Gollum

Did you ever have any luck sorting this out? I'm also interested in running a 13" wheel, and specifics on what fits and what doesn't seems best found with a thick wallet, which is the opposite reason I want to go 13's. Are you sure a 11" rotor doesn't fit? Opens up WORLDS of options. I also understand that making a 11" rotor fit might mean pushing the rotor and caliper towards the strut a touch for caliper to wheel clearance, but again... definitive information. I'm tempted to just assume I need to buy a wheel, rotor, and caliper I want to run, and then fabricate the rest to make it work. Caliper bracket could probably be ordered via big blue saw once I have the dimensions, but I guess for that hat I'll have to order a blank and find a shop to finish it off.

Yes, certainly not trivial, but considering how easily the SOHC swaps it amazes me how few we actually see documented. The DE is certainly pure sex, but I'd contest that even the E is as good as many of the DOHC heads nissan built...

Resurrection time! Lazarus, come forth! So you still haven't gone anywhere with this I imagine? What's almost hilarious to me is that in all the threads I find on ratsun (and some other forums) when people try to weigh the pros and cons everyone seems to be missing the point entirely. The KA has one of the best heads Nissan has ever made. The head itself is stable to insane RPMs, and flows like gangbusters. Even the SOHC versus the DOHC is damn impressive. Sure it doesn't have variable valve timing, but variable valve timing isn't ever what makes a head great (and that's even true for Honda's best heads). The problem with the KA has ALWAYS been the bottom end. The crank isn't fully counter weighted, The engine produces strong harmonics that prevent it from revving highly without imploding on itself. Does anyone find it ironic that nobody is running a 8k (or even 7) RPM stock crank KA, while there's LS7's out there running up to 8.5K and beyond, while having a MUCH longer stroke? The RPM issues of the KA has nothing to do with stroke length, but balancing. Anyone want to know which Nissan cranks ARE fully counter weighted? L16,L18,L20B, Z20, and Z22. Probably more than that, but those are the important ones. The Z24 is NOT, but it also has the taller deck, similar to the KA. If you're going to build a hybrid KAL/KAZ engine, you want to use the Z20/Z22. Obviously all L and Z cranks interchange between each other's blocks, but I see little reason not to just use the entire Z engine, since you're going to need it's timing cover anyways. So, for those asking why? 1. If robello can make a 2.3 liter L head engine make 250+ HP, imagine what a KA head can achieve with the same RPM abilities. (robello's engine only needs to rev to 8500) 2. The L/Z block is a much more "bolt in" affair for many older datsuns, which makes it appealing from a fitment perspective. 3. We already know the weight of the L/Z block is much less... yipee. Not a huge deal, but it's something. 4. The metallurgy of the L/Z block is much better too. Might not sound like it matters much to some, but the reality is that it matters to some degree, and those that understand know why. 5. The L/Z engines can still be had for cheap, and the hybrid setup can be done using 100% stock parts, as far as the longblock goes. Manifolds, EFI triggers, dizzy, etc are all up to you and your application. And to prove I'm not some pie in the sky fanboy: The cons 1. Without engine building and fabrication tools and skills you're most likely doomed to fail, 2, If you have a shop build it, it's cost prohibitive and you're better off with something else. 3. The L/Z block supply will dry up sooner than KA supplies. 4. You can always just buy the brian crower stroker kit and use the KA and be done with it. 5. KA has the later bellhousing pattern which gives it a few better transmission options that are easier to adapt. 6. KA aftermarket parts are affordable, and plentiful, like flywheel/clutch while the L/Z have fewer options that tend to be more expensive 7. Other modern engines have really come down in price over the last 5-10 years, and really make a lot of us question the expense of playing with these old toys. A 240HP F20/2 looks better and better every year. So all that to say that I'd love to see more people do it, and not just that, but more people understand why there's value. I'm not here to discredit the KA, as I highly respect those that build them. I follow KA builds, especially turbo, with lots of interest. It's only a shame that nissan never made them with a good crank, which would have alleviated much of the "truck engine" stigma the KA has.

We've been fortunate enough to seem some of the ratsun crew in the past, and I hope to see some of you again this year! Any and all are welcome. Details: When: September 28th (yes, same as JCCS, sorry. Options were slim) Where: Kennedy Grove Recreational Area @ 6531 San Pablo Dam Rd Food: $10 Cover charge for Burgers @ Dogs Notes: As always, don't forget $5 for parking We'll be parked in the same area, on the gravel just north of the entry gate. So as you come in the gate, make a U-Turn to the right hand side and you'll see the Z cars. I'm going to get there a bit earlier this year so I can hold more parking space for us, as that's been a problem in the past. As always everyone is invited. Though I started this as a HybridZ social event, I never wanted it to just stay that way. If you like cars, show up in what you got! And Also! ...In October (maaaaaybe November) we're going to follow it up with a new style of casual meet (not a BBQ) up in the Sacramento area. It'll most likely be held in a parking lot with good eats nearby. Shirts! Yes we plan to do shirts again this year! Nick is working tirelessly all day every day preparing an amazing shirt. We're also hoping that provided we really like the design, to make a large batch of them and then just date as many as we have pre-orders, which would allow us to not only have a few extra in stock, but also hopefully bring the price down to a reasonable cost, which has always been a goal of mine. Limited runs of shirts get really expensive, so lets get those pre-orders rolling so we have an idea of how large a batch we can run! Price should land somewhere between $15-20 and we'll confirm that as the date gets closer. Copy/Paste your order here: [#] [Name] [Quantity] (repeat quantity and size as needed) 1.Gollum 2 XL example for extra sizes: 1 XXL 2. Nick 3. Scarab 155 1 XXL 4. wrcbonk 1 XL 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

I'm going to try to make it out this next month, which would be a first for me! I have to admit though, the likely hood of me being in a Z is fairly low. The ZX is getting all new top end gaskets, and the 75 is waiting for the sale of the ZX to fund parts. Hopefully I won't be the only one with a wife and kid with me bored to tears.

I know it's been a while since the last post, but 3200 is nothing for the L6 motors, and I'd imagine the L4 motors are just the same. My '75 turns about 3000 at 70mph and my '81 turns 3500 all day long because I never drive under 70mph and it has 3.9 rear gears. I've driven L motors at 4k rpms for EXTENDED periods of time (i mean like an hour + ) and they've never given me grief. These are strong little buggers. You'll have bigger issues if you've got a bad cylinder, because now you've got strange harmonics going on. Your compression test showed a low cylinder, which honestly could have easily been the needed valve adjustment. I'd check it again now that you've done a hot adjustment, and see if it's better. Ideally you want all your cylinders within 5psi, but some people feel that within 10psi of each other is fine. For some low tolerance motors even a disparity of 15psi isn't the end of the world. Typical "brand new" or rebuilt motor is commonly within 2-3psi of each other or even 1 in some cases. Personally the main reason I'd be trying to get the RPMs lower at cruise would be for 1. MPG, and then 2. Noise. Luckily in my '81 it's so quiet hardly EVER hear the engine over the road noise, but my '75 has a L28ET with 3" exhaust and a straight through muffler. That sucker makes some NOISE on the freeway. But it's also gutted, dashless, etc so it's the least of my concerns. EDIT: BTW, love the wood headliner. I'd have gone with a thinner material, but that's just because I'm weight anal, especially when it comes to PLACEMENT, not just quantity. Overall, I think it's unique and has character, which isn't something you can really buy on ebay.

Yea, before I got started making new circuits the ONLY wires left on the ENTIRE car where from a connector next to the passenger seat that went back to the tail light wiring + fuel tank. ALL the other wiring was pulled, even the other wiring that was on the same connector (defrost, antenna, speakers, emergency brake switch, etc). I repeat, not a SINGLE wire other than those were on the car. What the car will have when done in a few weeks (hopefully a few weeks): Brake Lights Turn Signals Running Lights Head Lights (low and hi, fancy I know) Reverse Lights (legally required) License Plate Light (required by law, same circuit as running light) Coil Alternator Starter EFI Fuel Pump Wipers and I guess stereo. I plan to have front defrost down the road, but not having side windows I doubt it'll be much of an issue. The simple physics is that condensation builds up due to a temperature DIFFERENCE, which there won't really be much of a chance of. My future plans involve either a simple heater core with computer fans attached, or my preferred method will be high efficiency quarts IR electric heating elements mounted to my future dash plans.We'll see when we get there. And the main reason I consider it "rat"-like, is that it's going to be "bare bones" like a hot rod would be, but with zero attention to the look of it really. It'll be 100% go, 0% show. I mean, even most cars I see at track day events look worlds better than my S30.

You know, I thought I started a project thread on here a LONG time ago, but apparently NOT! So here goes. [insert random picture of me here] Okay! I've been diggin' the datsuns when I was 14, going to street races and seeing V8 S30's spank just about anything that dared to temp them. I began to see the value to me immediately, they were the best "blank canvas" vehicle I'd ever found. I was 90% a "non-partisan" car guy. I had NO affiliation despite working on Hondas just about every weekend and also my fair share of Stangs (neighbor had a 10 sec del sol that ate more pistons than his girlfriend had periods). So as soon as I got my license, I made one of the biggest mistakes ever.... Bought a '80 280ZX. At the time the CA law hadn't changed and it was still a rolling smog year, thus I figured I'd spend 5 years or so doing the suspension, brakes, adding lightness etc, and then I could go nuts with the motor... Well the governor had the last laugh and stopped all those plans. So almost 10 years later now I STILL have a 280ZX ('81 this time), and I've slowly been dumping all my S130 parts. Anyway, about 4 years ago I needed a car. Had $1500 in the bank and found a L28ET powered '75 280Z on craigslist for $1,100... SOLD!!! The seller was in over his head and realized it was a money pit he couldn't afford and it just sat at his work month after month. I drove that bitch to work the day I bought it and just about every day possible for the next 6 months. Then I received a free 280ZX that was a SOLID driver, so inevitably the 280Z ended up in parts being worked on... go figure. I'm now hauling ass getting it back together, sick and tired of my lack of budget (now married + a 3 month old), keeping me from driving this sucker. Nothing is "wrong" with it, but after I swapped heads it never ran right and I never put forth enough effort to figure it out, assuming I'd just buy megasquirt...... That was like, ummm, 3 years ago.... So check it, I drove probably the most dangerous S30 ever as a daily driver over 40 miles each way to work. Looked bad enough that Japanese Nostalgic took a pic of it at MJS: Caster and toe where SO bad I ate up a set of tires in less than 3 months, and had put new tires on the front I had lying around. Front lip sagged when I got the car, and just got worse as I abused it, not caring about a POS urethane dam. The engine was fairly solid though, despite having the loudest exhaust leak in the history of mankind. You could hear this car coming from at least half a mile away thanks to it's exhaust leak. My exhaust leak would set off car alarms... But it WAS solid, and developed 7psi at ANY rpm in ANY gear. The intake had been converted to a N47 intake, which meant that the stock J pipe wouldn't fit, so someone did a real hack job putting shit together with lots of rubber and clamps. I didn't like this, so I covered it back to a stock "ugly" turbo manifold with a stock J pipe. Ran much nicer... A friend of my wife mentioned her brother had a 280Z that had been sitting for over a decade. Talked to the guy and basically said "come by and take what you want, it'll motivate me to get it junked". Well I showed up and it was a LATE 280Z, with almost ziltch of anything of value to me, except hey! A hood! I took the hood, fenders, suspension, wheels, and other odds and ends home with me. Definitely worth the $50 tank of gas in the truck to pick it up. Was a fun day. Not the greatest pic, but this was taken some time later once I had a garage to work in, thus allowing me to start busting ass getting shit done.... (haha.....) Also, I'd replaced that dam which had become more than a hazard. It donated a 240Z turn signal to the highway and would scrape on a lane divider bump (turtle I call them) if I aimed the front just right and throttle lifted... So I picked up this killer dam from a friend up in Sac. It's a MSA... type 1 I believe? Of course now I had no turn signals, and my cheap ass didn't want to pay 240Z look at me premium, so I bought headlights with turn signals in them. Now I was "legal" Oh, and I also tied the side marker to be a turn signal. I personally didn't see the point in it as a side marker and thought this was a better use of it. Shaving was the eventual plan (and still is). For a short while I thought it would be a good idea to paint my car.... I got a bucket done + 2 access covers painted and realized it'd be over $200 in rattle can at this rate... No thanks! I could do all the prep work and bring it to maaco for that and save me a lot of headache. That being said, I later bought a harbor freight air gun and used store credit at autozone to buy a can of paint that looks like it'll get about 1/2 way done painting my car. Eventually I decided that my exhaust leak issue would only be fixed with a new head, and I was right... in a way... It wasn't until pulled my head (after I bought a longblock that I had to pull myself from a guy down in SF) that my head gasket was blown... right out the side, thus spewing exhaust right out under the 3&4 exhaust section, which is what lead to me believe it "HAD" to be a manifold leak, since I could feel it when warming the car up and putting my hands to the manifold.... So, since I had a new spare engine with a stellar looking head, I put it on. After pulling the timing cover twice, I had it running. But it didn't seem quite right. I know the cam was timed right, I check a million times. It had to have been something I did in the process. I ripped the TPS wiring at some point so I thought that had to be it. Still haven't repaired it officially but it'll be handled soon now that I'm back at it. I thought it could have been the PCV system, since I tired hooking it up again (was never connected since I got the car). I have a feeling the PCV is still to blame, but the installer of this swap originally had added a resistor in the wiring to the head temp sensor, which I didn't find till months later.... Once I get it all back close to "stock" I think it'll run just fine. We'll see... So I've moved twice... no, three times since that above picture was taken. I now have a semi-permanent place I'm renting, which includes a decent 2 car garage. So I started what I wanted to do ALL along with this car.... That and OH so much more came out. I knew this car was never going to be the cleanest chassis out there, and was overall in pretty shoddy shape. The wiring was a hack job at best, so I just started yanking anything and everything that wasn't necessary. "Look Ma', No Dash!" I had an entire chassis wiring harness from a '83 S130 so it became my donor for the fuse panel and wiring. Crimped and soldered EVERY wire the CORRECT way. Still not done, but getting done little by little. I had some fun deleting the fuel reservoir tank thingamajig that should have never been. You can see in the pic above my new fuel pump wiring. I know it's not as clean as it could be, but I didn't want to drop the tank so this was as good as I was going to get for now. The OLD wiring was the same heavy duty wiring you'd get in the car audio section at best buy and was just chillin' going through a hole in the spare wheel area. It wasn't really tied down anywhere, and the relay wiring was anything but elegant. So trust me, this is WAY better than it was. Part of my mantra for getting this thing on the road has been "use what you have, buy as little as possible, get it done". I'm extremely eager to get driving this car again, even if it means being ghetto in the mean time. This is where the rat rod aspect comes into play. I really don't care about having a dash. Think of this as being a track car that gets to see street duty. It's not going to be pretty in many ways, but it's going to get the job done. I won't have windows, those are for pussies. Anything that's not really "needed" isn't going into this car. I'm amazed I'm even considering a stereo.... I really don't know why, yet I find myself setting aside a wire on the fuse panel for it... Well that might be the ONE exception, a stereo. Anyway, point of all this, is that sometimes buying SOME things is definitely worth EVERY penny. Set of 5 relays from amazon, something like $10 shipped to my door. Again, worth EVERY penny. The panel is from the same piece of stainless my "dash" panel is made from, that I had lying around. I'd love to use aluminum, but that'd require BUYING something... Another little project I tackled while in the garage working on this thing was getting a different shifter installed. I really wanted a tall rally'esk shifter that didn't require much movement from the steering wheel. Luckily I had some datsun truck shifters lying around to play with... This shifter WAS straight up and down just hours before: Had to heat it up and hammer it to get it to bend about a good 20 degrees left, and about 15 degrees back towards the driver. Much beating to get'er done. My makeshift anvil: Don't worry, the piston is seized and would take a press to get it out... Nobody wants this POS. I would have used a bench vice to try to pry the shifter how I wanted it... but I don't own one yet. Maybe next Christmas... 1st gear now sits comfortably just at the edge of my palm with my shoulder against the seat: 2nd sits just about an inch or two behind the steering wheel, perfect imo. Due to the fact the side gates don't change regardless of any changes bellow the pivot point, 5th is a little far away, but manageable. What matters is that 1-4 are easily within reach. 5th is still WAY easier to get to than ANY VW I've driven... I even drove one cabrio where when you got it into 5th the shifter just felt like it was going to keep falling all the way to the floor... SO awkward... Since these pictures I've finished up a lot more wiring, but haven't taken any pictures, as wiring pictures don't really excite me. My goals is to try to having it running in the next few weeks for a camping trip up near tahoe with spectacular roads. That's the second week in October and I've got two week-long work gigs between now and then, so I better get busy! Left to do: Finish cutting holes for gauges (90% done) Wire Gauges to signals Wire Gauge Lights Lay in engine harness and wire up after modifying for better fitment Wire switches (none done yet) Finish Relay Wiring (2 left I think) Wire Wipers Jerry Rig PCV routing so it's at least setup the way it should be Wire new fuse panel to battery terminal clamps Wire ignition switches I think I can get all that done in the little time I have. But it'll come down to how the engine runs out the gate. If I can get it running fine then we're golden, I can sort out other issues in no time.

Shirts are $15. If you want one speak up fast, I think nick is making them like, today.

No worries, here's the design. Just tell me here if you want one or five :-D And sorry about the typo. I knew I'd have one or two mistakes considering the lack of time spent on it. Maybe next year I'll put someone else in charge of it. :-)

Those that have seen my screen name probably have heard about my annual BBQ I put together. It started life as a "HybridZ" thing, but it's now expanding as it does every year. I've always strive to bring the HybridZ community aspects to my meets but let it be accessible to everyone. So bring that celica, that 86, the Honda 600, that Mini, hell, even your Jag with all it's dying Lucas parts. Details, including preview of the shirt for this year can be found here: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/108375-5th-annual-norcal-bbq-2012/page__view__findpost__p__1013501__fromsearch__1 And details be can seen in this pic: In case the picture doesn't show for you: Location: Kennedy Grove Recreational Area (between El Sobrante & Orinda) Time: September 8th 2012 11am-5pm Who: EVERYONE!!! Cost: $5 Gate $5 Food Cover Please (feel free to bring drinks or whatever! I'm supplying burgers and paper/plastic ware) Rules: No Hatin' No P.D.S. (public display of stupid)

Just wanted to check in with everyone and let you all know that things are going well for the meet and we're looking to have at least a 25+ car meet and I'm anticipating being ready for 40+ as there's always a ton of people that don't respond online. I hope to see a bunch of you there, and I really hope for a good 510 showing! Bring a friend, have a good time! Just as a reminder, try to be there by 11am or so to make sure you get your food and a good parking spot. Bring $10 for the gate and $5 for your food. No alcohol (park rules) and no showboating (my rules). See you on September 4th.

Sorry, I thought I posted those details. It will be on the 4th - Sunday. I normally show up around 9-10am, and people slowly start filtering soon after and most people are there by 1pm. People are always welcome to hang out and chat as long as they want, but I'll be packing up the grill and stuff by 5pm.

Today is the last day to purchase a T shirt, but there didn't seem to be too much interest over here. Maybe next year we'll get a ratsun logo put on for you guys! So far this is looking to turn out to be the best year by far. Not only is the location going to make it one stellar meet no matter what, but I'm anticipating a good 40+ cars and 60+ people. At least half of that should be datsun crowd and I've tried to make sure that the others coming from different spheres will be a good social fit, not just a bunch of ignorant ricers or hellaflush kids. So if someone pulls up in a slammed honda, be nice and give them the benefit of the doubt... until they open their mouth. :D

Guys on HybridZ were interested in having a shirt again this year, so here's the post. Let me know what you think! If most of us are happy with this design we can start writing up an order sheet. By the looks it's going to be $25 per shirt (it IS an estimate from the company though) and it seems like there's no extra cost based on size, and you can order up to a 4XL. These are basic cotton t's, not anything fancy like jersey, but I'm still impressed with the cost of such a detailed photo print. Order turn around is at least 2 weeks, so we'd need to have the order finalized and PAID FOR by August 15th. We can transfer money via Paypal, and I won't move the money until the order is placed, so IF for any reason you need to back out before August 15th I'll paypal the money back, which being within 30 days shouldn't have paypal fees. I know stuff like this when it comes to "group buys" is a sticky subject around here as of late, so if I need to I'll find another shirt manufacture in which we can all order individually online, but it'll be more expensive for sure, and once shipping is factored in will likely cost closer to $35 per shirt. This probably won't be the path we take unless mods say otherwise. If we want another shirt color option I'll look into that as well, and I don't think it should cost too much more. This company seems pretty easy to work with. Personally, with all the blue I think it would be tough to find colors it works well with. Black and White T's would be best. Don't worry about paypal until I've decided there's no major changes, but feel free to voice your interest and opinions.