Jeff G 78

Did you check out the link I posted above? The LeMons team stuffed an Alfa twin cam V6 in the little X1/9 and it transformed it intoa seriously quick little car. It went from 75hp to 190hp with the swap and all was done on the cheap to keep the X1/9 as a $500 race car.

I have always liked them, but have heard they are dog slow and a nightmare to keep running. That said, I'd LOVE to have this car. http://www.kilometermagazine.com/artman2/publish/feature_article/Lancia_Stratos_LeMons_Launcha_Splatos.html It raced at GingerMan in LeMons and was fantastic to see on the track.

Keep the pics coming. It's looking better every day.

Guy, don't pull the master. I have had great luck by bleeding the MC in the car. Remove the bleeders and apply a bit of grease on the threads to seal them from leakage. With the reservoirs full and both bleeders tight, attach a tight fitting 6" long hose to one of the bleeders and insert the other end into the reservoir under the fluid level. Crack the bleeder and slowly pump the pedal up and down until there are no air bubbles circulating through the system. Tighten the valve and repeat for the other port. I have always gotten all of the air out of the MC with this method. Once done, proceed to bleed the corners as stated above. If all else fails, buy a power bleeder for $60 and push the fluid through the system to each corner. They are a bit cumbersome to use and they waste more fluid, but they do work well.

Drop the fuel tank and clean it. I'm SURE it's full of crud. My 260 spent 15+ years in a barn and it had nasty stuff in it. Replace every rubber fuel system hose as well. They will be rotten and will release debris into the filter, pump, and carbs. I found it easiest to remove the engine, pull it apart and clean/inspect each component before installing a full gasket set and reinstalling the engine. The whole process can be done in a few days and it will save lots of headaches later. Good luck with the project.

Guy, how do you ever decide which one of your beautiful Z's to drive? They are all stunning cars. Do they have different driving personalities or do you have the suspensions all setup close to the same way?

Since you are not replacing the timing set (chain, gears, guides and tensioner), you would likely have to advance a hole or two anyways. When you reassemble, start with hole #2 and check the chain stretch per the FSM. If it needs more, go to hole #3. If that doesn't do it, it's time for a new timing set. Don't forget to stuff a clean towel down around the chain until you are ready to reinstall the gear. Every small part in your garage will get sucked down that open hole like it's a giant vortex. It looks like cylinder #6 was the one with the head gasket leak since it's the only clean piston.

Replace all fuel hoses and vent lines and be sure to seal all pass though locations. Exhaust fumes will seep into any tiny gaps, so find and fix them all when the tank is out. The fuel vent hose grommets always dry up over time, so that's a good place to start.

Just make sure the free play is within spec. Too little and you will kill the clutch.

After re-reading all of the posts, this does seem to be a hydraulic issue. With the car up on jack stands, crawl under it and check for leaks. If you don't find any, have a helper slowly push the clutch pedal. See how much free travel they have until the slave rod starts to move and how much free travel until the clutch release arm starts to move. Also note the total travel of the arm with the clutch pedal pushed to the floor. I believe both specs are in the FSM. If the pedal itself has slop, adjust the pedal clevis and retry. The older North American S30's have an adjustable push rod at the slave cylinder and the later cars have a fixed push rod. If you have an adjustable rod and everything else is good, you can adjust it there. If there are no leaks and the free travel at the slave is too high, simply adjust the rod and re-measure until everything is within spec. If the rod is fixed, do the same thing, but under the dash at the master cylinder rod clevis. My experience tells me the slave cylinders don't partially fail. They usually work one day and then you immediately have zero pedal pressure when the slave fails. The master *might* fail a bit slower if there is a tiny nick in the seal and some air has entered the system. I have driven S30's for up to a week with no clutch while waiting to get a new slave. They actually shift very well as long as you rev-match on down shifts. Heavy traffic sucks because you have to keep shutting the car off at stops, but it can be done. Good luck.

Brand new, or new remanufactured? I've had several reman units o bad very quickly. It does sound like a bad clutch to me though. When the MC or slave goes bad, the pedal will have no pressure. Time to pull the trans and replace the clutch.

After verifying that the front calipers are on the proper sides (bleeders up), bleed the master cylinder. Use a 6" long hose. With the hose on the front MC bleeder port, insert the other end of the hose into the MC reservoir below the fluid line. Open the bleeder slightly and slowly pump the brake pedal up and down until no air bubbles come up through the fluid. When the bubbles are gone, close the bleeder and repeat for the rear port. You MUST bleed the MC prior to bleeding the calipers and wheel cylinders. Once the MC is bled, start at the LEFT rear. On a Z, it is actually the furthest from the MC since the lines travel down the RH side of the car. Continue to the right rear and then the right front and left front. Don't forget to keep adding fluid to the reservoirs. If they run dry, you will have to start over with the MC bleeding.

Yeah, I really like that size too chaztg, but the limited selection turned me away. If I could have gotten Falkens or Hankook RS-2 or RS-3 in that size, I'd have gone that way for sure.

I can never decide which one of your Datsuns I like best. Your dad's S30's are all incredible, but your 510 is also a favorite of mine.

Ahh, yes. The oiler bar must me checked and cleaned anytime it's out. They have been known to crack and break off like that. Hopefully it didn't ruin the cam, rockers, or tower.

Exactly!

Yep, like Guy said, 225/50R16 can rub depending on wheel offset and brand/model of tire. Guy started a thread a while back about the same topic and I posted pics of what I had to do to make my 225/50R16 tires fit without rubbing.

Looking great Guy!

I've replaced valve springs with the head on and it's very possible, but not fun. Doing the seals is essentially the same job as replacing the springs. It does save time compared to pulling the engine or even the head, but not a lot. The cam will need to come out which then requires a lot of other stuff to be removed. I'm very comfortable around Z's and Z engines and the job still takes me a full day. I used vacuum hose in the cylinders and it works great, but it does compress a bit more than rope. With stock valve springs, this isn't a huge issue, but performance springs are hard to get on with any give in the valves. Pulling the cam requires the engine to tip rearward until it can slide out the front and clear the radiator. The hood has to come off as does the trans mount, exhaust, radiator shroud, timing gear, and fuel rail. The only savings IMHO by not pulling the head is that the head gasket is saved and the cooling system stays filled. If you have a header, leaving the head on saves time as well since the head cannot easily be pulled with the intake and exhaust in place. The header gets in the way. With a stock manifold, you can leave the intake and exhaust and lift the assembly out. On a carbed car, I can pull an engine/trans and yank the head quicker than I can pull the valve springs with the engine in the car and the head on.

Did you (or the shop) pull the cam towers when you had the head machined? If so, the cam might not be spinning freely, causing the noise. If the towers were off, pull your rockers and the timing chain and make sure the cam spins freely. If the cam is binding, it will destroy the cam and towers.

That's why it has been confusing for us. A "ZX clutch" doesn't tell us anything. The coupe ZX is the 225mm and the Turbo and 2+2 ZX clutches are 240mm. Glad it all worked out.

Aaaargh, I lost a response in the system. Anyways, what I said was... You never told us if the clutch kit you bought is for a 2+2 or a coupe. Earlier, you said the car is a 2+2 and that the clutch didn't fit the flywheel. Did you buy the right parts?

This makes no sense. All L series crankshafts are the same at the end where the flywheel bolts on. Post a picture and I can try to help. I will be away from the computer for several hours myself. I have the trans out of my Tacoma 4x4 and I just stopped for lunch. I need to install it now.

Let's go back and get a few things clear. 1. What are you trying to reuse and what are you buying new? a. flywheel b. clutch disc c. pressure plate d. throwout bearing e. pilot bearing (must be new) f. throwout collar 2. The ZX is a 2+2 correct? 3. You already have the hydraulics and pedals done? Once you answer these questions, we can better help you.

It will work just fine, but you need to get a 2+2 clutch and pressure plate kit or use everything that you removed from the ZX if you don't plan to buy a new clutch kit.