Aussie Zed

GunnerRob is spot on. Initially side valve engines were the most commonly used due to their simple design, it wasn't until the '30s when a few top end manufacturers really started to use OHV engines as common place. There are exceptions, of course, some sports manufacturers saw the benefits in OHC engines such as Bugatti, which even had DOHC engines in the '20s (type 40, 3 valves per cylinder). As for which layout is better... How many OEMs do you se changing from a pushrod to an OHC design? And how many do you see going the other way?

I'd have to say that this is my favorite. Paint's a bit ordinary though

I'd be very interested to see some pics, especially of Jap and English cars. good work!

Cheers Dave, useful information that... $20, 85amps and an apparently easy conversion might be the ticket. I'm not sure how i'll go with just "fitting the internals", i'm not really sure how hard this will turn out to be - one way to find out though... Thanks, jon

Thanks for the feedback. My local auto elect. reccomended the bluebird alternator as one that should be a reasonable swap in terms of ease and performance. I was just scoping out to see if anyone had tried it. I reckon i'll change my belt too - I think all the belts are past their best and it shouldn't take much effort (or cash) to do. thanks, jon

speedyblue, where'd you end up getting the Tokio's from? Was shipping, etc. reasonable?

I've been looking at doing the altenator swap for a little while now: running an electric fan and a modern stereo has just about pushed mine over the edge... Everyone seems to do a swap using a maxima altenator, which i've heard isn't heaps better anyway. I was reccomended using a bluebird altenator, which are apparently heaps better. Has anyone heard of this swap? Is the maxima just a US thing and do the ones we get here in Aus have rubbish altenators? Jon

I think i'd agree with 260DET that king springs and koni shocks seem to be the way most people in Australia go. I'd also get noltec bushes rather than import some from the US. I'm not sure if noltec does a complete set of bushes but i did notice that they do have an adjustable rear bush for toe and camber. Here's the link: http://www.noltecsuspension.com/product/search.php?selBrand=47&product_vhcid=488

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but i think i'm having the same problem here. There is a noise coming from the front right of my car, like a moan or as if it were trying to squeeze a fart out quietly for lack of a better description. It is an engine speed dependant thing - it only happes above 2750 RPM in any gear and doesn't happen all the time. Then last night i was driving along and... thunk! my engine shuts off and the charge battery light on my voltmeter came on. Then i couldn't start it, although it seemed to crank faster than normal. Left it there until the next morning, when i towed it home and found out that it started again. Fixed itself it seemed. Then I went to drive it today and the same thing happened in the middle of a packed parking lot! More than a little embarrasing but it was on the cards after assuming my problem had magically gone away. I towed it home and it starts now, but i'm not confident that it will continue. Any ideas? I'm stumped. I have a '76 260.

Good result for Nissan/Datsun. I don't know about having a pink Z though... It just isn't right.

Datto-Zed, Sounds like a great set-up you have in mind. Different to the road many other zedders are tending to go down, which makes it all the more interesting! You would also eliminate the hot turbo by going with a supercharger and on the other side of the engine too. I don't know much about the sizing of supercharges, but it seems that it will probably make or break your set up. Keep posting any updates of your progress if you go through with it (or reasons why you decide not to). This is a project that sounds genuinely interesting.

Great pics! Some clean and well thought out cars there. Would have been great to be there. :disappoin Thanks Gav

RB30-Zed. That's an interesting idea. Has you or anyone else for that matter tried these or other inserts? Is it hard to get the correct damping rates, and dimensions of the shock. Do the ones you have listed work well? Also i was wondering if anyone has shortened the bumpstops. I'm pretty reluctant to, i can't even think of the setup now. It's just that someone mentioned it to me the other day and i had to say that i just wasn't sure if i could get away with it.

Always nice to see some pics. Especially if you've had to do much work with the frame rails. They look like a good choice of seat.

Gavin has made a very good point here. The strombergs you have just aquired have different needles (and other characrteristics) to what you will need. Really the performance of tuned Strombergs vs tuned Flat tops would be much of a muchness. The huge advantage of the flat tops is that they have needles designed and set up specifically for your engine. Whip your flat tops off, spend a day cleaning them up and amaze yourself at the difference! my $0.02

I always thought that the thottle felt sticky because of the way that the hitachi SUs idle. They have very big throttle butterflies and these idle at a fery closed position, with the engine vacuum sucking them closed. The sicky feeling is the breaking of this suction wich makes your movement jerky. I could very well be wrong in saying this, but that's what i thought.

Gotta love that supercharger whine! It's always good to see someone who dares to take a slightly unconventional tact and pull it off. Looks to be quite a good package.

GT4 Comes out here in Aus next thurs. My brother has it pre-ordered (word has it lots of shops will sell out before thurs). We aren't usually the type to sit down and play computer games, but lets just say that just over a week before the game is out we are more than a little excited... Has anyone had experience with the logitech steering wheels?

I've also thought of using a good heat shield too, having the intake on the same side as the exhaust can't help things. I think i found this photo on this site, which shows a good clean design for a heat shield (orange car). This looks pretty effective, but as an alternative a cold air box could be used. If anyone has done up a drawing or has a photo of a heat shield that they've used out of the engine bay, i'd love to see it! I've attatched these two pics, i think they're both from the gallery here, but i don't know who's they are . Sorry for using without asking permission.

Thanks for all the replies! The insurance issue is a bit frustrating. Shannons only currently insures me due to our family deal, which includes lots of cars. Have any Aussies had trouble getting a RWC after an RB swap? I'm unsure, would i need one to get insurance if i went through with the swap?

Yeah, I'm currently with Shannons under a big family group deal thing. Might have to give them a buzz, anyone know how much complete RB30s generally go for? I reckon that this is the direction that i would like to head eventually.

I've come across an RB30 engine, it's a proper runner with full loom, ecu, rebuilt head but with no 'box for AU$300. This would be a great base for an engine build up. I wasn't particularly looking for one, but it's being sold by the guy my brother works for who wants to clear some space in his workshop. The problem... INSURNACE :mad: I'm only 19 so even getting only 3rd part property isn't going to be a fun prospect. So... Is this a real bargain or just normal price? What are my chances of getting a RWC for this conversion and what are my chances for for reasonably priced insurance? What to do???

Thanks for your replies. Don't think i'll have too many problems with my carbs icing here in Aus. If it aint broke don't fix it.

I took my thermostat housing off today and noticed that there is another outlet (other than to the rad) on it, which has been welded up. I looked around and it seems like it should go to my intake manifold (N36), which has no water lines to/from it. There is also another pipe welded off on the other side. This all points to my intake not currently being cooled. What's going on??? Why would anyone (eg PO) want to do that to my intake? Could the cooling jacket be blocked or something? Is this just a cold running emmissions control thing or does it actually help when engine is warm too? I've never had any problems running when it gets hot, but it does hesitate when it's cold. Should i make the effort to re-plumb it? I'm confused...

Oh, we had to watch 'The Big Steal' for English at school in about year 8 I suppose. Classic Australian filmographgy that was!