Well I just bought this car. It's a 1970 240z with a P79 head and a F54 block out of a 81-83 280zx non turbo. The complete engine was rebuilt less than 6000 miles ago by a very reputable Datsun engine builder, Eiji Hosomi, out of Datsun Spirit. When I bought it the PCV was capped with a freeze plug and there was a breather hose coming off the valve cover. This was smokey and stinky since I've had it. The previous owner said that it had always smoked a little but recently had smoked more. Doing a lot of reading I figured I would uncork the PCV hoping to reduce the blow by coming out of the crankcase and setup a catch can with a breather filter on top. I did just that this morning and this thing is smoking even more now it seems. There is white gray stinky gas smelling smoke almost billowing out of the catch can breather filter. I drove it around the block and she runs SOLID. She just smokes a lot out of the catch can to where it's coming into the cab and it's unbearable. I've read and read. Rings are shot? Compression test? Leak Down? The car runs just fine I would think the compression is fine....I'm bumming. I have money left over from buying the car to cover fixing stuff, that I was hoping to break at the track, not to get it ready for the track! Any insight is appreciated. I need to hit the sac. Night shift sucks. I've been up since 3pm yesterday and I am beat!

Working from memory is not the best way to solve these kinds of problems.  Datsun Spirit or Kelvin must have some sort of written record.  Just because typed the words in to an eBay ad doesn't mean they happened.  Does nobody have a simple part number from a receipt or estimate or build sheet?  Was the engine shipped or installed in the car?  Did more than one engine ever sit in the same place?  Does Datsun Spirit do simple repair work besides builds?

Less emotion, more fact-finding is the way to go.  These are all unfounded accusations until somebody shows some proper documentation.  

And, the head has been replaced.  Could be the whole engine was swapped at the shop that did that work.  Might not be the engine Kelvin bought.  He might have been ripped off and didn't even know it.

Just got off the phone with the previous owner. Sounds like there is bad blood between him and Hosomi, but I think I got to the bottom of the mystery, kinda. To make a long story short, kelvin had a high compression build on the car E88 head with cam on a L24 block. The L24 block failed him. He shipped the car to hosomi, from what I gather hosomi sold him this F54 block that I have now that caused too high of compression with the E88 head with cam. This caused DETONATION. Kelvin shipped the car back to hosomi and hosomi put a metal head gasket in? And shipped it back. He told kelvin the blowby was normal. Kelvin didn't like how the car was running and bought a rebuilt P79 head from Zcar source Arizona...ran out of money and sold the car to me. Yay! Kelvin said he will send me receipts and emails to prove this correspondence between him and hosomi. Kelvin swears up and down he didn't touch the block after hosomi built it. The Pistons in there are the ones that hosomi put in, and they're not ITM as he says. To be honest I'm over it. The car is mine. Nothing is going to be done about any of this anyways. I ate the 1300$ that it cost to put new Pistons in it and I'm fine with that. I just hope that like someone else said, it's not too sloppy inside the cylinders after multiple honing done.

Thanks for the entertainment anyway.  I wonder if things aren't slipping a little at Datsun Spirit.  A fairly short while ago it looked like somebody else was taking over operations.  Maybe they're cutting costs and milking the reputation.  

The guy never replied to my question.

Zed Head, I'm glad you and I friends.  8^)

7 hours ago, Zed Head said:

Thanks for the entertainment anyway.  I wonder if things aren't slipping a little at Datsun Spirit.  A fairly short while ago it looked like somebody else was taking over operations.  Maybe they're cutting costs and milking the reputation.  

The guy never replied to my question.

Glad I can be of some entertainment

I was kidding, of course.  I feel a little bad that the spot-light is now on Datsun Spirit, who has a generally excellent reputation.  I did mean my comment though about change there being possible.  Shops get big and busy, they hire new people and give them responsibility, and things happen.  Could be an honest mistake.

You've done more than enough and it was a good cautionary note for everyone.  With grannyknot's recent selling issue and this, and past CaliforniaDatsun problems, it shows that you have to look out.  I might send a message to the guy in that other thread (Richie, apparently), with a link to this one, just to give them a chance to address the issue.  Maybe Diseazd or Carl Beck has a view.  

Still think that there are written records out there somewhere.  You wouldn't have them though, the other guys would.

now I have to admit my past with sports cars. I am cursed with them. Every single sports car I have ever bought something miserable happens shortly after I buy them, always within the first month.

Brand new 2006 WRX, burglarized 

1989 Maserati Biturbo, wrecked

2005 WRX STi, alternator shot on way home from dealership on day I bought it stranded on freeway for 3 hours 108 degrees outside.

2005 WRX STi #2 hit in rear quarter panel while parked, 6000$ in damage, hit and run.

so on and so fourth....and I have owned many different sports cars all with horror stories after I bought them. I should be used to it by now. I've also owner a few trucks, never had a problem with them.

Well, hopefully you can enjoy the Z now.  

Oh I plan on enjoying the hell out of her. Taking her to a show first weekend of June!

And I wanted to thank everyone on here for helping me identify the problems within this ordeal. I really do appreciate all of your experience and thoughts throughout this process. Im just stoked it got fixed within a reasonable amount of time and it didn't cost an arm and a leg. Thanks again for your help. --Zach

On 5/5/2016 at 6:01 PM, Patcon said:

Is ITM it's own manufacturer or are they made by someone else?

This got overlooked as a possibility for the ITM confusion.  Could be that ITM outsources to TIK and TIK quality isn't very good.  How many people have bought Timken for their reputation then opened the box to find National brand?