Steam Powered Z???

[240260280z]

Mighty: Colt Cams C.542.s with lash pads and rocker arms, Engine, $ 450.00, 240z, 260z, 280z, 280zx

[240260280z]

Old ad: N42 Head, $ 125.00

[rossiz]

i ordered a remanufactured n42 from datsun parts llc (Category 1, Category 2 items in Datsun Parts LLC store on eBay!) which comes with the following:

- Complete disassemble, Inspection and Pressure test

- Re-Surface all 3 sides, Intake Gasket Side, Head Gasket Side and Valve Cover Gasket Side

- 3 Angle Valve Job

- Reconditioned Rocker Arms

- Cleaned, and Installed OEM stock Springs, Retainers and Lash Pads

- Full Set of new Valve Seals

- Stock Polished Camshaft.

- All threads cleaned and repaired as needed

- Full Reassembly and Valve adjustment

- 30 day warranty

that plus the new head gasket and a new set of head bolts (one of mine snapped during removal - not reusing any of 'em) has me back enough that i'm gonna have to wait on the cam for now...

should arrive next week along with my new header (exchanged for the n42) and i'm looking forward to a project next weekend putting humpty back together again...

[240260280z]

Great. Looking forward to seeing it back on the road.

[rossiz]

pulled the drain plug in the block and the water just started dribbling out, then it puked out a clump of crap and brown sludge oozed out of the block.

yanked the frost plugs and was absolutely stunned at the crud in there. spent a good hour flushing it out, rodding the passages out w/a wire then using the hose, a pressure washer, etc. to blow out heaps and heaps of nastiness until the water finally ran clean. i really don't know how the poor thing didn't melt itself ages ago. some of the stuff that came out looked like mud, then there were big, nickel-sized sheets of rust scale - some bigger that i had to break up before they would come out of the freeze plug holes. i can easily imagine a water jacket getting plugged and having a localized hot spot to warp the head.

the pics below are looking into the frost plug holes on the drivers side of the block - they're actually sideways...

this one is looking down through the top of the block behind #6

the crap that oozed out when i pulled #6 frost plug

[SteveJ]

You might want to get that block cleaned out professionally.

[siteunseen]

Wow! I've never seen a straight 6 cylinder block used as a toilet. That's funkier than the Cheerio looking things coming out of the vents. You have a very intriguing Datsun.

[Captain Obvious]

Ewwwwwwww! Nasty!

You ever figure out where the water was getting in?

[rossiz]

yes, that was some nasty, nasty funk in there. the car was run w/out antifreeze - just water, and i think a box of cheerios was tossed in for good measure.

the hardest part of the cleanup was getting the frost plugs out - had to use the "ugly tools" (catspaw, claw hammer, drill) but once it was all opened up it was just a matter of flushing, scraping, flushing, and more flushing.

all clean and buttoned up now, and i scraped off the old head gasket and surfaced the top of the block in preparation for the new head which is supposed to arrive on tuesday :classic:

i exchanged the header to an n42 to fit the new head - the guys at MSA were totally cool and took pity on my plight, didn't charge me shipping. when the head arrives i'm gonna do a little bit w/the die grinder - mostly de-shroud the valves and take off sharp edges, check the ports against the manifolds and adjust as necessary.

block ready for new head

all buttoned up

all flushed out - no more poop!!

Edited June 23, 2014 by rossiz

[rossiz]

a while back the z was making a funny whining sound, and i thought it might be the water pump, so i bought a new one but never got around to putting it in.

so while she's all torn apart i figured it was a good time to do so, and check for crud and/or worn impeller.

the good news:

the old one was in decent shape - a little play in the bearing, but nothing horrible.

the bad news:

one of the long 12mm bolts snapped in the block on the way out - all were rusted/crusted. probably a good thing this was discovered now, because the pump would have to have been replaced sooner or later and this bolt would have broken when i was expecting a 1 hr. project...

so out came the radiator and go get the drill, couldn't back it out because my easy-outs aren't long enough to reach in there, gotta go get an extra long tap to put some new threads in... while i'm at it i need a tap to chase the threads for the head bolts, and probably grab a tap to do the larger studs for the manifold...

according to shipping tracking, head should arrive today :}

[Mark Maras]

Broken bolts- Yesterday I discovered something new, at least to me. Previously I had broken off several of the fender bolts. I had soaked the bolts in tranny fluid & acetone previously & used heat but to no avail. Last night I grabbed what was left of the bolt with vise-grips but it was still stuck. I heated it again & then put an icecube on the bolt stub until the ice stopped melting, grabbed the end with a pair of pliers & it came out without a fuss. Tried another one & had the same result. Tonight I'm going to try the same procedure with the unbroken bolts on the other fender, I'll let everyone know if it's successful.

[rossiz]

came home to a wonderful sight!

very happy with the condition - well packed and nicely prepared. looks like they did everything they said they would.

picked up an extended tap for the water pump bolt and got that all straightened out last night, also picked up a beautiful spiral fluted bottoming tap for the head bolts and chased all the threads down to get rid of carbon/crud. went to a local industrial tool supplier and got them, along with a new T-handle. the beauty of high quality tools cannot be underestimated... the taps cut like butter and the precision chuck in the new handle is just a dream to use. this afternoon i'm going to slap on the new water pump and start cleaning up the combustion chamber side of the new head, then maybe tomorrow it will go on the block.

the goal was to get her running before my trip to massachusetts on friday, but still waiting on the replacement header from msa (back order) and my new injectors, so it looks like it will be another week before we see her fire up.