Arne

What block and type pistons are you using?

I have always wanted an R5 Turbo2! Man, what a fun bunch of cars to watch. Until the end...

I'd be happy to use a non-OEM spring, but since none of this is in the car yet I can't accurately measure it all. I was kinda hoping someone might have one they could measure for me so I can get it ahead of time.

I need some info on the return spring that mounts on the clutch slave cylinder. Not sure which cars came with this, but the early 240Zs did at least. I'm almost done gathering my parts to swap in a Type A 4 speed instead of the factory automatic. But I don't have that spring, nor do I see it available anywhere (catalogs or websites). Can anyone give me the dimensions and approximate tension rate on one so that I can look for an alternative?

If you were 100 miles farther south, or me up there, I'd do it. But for me to drive up and back for the day doesn't work well for me. Sorry.

I think I would describe my goal as in between yours and the show car thing. It won't be original, but will be VERY presentable. I doubt I will ever bother showing it, but will drive it back and forth to work. I want it to look, drive and sound like a slightly modified 240Z from the mid-seventies.

Pertronix is a good choice IF you have a decent dizzy to put it in. Problem is that most 240Z dizzies are worn out by now. Unilite is also great. But far from affordable. The ZX dizzy with E12-80 is affordable, and still works well. They are much easier to find with the bushings still serviceable. Dave, often the later ZX dizzies (with the E12-93 box) are significantly cheaper at the yards, since none of us want that combination. If so, I just got an E12-80 box for my E12-93 dizzy from a vendor in CA that was tested, guaranteed and quite affordable. So if you see an E12-93 dizzy, try to buy it cheap, then give me a PM. I'll make a couple calls to some yards around here, as well.

Michael, the dizzy is from a ZX, same vintage as the engine. The ignitor box mounted on the side of the distributor is the key. I can't tell from your pictures if the ignitor box is the good one (E12-80) or the not-so-good one (E12-93). If the pair of terminals on the top of the box are all there are, it is the good one. If there is an additional terminal on the side nearest the vacuum pot, it is the less desirable one from '82-83. Don't know if you would be able to tell much by looking under the cam cover, the Nissan cams are quite durable, so even if the engine is rebuilt it could still have the factory cam in it. All in all, it looks much like the '83 ZX mill in my car right now. Hopefully it is in better shape than mine - while mine has good compression, a whole lot of oil gets past the rings and it fouls plugs. The F54 blocks are the better ones to use for a hot motor, they have flat top pistons and are more rigid with their siamesed cylinders. The only problems with a P79 is the round exhaust ports, which probably isn't all that horrible for a street motor. I'll be curious to see what you get for it, mine will be surplus later this summer. (But I'm keeping my ZX alternator and dizzy.) I wish you were closer - I could really use the engine stand. :classic:

Update - First, comparing the engine number of my L24 to those on the ZHome.com register, I have decided that my engine is - in fact - from a '73. Not a '72 as I was told. It does have the valve reliefs in all 6 pistons. As best I can measure (not having a micrometer handy today), the bores appear to be the stock 83 mm, so I don't think it has been bored before. Which is good, since I did more cleaning and am now certain that the cylinder walls are pitted. On the other hand, take a look at the attached picture. Note the stamped numeral '3' towards the front on the non-valve side of the piston. All six pistons have the 'H' stamp on them, and cyl. 1-5 have the '3'. But cyl. 6 has a '2' instead. Do these look like factory pistons to you guys? Or are they oversize, the first 5 being .030" over and the 6th being .020" over? So I will definitely be looking for a good buy on cast pistons for an L24. Last question - assume that I have an E88 head on it, should I be looking for pistons with the valve reliefs, or can I use normal flat-tops?

The one I saw (and he has several) had guides, but I don't think it had towers. Had the head thickness marked on it by each cylinder. The were all in the 4.23 range, as I recall.

Got back from Danny's, he has several N47s, at least one bare head that are shaved (but not as much as yours) that he said he could make you a good deal. Email him at dannye@mcsi.net Or if you want to wait until I get my spare motor rebuilt, I'll make you a deal on my P79. But I don't think I'll be ready for several months.

I watched them in 10.4.5 in Safari, using the Flip4Mac Quicktime plug-in that allows Safari to play Windows Media files. The plug-in is free, and does run in 10.3.9, as long as your Quicktime is up to date.This is second nature to me, I support Macs (and XP too) for a living.

True, and my car has no radio now either, so I don't know if it's necessary. Don't know when I'll get to the point of installing my new-to-me Pioneer Supertuner. I'll leave my cap in place for now.On the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if the ZX alternator has RF shielding built-in.

I think Dave is right. I left mine in place, probably does nothing now. Since yours is OK without it, I may remove mine too.

Danny's web page is pretty lame, has no real info. I always e-mail or phone him. I'll ask him tomorrow what he has. N57 is preferred, P79 will work?

Well, I was told this engine was from a '72, but maybe it is a '73. It does have an E88 head, and valve reliefs in the pistons.I thought I might be able to have the bores honed and re-use the pistons, but when I start to remove the rust in one of the cylinders, I can feel some pitting. Now maybe I don't yet have all the rust removed and the "pitting" is really the cylinder wall. But at this point I'm planning on new pistons. Since I don't need anything real fancy, I'm looking at the set from Black Dragon (the vendor formerly known as VB) for $220 with pins and rings. They only have .030 over, which is more than I'll really need, but...

I've got a P79 in my car now that will be surplus in a few months, but that doesn't do you any good right now. How about getting one from someone like Danny's Datsuns or Bad Dog Parts? I'm going to be picking up a bunch of parts from Danny tomorrow, you want me to see what he has?

Hmm, I passed on an opportunity to buy something from Urgelis a while back, his answers to my questions about the product just didn't "feel" right to me. Add that feeling to the hidden feedback, and I went elsewhere. Sounds like it was the right decision.

I'm going to need a set of pistons for the L24 I'm rebuilding for my '71. The block will need to be bored to clean up rust pitting (the engine was sitting outdoors when I acquired it), but won't need much so I'm open to any reasonable overbore. Since this car will be a total street machine, I think sticking with cast pistons will be fine. Anyone have a favorite brand or vendor that they'd care to recommend? Obviously I'd like to spend as little as possible, but I want good quality. Oh, I noticed the current pistons have valve reliefs in the top. (P30 block, E88 head from a '72 240Z.) I suspect that replacements will need those as well, do they all come with them?

On the 240Z the headlights are wired backwards from what is considered normal. There is a common hot lead, and a separate ground wire for both high and low beams that goes to the dimmer switch. If your headlight is dim on both beams, the problem is likely in the power lead. If it is only dim on one beam or the other, suspect the dimmer switch.

You know, if my head needed that many shims, I think I'd be looking for a replacement head. Round port heads (assuming that is what you are using) aren't all that expensive.

I think what you are seeing is the "blue dot" jeweled lens insert that was popular in the old days. You have to drill a hole in the lens right in front of the bulb, then snap in the insert. Be aware that in many states these inserts may not be legal, but they are ignored when used on older cars which don't see much time on the street.

So it looks like the late '71 (Series II) cars started at 0.

Yeah, looks painted, or powder-coated maybe.

Speaking of, what's the best way to bring back the factory look, and keep it looking that way too. I want mine to look right, but don't want to have to spend a lot of time keeping it looking good over time. After all, my goal is to use my car as a driver. Maybe not every day, but most of them at least.