now before yall say anything, i'll tell you that i didn't think to search the forums for reviews of this guy before i bought from him. hindsight is 20/20, but i may not be screwed yet.

the head just got here today. it's an N42, and by sight, it looks really good. there are one or two chinks here and there; one on the edge of a lobe, another on the edge of one of the exhaust ports. but overall, it looks good. it's got the double springs.

my question is this: who has bought a head from this guy, and if you had problems with it, what were they? i'm going to have it checked out by the shop i go to, and i'd like to have something to tell them to look for.

now before yall say anything, i'll tell you that i didn't think to search the forums for reviews of this guy before i bought from him. hindsight is 20/20, but i may not be screwed yet.

the head just got here today. it's an N42, and by sight, it looks really good. there are one or two chinks here and there; one on the edge of a lobe, another on the edge of one of the exhaust ports. but overall, it looks good. it's got the double springs.

my question is this: who has bought a head from this guy, and if you had problems with it, what were they? i'm going to have it checked out by the shop i go to, and i'd like to have something to tell them to look for.

My friends bought engines and heads from him, and I have seen the parts.

They looked fine to me, and I think he is using a good machine shop. Please remember that MOST TECHS DO NOT DO MACHINE JOBS. I am qualify to do all machining, but I send all my stuff to a machine shop. Mechining tools are too expensive! Engine building is 95% depending on the job of a machine shop. Just so you know.

Esprist

Hi Saridout,

I'm in the same boat as you. I just received a E88 Head from Datsun-Parts LLC. I haven't installed it yet, but will let you know how it turns out next week or the week after. I was a little hesitant ordering given some of the stories, but the price was pretty compelling after adding up how much it would cost to machine my existing head and order new valves and rocker arms. I'd definately be less daring buying a complete engine or car sight unseen, but hopefully we'll both be pleasantly surprised.

My wife is pretty tired of me joking about the great new head I'm getting. I think she's hoping the cylinder head is a lemon so the joke will be on me.

Cheers and good luck

Martin

i hope it works for you, for both our sakes :/ please do let me know how it goes

ok, so i've found the first problem. the head got here without an oil line, and i assumed that that was typical, and that i would just put my old one on. i guess i should have thought about the fact that i never told him that i still have my old head. anyway, i took my oil line off the old head and walked over to put it on the new one, and lo:

it has no holes in the bosses for the oil line.

before i try to talk to him about this, can someone tell me which head's cam towers do NOT have these holes? i'd like to know what i'm dealing with.

EDIT: did earlier 280z's have no oil line? mine was manufactured in October of '75.

Edited June 24, 200915 yr by saridout
update

Apparently internal and external oiled cam setups can be swapped on the N42 head. I have a two N42 heads in my garage now. One is internally oiled and the other has the external bar. The head without the bar has oil holes in the cam lobes.

Does the cam in your head have the oil holes?

it does indeed have the oil holes on the lobes. maybe i've avoided catastrophe... do you have any idea if the different setups correspond to when the car was produced?

unrelated question: i've been refreshing my thermostat housing, and one of the thingies that screws into it (not the temp sensor or thermo time switch) has a wire coming out of it that's grounded back onto the body and another wire that ends in a bullet connector. any idea what this thing is? the ground has broken off.

it does indeed have the oil holes on the lobes. maybe i've avoided catastrophe... do you have any idea if the different setups correspond to when the car was produced?

Not to sure about the production.

unrelated question: i've been refreshing my thermostat housing, and one of the thingies that screws into it (not the temp sensor or thermo time switch) has a wire coming out of it that's grounded back onto the body and another wire that ends in a bullet connector. any idea what this thing is? the ground has broken off.

Most likely what you are referring to is a thermal switch that ties into the EGR system at the back of the intake manifold. The switch controls a solenoid that opens vacuum to the EGR when the motor is at running temperature.

In your Flicker photos I noticed the EGR setup. California cars had this.

see the attached photo. is this the egr switch? thanks!

see the attached photo. is this the egr switch? thanks!

That is part of the circuit.

Can anyone else speak to their experience with Datsun Parts LLC cylinder heads? My biggest question right now is do they have hardened valve seats in the e88's, or will I need to continue to run a lead substitute?

He half-asses most of what he sells. I wouldn't buy something from him that touches a moving part. If you want a decent head, consider Datsun Spirit. I have seen Eiji Hosomi's work. It would be worth your while to contact him if you need a head worked on.