My Datsun Spirit L28 Build.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

last night I was up fitting the new radiator. The support holes are not in the same place as the other radiator I had. So some drilling may be necessary. Also, this is one of those pesky aluminum ones, which upon some research here I found out that I will need to isolate from the metal due to electro corrosion issues. Which makes perfect sense. So I am looking for some isolators that will work. I ordered some vibration isolators form mcmaster carr to get the search on the way, but I will also stop by my hardware store and look at the fun isle with all the cool trinkets. That was problem 1.

Problem 2 is the 2-3 fan belts I have accumulated over the past 2 months are all too short. Not sure why this is, as the only thing that change is the harmonic damper pulley, so I have to assume that it is larger than the one for the L24. So I picked up the new belt and we will see if I guessed big enough on the size.

I got the interior transmission tunnel ready to cut, but I am going to take pictures of this extensively, as many questions have been asked about how much you need to cut the transmission tunnel for a Type B vs a Type A.

[madkaw]

You will hard pressed to improve on the cooling over the original 3 core radiator. The radiator shop that flushed mine was VERY impressed on how well the radiator flowed. It's a shame to have to redrill your support for the new radiator.

I think you will wind up cutting your tunnel about an inch to move the shifter foward- If it is the same as the t-5 tranny. Then your console will have to be moved foward or replaced by a newer console. But maybe this is only true with the t-5.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

I am really hoping to use my OEM console. I bought a short shifter kit that closely resembles the comp shifter that may help it work with my stock console, but I will learn the hard way.

As far as the radiator goes, it is too early to tell exaclty what I will do. The radiator seems to stick up too far, but tonight I am going to put more eyes on it and perhaps reinstall my old radiator just to get some measurements. The old one never leaked. So we will see.

[LeonV]

I isolated my Aluminum radiator using nylon washers from the local hardware store. Cools better than the stock one with a hole in it...

[steve91tt]

When you cut the floor/console for the new shifter make sure you leave enough room for the movement of the transmission. When I added a 4-speed b-box to my 1971 I cut the hole as small as possible. Unfortunately it would pop out of gear when the stick bumped the trans tunnel as motor/trans shifted on their mounts. I cut the hole 0.5" larger and issue was resolved. You may not have this issue with the after market shifter but you may want to double check.

Edited July 10, 2012 by steve91tt

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Thanks guys for the good advice. I picked up some nylon and rubber washers from the hardware store during my lunch break, I am going to try to cut the hole tonight before it gets too late and the family goes to sleep.

[madkaw]

I isolated my Aluminum radiator using nylon washers from the local hardware store. Cools better than the stock one with a hole in it...

Was that a 2 or 3 row- or I guess it doesn't matter if it has a hole in it

[LeonV]

Was that a 2 or 3 row- or I guess it doesn't matter if it has a hole in it

I don't know, but the ebay Champion that I got is a 2 row.

[siteunseen]

Are 240 motor mounts slightly tilted to the passenger side or is that a camera trick? My 280 valve cover is level sitting in the hole. Maybe a carburetor thing?

[siteunseen]

I'm sorry. It's been so long since I've seen my motor actualy in the car I forgot what it looked like. Mine's tilted the same way looking at my pre- destruction pictures.

[tlorber]

Stephen, I had the same issue on my steering rack boots as well. They were probably only 4-5 months old when I noticed it. MSA wasn't overly sympathetic.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Okay fellow Z heads, the smooth running train that was my engine/tranny install hit an iceberg, and I am stumped badly! This is my formal cry for help!

I installed my slave cylinder tonight and adjusted it per the manual with adjustment nut. All is well.

Then I go cut my hole in the transmission tunnel, with some metal sheers ( the only way to do this by the way, took 3 minutes tops).

Then I installed my new shifter mechanism. All is well so far. As usual smooth sailing.

Then I go to install my driveshaft while and it mates up with the splines on the transmission, no real surprise there, no worries. I get the first nut on and go to turn the driveshaft and it will not budge. Well I figure I have it in gear.

Keep in mind this is a brand-new 700 dollar rebuilt transmission from Zcarsource.com. The transmission is empty at this point, so I do not get carried away with moving the shifter around, but I move it to the left and it notches up with some force into what I think is first, then there is a detent straight down, should be neutral, and one more detent down. I am thinking it is second. The transmission WILL NOT shift into 3rd, 4th, or Reverse at all no matter if I push the clutch or not.

I can reach down and touch the drive shaft through the shifter hole. It will NOT spin ever unless I put the transmission in neutral AND pushing the clutch. If I put it in neutral and let the clutch out the drive shaft immediately stops moving. It is like it is stuck in a gear of sorts, I am really not sure what to do. I put a socket on the crank and even when the car is supposively in neutral, the wheels turn when I turn the crank pulley by hand (I still have not hooked up the starter)

What the heck do I do now. I will call Z car source in the morning first thing you can bet, but I have no idea where this is going. If I have to drop that damn transmission after it went in so beautifully, I am going to cuss in every language I know, which is one, but I will make up for the lack of diversity with volume.

Edited July 11, 2012 by Zedyone_kenobi