Reptoid Overlords

I went and got a harbor freight leak down tester. Not sure how accurate they are, but the readings are a consistent 12% approx loss on all 6 cyl. I can hear a faint bit of hissing through the oil filler hole, but can't feel any air through there or the dip stick. Vacuum at hot idle is 22hg. It shoots up to about 25 if you blip the throttle. No strange movements of the needle. Nice and steady. The plug condition has leaned out a bit too. I'll still be keeping an eye on things. Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk

After a few hundred more miles my oil consumption issue seems to have stopped. I've added a People's Liberation Army oil catch can and can't get it to smoke anymore either. Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JhzU_Hb0Zk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_1TMQCMlLc

https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/d/tacoma-1973-datsun-240z/6991617809.html Around here $8K will get you a 240

By Corolla I imagine you mean it's not a 1UZ swapped AE86 Sprinter Apex. Having the ability to own a running car at 16 is a pretty good thing. Even if its a base model Corolla after they stopped being RWD drift cars. $8,000 will get you a lot of 280Z, just shy of running reliably. is it possible to have both?

Totally. http://datsunzgarage.us/ Here is a good place to find some common tried and true modifications if that's what you're into. I just did the P79 head modification on my 1982 F54 engine block. I'm using stock fuel injection for now on my '80 ZX until I can spring for programmable EFI and cam, But with your carb setup, there are a lot more options. After an initial oil consumption scare after reassembly, I drive it almost every day.

I know some people who have sent their flywheels off to this place and have good results. A 1st Gen RX-7 w/ 17 b motor and a MK 2 Cressida with a supra 7M-GTE drivetrain swap. They are in Chatsworth. https://www.racetep.com/engine-building/flywheel-lightening.html Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk

The TVS was showing no continuity at idle. I set it so that it shows continuity at idle and no continuity as soon as it senses moving the throttle away from idle. The connection on the thermostat housing for the temperature gauge on the dashboard was not fully connected. It required some slight crimping to get a good fit. The temp gauge in the dash was giving inconsistent readings. I have it topped up, and will drive it while monitoring oil level. It's been about 29 miles since I topoed it up today and I see no change on the dipstick. Seems like with a quart every 150 miles I'd start to see evidence of consumption pretty quick. I'll still be watching and hope I'm out of the clear in a few hundred miles. Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk

I set my TVS finally, like I should've done all along. Also, I had a poor connection at my temp gauge. Not sure if it is connected to enrichment but I fixed it anyway. My tach wasn't connected when I put the dash back after replacing heater core hoses. I had to replace my heater core itself just two days ago, so I had to pull the dash again. Now I have the tach hooked up. After a test drive, I believe I have the EFI in proper working order for the first time since I've had it back on the road. Could it be that when I filled the bone dry engine with 4.7 quarts of oil and ran it, I had to add a quart to make up for areas that normally do not drain oil under normal circumstances? Maybe that's just silly. Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk

I just filled up after it's maiden tank of gas after installing the engine. 131 miles took 7.5 gallons. Which equals 17.4 MPG. This tank of fuel has seen much idling, revving, and a lot of teething style driving, not necessarily normal operation. Under normal circumstances I'd say 18MPG is on the low end of what I'd be getting. I'm going to go with the obvious path, and begin doing the research on how to properly set the TVS. My copy of the FSM was wiped away when i had to erase this computer's memory due to a virus, and i can't remember what i did those many years ago. My TVS has a riveted cover, and I believe it came off the engine that is currently in the car.

The compression numbers are 178psi for cylinders 1 and 2, and 180psi for 3-6. The harbor freight checker I have is known to be about 10 or 15 psi low( I can't remember which one) when compared to a Snap On one, checked about 2 years ago. The important thing is that they are even, I guess. Vacuum at idle is a steady 22hg with no odd fluctuation or decline at higher idle. I live 6 feet above sea level.

The exhaust smells like it is a result of gas being burned, as opposed to oil being burned. I dare say it smells like a normal engine with no emissions. I've been looking for leaks. I've replaced the PCV valve with Sankei one from Japan. Just to be safe. With my own prior experiences I've been keepinga watchful eye over the rear main seal area. Nothing notable yet. Oil consumption is 1 quart in 150 miles. I could be confused as to wether or not I have actually disabled my BCDD and if that has any correlation to anything. If I plug it off with vacuum line plugs, it will smoke upon resuming acceleration after deceleration. If I run a line from the uppermost forward large port on the BCDD to the intake manifold, then it will not smoke under those circumstances. I wonder if my manifold pressure is all jacked up?

F54/P79 with .080 removed from head w/approx 150 miles driven since put back in the road. Bottom end is probably stock, but untouched by myself(no new rings, bearings etc.) I'm trying to determine if my car is running rich, or if I am experiencing ring or valve stem seal failure. There exists an amount of oil consumption that to me, seems high, even for an engine with a fresh head and bottom end that's been sitting for a long time. It will smoke if you rev it at idle. Not under load when driving it (I had someone follow me). It won't smoke at startup either hot or cold. I am pretty well colorblind, it's hard to tell if it's blue or what. It's not black, it's not blue, and it's not white. I've seen extreme cases of rich conditions produce obvious black smoke, and as early as my N42 motor I just replaced, the obvious blue hue of smoke at startup due to failed valve stem seals. It's almost as if it's a mix of blue, blackish, and white. As messed up as that sounds. The plugs are difficult for me to read as well. Again, I've seen oil fouled plugs with the old motor, but the ones in my new engine seem like their on the verge of both carbon fouling and oil fouling. To me at least. What do you guys think. This one picture represents the condition of all 6 plugs with roughly 150 miles of use. Edit: my TVS has not been adjusted per the FSM since installation on the new engine. Edit #2: A quick 6 -8 flick of the wire brush over the spark plug removes almost all of the deposits, and I'm mostly seeing powdery residue, not so much oily residue. I'm thinking I have one of those odd situations where a rich condition is thinning out oil, making it enter the combustion process, and give symptoms of both rich condition, and oil consumption. Perhaps someone has seen this before, and can shed light on it.

https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/56726-heater-core-alternative-escort-core-into-260280/ I saved the link in case my used core ends up being bad.

I've just gone through the same thing. 150 miles on a new to me engine and the heater core started leaking. There's a valve on the box that the heater core resides in that can leak. As far as I can tell, the heater core for my ZX is no longer available. I am taking a chance on a used one from a guys local "collection" of Z's. You are better off just removing the dashboard. That is my opinion. But I think I've read where you can simply partially remove it enough to wiggle everything out. But it seems like more trouble. Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk

Before I replaced my engine, I replaced the rear main on the original engine. Probably about 1200 miles before I pulled it out of the car. Once on the stand, I noticed it was leaking again. It was a Fel-pro rear main. I oiled it, and installed it per the FSM. Making sure not to get it too far in. I even went as far as to get 2 seals in case I screwed one up. Nevertheless, it was leaking. But it wasn't visible unless the flywheel and dust plate were out of the way. Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk

Just to safe about terminology, You mean this timing gash right? If so then yes. The picture I attached was taken 2 weeks ago during re-assembly of my engine. It has 2 links which are darker than the rest of them to align with corresponding indicators on the cam/crank sprockets/gear.

053-90400 Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk

When I get back home ill check. Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk

I got a timing kit from ITM engine components. It has the notch for aligning timing and the two different colored links for aligning to the marks on the cam/crank sprockets. Just to throw a name out there that has everything you need. I'm sure there's plenty of others. Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk

I told myself I would just relax and not do any car stuff this Saturday. Another car guy friend stopped by and before you knew it, we were tearing down the old N42. Does the blue stuff on the deck look like some sort of coolant stop leak? It's all over the head gasket too. There is evidence of head gasket failure around a water jacket mid deck. The no1 Piston rod bearing has a big scrape in it, and numbers 5&6 have uneven scoring. Oddly, the Piston rings look barely worn. Also, there's some weirdness going on in the water pump housing. I'm glad I took it off the road. It might've been bad if I kept running it. Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk

I put a vacuum line on the BCDD from one of the larger ports, forward of the throttle plate, to a vacuum port on the intake manifold. All the other ports on the BCDD are plugged. I'm not entirely sure if what I have done is indeed reactivate the BCDD. It may be that I've done absolutely nothing. At any rate, I tooled around town and on the freeway for about an hour, during evening rush hour, and never saw any smoke. I was not hard on it this time. Not sure if something is settling in, or, more likely the case, retarding the timing as advised has created less vacuum during the combustion process. I thought I had lost my vacuum checker, but I remember I loaned it to a friend. He will return it tonight and I will get a good vacuum reading. In the meantime I'm going to change the oil as I'm at 100 miles since I put it all back together. The Z got to irritate some Leaves at the Nissan dealer while I got an oil filter. Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk

Glad it's going well. I have a cheap Chinese aluminum 3 core after I deleted my A/C. It cools great now, but I'll have to keep an eye on it. Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk

I have my BCDD plugged at all the vacuum ports. It isn't fully removed and replaced by a block off plate at the throttle body. I'm using a bare bones '77 manifold, again, on a federal model '80 ZX. This weekend, or most likely today after work, I am going to look into experimenting with how to hook it back up, and see if it's ability to change manifold vacuum changes anything as far as smoke goes. Driving it to work again, with timing down, it seems to be producing the best results I've had since I got it running. Minimal smoke as far as I can tell. Perhaps I can eliminate it completely. Sent from my Coolpad 3310A using Tapatalk