olzed

Summer. If your car doesn't have a centre muffler it will be a little noisy. To get one fitted go to a muffler shop. They would have to cut out a section of the straight pipe and weld in a small resonator or muffler. Quite a simple job if you have the experience, and a welder. Otherwise take it to a shop. If your car does have a centre muffler which you need to replace, it can be a dog to do. Take it to some pros. and let them do it. Not a pleasant job.

We met up with a couple who spent most of the last 30 years in Kenya, but now live in NZ. They were most interesting to talk to, as they have vivid memories of the Nissan Team cars and seeing the 240Zs that won. They are in their 60s now and were delighted when we showed them our car number 11 dressed up with numbers-logos etc. Also some pictures we had enlarged. Brought back to them many memories.

Some friends of ours lived in Bylands, rural Victoria not far from Kilmore, one of the towns badly affected by the last big blaze. The fires some years ago, called ,from memory 'Ash Wednesday', burned within metres of their home which had not a tree for hundreds of metres. The fire just roared across the dry farmland. No where near as risky as living amongst the trees, but still very scary. Brian.

Just this afternoon a fourth explosion.

Yes DET the story was dragged out here as well, right untill the second blast. Common sence tells us that it would be a miricle if anyone had survived the first blast. The blast was of such force that it knocked a large loader onto its side in the tunnel. If they manage to ever get back in there it will be interesting to see pictures of the damage. A jet engine from AUS has arrived which they may try to blow the gases out of the mine. Brian

Yes Bruce. At the same mine. They had to tunnel 2 km to get at the seam of coal which is only 150 metres below the surface. If it had been allowed to be an open cut pit the gases disperse into the air. The dept. of conservation which owns thousands of acres of bushland in this area, would not allow the coal to be extracted any other way. This country is being hamstrung by these gov't depts.and the greenies. There is billions of dollars in minerals in the ground and it can't be mined because of narrow minded beurocrats. There can be a ballance in my view. Brian

Agreed Nigel. The owner didn't want to remove the spoiler for the day.

Yes Mike. The magnet idea is good. We didn't get all of the stickers as we were eating into Club funds a bit too much. I'm very envious of your rally poster. The idea of the rally theme proved to be quite popular with the public, especially with our camp fire and warthog skin etc.

Hi guys, here are some pictures of a recent Club display. We had over 30 cars later in the morning. My car is number 11. Obviously the stickers are not 100% but we managed to convey the idea. We had a small african scene as well with shield, spears etc, and the Kenyan flag. We had a blast doing this. My thanks to all who helped with pictures of the origional cars etc. Brian.

Thanks for that Rick. There are two of your countrymen still down there. When I started this thread we had just heard the news of the second explosion and I was in tears as I sat at the keyboard. My wife and I visited Christchurch, and did the Trans Alpine rail tripthrough the Southern Alps to Greymouth two weeks before the Earthquake. I remember the tour train we were on pulling into a side line on a couple of occasions to let the coal train go by the other way. They cart the coal from Greymouth through the Alps to Christchurch for export. Greymouth is a small town with a huge history of coal mining and disaster. The country is in shock. Brian.

Not too fiddly granted. Make sure to get them back in the same place from which they came.

New Zealand is in mourning this evening after a second explosion in a coal mine on the west coast at Greymouth in the Pikes River coal mine in which 29 men have perished. Everything had been done to enter the mine safely after the first huge explosion five days ago and to locate these men, but sadly for the familys and the whole country this was not to be, as this afternoon another blast ripped through at least three km of tunnels, and there is no hope of survivors. This area has a sad history of men lost in tunnel explosions. The worst being Brunner 1897 when 65 men perished.

Well Denny, pleased you got the head off. That method you describe I must remember. Just a shame the head is corroded. Other heads will fit, but you may be better to get the same type if possible. There should be heaps available, with all the engine swaps that have been done. As INF says Compression Ratio is the problem with a 280zx head. Was the stud frozen with carbon or rust.

Just a little more on the goertz thing before it lies down. A couple of years ago a classic car mag down here had a competition asking who designed the 240z. And their answer was -----goertz. My answer which was of course 'wrong' was Nissan designers.!!!!!!

Just an observation here. 240 and early 260 diffs have been known for years to have a backlash clunk.

Yep, the old clunk. I'm sure mine is backlash in the diff. Its done it since I bought the 240 and I tightened and checked everything. Its no worse or better so I view it as a feature of this great little car.:classic: My mechanic comments on the backlash every time he checks it for a WOF. (warrant of fitness)

Put some radiator product in. It may stop the leak if it hasn't got a blown gasket from the cylinder area. If the head gasket has blown from the cylinder area, which will show up with a miss and low compression, don't run the engine for too long as this is when the trouble with carbon jamming up the studs will occur. On the tractor I owned I ran it all day with a blown head gasket, and then ran into big trouble to remove the head. Hope this rambling from an old guy makes sense. Very much doubt if penetrating oil would get down to the threads, but no harm to try. Don't try to remove the studs while the engine is hot as the threads can gall up. The same applys for spark plugs in an alloy head, or bolts any where for that matter. I have a weeping head on my 240 and have kept it at bay with rad. sealant for 11 years. So- touch wood, it will last as long as I do.

I'm not familar with dash caps. Do they have a lip which makes the hole too small to pull the tach through? If so you might try making up a split sleeve from an old tin can, place it in the opening, apply a bit of lube to the inside and try to wiggle the tach out through it. I used this method to ease hydraulic seals past the threads on hydraulic ram tubes. Might be worth a crack before you wreck something:ermm:

Fastwoman. Can of worms stuff?? That Goertz story refuses to lie down. Good on you for defending our S30s with your Spitfire friend. Every design ever produced had the influence of preceding designs from around the world, otherwise we would still be living in caves, and walking.

First, the cam tower bolts do not hold the head down, and do not remove them, as Mike said.If you have already done so, it is a fiddly job to realine them, but is possible. Use the search function on this forum. If one stud broke half way down, you could have the scenario I referred to in my first post, in which case as the head is alluminum you may have a job to remove it. Some advice from a machine shop would be my suggestion, unless there is some majic product that will dissolve the carbon around that stud. Did this engine have a blown head gasket, and a bad miss? Are you planning to remove the entire motor. If so perhaps a machine shop could drill the stud out. This could probably work, but it is a deep drill job. Another idea which I have never tried is if you managed to work the head loose enough to get a hacksaw blade in there you may be able to cut the stud off. You would certainly damage the alloy head, doing this and it would be a long job. Find another motor!!! Good luck. Let us know the outcome.

Yes last resort. The five foot crowbar was my last resort.

If you had a blown head gasket, the carbon can force it's way up one or two studs and make it almost impossible to remove the head, but if the studs broke at the base, then that won't be the problem. I have had this on an old Toyota, and took hours to get the head off. Also on a tractor engine. I had the weight of the front of the tractor hanging on a chain block by the head lifting brackets, with all the head nuts removed, and a five foot crowbar between the head and block. Took all day with penetrating oil and swearing to get that head off. Couldn't screw the studs out. It was like they were welded in the holes.:

We do have I think one company selling this mix, but our Toyota doesn't like it so we have not used the stuff. Fortunately!!!Thanks for the timely warning. A boycott on all companys selling that rubbish might work.

I have noticed on this forum, heaps of problems with rust in fuel tanks and fuel lines of cars that have sat for a while. Could this be caused by your fuel?. I have never encountered that problem in NZ. My 240 sat for four years and no rust in the tank. I must confess I had to replace the front discs as they were pitted with rust too badly to save.

Hey thats a NICE job. I tend to agree with Bo. The red and yellow lines would look REALLY COOL in black. Great job.