Pir0San

The guy who waved me on drove off as soon as the accident happened, I couldn't get his info. <br> <br> Here's the damage: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/Fast240Z/Z%20wreck/Image035.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/Fast240Z/Z%20wreck/Image027.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/Fast240Z/Z%20wreck/Image034.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/Fast240Z/Z%20wreck/Image033.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/Fast240Z/Z%20wreck/Image032.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/Fast240Z/Z%20wreck/Image031.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/Fast240Z/Z%20wreck/Image030.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/Fast240Z/Z%20wreck/Image029.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/Fast240Z/Z%20wreck/Image028.jpg

I'm not too happy about it, I did file a police report, and the police officer said that I'm at fault, because no matter what, since I made a left turn, I'm at fault. Seems like bs to me, considering the California Driver's Handbook states "Do not pass a car from behind that has stopped at a crosswalk." So therefore, she's in the wrong as I see it. Would it be any different if she would have hit a pedestrian? I think not. Now I'm just waiting for the insurance agencies to get their stuff together and call me. What do you all think? Is there anything I'm forgetting that could be beneficial to the accident claim?

Mike, you are my HERO! My lights were working intermittently, I'd have to click them off and on, off and on, turn the switch slowly, until it worked. I cleaned the switch via your writeup, and my lights work on the first click! Thanks!

...a common problem with the Z's are burnt/melted fuseboxes, and all the places I've seen that carry the OEM fusebox or a replacement like the bladed type fusebox that MSA sells go for insane amounts of money. If we, as Z car fanatics, can make wiring harnesses and alternator plug adapters, then someone should try to find a way to reproduce the fusebox like MSA sells, but for alot cheaper. I'm sure that if someone were to make one, and sell it for around $100 as opposed to MSA's outrageous $199, they'd make a killing. Just an idea, I'd make it work, but don't have the resources to do so!

quick question: the pulley needs to be swapped from the old 240z alternator onto the new 280zx alternator, right? Also, has anyone done this swap, and solved an overcharging problem they might have had? Sorry to hijack your thread, just wanted to ask, I might contemplate the adapter after I check alternator prices.

the type a will fit fine in any Z car that has been fitted with the type b. When I replaced my type b with my new type a, I didn't even remove the shifter, it just went in, easy as cake.

man, that had to suck, to get all that far, and then to break one of the rings. Now I've got some thinking to do.

SteveK, did you install your Total Seal rings yourself?

Thanks ZSaint. I'm not sure if I want them to install the bottom end (since I wanted to do it myself, but I'll see how much more it'll cost to do, and I'll weigh the costs vs. the benefits. When you said that you had broken the Total Seal rings upon install, was that from not using the ring compressor fully, or was that from not using the ring seperator correctly, etc?

oh, I was reading through my "How to rebuild your Nissan & Datsun OHC Engine" book today, and the author said that it was not completely necessary to use a torque plate, as long as the main caps are installed for rigidity...so where's that leave me?

clutchdust, thanks for the info on the torque plate. I'll call the machine shop tomorrow and ask if they have one!

The oil burning is in fact from worn oil control rings, the head I have on there now has less than 600 miles on it, and has brand new everything (seals, guides, valves, cam, rocker arms, lash pads, etc.) so I do not believe it to be the seals. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if it were seals, the Z would stop smoking after the engine is warmed up, due to oil lubricating the seals, right? My Z smokes no matter what, especially on acceleration, and burns oil like a person drinks water. If I drive it slow and baby it (like a grandma) it will burn a quart of oil in about 100 miles, but if I drive it spirited/put it through its paces (mind you, this isn't revving straight to redline, shift, rev to redline, this is take off, accerlerate to 4000/5000, shift, etc) and it'll eat a quart of oil in less than 100 miles. The block I have now was given to me by another Z fanatic, who said the block would smoke for him too, but he said that it was indeed the valve seals. The block burned oil on three heads that I had on it, so I believe it to be the rings. So, let me get this correct (and excuse my ignorance) I do not need a flex plate unless I am boring the cylinders. So, since I just want to hone the cylinders for new rings, a flexplate is not necessary. Last question, and this is an opinion one: I know you said that the Total Seal rings are fragile, and you had broke a few on install, so would it be a smarter idea for the machine shop to install the rings, or could I do it, provided I use the lubricant that Total Seal sells in addition to their rings. Man, I wish I had a ton of cash, then I wouldn't have to ask very many questions...but at least I'm learning!

All I want to do is build a motor that is going to run reliably, and won't have the same oil burning problem the motor I have now is, as well as being a quick overall car. Are they really worth it? As for the torque plate, is that something I can aquire myself, or would I have to have the machine shop install my pistons and rings instead?

Hey all, I've been doing some research into Total Seal Piston Rings, and I was curious if anyone has had any experiences with them, and where to buy them at (other than straight from Total Seal themselves).

It seems to me that the general consensus is to give the motor 3/4 throttle and only go to 3/4 of the redline rpm, so therefore you would go through all gears, rev to 4500-5000, shift, and do it all over again, without lugging the motor, and downshifting and letting the engine do most of the braking instead of using the brakes totally. I just want to get the full performance and reliability out of my Z!

from what I've read and been told, chrome top ring sets are great for longevity, but as you said, do need to have the correct honing procedure done to them. Does anyone know the lifespan of a cast iron ring as opposed to a chrome ring, and which one is better to go with? I don't mind spending a few extra dollars for chrome top rings, which is why I selected them.

So I'm going to rebuild my L24, the guy who gave me the block said the car smoked due to valve guides, but it turns out it smokes because two of the six oil control rings are not doing their job, and the car is burning oil. I've been reading around, doing price lists, and so far I've determined that with AE Clevite Chrome Rings, AE Clevite Main and Rod bearings, Felpro gaskets all the way around, I'm looking at approximately $245.42 w/tax, as well as $80 in shop fees (cylinder honing, hot tanking, crank micropolish). Does this sound reasonable to anyone? How often is it that a motor needs to be bored out? The last time I saw inside of the cylinders (500 miles ago), I didn't notice any ridge or anything serious, so honing should be the solution for ring break-in, right? So, my original question: How do you break-in an engine properly? I know I can't just go out after rebuilding my engine and beat the hell out of it, but I've read so many things that I'm confused as to what the honest truth is. I've read this article : Mototune break-in, as well as this thread Break-in, and they slightly contradict each other. The mototune article says that in order to break an engine in properly, the car needs to be warmed up and driven under load. The article doesn't say to go out and red line the engine, but it does say the engine needs to be put through it's paces. The thread on this site says that the RPM's need to be kept under 4000 RPM's in order to break-in, but which one is right? From what I understand, you must not keep the engine at a steady RPM while break-in is occuring, due to the fact of the cylinders only expanding and seating at a certain RPM. I even took a look at the book "How to rebuild your Nissan and Datsun OHC Engine", and the author says to keep the engine under light load. I don't know what to believe, and I'm sure engine builders will give me varying answers. So, what's the right answer? I just want to do it right, have an engine that doesn't burn oil, as well as an engine that puts the power down that it has potential to make. Also, are Sealed Power rod bearings any better than the AE Clevite bearings? From what I understand, Sealed Power and Federal Mogul used to be the same company, and Nissan used Federal Mogul parts when assembling the L-series engines.

I added my VIN into the excel file, and I also sorted the files by vin number and body type, if that helps any. Z VIN NUMBERS (Excel 5.0).xls Z VIN NUMBERS.xls

Mull, awesome videos. I am totally envious of the amount of restoration you are putting into that Z, and I think we can all agree that your Z will be one of the most beautiful out on the road after everything is said and done. I've watched your videos a couple times through, and I plan on showing them to anyone I can. As for my girlfriend, she's the same as your wife Zs-ondabrain, I told her before we went out that my car was not going to take the "back seat", so to speak, and she agrees with me fully. She only makes a little bit of cash here and there (she's 17, and babysits for the church), but she's offered to put the cash she gets here and there into my car because she loves riding in it and working on it. She's helped me pull the head off of my L24 more times than I would like to count, and I'm pretty confident she'd be able to do the work herself if I asked her to. But Mull, my original point was that my girlfriend likes your videos too, and she's already talking about doing everything you are doing, but to my car instead. Enjoy the project, and be happy you're making videos, you'll not only have the sense of accomplishment of bringing something back to life and making it truly beautiful, but you can watch your videos and remember the hell you've been through.

and by the way ron, your bre is sexy...

Ron, you and JM don't have to take your conversation elsewhere, because when it's in a forum we can all learn :classic: . It was the type "B" 4 speed, and it made a horrible whining noise and would grind like nothing else. I ended up limping it to a friend's house, where it was leaking like crazy. When it was engaged in gear, it sounded like you could hear something smack against the inside of the gearbox. I never knew I could kill a transmission like that...

actually, I've already done research into the difference between the type "A" and type "B" Z transmissions, and I actually have at least one of each. I had the original type "B" in my 72, until I decided that speed shifting was pretty cool, and I destroyed the transmission. It made a horrible noise when it died...but I ended up getting a rebuilt type "A" from a marine down at camp pendleton, and the transmission is excellent. Doesn't seem to have any of the notorious slop that I have heard that the "A"'s have, which would indicate at least new bushings in the shift linkage. That was over two years ago that I swapped the transmission for the type "A", and about 6 months ago, I was given a spare 240Z block (which is in my Z right now, with 2 bad oil control rings) and two type "B" transmissions. As for the short shifter, I had seen around the net somewhere a shorter shift lever, as well as bushings and such for the Roadster, and the kit looked like it was very close if not an exact match for the shift lever on my type "A" transmission. On a side note, I was thinking that I might be able to modify the shift lever itself, in order to give it a shorter throw. I was thinking about removing an inch or so on a donor shift lever, bolt it onto my transmission, and see if my throw is shorter. I'm imagining that if the shifter length is reduced, the throw will effectively be reduced due to a shorter pivot point, if that makes any sense.

I have been looking for a short throw shifter for the F4W71-A transmission, and so far, no Z shops sell a short throw shifter. I was searching on ebay once, and I noticed that the transmission in the datsun roadster looked very similar to the type a in my Z, and there were short throw kits for the roadster. Does anyone know the difference between the two, and if they'd work the same?

I remember I was driving on the 3rd of July, almost 2 years ago, and this mustang full of people pulls up next to me. My Z is running like &#036;^&#33;#, without me knowing it was filling the 4th cylinder up full of water, so I had to feather the throttle to keep it running. The guy takes that as a sign that I want to race, so he decides to show off for the girls in his car and burns his tires from the stoplight. What he didn't see though is that there was a cop waiting at the light perpendicular to where we were, so after he shot off looking all cool, a cop comes flying up and pulls him over, gives him a ticket for speeding, racing, etc. Another one of his friends decided to chase me down in their other car, to tell me that it's my fault that he got a ticket. I laughed, because he's the dumbass, not me. As for some rice being fast, I'd agree. My friend has a stock 93 BMW 325is, and it's fairly fast for what it is (my dad's stock 91 Laser AWD Turbo ate it for dinner), but we went out racing the ricers, and there was this integra that we were messing with. He gets up next to us at the light, and burns his crappy fwd. We take off, get about a car length away, and then the integra turns into a damned nascar, with all the noise it was making, and took off like nothing esle. The guy was just messing with us. Shamed my friend and his car, .

I had some guy do that to my Z right outside of the restaraunt I used to work at. We parked in the back, and it got a little dark out there. I was outside washing mats and the asphault off, and I saw him walk up, peer in the window, through the louvers, and just check the car out, then run off when he saw me. I went in and told my coworkers, and me and the pizza cook went outside to look for him and to kick his arse. Come to find out, it was the husband of one of our hostesses, and he owned a 240Z he had since high school. She introduced us, and he brought his Z. Pretty sexy, all redone motor, painted white by him and a friend, sunroof (ewww...), and sidepipes, and the classic whaletail. Not bad, except for the sunroof.