rossiz

sad news indeed. being new to the z community, i did not know of him, but it seems he will be missed by many. funny how we join forums/groups/clubs based on a machine (i've been on several motorcycle and a few car forums/clubs) but it's the people that keep us there, keep us coming back, give some meaning to the whole thing.

there are a couple of z's that i've seen on seattle craigslist that are being parted out as well - might be worth it to contact some of them if you're gonna make the trek north...

mgood - thanks for the help, but unfortunately it's still no-go. the problem is that "attachments" under "my media" only shows images i've uploaded into threads. i can't find a way to actually browse my mac to find the pics that are on my hard drive. i've been using forums of many kinds for years and never had this problem - in fact, on the previous incarnation of this forum, when you clicked on the "image" icon in the tools at the top, you had the option to either browse your computer or enter a url. why is this so difficult? clearly i'm missing something obvious here...

so on this new site my signature picture is gone and when i try to edit it and re-insert the picture i hit a dead end. the only tool i can find is the "image" button in the little tool box above the edit window (the little blue/white square below the smiley face emoticon) but when i click it, i just get a box that says "image properties" and the opportunity to insert a url address... but my pics are on my computer - not online. am i completely stupid?? ok, don't answer that - just tell me how to put a !@#$% picture in my signature...

when it comes to tech-savvy advice and super z know-how, i love you guys. when it comes to peeking into your shop setups, i hate you guys. guess it's good to have something i can dream about... one day a freestanding metal bldg. w/a tig welder, lathe, mill, english wheel, tubing bender - the list goes on... and my z is green with envy too

well i can't read your post... but i am interested in your services i've been toying with having the hood vents on my 78 chromed. what would the price be for a pair of hood vents and how well will the plating hold up in this application? heat, cold, weather, etc.

yeah, a wheel on a grinder is the way to go - get some red and white polishing rouge (red for taking the surface smooth, white for the color/shine) and there'll have no end to the fun you'll have making things shiny! suddenly the ice cream scoop, that old belt buckle, the cheese slicer all become jewelry

i used a set of sst carriage bolts from a local seattle hardware store known for having a pretty good fastener selection - they are 1/4" and while a little loose, they did just fine. i also got a set of nylock nuts and sst fender washers to spread the load and minimize dimpling of the chrome. the chrome bolts were silly expensive, and the sst ones were .28 cents each. no brainer. 2 minutes on my polishing wheel and they rival the best chrome - and will never rust. i haven't finished mounting it yet - made a couple of brackets for the center section to catch the 280 bumper mount holes, next i need to (gulp) drill holes in the rear quarters to support the end pieces. i'm gonna use rubber grommets in the holes to minimize paint damage and seal the holes from fumes entering. i'll post pics when i get to that point - probably next weekend.

thanks for the offer of help - i might take you up on that! i've been delaying the clutch due to a series of distractions: hernia surgery & recovery, then the head/valve train issues, then a new puppy (all-consuming) and now it's the holidays and i gotta put my z parts on hold to save up scratch for xmas presents. who knows, maybe santa will bring me z parts!

pulled the head this morning - only took 1 1/2 hrs and probably could've been done much faster if i had a helper. it actually surprised me how easy it was to do this time vs. the first time, and despite the fact that i'm doing a bunch of work that i shouldn't have to be doing, it was a rather pleasant morning wrenching due to the following: none of the fasteners were rusted/stuck/broken/missing i have a header vs. the oem exhaust manifold, so i could actually see the lower studs i have all the tools i need (u-joint socket extension is a godsend!) i now know my way around the engine bay it wasn't raining... that hard (love seattle winters)off to get some packing materials and get it in the mail today!

we're all waiting... i believe the components and knowledge are plentiful, but with a new baby in the house the one ingredient in short supply is time... but my z has waited over 30 yrs. for this upgrade and i'm sure it can wait patiently a little longer!

more of the same advice from someone who's been wrenching on their daily driver for 30 yrs... my first car was my grandfather's 71 chevy nova 4-dr. it had gone through all 6 of my cousins (all boys) and my older brother, as their collective first car, so it had been abused beyond recognition, driven through hayfields at night, heck, my brother actually hit a washing machine with it while ripping through the woods on a fire road. it had 200K miles on it, and everything that wasn't dented or rusted was broken or missing. but it ran, and it was mine. driving that car and keeping it running was a rite of passage in my family, and it was the absolute perfect first vehicle. in the first year i had 2 accidents (both my fault - one the very first week i had my license) and both required that i go to a local junkyard, pull off fenders, hood, grille, radiator, etc. and replace if i wanted to have a car to drive. it was a huge education and because it was a cheap, common dirtbox of a car, i could keep up with the "cost of ownership" while learning what i needed to keep it going. prior to the car i built/modified many dirt bikes and already had a good working mechanical sense, but a dirt bike is different because you don't need to depend on it to get you to school/work/etc. my second car was another nova, but a much sexier 2-dr and i hot-rodded it into a very cool ride to have fun, impress the guys and attempt to attract the girls. and i agree w/fastwoman about the reliability - you can definitely make the z a solid daily driver, but it will take a while to flush out all the decades of issues and that may take $$ that you may not have, thus leaving you w/out a car for those down times, or worse yet, you may have to drive it when it needs a fix simply because you need transpo and have no $$... sooo... bottom line advice is to get a z as a second car/project and when it's really done, and you've put some good miles on it to be confident, ditch the econobox if you want, or keep it for those times when you need to haul a drum kit to your friend's gig or move into your first apartment

that sealey tool is exactly what i have - works great. the little bolts at the end of the handle allow you to set the handle at different angles, which is helpful as well. not sure if you've done this before, if not - a few tips: before you do anything, even before you take off the mousetrap springs, stuff the "chasm of doom" (timing chain/front cover recess) with rags to prevent making this a looong jobyou will need to fill the chamber with some rope with the piston at tdc in order to keep the valve from falling in and to have something to push on to break the stuck collets free (the little keepers at the top of the valve stem). if the collets are really stuck, you will have to cram the rope in hard or the valve will just go down with the spring. putting the car in gear keeps the piston from pushing down as well.if the collets are stuck to the spring washer (like mine were), when you compress the spring they have a tendency to pop free and fly, never to be found - use a strong magnet to hang on to them as you compress the spring. it's even possible for one of the collets to hit you smack between the eyes with a great deal of force. don't ask me how i know this...absolutely use the little plastic valve stem condoms that come with the seals, otherwise you will cut/rip the top of hte seals when they go over the collet recess in the valve stemtake your time and be sure the seals snap audibly onto the base with their spring clips engaged it's an easy job once you get the hang of it, by the 3rd cylinder you'll be on a roll.

he was very reasonable when i called him, and without any arguing he immediately offered to re-build the head, so i'm gonna take him up on that offer. it's been very cold (for seattle) and we just got a new puppy (9 wk. old lab-border collie mix) - the combined effect being that it's much easier to be motivated to stay in the warm house and play w/little pup than to pull the head off the z... but i will get it done this weekend for sure and get it sent back for some love. of course when it comes back i'll give it a good check and let all know how it looks.

i haven't installed my rear bumper yet (came in the mail just before the holiday!!) but when i did my front, a while back, i simply bought rubber fender washers from the hardware store. worked a treat and very cheap. they had a big selection of sizes, found a set that were perfect. also allowed me to shim just the right amount for the fit i wanted.

wow cap'n - you are a well-traveled man

ok, so i called Al today at dpllc and calmly described the situation, including the stripped holes, the oil consumption and the rocker geometry issue. to his credit, he didn't get defensive or try to argue - he was apologetic and fair, said that if i shipped it back to him he would strip it down and do a complete re-build from scratch with another set of rockers, new seals and throw in a new head gasket. while i'm still on the hook for the tear-down and re-install, i'm ok with it as long as the head is done right this time. of course i would prefer a re-built head shipped to me first, so my car isn't down for a week of shipping, 2 weeks of re-building, another week of shipping and then the re-install time, but he didn't have another n42 in stock so that's kind of what i've got to deal with. we discussed the setup geometry, and while he felt it wasn't critical that the wipe pattern was dead center, he agreed it should certainly stay within the area of the pad and not fall off onto the rocker casting. his opinion is that the "dead center" wipe pattern was an "internet myth" and that he's built hundreds of heads without worrying about matching rockers to the cam and centering the wipe pattern with no problems to date. he was clear that my particular head setup was unacceptable and promised to re-do the work. i'm going to give him the opportunity to make it right and sincerely hope that i will be able to post to that effect when the new head comes in. you can be damn sure i'm gonna get a sharpie and check the wipe pattern before i install it though...

@ 71Nissan240Z - just pm'd you regarding your rockers...

wow... i hadn't even noticed that. i believe multi-cavity molds are formed from the same cores, used repetitively. the cores are often castings themselves, taken from a single original, then treed up in groups depending on how many they will cast in a single pour. so the parts should be very close to identical in geometry. surface finish would vary, depending on the process used, but the shape of the "foot" would certainly not... i will be calling dpllc today and hoping for some answers. i paid $590 (not including my own remedial "machining services") and a new set of lash pads will be ~$100 + a set of rockers at ~$250, so i'm not gonna take this lightly.

yes, and you'll more than likely have a teenager in the car who will roll their eyes and shrink below the window sill, mortified that one of their friends might recognize them in a (gasp!) "old car"... but we'll be here for ya!

oh... yes - totally got my terminology mixed up - i'm used to the rocker setup on ducati desmo engines, which use bucket shims to set the lash (there is no threaded adjustor) - the bucket shims are on the valve end of the rockers, up against the cam lobes and look a little bit like our lash pads. so what i meant to say was that the rocker arm wiper areas are way off center and i need a correct set of lash pads. the cam is supposed to be a stock grind, so i don't think it's over-lifting for the seals - but i'm gonna pull all the springs and replace the seals, and i may find something else wonky when i do. i'm actually hoping to find a problem with the seals, as i would MUCH rather fix it that way than deal with rings... i will check the rockers and cam for markings and let you know what i find out as far as manufacturer. i will also call dp and see what he has to say. it sure would be great if they would man up and cover the seals & pads, but i'm not holding my breath... the one "good" thing is that while the geometry is clearly off, the wipe areas are extremely consistent - which leads me to hope that i may find one lash pad size to do them all. in the mean time, i'm gonna research suppliers of lash pads...

been losing a lot of oil and not a drop is on the ground. we're talking a quart every 2 tanks of gas, maybe more. oddly there is no tell-tale blue smoke and it doesn't smell like it either. a good amount of oily, cruddy buildup on the plugs. i have good, pretty even compression, so i'm guessing valve stem seals. i didn't know just how much oil it was losing until i saw the oil pressure was lower than usual, and it took 2 quarts - yikes! i keep topping off, but on friday it started making a HORRIBLE squealing/screeching sound from the valve cover - in time with the engine - sounded like dry metal contact. i mean, it was really loud, scared the crap out of me. i added oil (it took a quart) and the noise went away. so i pulled the valve cover, figuring something was amiss under there. i have a re-built n42 head from datsun parts llc, with about 2K miles on it. the head looked clean and nicely machined when i got it, but there were some issues i had to deal with: most of the valve cover bolt holes were stripped, as were half of the manifold bolt holes. i drilled and installed heli-coils the #6 exhaust stud hole had snapped off and someone re-drilled a new hole next to it. so i removed the old broken bit of stud, filled the "new" hole with threaded rod and re-drilled/heli-coiled the original one. i figured these were just things you have to deal with on 35+ yr old re-conditioned parts, and while it bugged me, i just fixed things and moved on. then an oiler bar from larry hassler wouldn't fit - bumped the top of the rocker arms. hmmmm.... something fishy about the geometry. i started pulling out rocker arms and to my horror, they were set up so high that the wipe pattern was off the back of every single lash pad - and the edge of the lash pads are now beveled/ground down from the cam. fortunately the cam lobes look fine, with no discernable lip at the edge of the wear marks, but it seems that the bucket shims on top of the valve stems are all way too short. and now i'm wondering if the jacknob that assembled my head even bothered to put valve seals in. i'm hoping that the rockers are not ruined - the back edges look pretty bad, but if the setup put the pattern in the center, that shouldn't matter, right? here's the question: how do i figure out what size bucket shims to order? i measured the height of the existing ones, from the bottom surface (the surface that would come in contact with the bench when you set them down) to the top bearing surface (which comes in contact w/the rocker) and they are all between 4.32 mm and 4.47 mm. it seems expensive to order multiple sets of shims, but is that the only way? do they sell a setup kit with an assortment to find the right size?

i just ordered a rear chrome bumper from futo - really looking forward to it and will do a write-up when it arrives

yeah, sux when a problem like that just sorta goes away... with the engine running (to keep the system pressurized and circulating) did you try wiggling/moving hoses around? could be vibration related to the car while driving - grasping at straws, but trying to replicate it. or maybe the porsche in front of you was pissing gas and it got sucked into your fan and sprayed through the engine bay...

very nice! i like the "greened-out" louvers - classy