Diseazd

How about some pics Jerry?

Amazing......that particular vehicle is the most rust prone vehicle ever made! I had a 77 King Cab that the bed side walls actually rusted off! This truck must have really been babied......as in not even washed without totally drying it off.

I just googled stock gasket thickness for Datsun L series. The answer given was they come in two sizes.....1.5 mm ( .060 inches )and 1.25 mm ( .050 inches ), so you should be able to deck the block .010 to .020 inches and still get a cheap gasket.

Dave Rebello is the one that threw out the .040 inch number......seems like a lot to me too, but I really can't argue too much with him. I think a down shift at high rpm could stretch the rods somewhat......no idea how much. Maybe John Coffey could clarify or give his clearance preferences. Does anyone know what the stock gasket compressed thickness is?

Thanks Alex.....I forgot to mention that you'll need thicker lash pads......failure to geometry the rockers (center the wipe pattern) will destroy your cam and valve train.

Good advice Lazeum.......if the engine block is decked, the pistons will come out of the cylinders. The way I've heard it, you need .040 inches ( 1 mm ) clearance. Does anyone know the compressed height of the stock Nissan gasket. Also, how much is a safe shave for a stock P79 piston ( you could shave the top of the piston versus a thicker head gasket ). If there is no decking, you have no problem.

Put 50 miles on her today......runs beautiful! Millie (my German Short Hair Pointer approves). Next, I'll install the Spook. I've got the new Denver bumpers, but I'm going to run her without bumpers for a while.

The metal to metal compatibility of the Datsun cams was excellent. The Z Doctor in Roanoke, Virginia is an expert on Z engines and firmly believes you should regrind your stock cam to maintain that durable relationship. He recommends Isky. I've used them on all 5 of my motor builds. They all perform perfectly. With a new cam, you'll want to install new or remanufactured rockers and new Isky valve springs with a lift over .460 inches. The cam is what makes the combo you refer to work so well.....go with Stage III IMO.

Don't be fooled .........measure the fingers where the throw out bearing contacts, not the housing. The fingers on the clutch on the right come out. Measure each fingers to the floor, not the housing. It's a PITA to pull it again so measure twice and cut once. I just installed an Exedy 240Z clutch this weekend.....I used the collar on the left. Works like a dream!

The F54 block with P79 flat top pistons and .080 shaved head would give you approximately 10 to 1 compression ratio. The pistons will clear the head. What cam do you plan to run? I run stage III Isky cams in all 3 of my L28's with the above mentioned combinations. You will enjoy that combo if you decide to go that route.......it's a great engine combo.

Spitz.....That's original......this car only had 36,000 original miles.

Installed the engine, installed and bled the new brake and clutch master cylinders. She should be ready to fire up Saturday morning!

......and by the way.....while the flywheel is off, it's an easy task to replace the rear seal (if it shows any sign of age).

IMO ......Always replace the clutch and pressure plate and throw out bearing. Resurface the flywheel as well. It's a PIA to remove the tranny.......while it's out, do it right!

First of all, there is no 240Z or 280Z tranny.......they are all exactly the same dimensions. Think 240Z or 280Z clutch and collar. Like Carl said.....to confirm what you had, put the old and new clutch face down on the floor. Stick a ruler down the center of the clutch......measure the distance from the floor to where the throw out bearing contacts the clutch fingers. The old greasy clutch fingers should be closer to the floor (less distance) than the new Exedy clutch. That's why you used the tall (greasy) collar, because you had a 280Z clutch, but now you have a 240Z clutch and need the shorter collar.

Eiji @ Datsun Spirit got me some of those screws. Give him a call.

Koalia.....The sleeve on the left (in your first post) is a 240Z collar. If you have a new Excedy 240Z clutch and pressue plate, you would use the collar on the left. The throw out bearings are the same for either 240Z or 280Z.

Yes, a 280Z or ZX will work.Just buy an old stock flywheel and have it resurfaced for $10.00.

The console is restored, new boot for the manual stick and tranny installed. Engine goes in next weekend.

True Carl, but if you buy an 240Z Exedy clutch and pressure plate from MSA and use the 240Z collar, slave cylinder and arm, it'll work perfectly. I know because it's in all 5 of my Z cars....... absolutely no problems.....and will work with a highly modified L28 with no problems.

mn91.......Not sure, but my guess is that one tooth is disaster for an L series engine (valve to piston contact). You probably need to pull the head again, get the head repaired (new valves), then when you put her back together, pull the front cover and align the marks so the cam is timed correctly to the pistons before you put her back together. I don't believe you will need new pistons with a one tooth miss. IMO :pirate:

240Z clutch and pressure plate needs a 240Z collar. 280Z clutch and pressure plate needs a 280Z collar. 5 speed and 4 speed tranny's are the exact same dimensions.....it ain't the tranny you have to match, it's the clutch, pressure plate and collar that makes it work. It's that simple! Throw out bearings are the same for each.

I think OZ is "Dead On"! The timing mark is too far to the right of the notch, therefore the cam is one tooth too advanced. Your distributor seems to be OK though, because you set it at 11:25 with the piston at TDC compression stroke that should be correct. That's why they put timing marks on timing chains.....to get things lined up correctly. You always want to rotate your engine 360 degrees to make sure there is no valve to piston interference in case of missing a tooth before firing up a new engine.. IMO

Call Mike at Banzai Motorworks.......he's got the bumper bushings, not sure about the seat belt bolt covers.

Only if that loud clanking noise is your valves contacting the top of your pistons! :classic: