider a 289-302, or even fixing the stock Z engine. If your Z is dead, you might be able to pick up a good Z engine cheap from someone here who has to have an LS1:twisted: . You posted while I was typing (old and slow). Have you verified fit and weight? 6 cylinder speed parts are still speed parts: How fast can you afford to go? .

Z's aren't ugly enough to ever really be sleepers... they said 'performance' out of the factory. That said, 20 years will have you changing rubber parts and redoing the brakes. My personal approach would be a bit of PB blaster (followed by Marvel Mystery oil in each cylinder once the engine turns). Spin the engine without plugs (on a fresh battery) until you have oil pressure for a while, and try the stock setup. SEARCH the forums here- AC has been discussed extensively, along with most everything else. And welcome to HybridZ ..

I definitely do not see the filter ahead of the electric pump as a mistake. Not dropping the tank may cost you a lot of filters (I'd drop the tank), but not running a pre-pump filter would likely cost you pumps. On the other hand, unless you have sourced a finer filter media for the after pump filter, I don't see it will help much. .