Oiluj

Rich, It's not running yet. In fact, I just installed the engine yesterday. Here's some pics... Since I missed my October "target" run date, I'm not working as hard on getting her done. Plan to have her finshed by Spring. Next comes the tranny, but I have a small problem I need to solve first.

I think most of us did. But the type of accident you describe is at normal speeds and, frankly, often part of the learning process. I had a almost identical experience. However, that's very different than someone choosing to drive recklessly at 1.5x to 3x the speed limit on public streets & highways. When I was young, I admit I did some stupid things as well, but never with other cars around. It was usually on an empty road late at night. We did have the ability to go to local autocrosses and get some of it out of our systems. I was know as "wildman" in my Pinto 2000. That's because, "at that time", I thought the only way I could keep speed around the course was to drift the corners. I did consistently beat the local BMW 2002's though. *grin*

Welcome and the car looks great! Wish mine was assembled and looked that nice. It's getting there...

Bruce has it right. Very few teenagers have the common sense to drive a high performance car like the 350Z. I completely blame the parents. We read or see this in the news all the time. I even saw it when I was a teen, (without a fast car...). What's really tragic is the collateral damage they cause to other families. Teens and fast cars on public streets don't mix. There are a VERY few teens who are mature enough to be trusted not to do something stupid under peer pressure, especially behind the wheel of a "fast" car. (Same can be said for many adults as well). That said, I have no problem with teaching teens how to drive on the track, as long as parents make certain kids understand the difference between the track and public streets. I'll get off my soapbox now...

Sort of a hijack of this thread, but... Anyone know of an aftermarket anttena that the original exterior nut and bezel will fit on? That way it would work automatically and still look original.

I can give a recommendation for Rebello. Great guys to work with.

Beandip, I also have an aluminum radiator I have yet to install, (after reinstalling the engine). I'm not sure if my stock pan will fit afterwards. If it doesn't, I plan to make a new pan from aluminum. Mine has a rough finish from old surface rust and is a bit bent-up, but not too bad. If your pan is in good condition, If you can't use it, I'm sure there are many here who would want it!

Don't cut it, original pans are getting hard to find! A custom pan would not be hard to fabricate from sheet aluminum using riveted construction.

While I've purchased a couple things from Reddat, with no problem. His quoted shipping costs were excessive and he was unwilling to reduce it. I stopped buying from him for that reason.

Anybody have a better, higher resolution pic of this poster?

If it's a 240Z, (assuming I recall correctly), it's 1/8" BSPT

Perhaps you could rent a car for skiing? Would be a shame to expose a classic Z to salt and see her rust away...

After readng the post indicating it needs the 200 ft-lb torque, I went back last night and torqued both down to spec. No significant change in rotational resistance noted. As a process check, I then removed the axle nut and inner hub to see of the rotational resistance was different from before. It was, but only very slightly, as the bearings have been driven onto the shaft into thier proper locations. Based on what I've read in this post, I'll go with the 200 in-lbs torque and check for excess heat after a few miles, then again after 100 miles. I'll finish-up tonite with the shafts and the rear disc brake install. BTW, the rear disc brakes installed easily, except that I had to "free" the frozen slide pins on one caliper.

Not acceptable. Get an RMA # and send it back. MSA is pretty good about returns. That said, I was not happy with the quality of the interior diamond vinyl kit I got from MSA, but decided not to send it back. Figure I'd just get another kit from their same vendor with the same problems. Went to the source and got the diamond pattern material and will cut & sew them myself.

I didn't use a fish scale, but did the same thing with a known weight hanginging from a stud. That's how I got the 4-5 in-lbs torque, (which semed high to me). I did figure the problem out. It's wasn't the bearings, but the seal on the inside of the hub. When I removed the inside rear hub, the rotational force was much lower. Turns out the new grease seal had a rough edge with molding flash, and the flash was creating a lot of drag. I gently ran some 1200 grit sandpaper to remove the flash, followed by some polish compound to clean-up the surface finish of the seal edge. (Learned this trick from a heavy equipment field mechanic). This appears to have solved the problem. Once that was done, I was able to adjust the axle nut to eliminate end-play and still have acceptable rotation force. I knew it had to be something simple, (or operator error). Got one hub done last night and plan to do the other tonite. Whew!

I also believe they have to machine a small clearance spot on the block for the valves, but I could be wrong...

Arne, Don't know if the Nissan parts are still available, but get many of my auto parts from a NAPA store just 4 blocks away from my house. At this point I'm thinking that 0.015" end play is probably better than high rotational resistance. Figure I'll try running them for a 100 miles or so to "break them in" and then see if I can re-adjust them to reduce the end play.

I appreciate the ideas, and a good point about axial pre-load like on a timken bearing. The rear bearings appear to be "offset" ball bearings. Also, I did check using calipers that the new bearings were the same thickness & OD as the old bearings. I did rotate both directions quite a bit. The assembly was in a relatively clean environment, (my garage), so no sand or grit to worry about. I'm also thinking it might be possible that the aftermarket bearings came from the factory with more "play" than the original bearings. Lastly, since I'm not yet satisfied, I haven't "peened" the nuts, so I can R&R the bearings if I have to...

I replaced the rear wheel bearings but am not satisfied with the results. I'm guessing it might be operator error... Before assembly I did a visual check on the bearing mount surfaces and verified that the axle bearing was well seated on the shaft prior to assembly. I tightened axle nuts down to spec, (200 ft-lbs), but both axles feel a bit "stiff" and do not rotate that freely. My manual gives a axle-nut torque spec of 181 to 239 ft-lbs, but also gives a "preload" spec of 3.9 in-lb. I'm assuming this 3.9 in-lb is the maximum rotational resistance? Torque required to (slowly) rotate the hub is at the upper limit of about 4 in-lbs, but feels too stiff to me. I packed the bearings with "black" disc brake wheel bearing grease, (what I already had in the garage). End play is almost non-existent, but if I loosen up the axle nut and lightly tap the axle end to remove a bit of bearing pre-load, end play increases to about 0.015", which is outside the 0.005" spec. At this end play, rotational resistance is about 2 in-lbs. Thing is, I can't seem to get a reasonable end-play less than 0.015" without it becoming "stiff". This seems to be it's "happy place". Any thoughts?

Nice install and good info!

Very Nice! As others have said, I really like the blue interior.

Have the information at home, (I'm at work), but here's my recollection. Rebello "Classic" L24 Upgrade. Keeps the matching numbers w/ no external differences changes. Complete rebuild. Bored & Stroked to 2.8L, (280 crank w/ 240 rods, larger pistons). All new externals, timing gear & oil pump.Everything new on the original E88 head. Combustion chambers tweaked, ported & polished w/ new stage 2 cam & valve train components.Carburation is 48 mm SU's w/ upsized needles.Stock intake & exhaust manifolds.Smog pump removed, but remaining smog parts intact.Tuning & cam info is chart. Does this answer your questions? I plan to install the engine in about two weeks, but it will be several months or more before the car will be ready to drive. Then after redoing the exhaust system, she'll be ready for the road. Should be fun ride!

Hi All, Finally scanned my Rebello "Classic" L24 Upgrade dyno chart and thought I'd share it.

Those are Brit carbs... Look identical to the ones on the MGA I sold.

Jim, Thanks for the input. I did mean an "adjustable" proportioning adjustable valve. I won't be tracking the car, just street driving and perhaps the occasional autocross. I'll let you know how it goes. Worse-comes-to-worse, If it's really too unbalanced, I can switch them out at a later date. . Rip, I did consider cutting off the backing plates until I saw how much play there was in the rear axles... Just a bit too much for my liking, so I figure with everything else I'm doing, it's best to at least inspect & repack the rear bearings or replace them. My plan at this point is to replace them. That being the case, it obviates the need for me to cut the plates off. It would have been soo much easier!