Nigel1943

I take it you mean the 60's cars. Most of them are long since gone thru the rust bug. Any that are left have been restored and fetch mega bucks.

It must be really boring for you guys in the US being able to pick up 240's like this. It's well nigh impossible in the UK.:mad: Best of luck to you.

You could also check the wheelbase measurement, ie the distance between the wheel centres on each side. Whilst this is not a 100% solution it does give you an indication if one front wheel has gone back or not, assuming the rear of the car is undamaged. If the measurements are considerably different [more than 10mm] also check that the castor rod isn't bent.

Well if you have money to burn, get your fancy pistons/rings.I ran my engine for two seasons in anger and was only let down engine-wise once when a lashpad broke up all with stock parts including head gasket. As for measuring head cc's you need a piece of clear perspex with 2 holes in it big enough to cover the combustion chamber and an accurate fluid measuring device to fill with kerosene through one hole until the fluid is level with the bottom of the hole. Any excess air should have been expelled through the other hole. Measurement is then calculated by the amount of fluid you have put in depending on what measuring device you have used.

Well all I can say is I built an L series 4 banger rally competion engine [10.5:1 compression] with 280 pistons and stock rings and never had a problem.

Have you actually blown a gasket? If your motors' put together right reliability shouldn't be a problem with an all stock parts engine. Don't go to the expense of special pistons/rings, they simply aren't necessary for a compression of up 10.5 to 1

Or a 260Z.

Here in the UK, we have the same problem locating good shocks. I'm building a rally car and will probably be using Bilstein inserts which are readily available for the UK Grp4 Ford Escort rally car. They can be bought in either short or long versions but are probably too "hard" for street use although ideal for the track. Bilstein are regarded over here as the best durable shock you can buy off the shelf.

The only reason I can see for using cam tower shims on a skimmed head is so that you can realign the standard crank and cam sprockets utilising the factory holes in the sprocket. Skimming will only minimally affect the tension in the chain tensioner. Cam tower shims will alter the camshaft geometry ie, the angle of the rockers. The proper answer is to time the cam accurately using a multi-hole sprocket.

What exactly is a MSD 6A and what's it supposed to do?

As I read danman's post he says he has used other trannys and had the same problem with all of them which suggests to me that the problem is not with the tranny itself but something external. Agreed putting more pressure on the detents may cure the problem [ probably at the expense of a notchier shift ] but I wonder if he has used the same shifter on all the trannys.

Don't know what happened to my post yesterday but the gist of it was this. Nissan changed the design of the gearstick on the later ZX to a spring loaded connecting pin. Could it be that Nissan recognized this problem and this was their answer? It has the effect of putting less load on the selector rod in all positions.

I'm just wondering if this is a gearstick problem. As youv'e used other trannys it's seems logical the problem is not the tranny itself but something external. This fault may explain why Nissan changed the stick on the later trannys with the introduction of a spring loaded connecting pin. I've wondered why they did this. If it's not releasing until the tailshaft is taken off then the tranny's not getting properly into gear in the first place. Have you always used the same stick on the different trannys? Just thought about this a bit more. It makes sense that when the gearstick is going over centre, eg from 1st to reverse or 3rd to 4th, the ball end of the stick will exert more pressure on the selector rod as it passes through vertical. Maybe Nissan recognized this and that's why they modified the stick with the spring loading.

Catergorically not british SU's! Agreed Hitachi produced them under licence and yes, they can be fitted to MG's et al because they were designed around the british HS4 SU with Hitachi's own modifications, especially in the mixture adjustment department. There are very few interchangeable parts aside from the needles.

Let's get this right fellas. Z's use HITACHIs not SUs. Very, very similar but HITACHIs just the same.

Have you checked for wear in your camshaft tower journals? This would make your cam move around and could be why your tappet clearances dont stay right for long.

Are you getting full charge from your alternator?? Is the voltage control unit working??

I know you said your distributor was only a year old but have you made sure the advance weights inside the unit are working properly and that they are not sticking open or closed? Bit of release oil sprayed inside would cure this problem.

. After the head was shaved, I assembled the engine and I checked to make sure that the timing chain didn't have slack; all of the guide notches lined up! Yeh, which suggests the head is more or less standard. The reason I mention this is because I have a similar set-up and am trying to achieve not less than 10.5:1 for a mild competition engine and as yet the head is unshaved as far as I can see. Also whilst some people suggest you need cam-tower shims I'm not convinced unless the head is heavily shaved, after all the tensioner is designed to take up slack and just moves a little further out of it's hole. I previously built an L4 engine with the same tensioner set-up, taking 60thou off the head and never had a problem. Oh BTW, I'm running triple 48 Dellortos having previously run two of them on my L4. Set up properly with a good cam I feel they are superior to Webers. Mine would pull cleanly from 1800revs to 7000 with no problems.

[quote=! Fuel supply from the 40mm seems to be ample for my L28; I've got the F54 block with the flatop pistons and a shaved N42 head, approx 10.5:1 comp ratio, a set of headers, mild porting, 240z cam, and electronic ignition. . Just as a matter of interest you say you have 10.5:1 comp on a shaved N42 head. It's my understanding that you get 10.4:1 with a standard N42 on a flat top L28. How much have you had shaved off and have you installed camshaft pillar shims to take up any slack in the timing ?

Maybe I should have made myself clearer on the subject of SM needles. They are only recommended if they are used with the related jets [nozzles] preferably in 70/71 carbs.

Lot's of possible answers here. Take the dashpot out and check the needle is in the right place, ie flush with the face of the dashpot. Check also the needle is not bent and that the jet is central in the housing. It would also be worth checking that both carbs have the same needles and the same springs in the dashpot. It might be worth changing your needles to SM's for the L28 and also the jets.

If you havn't changed the throw-out collar that carries the release bearing from a four speed to the longer five speed then that's your problem.

Using too much gas! Wouldn't have thought that worried you in Kuwait!!

Don't say you were'nt warned!