Matthew Abate

I'll check with you guys first from now on... I didn't get a ton of time to work on the car today. I'm traveling for work next week and wanted to maximize family time, so this is probably it until next weekend: Went a little crazy with the wire wheel and got it too hot in places. Might have warped it a little, but maybe that will come out when I weld it in. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Etched lines for the cuts on the driver's side.

Just the cover. I'm trying to work out something with the seller, but my machinist confirmed that it needs welding. If I can't work it out with the seller I'll let you guys know who it was. In the mean time, this is the list of estimates the machinist gave me: Weld: $150. Resurface: $50. Valve job: $225. Polish Crank: $45; if it needs grinding add $95. Clean Block: $65. Check Crank Saddles: $60; if align honing is needed add $100. Inspect Rods: $6.50 each; add $7.50 per rod that needs reconditioning. Cost of boring depends on pistons but probably not more than $25 per cylinder, plus the cost of my pistons. What do you guys think?

Took a look and they're in good shape. In other news: a successful eBay purchase! $20, flawless. I think I'm going to get it powder coated in black with polished stripes and lettering.

Okay, time for an update... I bought another head after shipping that one with the hole in the side back to the eBay seller who didn't know what the hell he was talking about. The new one also comes from an eBay seller who doesn't know what the hell he's talking about, but this one is at least fixable. First problem? He packed it in the world's flimsiest box and left the front bolts in it so they got bent in transit. I'm seriously lucky the head isn't cracked as a result. The long one is the front thermostat housing stud; the short one installs at the front of the head under the valve cover. The second problem? There's a corroded water passage at #6 cylinder. It ate into the head near the cylinder so there was both an internal leak into #6 and an external leak near the heater pipe outlet. It might clean up with surfacing but I will need to shim the cam towers at least 0.020 inch. Otherwise, the head needs welding and resurfacing to near original specs. This definitely caused a blown gasket and should have been disclosed in the description when it was placed up for bidding. We can work with it but I need a partial refund to cover the cost of repairs. Just checked the original ad on eBay... If this is the head he referred to, he's either an inexperienced engine builder, a poor mechanic, a liar, or all of the above! I'll give him benefit of doubt and ask if he shipped the wrong head; I doubt it. There is no way this head is ready to "bolt & go", as he claimed! The cam is rusted; the valves are rusted... but every thing can be cleaned up. So yeah. Time to talk to the machinist.

Clean enough for now. This is all I can do with the time, tools, and chemicals I have. Still got some globs of dirty oil from 35 years ago and random spray paint, but at least I can move it without gloves now. Plus no random insect eggs from Idaho in my house. Oh! And the case had "#1" cast on the side. I haven't verified the gear ratio yet, but this is a good sign that I have in fact purchased what I wanted. Back to the sheet metal.

I'm getting into the process of welding up the little holes and imperfections in the body of my Z from things the previous owner did to her (aftermarket mirrors, mud flaps, etc.) and want to start planning the engine bay clean up process while I'm at it. One thing I know I don't know is what is the list of stuff that can be tidied, and what can't change? I'm running a 1983 F54 with a P90a and two SUs. Haven't gotten past that on the configuration yet (lots happening in parallel). Any tips and tricks are much appreciated. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Okay, question: who has experience with the block paint the MSA is selling? They can't tell me the temp rating. Les isn't selling his any more (CA laws) and Banzai wants me to mail a paper check and cross my fingers.

Awesome tips. I'll go with a stock ZX pan I'm eyeballing. Pity there's no steel option with baffles, at least as far as I can tell. Starting to think its time to investigate fabricating a baffle kit.

Some info I should have mentioned: we're building an F54 with flat tops and a p90 with 1972 SUs. We will bore it to get ~9.5 CR. The trans is a 1980 720 5-speed and the dif is stock to the 1973 240z it's all going into.

So how much does the car really need the baffles for street driving? I've read that the engine can have pickup problems but how many Gs do you really need to pull to cause that. Can I just run a 280zx pump and pan to solve this? Trying to balance the cost to the benefit.

I've been digging around and don't see the answers I'm looking for to the following questions: Does anyone who put an aluminum oil pan into a street-only S30 recommend it? If so, we're there any issues around fitting it into the car? I've seen people mention that they get in the way of the suspension and require modifications I don't want to do, but I can't verify that. Is anyone running an external oil cooler on a non-turbo, naturally aspirated car? Are both of these excessive mods that might prevent the car coming up to temp? I'm looking for mods that improve operation and longevity, not just power output, but these are seeming like a waste of cash for a street car that probably won't clear 200hp.

Somebody's a dirty little girl...

I'll tear it open tomorrow and check it out. Getting it from the opposite corner of my house without something to roll it on was fun times, and after the day I had at work it's time tequila time. /M

My 720 5-speed is in there.

Nice Australian valve cover as well. Kinda want one myself.

Yes. I spaced some of the advice I got from the guy who taught me how to use the welder, which included everything you said above. The other mistake I made was beveling the whole edge instead of leaving some material to actually create a butt joint, which explains why I burnt through it so much. Gonna make a check list for next time.

A little piece every day. And a little practice. Went too slow and warped the sh!t out of it, but penetration was good. Just need to work on my swirls and making bigger dimes.

Heads up on dash lights, regardless of the bulb type: the bluer the light the harder it is for your eyes to adjust when switching from the illuminated gauge to the road. I spent significant time working on the redesign of Ford's sat nav screens a few years ago and this was a major point of contention between the scientists and the brand team. Brand wanted blue everything. Your eyes want red. That's why the military includes a red lens in their infantry flashlights.

I know! Please please let it be true that this is just a massive oversight and no one thought to look into it. I know there's little chance of that, but it would be a total game changer. Who on this forum (or HybridZ) might have dug into both of these enough to know? I'm not seeing any threads that discuss this specifically. /M

Okay, now that I presumably have the trans question settled I have a differential question: why do people swap in the WRX STI differential and mess with the half shafts and axles rather than installing WRX STI internals into the r180 already in their car? I would assume the guts from one r180 would fit into another. Is it that the Nissan axles won't mate to the Subaru internals? Is it that doing that costs way more? I would think the guts from a Subaru dealer would be sub-$1,000, which is about what a used WRX STI dif + the custom parts costs. Plus, wouldn't doing it this way mean we could put any ring on to give us any ratio we can imagine?

Just bought my first choice 5-speed! Got one from a 1980 720 with the 3.592, 2.246, 1.415, 1, 0.882 ratios for $401 shipped to my house. Hopefully it won't be a pile of crap. Had to buy it on faith because it's in Idaho. Very possibly an irresponsible gamble, but I felt lucky and brave at the same time at that moment.

More stuff (thanks Patcon!):

Okay. But how are you guys cleaning the oil gallery then?

Cleaning up the F54... Deck is nice and flat. Only needs 0.003 off to be perfect. Anyone know if these jets can come out? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk