0R4NGE

[Z23T]

Damn, those floors look good for a 50+ year old Datsun.

[shlammed]

The sound deadening pads arent really adhered down anmore.  it looks brand new.

 

The under side the black coating is peeling off, I used the shopvac to scratch/suck some of it off while I was under there for the transmission disconnect.  also clean but needs protection.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I wonder if the throttle stuck and the motor revved to the moon.

 

If the motor is stuck because of a leaky head gasket or other coolant leak, or any moisture in the cylinders for that matter, you may be looking at oversized pistons. That's the bad news. The good news is that going this route only adds a few hundred bucks to a motor rebuild.

[shlammed]

I believe its possible.  the automatic arm and the throttle linkages were both nearly frozen.

 

Once I pulled it out there was really no reason that the engine didnt spin.  I bet if I just hit it with the starter motor it would have turned. the breaker bar on the crank didnt do it, but spinning the engine with a prybar on the flex plate it did spin.  presumably the extra torque or something.

 

I am glad I didnt try running the starter after finding the cam bits off and the corrosion... but that would have been serviceable in the car.

Head off the block it looks ok.  A quick hone and a re-ring would probably benefit it.

[paradime]

Glad to see you're past the spooky part. For the pocket book, all's well that ends well.

[shlammed]

Not certain this will buff out. 

 

Ran the hone over it quick to see what was just on the surface.

I presume to make this engine work (well) I will be in for at least pistons, overbore and rings.

Are there any options for pistons out there that would be an upgrade, especially with a turbo?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Im getting further into the rabbit hole with Kswap. 

[datzenmike]

L20B will cost the same to rebuild as an L16 and it makes about 20 hp more.

 

 

Open valves for decades could briefly stick. Was the head gasket blown between 2/3? The two closest valves are the exhausts in the middle.  Maybe someone tried to spin the engine during that time and coupled with excessive valve lash some fell out. I've seen that white crusty shit before. Aluminum oxide is white powder. Seen lots of aluminum heads and transmissions go all chalky white just sitting out exposed.

[shlammed]

surprisingly its not the exhaust valves that are the ones that had the lash pads out.

 

[datzenmike]

Usually from being too loose. You would have to really over rev to valve float an L series and kick a pad out that is adjusted properly.

 

Probably sticky. Old dry oil on the stem, rust?

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Yeah, those bores don't look great. There's a bit of a ridge at top and the rust looks deep. If you can discern it with your fingernail, it's toast.

 

FWIW - your crosshatch is too shallow. The scratch marks need to be more like 60 degrees from each other. I do a "one-one-thousand down-up" count when I'm honing a cylinder. The whole down stroke is one-one, the entire up stroke is thou-sand. That's with a cordless drill in first gear, full throttle.

[shlammed]

Yeah, i gave the worst bore a quick hit with the hone (piston still in) to see if it would remove enough of the rust.  not looking good.

 

Trying my best to make a list of what I need to get at the scrap yard for a Kswap.

 

I will "reassemble" this engine and put it away for later and work towards getting a Honda engine mounted to a Nissan KA trans and I will go from there.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Assemble it and drive it. It may smoke, but who cares? Drive it while you're gathering your swap stuff.

[datzenmike]

In fact if it smokes drive it even more.

 

[shlammed]

I don’t have any L series manual trans bits so I would have to buy it all to convert in advance of my swap. Lll. 
 

probably won’t do that. 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

The reason I suggested it is motivation. Driving the car will motivate you to keep the project rolling along. Big ideas can stall a project for years. I have been working on a '63 Nova SS convertible project that I started back in 2008. It is still barely a rolling chassis and still in bare metal, because the owner keeps changing his mind. I told him 5 years ago that I could have the car running and driving for him in a week, but he wants what he wants.

[shlammed]

You’re not wrong. 
 

it’s been on my mind since you posted it. 
decisions. 
 

 

I cleaned my l16 up a bit. Something about the looks of it. 
 

two intake valves crashed with pistons 1 and 4. 
that happens to be the valves with the pads displaced. 

[datzenmike]

One of the intakes valves was stuck open or even slightly open, the other jammed in the open position while being turned. There is no possible way the #1 and #2 intakes are open even slightly at the same time. I don't think the valve has to be at full lift to strike the piston tops. When engine was turned the rocker would have extreme clearance on the lash pad. Would not take much to dislodge them.

 

Better check the valves are not bent.

 

 

[shlammed]

Any chance if this happened when the car was running that the cam can bend in these engines?

There are witness marks in both 1 and 4 pistons that show the valve make contact.  This wouldn’t happen by hand. 

 

are any (or are all) L series cranks forged? 

Edited January 9, 2023 by shlammed

[datzenmike]

They won't touch in normal operation.

 

Possibly the valve strikes are old and not related to the lash pads being out.

 

If the engine was at TDC #1 and the timing chain was off to replace a head or head gasket. Maybe the valves were done and the cam timing was lost and someone put the head on and then turned the cam to close #1 valves you would strike the piston tops. But this doesn't explain the lash pads dropping out.

 

I guess a good question would be are the two intakes bent? If they are bent they probably won't close now and the lash pads will be loose.

 

Never lay an L head with the valves facing down. Lay it on it's side.

[shlammed]

Fully committed to Honda swap; going to have to find an engine.  Ideally K24 with the 3 lobe vtec. 

 

Going to go with s13 5 speed transmission that I have.  

 

I found that the Acura TSX used a larger clutch and flywheel.  Though almost all uprated clutch kits are based on the RSX the s13 clutch disc should fit in the TSX flywheel/pressure plate and they are a diameter match.  An acquaintance of mine has a turbo TSX and I will be getting his oem TSX clutch/flywheel to verify next week. 

 

Intent is to use as many stock parts as possible.  Price and avaliablility.  So the s13 bellhousing will be altered to fit OEM clutch parts.  Milling the flange down is expected and possibly welding the adapter on to make it work.

 

Bought the JBC billet hubs.  Plan is to use S13 brakes plus the Sentra hubs that its designed to work with. Cant wait.

 

 

For  my question of the day... reading on KA swaps, I saw somewhere along the way that the trans mount may work on an auto trans crossmember with an enlarged hole, is that actually the case?  Getting the trans xmember that is known fit will make placing the engine  for mounts fairly simple.

[paradime]

The front X-member is the same for auto and manual. There are brackets for the KA to 510 trans swap that-have slotted bolt holes for easy adjustment front to back.  

 

https://zcardepot.com/products/transmission-mount-bracket-510-68-73?variant=31285416034417&currency=USD&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google+shopping&gclid=CjwKCAiA2fmdBhBpEiwA4CcHzaCILWYOKWJbpoH6nSR15qsmpHRosCMCQTwyFmZn_UclPeBbVG8EvRoC7CEQAvD_BwE

[shlammed]

I presume that the linked cross members are needed for the auto to KA/SR transmission? Or does the auto crossmember work fine?

 

at $70 its not the end of the world, but if the stock one is fine its just a $70 show part lol.

Edited January 12, 2023 by shlammed

[BrothersGarage]

On 1/5/2023 at 12:13 PM, shlammed said:

Trying my best to make a list of what I need to get at the scrap yard for a Kswap.

The K Engine + ECU

 

Then decide which tranny you wanna go with:
* Miata

* BMW
* RX8

An order the adapter from https://kpower.industries/ (or Collins)

Then you need an engine harness, which KPower just came out with, or there's Rywire / making your own. Kpower also has a bunch of RWD stuff like intake manifolds, or you can make your own. 

Then it's custom exhaust / driveshaft & you're down the road. 


Edit: Just saw you're going S13 5speed. Not sure about that info as I decided to go down the Miata route after researching BMW / RX8 / Miatas and I can pick up spare Miata trans in my area for super cheap so I snagged a few.  Other than that - the process is ultimately the same. 

In your situation I'd suggest picking up a spare crossmember and just plan on modifying it to fit / work - and you'll have a spare just in case. 
 

Edited January 15, 2023 by BrothersGarage

[shlammed]

With my miata history I have a 5 speed in my shed. They aren’t particularly strong though so I will be using s13 trans. (It’s about twice as strong)

 

I have done a few engine swaps as well. Thanks for the overview it’s good for a fresh perspective. 
 

the electronics are one of my specialties but I also don’t exactly enjoy it. Getting it mounted will be a huge milestone. Having done one of the swaps that needed a custom pan and pickup I’m aware of what I’m getting into. (FE3 swap miata)

Edited January 15, 2023 by shlammed

[shlammed]

Keeping my stock engine, will rebuild what I need to in the name of keeping it simple.  Ideally I will just DIY hone it and carry on... 

That said, I am making it a bit more complex by converting to EFI.  My carb isnt going to work (needs a rebuild and I read that rebuilding the stock carbs dont really work well ending up with converting to a weber at $300 or so) and my ignition is a dual point ignition which is supposedly a maintenance item and not all that great (electronic ignition would mean also changing the whole distributor because its a dual point distributor)

I saw Holley is blowing out AEM ecu's so I called and they have 30 of the cheapo model I would need for this engine (AEM Infinity 308) and ordered that with their power harness.

From my Cressida project I had started gathering all the bits I would have wanted/needed for a custom harness and still have that plus most sensors.  Bonus.

-Bosch 3bar map combined air temp sensor.
-IGN1a ignition coils
-GM injectors, CLT


Need crank and cam sensors, wb 02 controller (I have sensor) and a fuel pump

 

Fab work:
Going to make a new intake manifold quickly and cheaply to run a Miata throttle body (have) that has an integrated idle control valve.

Going to send a design to laser for fuel pump and  distributor blanking and will add the IGN1a coil bracket.

 

 

Its nice having a direction now and the engine in my garage...