Zed Head

"Stage 1" is a generic term that is only defined by the number "1". seriously, one grinder's Stage 1 is another's Stage 3.2. Leon was right I think, talk to a good grinder and tell him your plans. The good ones have already blown engines up for you learning what works and what doesn't. The 10:1 limit is another generic recommendation. Pretty sure it comes from the guys that do just a head or piston swap (ending up with a shaved N42 or N47 with flat-top pistons, or an MN47 on flat-tops) but keep a stock a cam and combustion chamber. The net result is just a higher CR on an already detonation-prone engine. A good head porter/combustion-chamber-shaper can reduce the tendency to detonate. You can spend a ton of study on the topic. The key is to get the right combination of parts. You can't pick just one parameter at a time. It's a system.

People do remove everything all at in one shot but it's a lot of weight and bulky. I think that I would remove one suspension assembly at a time, with the diff nose supported (with a block or hang it from above, or wiggle the control arm out and put the bolts back in), then drop the diff and mustache bar as a unit. Or drop the diff and mustache bar together, with the two sides supported, then drop them as sub-assemblies, one at a time. Basically three sub-assemblies to work with. Don't let the left or right suspension components hang from the top mount though if you remove the diff. When you remove the center control arm caps, the triangulation is gone and the load will be fully swinging on the rubber, unless the halfshafts re still in place. When assembled more of the load is distributed in to various mounting points. Found a picture showing the three assemblies, and marked the attachment bolts. Didn't mark the halfshaft nuts and bolts. Those are somewhat time-consuming. Tight fit.

Doesn't look terrible. Says it has clean title and plates. Sounds like he might take a lower offer. You might ask about the fiberglass - " PUT THE TAILIGHTS BACK IN WITH A LITTLE FIBERGLASSING ". What are your plans is the question. Engine swap hot-rod? Restore for car shows? Ratty daily driver? Towing to Vancouver might be costly. Which Couve?

Interested in what you find with that hyper-extended shock. Good luck. Don't be nervous about disassembling/removing more than you think is necessary. Everything back there is pretty simple. I spent loads of time once trying to change a diff by removing as few parts as possible. Waste of time, I should have just dropped everything, did the swap and put it all back in. I've done the same on struts, trying to fiddle the strut out the side by loosening a few bolts instead of just dropping everything. Almost wacked myself in the face with the strut when it dropped out the fenderwell. Take the time to inspect and grease the u-joints on your half-shafts. The little plugs come out and a Zerk fitting goes in, for regreasing.

Diseazd started where you started. You might browse through his old posts. He started thinking long-stroke but ended up short-stroke instead. But many of the same questions along the way. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/26395-want-to-build-a-high-performance-l28-advice-needed/ http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/39741-new-engine/?page=1

Alrighty. Seems like L28 rods with L28 flat tops would get you where you're going. I thought that you had a complete ZX (F54) short block. A simple piston swap and you're there. I think that it's pretty well recognized that the big power increases are in head work. Porting. The stock L series heads just don't flow much air, and they don't flow it well. Some people go completely stock on the bottom end and put all of their money in to the head, the cam, and the intake and exhaust systems, flywheel and clutch, etc. I'll stop now. There are several engine builders on the forum, one just posted about his six spare engines. I'm just trying to stretch your dollars.

Are you using the longer rods with custom pistons to get a "better" rod angle? I've seen these fine detail manipulations discussed before but it seems like another cost/benefit questionable. Don't want to be a buzzkill. Just seems like the funds could have more impact elsewhere. Discuss...

Aren't there garage-fulls of L24's out there, from L28 swaps? Seems like you could get an old engine pretty easily.

You mean the DEA mounts only, right? Not all aftermarket. Beck Arnley is pretty clearly nutless, from their pictures I missed your post about the DEA mounts. Their pictures on the web are crap. From your post #24 it looks like the DEA quality is generally bad. And you had to buy new bolts anyway. The Anchor product is "out of stock", but I'm almost positive the OReilly mounts I got a couple of years ago were Anchor brand and nutless. Their picture may not represent the product either. Still no aftermarket winners... These pictures are all from Rockauto.

280Z nutted mounts are still out there - http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/311661274446?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true

I learned today. You're right. They added the nuts after Nov. 74. But Rockauto and others are selling them nutless for all years.

Even the Beck Arnley's are missing the tacked-on nuts. Wouldn't be surprised if these are all the same parts, rebranded. It's the world we live in, brand names are sold and the quality left behind.

I wonder if the PO was using that plate as a clamp for the upholstery? Doesn't seem to serve a purpose. Have you decided on struts? There seem to be three options available - Tokico, KYB, and Stagg. Tokico might still be hard to get though.

Actually, in the picture, the stock linkage does look a bit contorted, from the firewall to the carbs. Does it move freely like that?

You can filter results on the Summit Racing sit. Check the boxes. - https://www.summitracing.com/search?N=4294947842%2B4294948048%2B4294826538%2B4294617503%2B4294927144%2B4294674392%2B4294674390&SortBy=BestKeywordMatch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=electric fuel pumps Looks like MSD bought Mallory and is milking all that they can out of the MSD brand name. Not uncommon.

Those gray colors used to be called "Primer Gray". "Gray" is the American spelling.

One man's "severe" is another man's "no problem". "Underneath" covers a lot of area. "Should" is subjective. Not enough here to give an opinion. Do you have a camera?

I've seen those types of discussions, that's why I brought it up. Just wanted to be sure you knew what you were getting in to. Each simple extra operation required to get the crank in and working right adds a few more dollars to the overall cost. Then when it blows up you have to do it all over again.

Deeeewwwwwddd....are you really sure you want to follow this path? The cost/benefit ratio is huge. You really don't get a whole lot for the cost of that extra stroke. You'd probably get more benefit from paying to have a head ported by a guy who knows his stuff. Seems like it's wroth considering if the crank is cheap but paying big dollars for it doesn't add up. Your money though.

Can you update your location? Just to shrink the member map? Welcome back. Urethane on the back puts a strong side load on the rod tip as the suspension moves. Probably why the factory rubber has the odd mushroom shape, it serves a purpose. Many T/C rods have broken after fatiguing (my opinion, mine did) with urethane on the back. New rubber on both sides would probably give a fine ride. Many of us are probably going too far in replacing 30 year old rubber with urethane.

I forgot about the FSM recommendation to remove the spindle pin. You don't have to do that. Remove the control arm with the strut instead, leave the spindle pin intact. Four bolts.per side. Take the whole thing out, replace the struts, leave everything else alone. The flop it out method would probably work, except that your strut is over-extended. The other side might flop out while on the car though. It's been described.

BGM was probably on it then. I don't know how the extension stops work inside the shock but yours looks way over-extended. Might be damaged in other ways also. Should be okay to drive but don't catch any air. Copied a picture of what grannyknot was talking about. That's not good.

Are those pictures with the car on jacks or with weight sitting on the wheel? You can remove the strut without removing the spring. Disconnect the brake parts and the halfshaft. Described in the Rear Axle chapter of the FSM.

The reality of the way the hood opens on the Z's makes any fire-fighting effort risky. You have to lean over the gap/opening that will be created when you pop the latch from inside. Smoke will probably be coming out as you lean over. As soon as release the second latch and the hood rises more smoke and flame will be emitting across your upper body and in your face. Not a good scene, besides the fact that opening the hood allows more oxygen in to feed the flames. If you've known any burn victims you'll probably be like me and just spray the extinguisher in to any gaps/openings you can find. Behind the tires, through the radiator, wherever you can get a spray in. If fuel is leaking you can spray under the car to try and stop the back half from burning. It's a good discussion but when you go through the scenarios in your head, it seems like stand back and spray is the way to go. The main point is gloves, but if you're wearing polyester or a tank top or thin cotton you could easily get some serious flash burns or even have your clothes catch on fire. The best result of this discussion might be to just have a plan in your head. That includes "don't even try to open the hood from outside" if the smoke is heavy. Another thought might be "why would I have a fire"? I changed all of my old rubber fuel hoses after one sprung a tiny pin hole leak and shot gasoline across the sidewalk when I opened the hood, after I smelled gas while driving. I broke a sweat just looking at that thin stream of fuel squirting across my still-running engine. It was scary.

Just saw this part. If you're looking at the studs on the top, the rip has happened below, tearing the studs from the rest of the rubber, in the strut.fender well.