madkaw

I feel sorry for all those guys still hitting it hard on the rails . Happy to be retired and playing with cars

Boss is a d***

MN factory is working after long delays and worker walk-outs :-0

I have found that you can get height adjustment from the two hood bolts . When hood is closed and hinge bolts are tight(3) , sometimes the hood sits a bit proud compared to fender/ scoop . If I hold pressure down and tighten the two bolts I can get the hood to stay down in that position . I’ve gotten as much as 1/4” . Not saying that’s the ideal way to align , but it has helped me .

There is 5 bolts when adjusting the hood . 3 to bolt hinge to chassis . 2 bolts hood to hinge

I have been trying to close off the area behind the grill for aero dynamic reasons , so I removed the torsion bars . When I removed them I was able to align my hood better than I have ever done before . I just couldn’t get it adjusted to where I was happy until I took the tension off the hinges. Currently I am not running the torsion bars and I come to realize how heavy the hood really is :0

Do you really loosen and tighten the three hinge bolts or the 2 bolts that are directly attached to the hood ? Yes you do hold down on the hood , but it’s the 2 bolts that will hold it there .

I think your numbers are good - if not a bit over inflated on the torque side . I don’t see that engine -the way it is - as putting out 230 lbs of torque- especially a low compression engine . My stroker only puts out 230lbs of torque with 10.5:1 . Flat tops surely would have gave more options with higher compression numbers . Not sure if triples are worth the gain- IF you get any . I think you would need to do the whole package of pistons , CR increase , bigger came and better head. Beautiful car by the way !

. I was having an impossible time sealing SS kit from Classic tube . First off you need to check for burrs on the flares . The SS lines will destroy OEM fitting flares if they don’t match up well. I finally found these and they seem to have fixed the issue https://www.amazon.com/Parker-Degree-Fitting-Flare-Gasket/dp/B077NHZ98C

I think the relining process is about 250$ per drum . Probably end up better than OEM . Not many that do our drums . Cast iron drums are much heavier , so this a decent option . I have extra drums laying around that are in spec .

Not sure why you are trying to redesign the L motor . Take any other engine of its era and will see it’s a superior design . Properly maintained it’s probably one of the best engineered engines of its time . That bolt would have been fine if the owner had used coolant instead of water . We see it all the time . I challenge you to find a motor of that period that has forged internals for the most part and precise machined surfaces .

I bet the cover didn’t want to drop down with that bolt sticking out

Damn- wanted something like this , but where to keep it . How far is it from being streetable?

I’d like to get to the track on a official timer . My GPS speedo says 13.10 !

What kind of times in the 1/4?

Put the head gasket against the block and mark to un-shroud . I’d use a 1” drum sander with 80 grit in your cordless drill to open up the chamber . CC-ing the chambers would be easy . Check out the short side radius on all ports - they will need work. I’d take a good wack off the mating surface . Notch the cylinder bores to clear larger valves . Get a BIG cam and drive it like you stole it .

I might be able to give it look , but won’t be taking anymore work on . I’m about done after this 72 . Always happy to talk and look.

Speed density systems eliminate the need for MAF. Carbs require taking into account the TAL factor where ported EFI does not need to deal with this . Less parts to go wrong with EFI . Temp compensation is automatic . I would break the motor in with the simplest method possible - SU’s

You could have had Megasquirt or another programmable ECU by now , but I understand wanting to figure this out . Sure your MAF isn’t sticking ?

So I’m still helping this young lad with his 81zx. Those familiar know that the inlet for the water pump has an extra fitting to run around to the TB and EGR stuff . Well he wasn’t using that stuff and decided to use an early inlet that has the heater hose fitting only . The problem was that the early fitting would cause the clearance between the alternator and hose to diminish and not allow the alternator to slide close to the engine to install the belt . Looking at it I see the ZX inlet is made with a sharp bend vs the early fitting . I never noticed this before but I’ve mostly dealt with early Z’s. So is the later model alternator a bigger diameter which causes the rubbing ? It doesn’t make sense to me because many - including me - have done swaps to later alternator on an early Z . Maybe I was in to much of a rush yesterday to carefully look at this . Trying to figure out what I missed . The one on the left is what came off his engine . I’ve never seen one like that . The one on the right is the later ones I’ve seen . I have not tried the one on the right l but we tried one without the extra hose .

Heavy loading as in going up a hill can also put a strain on your ignition coil . Maybe another thing to check

So you would do half a K turn and block traffic while your carb refilled - lol

Sweet home Alabama! Maybe by fall next year the Covid issue will no longer be an issue . Still a long ways for me , but could do it in one day . I’m in the “ hope my back is well enough” club. I’m working on that issue . There’s some MN heads down there to grab too!

I can't help much with gear boxes except to say that sending the tailshaft to Australia and getting rid of the monkey motion was the best thing that ever could happen to the A box. I couldn't believe the difference and how precise the shifts were. The owner was over the moon with the rebuild. Lou Mondello is the man. He has a machinist that makes the magic striker rod .

Not everyone understands the geometry of the valve train so don't feel bad if it seems over your head. What we are wondering is what exactly was done to the head. If it was warped bad enough that the machinist had to take material off the top and bottom of the head -it will change the geometry of the valve train. If so, the camshaft is now closer to the valves and one would need smaller lashpads . There is also the possibility that the valves were sunk too deep into the seats during the valve job which would raise the height of the stem and put it closer to the camshaft. That would not be good. Just ask for an explanation of what was done and let us know