NMcKe97

Hey everyone I've been having some trouble figuring out exactly where some of my vacuum lines go. I finished rebuilding the engine for my 81zx 2+2 a couple months ago and haven't been able to figure out how the vacuum lines are supposed to hook up. I had them all marked during the rebuild but they got removed at some point during assembly. I've looked through the forum, online, and all 3 of my manuals (hilton, haynes, and clymer) and can not for the life of me understand where they're supposed to go. My uncle, who helped on my build, couldn't figure it out either and he had been a mechanic for some time. I had my regular mechanic take a look at it and he wasn't sure either. If any of you would be able to help out I'd appreciate it. If you have pictures or miraculously know where one of the lines go or anything else useful please share. Thanks -Noah M

That's good info to know if I decide to go the electric fan route. Is there a way to overcome this problem like a higher output alternator? I think for the time being the radiator and stock fan clutch setup provides me with ample cooling. Seeing as you're running electric fans sweatybetty what do you like and not like about that setup? Thanks for your input! -Noah M

I almost ended up going with the champion radiator because of order issues with ZCarSource's website but last minute cancled the order. ZCarSource called me on Monday, having seen my failed purchase over the weekend, and wanted to see if I was still interested. After a few questions and a bit of talking I ended up buying their radiator instead. I hadn't really thought about how the fan weight might affect the water pump. I imagine the oem plastic fan blades from later models might help with that if you were still taking the fan clutch route. Would that be something that is swappable or worthwhile on your application or are electric fans your best bet? What did you need to upgrade in your electrical system to run electric fans? Did you go with a larger battery? I have a battery with 800cca and a 1000cc I'd imagine it would be able to power a couple electric fans no problem. I've heard and read similar things in regards to the hp gains, throw an electric water pump and electric power steering rack on there too and the hp might start to add up. I think it's a pretty small gain but freeing up the rotating mass of an engine will result in gains, probably only a hp or 2 if that but hp is hp. So with the champion you're cut out with a little more work to get it all setup, good information to have if I ever get a champion down the road. I ended up being able to install the radiator I got with the oem fan and fan shroud, from my previous radiator, without a problem. So far I'm really pleased with the new radiator. It ended up being a Koyo rad with crossflow design, 3" thick 3 row core, increased coolant capacity, and a mirror finish. It's been keeping my engine real cool, at operating temperature it sits a half a centimeter to the left of the middle. If I start my car after recently driving it it will be a centimeter, or less, past the middle and almost immediately the radiator will adjust the temperature back down. Living out in SoCal I think I might have an idea what you're talking about, the summer can get quite hot at times! Please do keep me updated, it will be cool to see your finished product! I wish I was as cool as you, I just have a mirror finish haha. I really like the paint choice you went with, it's a nice contrast to the aluminium, black, and turquoise. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and time with me! -Noah M

I guess I won't go with electrical then. It can get somewhat hot here in San Diego but it could be worse. I'm thinking I'm going to order the aftermarket radiator from zcarsource, it comes with mounting hardware, new hoses, and is a larger core. I need to have the car back asap for work so I'm gonna order it in the next few hours unless I here any real objection in the meantime. It looks like a really nice one jsm but it looks to be only for 240 and 260zs, and I forgot to mention that mine is a 280zx. Thanks, Noah M

The shop originally offered me a CSF brass and copper rad but I currently have an aluminum rad and thought that might be a downgrade. Is that not really the case though? I was under the impression that brass/copper rads were weaker and didn't cool as well. I do like to drive my car very spirited and in the upper rpms and plan on slowly upgrading it so I imagine the extra cooling wouldn't hurt. If it were my money I wouldn't worry about such a minute upgrade but seeing as it's at no cost to me I'd like to get the best I can. On another note if I were to get electric fans for the radiator what would any of you recommend, single or dual, sizes, brands? I'm going to look up and read about it after I post this but I always like to interact with you guys and here your outlook on things. Thanks again, Noah M

Hey everyone I have a quick question as to which radiator I should get. I just went in to have my tires changed and long story short my radiator got damaged and they are going to get me a new one. They quoted me a new radiator at 500$ so I started looking around. I saw 3 different radiators. The first I saw was the Champion radiator. It's a 3 core polished aluminum radiator for 280$, its core is 16 1/8" tall and 24 1/2" wide and its overall dimensions are 23" tall and 26 3/4" wide. (Unknown weight) The next was from ZCarSource, it was also a aluminum 3 core. The website didn't specify any specs so when I called and asked about it they said it was 30" tall and 40" wide(I assume that's overall) at 20lbs, this one costs 480$. The last radiator is from MSA and is also a aluminum 3 core radiator. Its core is 16.5" tall and 23.75" wide and overall 23" tall and 26 3/4" wide at 11.4lbs. It is currently out of stock though. I searched around and saw folks liked the MSA radiator, but overall thought a upgraded radiator wasn't needed, seeing as it's of no exspense to me I might as well get whichever is best so I'd appreciate your input. So of these radiators, or other ones, which would you guys recommend? Thanks Noah M

I'd say you guys got that right, the farther I stray from oem factory spec the more dollar signs I see. As all of you said, it's never just 1 mod. I'd get a different block if need be but mine was in fine condition and I'm already a grip of cash deep into this build, it's almost finished, just need pistons and I'm pretty much good to go. I probably couldn't get a block if I wanted to anyways. I appreciate the recommendation though and will keep it in mind. Unfortunately this whole build is on someone else's time so I have to get it out of there way as soon as I can, I really don't want to over stay my welcome, I've already had to have it towed a few times from other friends houses because of the time :/ . I knew there was another z supplier I was forgeting about, thank you Zed Head for linking me to that! I gave them a call and they only have a half set but he said they can get the other half in a week or so from ITM even though they're backlogged. He said ITM have some in a warehouse apprently, I don't know how that is because everyone I've talked to including ITM said they are out but hey works for me. Yea the factory set up worked great for me so far so that's the route I'm looking to go. As I said earlier I openly welcome hp gains and will take them were I can but it's not my objective, later down the road I'll make my way there. Some words of the wise right there, that will definitely come to mind anytime I'm considering mods. Thank you for sharing that great quote! Please tell me that's a joke and you didn't get your finger lopped off siteunseen , that would be one shitty day! After a very busy day and a number of phone calls I've gotten closer to finishing my build. Dave at rebello racing said he has a set for .030" over if I recall correctly, zcarsource has half a set in .020" over and can get the rest of the set in the following week, and my machine shop said they might have found some sealed power pistons in .020" over so I potentially have a few choices right now. I'm thinking I will try and get the pistons from my machine shop to start off because of convenience and if that doesn't work I'll probably get the set from Dave over at rebello racing because it's cheaper than zcarsource and a little extra BANG for your buck, litteraly. Not that I have a large selection here and I'll probably end up with whatever I can get my hands on, but what brands of pistons do you guys prefer? I know ITM is fairly well liked and commonly used, I've heard good things about sealed power, and I forget what brand Rebello has but I imagine if they're using them it's pretty good. If it where your choice what pistons would you go with? Once again guys thank you very much for your insight and good words, it might not be a big deal to you but it's helped me out tremendously and I can't say that enough! -Noah M

Great idea rturbo, if I'm unable to find a set of pistons or some other alternative then I will most likley pull a head out of a yard. I hadn't planned on going turbo (although I'd like to at some point, that or stroker) and still don't because as you and Patcon said, that takes money which is something I don't have a lot of. I more or less ment I would suffer with the low compression until I could get the parts, but forget that, sounds like it would be a while and would be a very slow and grueling time up until then. As much as I wish I could do this build on my own time and schedule I can't because it's not my house and I currently don't have a place. I have enough funds to probably finish the motor but that's about it. I've looked on Datsun Spirits website but it says they have no stock for 86mm or 87mm, I called them this afternoon and left a message inquiring about pistons and will follow up on it tomorrow. I'll take a look and see if I can find any 86.5mm pistons, I hadn't considered that or done the math myself, so as you said Zed Head, I doubt the people I'm talking to are either. I believe we checked the taper with the new .020" rings and it all checked out within spec but I'll re do that, better safe than sorry. I looked over ebay a few times siteunseen but I didn't see much in the .020" or .030" category, I'll give it another look and see if I missed anything. I talked with Dave over at rebello racing and it sounded like he might have what I need, he said he would give me a call tommorow morning and let me know if he is able to get a .020" over or .5mm pistons. He recommended I use shaved turbo pistons accompanied with 240z rods if I cant find any flat tops. He said it will increase higher end torque as well so can't complain with that. The real problem then is finding l24 rods in a reasonable price range. If you guys or anyone you know has some l24 rods laying around and are looking to part ways with them or trade them for some l28 rods I might be interested, if it sounds like somthing you're interested in send me a message or drop a comment. I probably won't bore it out any more unless I have to just to save costs were I can, but who knows, I might have to go that route and I can't complain with a little extra umf behind each combustion cycle. No matter which way I cut this cake money's being spent so I'm gonna do it right or not at all. What's a safe amount of material I can take off the p79 head without having to shim the towers? I'll probably find the answer as I'm reading Diseazd's build threads but I'm gonna ask anyways . Damnit Patcon that's not what I wanted to here , but it's what I needed to here. I guess I'll be doing a little arithmetic in the next few days. You couldn't have said it better Patcon, the last thing I want to do is assemble an engine I'm not satisfied with, I'd rather have not built the engine at all if that were the case. I don't have any hp or compression ratio goal in mind. It's unfortunately not really a build for power, although I openly welcome it. Mostly new oem equipment and upgrades where I can such as ARP hardware so that when I do really build it I'll have some experience and some upgrades all ready to go. I'm rebuilding it because I already had half the block apart due to a head gasket leak so I figured I might as well go the extra mile. Plus I really wanted the knowledge and experience I'd gain from the rebuild. I figured mechanical work is a great life long skill to have so I went ahead and invested my time in it. Up until several months ago I knew close to nothing about cars. I could change my fluids and basic maintenance but that was about the extent of it, I'd like to think I'm getting somewhat fluid in the vocabulary and understanding of things but I've still got a lot to learn. I'm trying to digest and soak in every bit of it! I personally wouldn't invest my time and energy in something unless I was all in, so you guys have my full attention! I'm trying to put in my due time and gather all the info I can from you guys and these threads, thanks again for all the advice and info, it's really been a big help! I assume that 87mm pistons won't be enough to throw the stock ecu off, correct me if I'm wrong, so maybe that is the route I'll have to go, we will see. I've only heard good things about ITM pistons so hopefully I can find some. Asides from custom and forged pistons what other brands are reliable and liked by you guys? If the f54 p79 combo is already on the lower end of compression stock then I definitely can't go backwards and sacrifice hp, I was already using all that she had. Unfortunately for me jonathanrussel they're out. I called and talked with 2 of their sales reps about it and they said they are out of stock and would have to call and order it from ITM. I informed them I had gotten off the phone with ITM earlier and that they are backlogged for several months and out of .020". With that in mind they said that would mean they have to wait as well. So it sounds like I've got a few potential options now. I'll shoot for the original plan of using overbored flat tops but if that isn't able to work out atleast I've got a few other avenues I can take. Thanks again guys for taking the time out of your day to give me a hand and share your knowledge and experience, I know I keep saying it but I really do appreciate it! -Noah M

Unless I'm able to find a good deal on a head I REALLY don't have the money for it, I just got laid off and am looking for new work so at the moment I have no income and a shallow savings account. If I inevitably have to use these pistons then maybe it was ment to be and I'll be going turbo in the near future, but I don't see that happening. Thanks for the advice rturbo, I hope that's not the route I have to take but I appreciate the recommendation, I hadn't considered that option beforehand. I'd like to stick with the stock head and compression if possible but we will see what happens. Thanks for your time, advice, and insight, I sincerely appreciate all you guys helping me! -Noah M

Thanks for confirming that jonathanrussel, I knew that they came stock but I wanted to reaffirm that you aren't supposed to use dished pistons. Good to know that my piston to valve clearance won't be a problem, I was slightly worried about that, I'll probably check just to be safe anyways. Yea when I saw the box the pistons came in I got a little bummed out because it was a brand I never heard of and have never seen anyone talk about on the forums, so the quality was definitely a concern. Upon more searching I couldn't find much about there quality, didn't read anything bad about them but I'd rather not be the guinea pig and use something tried and true. I'm now in search for 86mm flat top pistons with .020" overboard(or any overboard at this point). I can't find ANYTHING. I've called my machine shop, ITM, motorsports auto, zcardepot, datsun california, and northern auto parts, all of them are on back order for a few months and wont have anything for 4+ months they said. I found a single .030" flat top piston but that leaves me needing 5 more and at 40 bucks a pop it's not cheap. I also found a engine rebuild kit with .050" over but its 500 bucks and I don't have that kind of money. It would help me out sooo much if you guys could give me a hand locating some pistons. If you know of a company, private seller, or anyone that might have something please let me know or talk to them, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks as always for the information and help guys, you're always very insightful and resourceful! -Noah M

It sounds like we are going to find another set that are flat top pistons, definitely will need the extra get up and go for the build as I was already using every ounce of hp she had stock so I definitely can't go backwards. You hit the nail on the head with that one Siteunseen, he's given me an unbelievable amount of help so the last thing I want to do is cause a problem or stress him out! Thanks for the link to that calculator, that will definitely come in handy at some point or another. Probably not this build cause I'm to lazy to gather all the numbers and plug them in right now but nonetheless thanks for the tool. Unfortunately the pistons have already been attached to the rods but I can't have compression drop from 8.8:1 to 7.3:1 so we will be getting the right flat tops. I don't even want to know what the hp output on something like that would be, it sounds awful. If I had a different head or a turbo laying around with all the other little goodies needed then the dished pistons wouldn't be a problem but unfortunately that's not the case. I wondered the same thing zed head but the box and website both specify it's for the l28e so I'm not really sure what to think, it'd make more sense if it were an early 280z but what do I know. They imaginably have a reason for it or maybe they are just out of touch with the z pistons, who knows. I think you'd be modestly surprised to see how the 2+2 drives, I've pulled on a number of cars with more hp including evos, bmws, subarus, and more. Probably has something to do with me knowing how to drive but I'd like to accredit it to the ol' Daty puttin in work! For now I'm going to stick with the 2+2, it's done surprisingly well for me so far and that's with it being stock. You'll have to take my word when I say I've driven the $^!# out of her and really put her through her paces. I've nonchalantly removed 100+ pounds of interior from her before and it had a real nice get up and go so I imagine if I really wanted to lighten it up it wouldn't be to tough. I believe I recall people lightening it to 2600lbs or less if memory serves me correct. I know most people aren't a fan of the 2+2 but I've genuinely enjoyed every bit of it, it has a nice get up and go as well as great steering and handling. I could care less for the cruise control and all the other luxury bs, especially cause most of it doesn't work, but it's nothing I can't remove or fix. Do you guys want pictures of the build or should I save my time and forum space? Thanks again for the help, advice, and taking the time out of your day to help me gentlemen, it's very much appreciated, hopefully I can return the favor someday! -Noah M

Sorry I got ahead of myself and forgot to mention which year and model I have. It's a 1981 280zx 2+2 with a f54 block and p79 head. It's a stock engine with no work done on it up until now since I've been working on it. It's been a family owned car its whole life so I know exactly what has or hasn't been done to it. Thanks for your time. -Noah M

I just recieved my new pistons and rings from the machine shop for my NA l28. I had to have the walls slightly honed so I required oversized pistons. I recieved a set from safety pistons with hasting rings. The part number is "SP123 -2 nissan (datsun)81-83 : 280zx 6v 81-83 : l28e eng 2753cc / 86.0 mm" The set of pistons I got from the machine shop were dished unlike my original flat top pistons and my uncle, who I'm building my car with, said that's how they are supposed to be even though it will lower compression. Through all the reading and searching I've done I thought that you only really wanted flat top pistons on the NA set up and dished pistons for turbos because of the lower compression. So my question is, are these the right pistons to be using or am I supposed to have flat tops for my set up. I've had the head machined .005" and the block machined, I need to figure out how much material the shop took off the block but it's not much. Im also using a fel pro head gasket which I've heard it is slightly thinner than stock. My uncle said we needed to use dished pistons because of those modifications is this the case? If I do need to re order pistons what brand should I get or who should I order them from? Thanks in advance for the help and input it's much appreciated! -Noah M

It sounds like that's the route I'm going to take. After the core plugs come out I'm going to drop the block off this afternoon for a hot bath and possibly a hone. My poor engine had chunks of corrosion and debris in the block so it's a much needed cleaning. I think that once the cleaning process and everything is done to the block I am going to paint the inside of it with glyptal paint to prevent sludge build up, aid in oil run off, seal any debris if I didn't get it out, and just peace of mind knowing the block is prepped. I found the original blue paint for the block so I'll put a nice coat of that on once I'm finished. I've already ordered the brass core plugs and they're on the way, definitely worth the few extra bucks in my book. I made sure to scour the internet and forums for advice on the timing chain kit and the general consensus seemed to be to buy a Japanese made kit and if you can oem chain guides. I couldn't find oem chain guides in a price range that fit my budget so I went ahead and ordered the white head performance timing chain kit for 120$(cheap budget huh(sarcasm)). It is "High quality, made in Japan timing chain kit best performance and reliability. An OE equivalent to the OEM timing parts."https://whiteheadperformance.com/product/oe-timing-chain-kit-datsun-240z-260z-280z-280zx/ I'm sure it'll do the trick but what brand timing chain kits do you like to use/recommend? I'd send mine back in a heart beat if you have something you'd recommend over that set, I'm just kinda learning and guessing as I go. That book is gold when it comes to information, I bought that along with "how to modify your datsun/nissan ohc engine","Clymer 280zx shop manual","Haynes 280zx repair manual", and "Chilton Z & ZX repair manual". That combined with the numerous forums and webpages I should be able to do most the work myself, should haha. Thanks as always for your help and advice, it's helped a lot in my tear down and rebuild! -Noah M

Thanks for the recommendation siteunseen. I was just about getting ready to call and see what the ZCarDepot's piston rings were made from and order those just so I can keep this project moving. Looking at the ring sizes and specs they are all the same size that folks recommend so I should be able to use that set no problem(I don't have my old rings readily accessible so I can't be certain, just gonna send it!) I'll make sure to double check ring size and clearances with the originals once I get them. If they're holding up to your standards I'm sure it'll be just right for my application, thanks again for the recommendation. Definitley will have more peace of mind knowing it's what other Z car lovers use in there baby. Do you know anything about the honing process required to achieve proper piston seating? Is it something myself and a mechanic can do or do I need to take the lower end to a machine shop? Thanks again for the help and advice, your knowledge is always invaluable! -Noah M