cycloid

What do you guys think of something like this? Is it remotely possible or is it just too much fab work and money involved to get it done right??

Hello I need to replace the rear valance on a 280z. There is a pretty bad dent that cant be covered with body filler. I think my best option is replacing the valance, but Id like to know if I could get a ball park estimate on how much it would cost to have someone replace it. I live in phoenix Az.

I was able to accomplish my task without having to remove the sugar scoops! I needed to sand both of them down but the headlights were in the way. so I did this--- remove the inner fender liner. There should be 4 10 mm bolts holding it in place. move the front wheel so that you can fit your arm behind the headlight. remove the 4 silver screws holding the headlight in place. pop the headlight. Done. I was able to sand down the sugar scoops. No need to worry about re aligning the sugar scoops with the fenders Thanks for the help guys. I love this forum!

Hello I need to get the door handle off. I have already removed the door panel and the lock. I unscrewed the two nuts that hold the door handle in place but there seems to be some sort of wire clip holding the door handle to a rod. I cant get this thing off for the life of me. Im hoping someone could give me some tips on getting the door handle unlinked from the rod. some instructions would be extremely appreciated. Heres a pic to show you what I mean

Hello I need to remove both of the headlight cases on my Z. Can someone please explain how to remove them? I dont want to go all crazy and start unbolting and unscrewing things that do not need to be messed with. Thanks!!!

Wish I had this info before I bent my valves!!

took out the pistons this morning

Hello I just got my pistons off. I reviewed the FSM and the how to rebuild datsun engines book but I cant find the part where it talks about the main cap bolt removal sequence. The books warns about warping the head when the bolts are not taken off properly. What about the main cap bolts?? should they come off in a certain order?

more work done on the car.

Hello I just picked up an engine stand yesterday and I am going to place the engine on the stand to start the rebuild. Im not sure if it would be wise to send my block out to a machine shop to have the cylinders honed, and deck resurfaced first. Is it a good idea to do?? Ive heard many times that the l28 crank case is legendary in its ruggedness so I dont know if taking the crank case to the machine shop is even necessary. What should I do?? my cylinder walls look pretty clean. the deck surface is not rusty or scratched. Whats the ballpark price I would be paying to have my crank case reconditioned?? what is your experiece in rebuilding an l28?? I assume that most of the time the crank case needs no work??

Block is out now Next update Ill have the entire car sanded to bare metal

Yeh man I lifted a 400 small block out of a 72 impala by hand once. Those blocks are heavy as hell. Some new updates!!!! I started working on sanding the body. I am not happy with the paint job or the color so I decided Ill re do it myself. Ive had quite a bit of experience with prep work so this will be a walk thru the park. I havent decided on a color yet. I was thinking kawasaki green.. Maybe orange? a couple of pics of my neighbors z car. The guy just had the entire engine rebuilt but hes just leaving it sit there for a long time. and some work in progress shots of the 280 I was almost going to try and remove the engine block from underneath the car without the engine hoist. had a bunch of engine stands and 2.5 ton jack to get it done. I decided not to do it that way. closeup of the paint job, notice the orange peel effect. I saw a spot near the bottom of the front fender that had some deep scratches, with base coat and clear coat over it. Seemed like the painters really didnt put there all into it or were just being lazy. Had it been my guys I would have fired them. some more shots of the car. And also picked up an engine hoist. Im going to take out the block today and post some more pictures later.

the car vibrates pretty rough when Im going above 65. I was wondering if maybe my tires are unbalanced. Im not hearing any grinding sounds or anything so hopefully its just that. What are some other causes for vibration? bad struts?? bad transmission mount??

Mines is at the 70,000 mark. I still have a ways to go!

Thanks for the link. I will probably take out the engine block and paint the car a different color then. The copper brown is okay but Id like something different.

I have a good friend that will let me use his paint booth and equipment if I want to. I really wasnt planning on it but I think it would really cool to have the engine taken out and have the car painted another color.( maybe white?) Im still in the early stages so Its not much trouble at all to drop the engine and do a proper paint job. Ill look around craigs list to see if someone can rent me a hoist. Maybe I could try Leons method instead if its not too much trouble. In fact I would prefer dropping the engine from the bottom becuase there is no head on the block.

tamo3 : Thank you. I plan on having this car up and running in about 2-3 months. Most of the time will be spent saving for the triple carb setup. Jeff G 78: Hello I know this is not the best way to do an engine bay refresh but my budget is pretty small. I dont know anyone around me with a engine hoist and buying one was just not an option for me. I agree the build would be much easier and cleaner had I removed the block. Im just trying to be very cost efficient with this build . If I get into one of those "while im at it" situations this rebuild will end up turning into a restoration and the 2-3 month project will turn into a 6 month+ project. Im deadset on just doing some minor paint work and putting all my money and focus onto the head, cam exhaust and intake. Ill have it up and running soon tho

Hello sorry to create the extra threads on the same subject. For some reason I was not able to edit my post to resize the pictures. I will create this final thread and mainly post video updates along with a few pictures. I will try to post helpful links and information I find along the way here as well. I have been working on getting my Z back on the road. There was some bent valves so I decided to do a rebuild and paint up the engine bay. So far I have prepped the engine bay for paint and I have painted up the block. I am currently saving up to have the head rebuilt at a local machine shop. Also researching to find a good cam for my flat top engine. I plan on going with a triple carb setup.

Ive decided to go with a carb setup for my engine rebuild. I have arranged a place to have my head worked on. I need to take the head along with the new cam to the machine shop/ I do not know what type of cam I should use. I was told to use a hot cam. What is a hot cam??

Those hub caps are horrible. That car needs a new home.

I need some work done my l28 head and I was wondering if there is anyone who knows of some good Datsun head shops in the PHX area?

Sorry Leon. I guess Im just being a little too anxious. I will try to simmer down a bit and continue reading the book. Thank you for the advice.

Thanks zed head. All of the choices sound very enticing. I may end up going with an aftermarket efi. Ill save a little bit of money and get to keep a lot of parts. Im a little concerned about the head tho. I was looking at some info and it looks like it is recommended to replace all the head hardware (springs, valves, rockers, cam) I am sure the headwork is going to add up pretty quickly. I was looking at some head rebuild kits and the one I saw was around 800 dollars. for that much I can get a 5.3 lm7 with the harness and a 5 speed trans. Id really love to go with a bone stock ls based swap. I may just do an ls swap if the l28 rebuild turns out to go past my budget. I properly removed the head by following the exact bolt loosening sequence to prevent warping. The cam lobes look okay. they do not have that polished finish to them. Do you think I could take my complete head to a reputable shop and see if the rockers and cam are still salvageable?? would be really cool if they could just freshin everything up instead of having to buy all new head parts. anyone had any experiences in prepping up a head?? how much money ballpark might I spend on having my valves done and getting my *cam back up to par at tune shop? btw. I was not able to find any info on the pistons. Looks like it might have been done by the previous owner or the paper work was not included in my folder. I did find one of those coins that get glued to the block. ( it says warranty void if removed ). I bought an lq4 at a engine salvage once and I saw one of those same coins. My thoughts are that this motor had some work done on it by some shop or it was purchased at a yard.