79 620 King cab, Cali Import now in the UK

[EDM620]

On 11/1/2022 at 1:05 PM, datzenmike said:

With some grinding and tapping and some JB weld got  the '79 to look like an early L116 intake.

Although this pic is a different engine, when trying to remove the seized EGR bolts the manifold cracked. 

I cut off the offending broken mount, tapped the remaining hole for a plug, added some JB weld for insurance and ground down the remaining EGR mount to make it smooth.

Be aware of the corrosion caused by dissimilar metals...

[datzenmike]

Z24?

 

.... like it was never there.

[Danalive]

update time, slow progress working outside, espicially when the temperature drops to -9 however i managed to get the exhaust mounted up, had to seperate the front exhaust section and move it around to get the flange bolted up and the exhaust back together. 

 

wired up the new ignition barrel, made up a new battery cable, got lights and a few other bits working, will come back to wiring etc after ive finished with the engine and the brakes.

 

took out the 3 spoke deluxe wheel to fix it up and paint it, fitted this z wheel i bought many years ago, i'll get a 240z one day for it to go on.

also, im glad i managed to get a king cab, being 6ft 4 i didnt fancy my chances with a standard cab. 

 

everything else is back together, cooling system all plumbed in and topped up, carb and fuel lines all fitted, new battery and cables, tried to fire it up but its turning over really slow, tried 2 new fully charged batteries, cleaned up all the connections and no change so got a remanufactured starter on the way hopefully by the end of the week it'll be firing up. 

 

 

engine bay needs a little tidying up and wiring needs sorting. anyone know what the connector in the bottom right is for? 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Wow. Someone who actually knows how to make battery cables. Nice.

 

[datzenmike]

Don't turn in the old starter. Make sure it's the starter and not something else. If so you've removed a best quality Nissan part and substituted an inferior one.

 

What weight oil are you running? Cold oil is thicker and slows the engine turn over. Engine oil weight is based on the lowest expected temperature before the next oil change. Generally 10w30 is ok down to -18. In the past I used and electric battery warmer blanket and a block heater overnight in Ontario winters that were often well below -7C for weeks.

[EDM620]

ooohhhh -7C, tropical! 😆

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

32 minutes ago, EDM620 said:

ooohhhh -7C, tropical! 😆

Don't be mean.

[datzenmike]

My daughter is west of Edmonton and -20 something C.

[Danalive]

23 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Wow. Someone who actually knows how to make battery cables. Nice.

 

thanks, i also added in a midi fuse holder to replace the fusible link, will mount in on the inner wing when its running. fusible link wire isnt readily available here in the uk but i can pick up midi fuses quite easily. 

 

 

[Danalive]

21 hours ago, datzenmike said:

Don't turn in the old starter. Make sure it's the starter and not something else. If so you've removed a best quality Nissan part and substituted an inferior one.

 

What weight oil are you running? Cold oil is thicker and slows the engine turn over. Engine oil weight is based on the lowest expected temperature before the next oil change. Generally 10w30 is ok down to -18. In the past I used and electric battery warmer blanket and a block heater overnight in Ontario winters that were often well below -7C for weeks.

 

i got a rebuilt / reconditioned one off ebay from a seller that refubishes old starters, swapped it over and the difference was pretty big so im certain it was the starter, im running 10w40 oil.

 

 

 

[datzenmike]

That's better than one from a store, those are crappy.

 

I would try 10w30 if not all year, certainly for the winter. I run Rotella T4 (also comes in 10w30) for the proper ZDDP levels that today's oils no longer have. When the L20B in your '79 was new the ZDDP levels were over 1,000 PPM. Starting in the '90s they started lowering it for the new engines that didn't need it and today it's around 600. T4 is 1,200.

[Danalive]

attempted to start up the motor, got close and then the oil dipstick launched itself out of the block, disconnected the crank case breather and was getting alot of blow by, got myself a compression tester today, should of checked sooner really, but cylinder 1 wasnt showing anything, barely tickled the needle, 40 on 2&3 and 130 on no 4.

 

will pull the head after all and see whats happening.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Bummer.

[datzenmike]

43 minutes ago, Danalive said:

attempted to start up the motor, got close and then the oil dipstick launched itself out of the block, disconnected the crank case breather and was getting alot of blow by, got myself a compression tester today, should of checked sooner really, but cylinder 1 wasnt showing anything, barely tickled the needle, 40 on 2&3 and 130 on no 4.

 

will pull the head after all and see whats happening.

 

Sounds like a hole in one of the pistons set off the fumes in the crankcase. The one with zero compression.

[Danalive]

got the head off today, pretty straight forward, removing the 2 bolts that hold the exaust and intake onto the head were not enjoyable to remove. 

going to clean up the head tomorrow, remove the front cover so i can turn over the pistons and check the cylinder walls. 

 

 

 

 

Yeah that's paint of the top of the block. 

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

There's paint on the deck of the block? Well with that lack of attention to detail, no wonder it is having problems. Fingers crossed that you don't find any more shenanigans.

[EDM620]

Splash n dash....

[Danalive]

the engine bay and block have previously had a paint touch up, including some overspray onto the deck. 

anyway im going to pull the block and replace the rings, rod bearings, assuming i should replace the crank bearings and front and rear main seals while im there? anything else?

this'll be my first rebuild, l20b engines are rare over here in the uk as we never got them in anything, trying to find an L18 as an interim but even those seem to be hard to come by. 

[datzenmike]

You don't need to remove the crankshaft to refit new main bearings just tap the main bearings with hammer and screwdriver and rotate the top shell in the block around and out. The new one goes in in reverse. Use assemble lube.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

If the motor is out, removing the crank is easy enough. There are two tricky things to be ware of when putting the crank back in.

 

1- the center main "thrust" bearing needs to be set so there is between .006" to .010" of end play. The thrust end play helps determine the oil pressure, so too much thrust is not good. Too little end play and the crank can bind.

 

2- The rear side seals need attention  during assembly. The channels need to be extra clean, and a dab of RTV on the end of the side seal as well as a lube of Gasgacinch help ensure they do their job. I install the rear main seal before the rear main cap goes on, but guide it straight while you're installing the cap. Gasgacinch on the OD of the seal is a good idea too.

[Danalive]

Thanks for all your input, its always appreciated. 

 

 

with the head off i could actually see the back of the cam, e744s engraved on the back, google doesnt provide anything for help identifying it. 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Good.

 

E undoubtedly stands for Elgin, a long time grinder of Datsun cams. Their nomenclature uses an "E" followed by numbers, then an "S" or a "P" at the end.

 

The E-744-S cam is not listed on the Elgin Industries site, but I'm sure you could call them and get more info.

 

Also, there are two Elgin cam companies, Elgin Cams and Elgin Industries. The one in Santa Rosa CA is most likely the grinder of this cam. I did a lot of business with them when I was working for Rebello Racing.

 

https://elgincams.com/

https://www.elginind.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Elgin-2018-ProStock-Catalog.pdf

 

[datzenmike]

Easy enough to measure the base circle. Stock is 1.31" or 33.27mm. Measure the lobe diameter and subtract the base circle. Stock should be 0.276" X 1.5 (rocker ratio) gives you the stock lift or 0.413".

 

If yours was reground the base circle will be smaller producing a larger lobe and increased lift. Duration you'll have to ask them.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Not all cam grinders re-grind stock cams. Most cam grinders use custom billets, so measuring the base circle may give misleading information.

[datzenmike]

But lobe minus base circle times rocker ratio still gives the lift. The L20B cam

 

 

I have an Isky cam and it's blank except the etching on the back end.

W91M

Iskenderian

14 (04*) S.... 09 (date?)

L  .490 (L series and lift?)

1701

 

*... might be 14?

 

It does have the back end plugged and oil holes on the lobes. In the center is the Square knobs common to the L20B cams...

 

 

The two L20B stock cams have JAPAN and U20 cast on one and CWC on the other. Both have a hex head plug in the back end. U20 is common on many L20B parts like the crankshaft.

 

Something else... The stock cams are rough where not machined. The Isky I think has been in a lathe and the casting numbers removed. The surface is smooooth except for the square bumps. The Isky cam is a Nissan cast cam that has been turned down.