Diseazd

Virginia does that too......pretty neat!

Yep....My 280ZX 5 speed speedo cog gear in the 73 is leaking too. Just received the two seals from Motorsports......appreciate all the info

Isky sells numerous retainers for different profile cams......if you have a hat designed for a .250 or greater lash pad, you've got the wrong retainer. The retainers that Isky sent me for a Stage III regrind will handle a .150 lash pad with no contact..... no problem. Anytime you go away from a stock build, you have to check and recheck wipe patterns, clearances etc. Like I said, they've been grinding cams for a long, long time.....I am thrilled with their product and wouldn't go anywhere else. The Z Doc recommended this set up........good enough for me.

If your rockers hit your retainers, whoever built your engine must not have geometried the rockers correctly. The only way that happens is if the the lash pads are so thin that the end of the rocker is too low in the hat......my guess is he went back with stock lash pads. With the grind on a Stage III cam, a much thicker than stock lash pad must be used to center the pattern on the rocker. As far as spring pressure is concerned, I trust Isky to know what is and isn't correct for their cam profiles for the street......they've been doing this a very long time. However, when installing this set up in an L24 head, shorter valve seals must be used (because of the higher lift). All five of my Z's have Isky cams and springs ........flawless performance. Sorry you had a problem. IMG_0340.MOV IMG_0342.MOV

......and you'll absolutely love the result. But remember ......the P79 head must be shaved and shimmed to get to 9.3 to 1. You might be able to bolt an N42 head on top and get the same result, but I've only done it with the shaved and shimmed P79.

You are right on Charles.....and if you want a totally fun and reliable street car that runs on pump gas, more H.P. Is not always better. However, I really want another shot at Eiji....therefore I'm going to build something to go back and try to even the score....therefore the stroker crank!

Sorry Matthew, I haven't read through this thread yet, but just got your PM. Let me start by saying that I've done basically two L28 builds. Two with L24 crankshafts and rods and two with L28 crankshafts and rods. All four engines have the F54 blocks bored .040 over with Nissan or LTM P79 flat top pistons and SU's....none have headers. All four engines have P79 heads (same head as P90 head except P79 has liners) shaved .080 then shimmed up (valve springs and towers) .080 to keep chain height and geometry straight. The engines with the L28 cranks (to the best I've been able to determine) give you close to 10:1 compression ratio.....the L24 crank and rods will give you about 9.3:1 compression ratio. If you don't shave and shim the P 90 head, you're shooting yourself in the foot IMO. The N 42 head would probably be a better choice (I've never used the N42 head, so can't comment on engine knock.....mine have "0" knock....ever) because of the higher CR, but the P79 and P 90 is a more modern combustion chamber. All four engines use Isky reground Stage III cams (I wouldn't use anything less....they are fantastic) and valve springs. The rockers will geometry correctly using between .150 and .180 inch valve lash pads. These engines are very quick (not brutal), and very streetable and a blast to drive. Not sure which is my favorite, but the L28 crank is done at 5500 rpms (as far as power) and the L24 seems to go another 1000 rpms to max power (by the seat of the pants not yet dynoed the L24 crank engines). Both push 170 hp at the wheels (200 hp at the crank). These set ups were recommended to me by my Z expert friend the Z Doc who is no longer with us, but I always consulted with him (He built the heads, I built the rest). I don't have any other experience with Datsun modded engines although I think I might build a stroker engine since I recently acquired a diesel crank (If I do, I'll be seeking advice from someone on this forum who can help me with that build). If either of these engines interest you, I can certainly help you with your build, and will answer any questions you may have. Both engines are awesome......I love each equally. Good Luck and let me know if I can help. BTW ....if you want to hear that engine, go to my profile....go to topics and check the youtube video in "Me and Eiji head to head". He turned a 14.30 quarter mile and mine was 14.85 (he had 100 more hp) Guy

Proud of you Jeff! Your hard work really has paid off. I'll bet your other Z would have won too if you would have taken that one. How about a picture of the red car?

I vote "dump the blue one Cliff"!

Cliff....If you go to my profile and look under topics, I have several engine build threads. The green 72 I believe was right at 170 hp at the wheels. That should be about 200 at the flywheel (give or take a few). There are dyno numbers in the thread for the P79 motor in the green 72. Eiji prefers the N42.....to each his own Guy

Eiji builds great motors with attention to detail. If you want someone to build you a nice motor, he'll do it. However, I build my own motors....always have and always will. Buying a motor someone else built is like adopting a kid someone else had the pleasure to produce. I like to touch and feel everything that goes into my motors. I did have the Z Doctor in Roanoke build all of my heads, but he's left us now, so I'll have to figure out where to go next. I do have one more Z Doc P79 modified head he built for me. Also just acquired a diesel crank, so my next motor may just be a stroker

You're right Cliff.....all the cars have modified L28 motors except the silver 73 (it has a modded L24). The numbers matching motors for each car are on the boxes plus one early L24 / E31 extra. There are two extra blocks up in the parts shed. You can never ever, ever have too many extra parts.

Built wooden supports for my engines.....engine stands were taking up too much room.

Jim I love the chair in the corner in the second picture. I take it that's not permanent (it's going back in the car...right?)

"Quote". That's your son? I follow his posts on Ratsun, clever boy, guess he takes after the old man. Yep....and I asked him about the swap. He was positive....said it shouldn't be that hard of a swap. I was afraid it would be too much torque. I've got a friend who put an RB 26 in a Z. It would light up the tires at 80 mph (scarey fast). He thinks it's a fairly tame motor. Hats off for making the effort!

Don't think you'll experience any culture shock at Bimmerforums.....my son (Five and Dime) put a Chevy Competion LS 7 in his 2003 BMW wagon. Getting a BMW to communicate with a Chevy engine and A/C is quite a task. The guys on the Bimmerforums loved it. So did Motor Trend Magazine. They are running it at Road Atlanta this Fall and filming it for their YouTube channel.

Wine corks work too.....more fun than furniture caps

DUH!!!

INCREDIBLE!

I insure 5 Z's at $30,000.00 each stated value for $1100.00 per year

Walter ......Add my name to the list of well wishers. Doesn't look repairable to me, but there are a ton of nice Z's showing up for sale all of the time......most of the fun is in the restoration IMO. BTW....to everyone reading this thread.....Hagarty is the way to fly.....stated value insures that you get every dime that your car is worth...I hope that's who you were insured with. Not sure, but would guess that if you are insured through them, the other insurer would be obligated to the same amount or else Hagarty would make up the difference. Glad you're still with us Walter

Moved the metal shelves to my parts shed......hung wall cabinets to give myself more floor space.

.........and brass bushing for the end of the crank (autos don't have one). BTW....under the hood looks like it'll clean up nicely. Can't wait to see the rest of the car. Great color....my favorite!

It's a fairly easy swap. I've done two of mine. The manual pedal box is already in the car.....all you need is a clutch and brake pedal, a clutch Master Cylinder, a clutch hydraulic line and of course a tranny and slave cylinder. You use your existing console, driveshaft also. Install the shift boot and you're ready to go.