On 6/16/2021 at 2:55 PM, ETI4K said:

Two words for you my friend- mini split.

That would be a joy. Even to keep it at like 90 degrees would make it so much nicer. 

This passed week I finally was able to get around to dropping the block at the machine shop. Deck, Hone, and Clean. In the mean time I sprayed the engine bay satin black (Please dont hate me!). I'll have to grab some photos once everything is cleaned up. I am more and more tempted to do a light sand and clear coat the patina look for the time being. I dont see myself being able to give the car a full paint job anytime soon so I may as well embrace it. Do people usually clear with a matte/satin or is gloss used?

 

Lastly, the block is scheduled to take 5 weeks to finish. I need to order bearings and rings to finish my build check list. Progress is slow but its coming along 🙂

I just finally found bearings for mine (.25 oversize).  Had to order from Australia - anywhere from 2 days to 6 weeks for delivery.  My engine build has obviously come to an abrupt halt.  Hopefully, you'll have much better luck!

13 hours ago, ETI4K said:

I just finally found bearings for mine (.25 oversize).  Had to order from Australia - anywhere from 2 days to 6 weeks for delivery.  My engine build has obviously come to an abrupt halt.  Hopefully, you'll have much better luck!

Dang thats brutal! What is the reasoning for the oversize? I planned on going with factory specs

Crank had to be cut way back in time to clear wear-related damage, so now I can't use stock bearings.  I would think that by now in the life of these motors, most cranks would have needed to be cut, but maybe not.

I dont find it uncommon to see oversized main bearings. Does seem interesting they're that hard to source

I can get a "matched set" from King Bearings, but they are all aluminum, and the mains aren't available until Oct.  It seems King has gone the way of Clevite, foregoing tri-metal.

Taiho is available now (sort of) as long as shipping from AU works.  Delivery estimate is any day up to mid Sep.

I was able to find mains and rod bearings in stock at rockauto. Standard size, Clevite, for both. Rungs are by Hastings. Anything I should run away from?

No more Tri-metal??? Really?

Just now, Patcon said:

No more Tri-metal??? Really?

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1101766&cc=1209204&pt=5220&jsn=126

 

Looks to be Tri-Metal!

Look at the Mahle website.  Most P-series bearings have been superceded by their A-series. 

https://web.tecalliance.net/mahle-catalog/qa/parts/autocare/assigned?targetId=6642&parentAssemblyGroupId=10&assemblyGroupId=136&page=0#@brc/autocareassem:1983%20Nissan%20280ZX;targetId:6642/autocarelnkparts:Cylinder%20Block%20Components;targetId:6642;parentAssemblyGroupId:10;assemblyGroupId:136;page:0

Of course, some are still available, but in my search they were only standard sizes and larger oversizes - nothing at the .25mm size.

Finally got some new photos! The painting of the engine bay went smooth. It’s nothing permanent, but at least it will all be one color now 🙂

Edited July 27, 20213 yr by Barefootdan

Thanks to @Zed Head for the idea of just cleaning up the body work for the time being. I spent the past couple days getting all the surface rust off the car. I originally thought that the paint faded to the ugly brown, but there was a nice surprise hiding underneath!

I started off using a scotch pad and water. Then stepped up to some light CLR mix for the rust spots:

 

As I went through, my process changed and I didnt like the look of the bare metal (where the CLR took off the rust). So I went back to just water and scotch pad. I had to remind myself that we arent preparing for paint, and just trying to clean up the surface! 🙂 I didnt like how rough the surface felt still after, so I hit it with some fine steel wool to smooth things up a bit.

This was taken right after a wipe down so it is still moist in some areas and streaky in others. But the difference was amazing. 

Here are a few more comparisons:

 

From there I went and grabbed some Penetrol to "seal" the paint temporarily. It gives a satin/gloss finish that also makes the colors and rust *Patina* some extra vibrance. 

Just a reference of where we started:

 

The streaks on the hood leveled out, I just took the photo too soon 🙂 

 

 She absolutely deserves better body work in the future, but this will at least give me a finish that I can wipe down without my microfiber snagging immediately! 😄