A. G. Olphart

Since John has probably added the closest we'll get to a technical response, I'll chime in with my experience- Champion vs. NGK. I tried running the recommended Champions in my wife's Datsun roadster when it had the original 1600. We could putt around town fine, but as soon as we hit the freeway and wound it up a bit, the deposits would melt and the engine began to miss. IIRC (lotta years ago) we found little glazed brown spots on an overall yellowish color on the Champion insulator noses. Probably a heat range thing, but Champion should have known better. Switched to NGK and never had another problem. <>

How's your mileage with the Predator? I knew a guy a few years ago who tried one, and IIRC, his was thirsty. <>

Sadder, maybe. The wheelchair guy got a ride you couldn't buy at Six Flags, evidently with no lasting harm. Mike is permanently losing garage space. Must be time for a building dedicated to landscaping and gardening. <>

Even with a dolly, it helps to know what you are doing... One of the turbobuick guys destroyed a new "built" transmission towing with a dolly. He didn't pull the driveshaft, and took off across a couple states. IIRC, the driveshaft removed itself along with much of the tranny. <>.

Thanks, John. I wondered if AEM had some big edge... After reading in the Innovate forum ('Tuner' is absolutely amazing), I won't be playng with any emulsion tubes soon. <>

John, why did you choose AEM over one of the Innovate models? I've been trying to decide what to buy (gas prices seem to make the purchase prudent), but all I've managed to do is confuse myself. I, too, have a Holley-- no laptop tuning at this time. Thanks... <>

pm has been anwered, and the price has dropped... she doesn't want to watch it become an old folks home for black widows. <>

There has been enough work done on that site that I imagine they would be happy to incorporate properly documented corrections. <>

Mike Lewis may be a little high end for a stock rebuild... he's in Laytonville. http://lewisracingengines.com/contactus.html He's got a great rep on the Chevelle board, & might possibly suggest a more appropriate shop if he's not it. HTH

Thanks... <>

Thanks, Mike... Appreciate the update. Ricky is lucky to have you and the family to help; those mods would be a bear to face alone. <>

Knowing how to be towed without rear ending the tow car is a valuable skill known to fewer people as time goes on. I once ran a red light while towing a friend's car... he said he'd been towed before and knew how to stop, but didn't apply the brakes. Last time I pulled him around. The car my wife is selling shouldn't have your 2000's problems: It is running a JDM Toyota 18RG and the appropriate 5 speed.

I just put my Wife's 69 roadster in the classifieds... if you buy it I think you can forgo having a wrecker. (But you could have all the fun of an open car again) It's under 240Z as there's no category for other Datsuns/cars. Quite a few pictures. <>

Sometimes just clicking (no cranking) may due to bad contacts in the starter solenoid. If another person is available, turn on the headlights and have them watch while you try to start the car. If the headlights go out (or get very dim) you probably have a battery/ connection/ charging problem. (Another scenario for the voltage drop could be a locked or shorted starter motor... much less likely). If the lights stay nice and bright, there's a good chance the contacts aren't doing their job. Dome lights may do for a solo tester, but don't provide much battery load. Vehicles with a dropping resistor in the ignition circuit usually bypass it when starting. If this resistor goes bad (open) the engine will start, but die as soon as the starter is disengaged. Looks like a good start on a 'sticky'. I'd Add a caveat about the dangers of playing with gasoline, starter fluid etc. because someone, somewhere could do something stupid and find a lawyer. (My paranoia/ faith in lawyers is showing). <>

If the pcv system is your smoke source, why does it wait for the end of the straight? (It's in play all the time). Could be, when you lift, the high vacuum sucks a little oil past the 102K intake valve seals. <>

With the engine and oil up to temperature, a person should be able to tell in a very short time at the target RPM (5 seconds is just a guesstimate) if the pressure is dropping off due to not enough pump. Run it a while, and causation gets iffy... might be starvation because all the oil is hiding in the valve cover. Insufficient oil cooling can also cause pressure to drop long term as the oil thins. High RPM tosses off oil more rapidly due to centripetal force, which is there as soon as your RPMs are up. The looser the bearings and the thinner the oil, the larger the volume needed to keep pressure up. I make no claims as to being an expert on your motor, just attempting to deal with the issues logically. Oil and bearing issues have been around as long as cars... the term "Hot Rodder" is a direct offshoot of that. As Matt says, "High power creates lots of pressure on the oil/bearing, creating lots of heat which will kill the bearings". High power is a relative term. In the days of Model 'T's and splash oiled Chevys, overspeeding an engine to go faster didn't gain much power, but it did wipe out the babbit bearings--- So speed demons became hot rodders. (Not really germane to your engine's behavior, but it relates). <>

Yup, the Aussie post makes it sound like a generic problem, mostly in getting oil back to the pump. Doesn't much matter what pump a person runs if it is all trapped upstairs; in fact, a bigger pump with more pressure will just put it all up there sooner. My take is that if your current pump can handle the RPM for a few seconds (5?) without a pressure drop, it is doing the job. It just needs a reliable supply of oil to chew on. <>

Any of you engineering types have a guesstimate as to how long it will be before those long handlebars crack up front? Where did they hide the radiator? All in all, I prefer Zs. <>

A lot of what I like about the high $ sports car engines is their quick revving, due mostly to low mass (expensive) parts. I believe that a guy could build a race engine, but cut back on the cam and compression (I know, the sharp edge of the exhaust note is gone) and come close to the sound you want with a set of Inglese Webers. http://www.inglese.com/ Unmuffled intakes add their own ambiance. The 180 crank issue got me curious... this is what Google found for me regarding NASCAR cranks: http://www.holley.com/AF112AA.asp They look pretty much like any other Chevy crank. <>

Not oil then; maybe brake fluid from bad master and booster? <>

If the gauges are moving in tandem (as you seem to indicate), they are not the problem. (I don't see two gauges plotting to fail in exactly the same manner at exactly the same time). That leaves a common wire/loose connection as the culprit, which you have confirmed by hitting the dash. You even know about where to look... Many vehicles (my wife's 69 Datsun roadster included) have a bi-metallic strip regulator in the gauge circuit that fails with age. (Your Z's diagram at Autozone doesn't seem to show one): http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1d/1d/80/0900823d801d1d80/repairInfoPages.htm When the regulators go flaky, they cause similar problems. The roadster regulator is a little rectangular can with a tab for screwing it to the car, and a spade connector on each end of the crimped in place plastic lid. <>

Hey, Mason... Apology accepted. Can't actually say that I was offended, but I could see where Mike and the crew might have been after all the work they'd gone to for the group. (And a great job they've done!). Guess I'm still trying to compensate for never having been chosen 'Hall Monitor' as a kid. <>

Once I requested permission, it magically appered in the 'last 24 hours posts' when I logged in. Logging in is likely the key... it lives right below Body Kits and Paint. <>

Mason, perhaps you should read/reread the first paragraph in Mike's announcement, and then offer him (and all at HybridZ) an apology. <>

Check the shape of the oil pan carefully. I have been told (by a gentleman who owned a used Japanese engine outlet) that there are differences of some sort in oil passages Z to Maxima. I can't recall the exact details, and don't know of it applies to all years with the I6. I'm guessing the oil pump isn't in the same place. IIRC, he said a Maxima block could be drilled to use in a Z, but have no idea of the difficulty. HTH <>