RoadRace

interested to hear how this turn out, great initiative.

diff can sit indefinitely if they are sealed and out of the elements. spin it - if its smooth and quiet, thats a really good start post pics, that helps

it also looks like those springs are close to coil bind. stick a feeler gauge in there to see what the gap is. are those double or single springs? either way, if you plan on using that head, consider opening up the ports. does that head have the liners in the exh port? you can also measure the head, from valve cover rail to the deck (machined surface to machined surface), see if its been milled. should be 107.9mm (thanks mike 🙂 ).

i'd say its to much cam for that head. that's a fairly decent cam and will require airflow to make it work, street or track. On an L20 its more streetable, but not going to be great if you have vacuum brakes as that cam won't make a lot of vacuum. if you go with the dual twin choke Mikunis, then it doesn't matter.... and i am assuming that the head was set up properly for that cam, valve springs, lash pads/swipe pattern etc. the bigger the motor the more streetable it is, that cam would be harder to drive on an L16, but definitely easier with the L20 has the head been ported? what's the diameter of the intake ports? im assuming the piston is 0.50mm over bore

thats a tricky one. most cam companies put "grind numbers" on the cams that may or may not relate to the actual cam specs. in your case the "288" in the number leads me to think its a 288 duration cam. you can calculate the lift easy enough by just measuring the x and y of the lobe and multiplying that by the rocker ratio. a typical 288deg cam will have anywhere from .450" lift as a guideline. you need a dial indicator, V blocks and a degree wheel to see what the duration is. i did the same thing anyone would do and those number didn't come up with a positive ID. i also checked the Schneider, Colt, Isky, Erson, etc and there numbering conventions did not align. Racer Brown and Shadbolt numbers, going from memory, are also not like those you've posted - i also have never seen anyone put the cam ID on the shaft like this, and that might be the best way to ID the manufacturer. You can try Web cams or one of the European or Aussie suppliers, that may be where its from, but this is just speculation. measure the lift and at least you'll know something 🙂 anymore details on the motor might be helpful

id be interested in any L18 std bore blocks and cranks...no idea how to get them here, shipping a block would be a pain

the cam spray bar topic is an interesting one for me. i have been told anything over .520 lift required a spray bar - is the requirement lift related, or usage related? is the spray bar for lubrication, or for cooling? the 240Z came with one from the factory, with fins on it - why did that stop?

Hi - I was talking with Geoff at Colt Cams in BC recently. I called him because his website shows nothing for Datsuns, despite his long history support for the Datsun community. Geoff is a Datsun guy and said Colt Cams will still grind Datsun cams for us, and he has sent along a product sheet for the cams he can produce. He said due to current tariff concerns the prices listed may not be accurate and you would have to call to confirm pricing. all the best - Matt DATSUN 4Cyl-6Cyl L16,18,20,24,26,28,SOHC MECH 3.doc

i ended up using a rectangular block of aluminum, 6" x 3" x 3" and mounted it to the output flange on the trans and then on the diff. the diff is fixed but there is still room for error, I like the pan rail idea. i'll keep that in mind to verify other dims.

RD350.....😍

hi - what i have found to be a contributing factor in fuel pump degradation is the use of ethanol in the gas. A lot of fuels are blended 10% with ethanol, some are not (in Canada, they all are). if using a lower cost fuel pump, it will have lower cost materials in the pumping diaphragm (mechanical pump) or in the seal (elec pump). Most will not say "ethanol safe" but if it does, you might have a winner. As mentioned by Hainz - Facet is a good pump, there are 2 kinds of Facet pump, the "round" ones shown and the "square" solenoid one aka "click-clack' pump. They usually run about $100 +/- $25 (at least from what I've seen over that last couple years up here, CDN $). but they are reliable and don't require a regulator.

re: oil, I am racing mine so street is different. The Rotella 15w40 was being used in my motor for the reasons mentioned - zinc. however, it was not holding up to the intended use, the motor came in off the track and was not happy, making noises it didn't make when i started the session. once it cooled down, it became quiet again...I didn't like that. i switched to mobil 1 15w50 which has 1300ppm of zinc, and then i added 1/2 bottle of Lucas ZDDP Zinc Plus, which adds 3000 ppm, see 'zinc values' chart in the link (approx, i have a comp pan that holds 6 qt). the Zinc Values chart is interesting. https://www.lucasoil.ca/products/engine-break-in-oil-additive-tb-zinc-plus/ we are using mobil 1 0w50 Racing in other cars, and that stuff has 1800ppm...i might switch to that, but either way, the motor likes the 15w50 w/additive - came off the track happy as a clam last weekend. https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/products/mobil-1-racing-0w-50

There is no grease fitting at all. the drips were pliable, glossy rubber. its quite bizarre. during disassembly, the washer was found to be partially bonded where the rubber had actually re-vulcanized onto approx 25% of it. i used a drill bit to drill out the rubber and then press out the remaining bushing/sleeve and it came out pretty clean. when drilling, the rubber bushing did what drilling rubber normally does with no surprises. this is a rather strange scenario.

hey - this is just a cautionary note as i have never seen this happen. I was getting "death wobble" while driving straight, felt like the front wheel was coming off, but everything was tight. some research pointed to the idler arm bushings. I got the DP Racing Delrin bushing kit with needle bearing thrust washer (PN 224-2101) When i got the idler arm off, you could clearly see the bushing rubber was melting and dripping out, the drip had congealed - there is no heat source near the idler arm, the melting was coming from shear friction as the arm itself was cycling. this car is only driving on race tracks. i also got the DP racing Idler frame channel doubler kit - and that's a good idea because when i took this one off (and it clearly had been on there for 40 plus years) the washers on the wheel well side were distorted and 'coning' into the bolt holes - this was also surprising. this is stock as removed, note drip at bottom this is a close up of the melted rubber coming out new DP racing bushing installed, note Torrington needle bearing thrust washer both bushings and sleeve installed, ready for re-assembly.