Ed

I believe most of the A/C units were put in by the dealer by some aftermarket company. None came with it from the factory. I guess you would only need to find one that will fit under your dash.

Just wondering how many Zed heads were going to the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis September 28th?

I got one at Autozone for $40 bucks. Works great.

I might not be completely correct on this but I believe the struts or shocks are there to dampen the spring action of the spring. If you didn't have a shock then the car would bounce like a basketball. Do a little test to see if your shocks are gone. Push down on the car just above the wheel. Get it to start bouncing up and down. If the car continues to bounce even after you stop then most likely the shock is gone. But if it stops imediately after you stop then you might have another problem. Hope this helps

I had the original L24 in my car do the same thing a couple of years ago. And I was thinking the same things you are. A few things more things to consider, was the crankshaft dammaged? You will also have to replace the con-rod. How bad was the head damaged? When It all came down to it, it was cheaper to replace the entire engine with a L28. But If you must rebuild this engine. If you do replace just the one piston you will have to have it balanced along with the other pistons. If the engine does have 220,000 then most likely the sleeves will need to be machined to get them nice and smooth. I'm not sure if you can use the L28 pistons. You might have to machine too much material from the sleeve. I don't know. Also If memory serves me right the L24 had flat top pistons so if you are going to retain the original head then you will need the flattop pistons from a later model 280. I'm not sure if it would be cheaper to use over sized pistons and bore the sleeves. Or replace all the sleeves and use L28 pistons. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I'll get one of those for sure. How would I go about rust proofing the inside of the rail after it is installed?

When I mentioned the steel brush I was talking about between the lobes. From the picture that is where I saw the rust. If the lobes had any rust on them I would probably think twice about using it. Be sure you do keep any engine parts as clean as possible. Something as small as a grain of sand can really bugger things up. When you remove the studs spray some WD-40 or other penetrating oil at the base of the stud and let it sit overnight. You can use the two nuts tightened together trick. Be carefull and work the stud loose. Don't force it or you will end up with a broken stud and that is a different story. You should be able to pick up new studs either from the dealer, VB or MSA. Good luck.

From what I can see you have a pretty good head. The manifold bolts you should replace anyway. The nipple on the plug side is for your heater core and if in bad shape should be replaced also. The rust you see inside the head is part of the water jacket (where the coolant flows). Looks like the previous owner ran rusty water instead of coolant. Either way it won't hurt your head unless the rust build up restricts the coolant flow. The rust on your cam can be cleaned up with a wire brush and an oily rag. Check the cam lobes for rust . They should be smooth. I would take the head to a shop anyway and have the head checked for straightness and pressure tested. Everything else can be done at home.

Does anyone have a picture of this grill? I'm have no clue what you guys are talking about.

So, I'm cutting out the rust on my car. About a 1' square below the driver and passenger seat. Pretty much right where the frame rail ends. After I cut the square out I take a look down the inside of the frame rail and all I see is more RUST! I imagine that both rails are just as bad. Is it possible to remove just the frame rails without damaging the floor? I was thinking about replacing just the rusted spot in the floor board (about a 1' square) then getting the replacement rails. I do have an air chisel but that usually rips the metal apart. Unless I'm using it wrong. Has anybody else succesfully removed the rail from the floor?

Yea, the car is in pretty good shape. I got it in San Diego. So far the only rust is in the floor by the end of the frame rail. Part of the frame rail is gone too. I don't know but I think that those frame rails are rust magnets. The steel I used was 2" square tubing .120" and I got the specs right here on this site. I did a search on rotisserie's and came up with a couple of different designs. I just took what I liked from each and put it into a design that I liked. I got the welder at Harbor Freight. It's a gasless wire feed. I would have gone with the gas but I didn't have the budget (about 300 bucks more). I like it, it does require a little more cleaning though.

Notice the hole I cut out of the drivers floor board. Rusted! I still have to do the passenger side.

I finished my rotisserie. $80 bucks in metal and a 200 dollar welder. Now she's ready for the basting.:classic:

While I was taking my Zed apart I noticed a few places that fumes could get into. Check the fuel filler hose. Where it goes through the lower section of the quarter panel. It's supposed to have a gasket there. Mine was deteriorated and I had about a 1/4 inch gap. Also as Steve mentioned the two grommets at the rear lower end of the hatch could suck some fumes into the cabin area. And another place would be the emergency brake lever. There is a big gap there where the lever meets the sheetmetal. Maybe also check the shift boots. Good luck!

Not sure if a 73 would be the same? But on mine where the bumper mounts bolt to the body = 30 5/8". This is the width of the frame.

Do you guys think it is necessary to connect the hose to the intake manifold? Supposedly the coolant was to flow through the intake manifold to bring the carbs up to operating temp then the thermostat (the one on the back between the manifold and the fire wall) would close when the temp is appropriate. Now wouldn't it be better to keep the carbs cool by not allowing the water flow through the manifolds? This would keep the intake air cooler.

You know something, I also gotta have a cold one in hand when I'm cooking out. I don't know when the tradition started but they kind of go hand in hand.:classic:

I wish I would have read you post earlier. I removed those little buggers the other day from my car. I laid there underneath the car for about 20 minutes trying to think of a way to get them out. I ended up using a pry bar. Like the kind a carpenter would use. It's about 14 inches long and has a 90 degree bend at one end. I stuck part of the prybar behind the lip of the little bugger and it came right out.

Hmmmm, with all these blond jokes makes me wonder if I should have married a blond. Cuz this brunette thing aint getting me $^!#.

When I did my tour of duty in Okinawa around 1988 the cops were using Skylines.

I did mine in steps. First I did the L28 and had the 4 speed. Not too bad except when I was cruising down the highway. 75 mph = about 3500 rpm. Later when I installed the five speed out of a 81 not much changed except for the rpm's dropped about 800 rpm when I got to put it in fifth. about 2700 rpm. IMO that was the only difference.

Thanks guys, you have all been very helpfull! I will take this info to the machine shop. Ya'll are the best! Beers are on me.:classic:

What my machinist described was: Once you cut out the old seat the new seat needs to be placed at a particular depth into the head. If you place the new seat too deep then the end of the valve stem will stick up higher on the top of the head and the springs wouldn't compress enough. Don't put it deep enough then the valve stem won't stick up high enough requiring additional adjustment on top. He wants to know if there is a specification for this. Like when you replace the valve guide, so much of the guide needs to protrude above the surface of the head and this is measured from the spring seat. So what I'm asking is how deep does the new valve seat go? And where do you measure all this from? I guess it would be the same as the compressed spring length. Thanks guys. Jeremiah, I'll give Barry a call tomorrow. R U going to the car show by Syracuse this sat?

Hey guys I need some help. My head is ready to have the seats replaced with the hardened steel ones but my machine shop won't touch it without any specs. Ie., what distance should the valve stem should protrude on the top of the head and where do you measure from. If anybody knows of a shop that has worked on the nissan head (N42) that might have the specs on it could you give me there number. I really need your help here guys. Thanks Ed

I have a 1" anti-sway bar up front and put the stock sway bar from a early 260 in the rear and it made a big difference. From what I've heard the upper strut braces that you are talking about are quite involved. The simple little bar does little to be effective. There is an old post about those strut tower bars around here somewhere and it has a bunch of pictures of different bars. There was also alot of discussion about the effectiveness of these bars. If I were you start with the sway bars and go from there.