grannyknot

I guess we have it easy up here in Ontario, once you have your car, any car safety inspected, that's it, you never have to have it inspected again until it changes owners. Any car 1987 and older does not need an emissions test so you can modify to your hearts content. Ryan, here is a pic of my Z before, this is the passenger side foot well, and after, it's all doable,

Reverend, I'm using the cheapo RX-7 inline pump for a year now with no problems feeding my triples, I have used the Holley pump you linked to, can't remember if it was the blue or the red one but it was very loud. The RX-7 pump is rated at 4 psi continuous, I found it to be more like 3.5psi so I just opened up the regulator wide with no restrictions and everything is working well.

Now that I think about it I remember reading about the E31 head and how well it breathes in stock form and that you would only notice the smaller valves at high rpms and wot. For a street car you are probably never going to notice. Maybe they didn't want to risk your original E31 head as they are getting harder to find in good condition. Ready in 3 months, wow. And if your are driving her back maybe we can get some the guys out from our local club, Ontario Z Car Club to give you a send off.

Thanks Jim, whole job took 4min. Blue, that's great idea, I have DatsunSpirits plug wires coming, the ones that wrap around the front of the valve cover so I was thinking and grinding off those 3 little bases for the plug wire seperaters on the top of the cover. If I did the same as you with the breather nozzle that would be one smooooooth looking cover!

If it just the bolts then there are 3 12mm bolts on either side, you will have to remove the front grill then close the hood and hold the front of the hood down with hand and tighten 2 bolts on each side then lift the hood to get to the 3rd bolt.

Chas, I'm the one who chipped it, I swear I'm my own worst enemy sometimes. For not noticing a snap ring that I failed to install on the front of the main shaft, I have now torn this transmission down and reassembled 3 complete times ...aagggh. But it took me all day the first time, by the last time I got it down to 40 min. flat. Oh, the left hand thread on the main shaft nut was a late modification that was done in /83. I'm just re-using the original nut as it's in good condition . When I bought the car it came with an /83 5spd that had been abused and was given to me just as a core, but the bearings and syncros were in such good shape from the good tranny with the rattling/ringing sound that I decided to install them in the wrecked tranny just to see what it would be like. Well, both transmission are back together now and spinning nicely, both have perfect syncro ring/gear clearance. So, I guess I'll keep the "wrecked" one as a back up in case the the good one is still rattling when I get the car back on the road. Thanks for all the advice guys. Chris

I don't intend on going back to SU carbs so I would like to turn the breather nozzle 90* so I can run a breather hose down the valve cover and back to the firewall. I've seen this done but I don't want too screw it up. I guess I'm going to have to remove this baffle inside the cover to get access, does anyone know what this red compound is that is sealing the baffle and what product I could use to replace it after I'm done? Thanks, Chris

Mark, your going with the stroked 2.7L right? Just looking at those valves, to my eye they look like the stock smaller valves. Maybe they have just cleaned everything but haven't started cutting yet.

Ryan, don't be afraid of working on rust, it's all doable. Yes you will get very dirty but it's a great feeling to save the car. I know what you mean by feeling an obligation to fix it properly, when a rusted car falls into my hands, one that is worth saving like yours, I can not be like all the previous owners and keep passing the problem on to the next guy. Learning how to do proper rust repair is not that hard and what else were you going to do with your spare time Chris

Zedyone, I understand your predicament perfectly. I have wanted one since I was kid, as you say perfect from every angle. The subtle curve of the belt line from front to back is irresistible. I almost bought one a few years back, there was a $1000 between what he wanted and what I could afford. I asked him if I could take it for a real drive out of the city so I could convince myself to "find" the other $1000. It was fairly stock but had uprated swaybars and a racing lap belt. All I can say is that I was disappointed. It may have been designed in the late 60's but the steering and suspension geometry is ancient. I felt it handled a notch above my Triumph TR6 which was terrible and no where near as good as the Z. I would just advise you to take one for a spin first. The engines are easy to work on but pricey. Not a lot of after market for them these days. Is a niche market similar to our Z's but more so.

Thanks Chas, just put an order in with Courtesy Nissan, The 5th gear on the counter shaft, is this chip going to chew up the teeth on 5th gear on the main shaft?

Zed, what a fantastic thread that is! Lots of good details to be learned from it. You gotta love a poster that shows you all the warts of the procedure as well as the progress. After reading all 9 pages and seeing all of Duragg's photo's I can say my transmission is in very good condition compared to his and not abused. I was hesitant too but a rebulid around here is $1,300-1,500.00, so that's what convinced me. I was surprised when I opened the kit, I thought it was missing a lot of things, that shifter rod seal you mentioned the O ring just rear of it, all the individual ball bearings, springs for the syncro keys. Chas, that kit I ordered fits my 1983 ZX trans perfectly, I have checked all bearings and they are identical as well as the brass 5th gear syncro ring. Are you saying you think the high pitched rattling/ ringing sound (the reason I'm overhauling in the first place)is the 6 big needle bearings? I hope not, those are going to be expensive. They are in very good condition with no visible wear on the bearing or shaft. Pete, I went up to my local transmission shop and p/u a tub of tranny assembly lube, now I have enough for 20 rebuilds. The first pic is the cone on 5th gear, you can see it is glazed with a bit of metal transfer on the surface. The second pic is after hand buffing with new 3M Scotchbrite (rouge) now there is a nice neutral surface for the new syncro ring to bed in to. I'm not going to lap them together as 5-10 miles of easy driving will do the same thing. NO, it's not a telescope, try as I might I could not find a 38mm Crowfoot wrench for the main output shaft nut so cut up my 38mm shallow socket and welded 13" of thick walled pipe in between so I can torque that nut properly.

I hope a useless bagged out engine and tranny were used for that.

Zed, that's just it, so far I haven't come across anything really worn or loose, bearings are in good shape. This the place I bought the rebuild kit from,Nissian 4 and 5 speed FS5W71 Manual transmission Rebuild kit parts | FS5W71C overhaul kits - Drivetrain.com I believe I ordered DTS-BK104WS If you could find a link to that thread I would appreciate it. Chas, I have been using Redline MTL 75/90FS which is their stuff for trannys with yellow metal. Did you order your needle bearings from Nissan?

My close ratio 5spd seems to work perfectly except for this very loud rattling/ringing in 2nd,3rd,4th and 5th. I can quiet it down a bit if I hold onto the stick shift all the time, it's driving me nuts, so I've started tearing it down. My Haynes manual is mostly useless but found these great vids on youtube that show the entire tear down and rebuild, they are on post #5 on this thread,http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/engine-drivetrain-s30/45179-rebuild-transmission-tool-harber-freight-6-ton-frame-bench-shop-press.html I love the archives! Here are some pics so far, I know the shop is a mess but everything still has to go in the parts washer before reassembly, Can I just use engine assembly lube to put it back together or should I use tranny oil?

Is that Tony Curtis?

When I'm not driving the Z I'm on my old BMW motorcycle, and I treat every driver I see as drunk, blind and stupid. I literally have to think of myself as invisible and ride accordingly. But one thing I have noticed when I'm in the Z is a lot guys trying to catch up to me to get a better look at the car, tailgating then whipping out to pull along side to give a thumbs up. The attention can be fun sometimes but mostly I would just like them to stay away.

It's looking a bit RATSUN at the moment,Ratsun Forums I like it.

Mark that is one clean car! Obviously not from the salt belt. I could only find 2-3 little spots of rust and none of it was deep. The steel is straight and the vinyl is in near perfect condition. The guys there are really looking forward to the build.

Hey Mark, as it happens I'm going to be down at Whiteheads tomorrow morning picking up some parts, I'll take a few more pics for you. Chris

Chas, thanks for all that info, interesting stuff.

Zed, that's got to be it, the cap rubber seal did look a bit puckered but I didn't even consider it. The M/C came with car and from the bills in the service record showed it was replaced in 2000 so I didn't see any reason to replace it. I have used Prestone Dot4 for many years now and never had a problem with it. I'm going to pull the M/C and take it apart and try and see where these black particles are coming from. Thanks, Chris

Last spring I replaced the slave cylinder and flexible hose, disassembled the master and cleaned all the gunk out. I also blew the hard line, put it all back together using Prestone synthetic Dot 4 fluid. It has all worked perfectly since then but I just took the cap off the M/C and the fluid is BLACK. I guess I know I'll have to buy a new rebuild kit or a whole new unit but I'm just trying to figure out what is happening, any ideas? Thanks, Chris

Sounds easy enough, and then I guess I would connect up the L terminal or #1 to the charge light in the voltmeter, right?