ETI4K

We should all be so lucky!

Yep, it is. Seems the problem is it takes TIME and MONEY away from doing things together, you know, like used to do.😁 After "parking" my car for 27 years, I just want to finish it. I am highly focused, and typically singled-minded when I have a major goal. That works well for getting shizel done, but does have a cost with relationships. Oh well, life is a balancing act.

I stored a gallon of brand new, unopened muriatic acid in a closed cabinet with other paints. It rusted every single can in the large cabinet. Now I keep it in the open and not near other metal. As has been mentioned, it works RIGHT NOW for removing rust - all of it. The fumes are quite serious. I only use it outside, and even then am very careful to be upwind. Right now I am considering whether to use it to remove light surface rust everywhere on a previously blasted car because it works so well and it's so easy.

@siteunseen Who makes that gasket?

Very cool idea. That had to be fun building that motor. Could even add some steel to those inserts easily with MIG. Then I'd just sweat it out the first few hundred miles hoping nothing went screwy. So the cost of insurance against sweat (that sweat anyway) is $800 ($1000 forged - $200 cast). 🤔

Those corners wrap around steel inserts (dark grey). Not sure if removing material could free the inserts under loaded conditions.

Good news for anyone looking to get bearings from Australia 🙄. The Taiho bearing set arrived a month early. Now on to the pistons. So, a new set of cast pistons, distributed by ITM, arrived from RockAuto. I still can't get the actual weight, but I did measure the differential between the lightest and heaviest - better than 2.2 g. I am looking at the underside of these and not feeling good about trying to remove that much material. I know I can chamfer certain edges, but I'm not at all certain that'll be enough. Beyond those edges it gets a little sketchy. There are two bosses on the sides of the piston below the pin that look like decent candidates for material removal. Problem is that if I start on it and can't safely get it to weight, they're mine forever and I have to buy more - of the same brand and likely problems. Note the nice little nick - fresh from the box. It's looking like I'll be into forged pistons to get a decent set. I really wanted to avoid THAT expense.

I've seen some goofy work also, but my FAVORITE one is from high school. My buddy asked me to help rebuild a SBF. I got everything checked at the machine shop and told my friend to get the machine work done - mains and rod journals need to be cut. He called after he had the motor back and I went to his house with all the parts. He was in a panic. His father wanted that damn car out of his garage. NP, we'll have the motor back in and ready to roll today. So I dropped in the mains and lowered the crank in place, but it wouldn't drop in - at all. I checked the bearings. Yep they were correct, .020. Then I put a bearing shell on the crank main journal. Uh oh. Not gonna happen. Me: Mike, you did get the crank cut, right? Mike: Cut? Me: Uh oh. Mike goes inside to tell his dad the car would not be moving today. bull****, I heard him holler. Next thing I know, dad is in the garage with us with a roll of aluminum foil. Here, he says, make shims to space out the bearing caps, and get that damned car out of my garage. I ran away. No way was I gonna be near that motor when he started it.

Seems remarkable that trans worked at all with that many loose bits.

No grooves Brand new King bearings.

Sounds like you have quite a bit to get done. Just set up a cot in the shop and order in food. You only really need 4 hours of sleep and since there's 24 hours in every day, you'll have plenty of time. 😁

Really nice! Love the seats. What are they?

I feel your pain and feel bad for you. Being hurt sucks. I'm over it, and I'd bet you are too!

Look at the Mahle website. Most P-series bearings have been superceded by their A-series. https://web.tecalliance.net/mahle-catalog/qa/parts/autocare/assigned?targetId=6642&parentAssemblyGroupId=10&assemblyGroupId=136&page=0#@brc/autocareassem:1983%20Nissan%20280ZX;targetId:6642/autocarelnkparts:Cylinder%20Block%20Components;targetId:6642;parentAssemblyGroupId:10;assemblyGroupId:136;page:0 Of course, some are still available, but in my search they were only standard sizes and larger oversizes - nothing at the .25mm size.

I can get a "matched set" from King Bearings, but they are all aluminum, and the mains aren't available until Oct. It seems King has gone the way of Clevite, foregoing tri-metal. Taiho is available now (sort of) as long as shipping from AU works. Delivery estimate is any day up to mid Sep.

Crank had to be cut way back in time to clear wear-related damage, so now I can't use stock bearings. I would think that by now in the life of these motors, most cranks would have needed to be cut, but maybe not.

That's a very nice looking bracket. Will you mill it from a block or use a sheet and form the mounting tabs on a brake?

Anyone know where it'll be?

I just finally found bearings for mine (.25 oversize). Had to order from Australia - anywhere from 2 days to 6 weeks for delivery. My engine build has obviously come to an abrupt halt. Hopefully, you'll have much better luck!

Don't forget Gibbs. Just another highly useful product. Pricey though.

Your car looks great. What a blast it'd be to drive it. The 510s are great cars. Did you tee into the filtered air boot, or is it off the shelf?

How do you like it? I've been using the zinc only formula they make and it works well for welding. I have not yet tested it for corrosion protection.

Yep. Lightweight clutch assembly and flywheel. Stayed with steel for the flywheel, though. Balancing valvetrain parts does sound like fun, and that'll come soon enough, I hope. Right now I am trying to get the short block built. I just now located sets of Taiho rod and main bearings, .010 under, in Australia of all places. I sent an email to Taiho requesting info on materials used. I have not been able to find any other bearings by any mfr.

So no one wants to venture a guess as to which piston is heavier? I just found some new ITM pistons in stock (finally) - pistons, pins, and rings: $215 at RockAuto. My only other alternative is forged at around five times that. Talk about being conflicted.

Trying to keep this restoration going strong is a bit of a trick. I have to do enough work/investigation/reading about the next task in order to hunt down and order necessary materials so that when I am ready to actually start that task, I have what I need in hand. All of this of course while doing the previous task and dealing with the where to get and how to do that I didn't plan on. The latest is the ZX throttle body. Not ready to rebuild it, but I know I need some parts because I took it apart several weeks ago to see what kind of shape it's in. I actually removed the staked caps at the ends of the throttle body and found one bearing was iffy and, since I damaged one seal getting the cap off on one side, I'll replace the both u-cup shaft seals. They are 10 x 16 x 3. I have been searching for months to no avail, but a few days ago I stumbled upon Allied Metrics. They will make them, in any material I want with only a 10 piece minimum. Not bad until you consider they want $23 EACH. Still looking...😪