coupe72001

I have called around some and found that Nissco only use Rollmaster Billet chains on their Datto's, and they spoke poorly of some of the cheap and cheerful Chinese/Indian aftermarket timing chain kits around. To be honest I didn't buy the best quality chain on Earth, and recycled some of the existing timing gear (it looked ok though!)

After 2 weeks of trouble free motoring with my rebuilt head and triple dell'ortos I decided to show off to a mate and took my car up to the redline (6250rpm) in first gear. The car immediately threw the timing chain of its sprocket (again), and the valves clattered against the pistons (again), and then the timing chain tensioner popped out and fell into the timing cover jamming up against the crank sprocket stalling the car. I got to go home on the back of an RACV truck (AGAIN!!!). Regular readers might remember that I made this problem for myself late last year by putting in the clutch with the accelorator jammed on full, but this was only redline for a fraction of a second. This is really irriating, I've spent hours watching videos of Datsuns in Kuwait doing burnouts till the rubber runs out without stuffing their engines - I don't know why mine is so vunerable! For those who haven't been keeping tally this is the 6th time I'll have had the head off my car while still on the first set of brake pads. Anyway, has anyone got a tip for toughening up the timing on an L28 (chunkier spring in the tensioner etc)? There is some wild Kameari stuff (sprockets/tensioners etc) available out of Japan via the USA, but its really expensive and will take many moons to arrive in Australia. Also, anyone want to buy half a dozen slightly used L series head gaskets?

I got my H4 through ebay USA. They pop up a fair bit on account of all the turboed 280zxs they have over their. You should get one for less than $240.

I don't think that have extractors, although I have bought and sold a few sets in my time... but I might be able to track a set down for you. I'll hit my mate's factory next weekend to have a look for useful bits and pieces, and to grab that manifold. He's a scrap metal dealer, and has a stream of random bombs coming in and out, so have a think about parts that might be useful from other cars, too (idler pulley etc). Your project is looking wild, so like Mr Shadow says, keep the pics/videos coming!

Australian taillights and garnish are worth about $45. It's the big-small Japanese taillights are worth a packet!

You'll find it on tradingpost.com.au. He's an older guy who has yet to master the art of digital photography. Going to Tassie to check out a car you've never even seen a pic of is a bit of a mission.

Wow... a supercharged holleyed C210 is both unique and really interesting. There is a guy in the Nissan Datsun Sports Owner's Club making a supercharged 280zx using the AC mounting brackets like you are. Can't remember much of the details other than that it will run straight LPG. Will post all the details after the next time I see him. Also, I have a dirt-cheap Holley-to-L24 manifold in the garage if you need it. Cheers, D

I've been stuffing about with 240k's for the last few years, and have a pretty good idea of values. The things worth a bit of money on a 240k are straight, rust-free panels (especially a bonnet without rust or holes drilled in it) and bumpers (fantasy land), a complete, mint-condition original interior (unlikely) and undamaged eyebrow trim around the head/tail-lights (also unlikely), and of course any JDM extras like chrome fender mirrors or the big-small taillights and garnish (not visable in any of the pics). On the other hand, L24 and L26 engines go for pocket change, and you might get $250 for the 5-speed, struts and diff combined. Auto gearboxes are worth next to nothing. In short, if the body and interior are stuffed the car is worth sweet F.A. The mechanical bits are of no real value - and can be sourced from plenty of other generic and later model Nissans. So, look closely at car number 2. Ignoring the paint, if the body is redeemable then make an offer of a few hundred dollars - as it is a rare car these days. If the body is rusted out and dented to hell then it's worth scrap metal prices only - or certainly no more than the value of a smashed up Nissan MR30 sedan (ie, scrap metal prices!) The labor costs of restoring a rusted-out, smashed-up, cracked interior 240K will surely far exceed the cost of a halfway decent example. Let us know what you decide to do.

Tried again with a fully charged battery and... she flies! Nothing broke, rattled or leaked and the Dell'Ortos appear to be going great guns. Still, I'll have them checked out by a pro to ensure I have correct needles, jetting etc.

My car hasn't run for ages. Bolted on my old head with my new Dell'orto and it didn't run right. Pulled apart and found some bent valves, so had valves replaced and put head back on. Had timing chain tensioner chocked with a block of wood, but broke a huge splinter of wood off pulling it out, so had to remove timing cover to remove splinter, put it all back together, but it's been so long the battery is dead!!! I'll try again tonight with a fresh battery and see how we go! D

The AustralianDM, JDM charcoal hotplates and JDM chrome hotplates share the same plug/wiring. So, (other than orange bulbs) it should be a plug in and play arrangement.

That looks wild. The chrome taillights will look the bees knees too, once they're on. I prefer the genuine Datsun mirrors, but I bet you've already got your eyes peeled for a set.

That: "I'm guessing the diff shop used your retaining buttons and all the datsun parts with the WRX centre," sounds like a cracking theory. You are also correct in guessing the r180 LSD is a standard STI clutching type. Do you know much about them? Will I need a diff place to adjust the pre-load, or should I just leave it alone?

If its an r30 coupe rear end you'll get a free upgrade to rear disc brakes as well! Dont forget to grab the bigger 15/16 inch master cylinder and electronic distributor, too.

Ahh psi! There were tiny burrs on some pistons from a single valve contact. I'll check if it was the intake or exhaust on Monday.

They are great guys. They basically talked me through my engine rebuild in great detail, instead of just selling me the parts and sending me on my way. Ricky, that absolutely sucks about your XW, but at least you've got a REALLY interesting car now!

Ok, so today Mr B. Elk came over and showed me how to set valve clearances and check that everything was timed correctly, which it was. Once we were ready to go we turned it over and found almost no compression on cylinders 1 to 5. Piston 6 was putting out 140 (kpa?). Looks like I must have damaged some valves on this head after all (after an previous over-rev incident). Have pulled the head off to be inspected and any bent valves replaced by Motor Improvements. One of the engineers managed to slip a fingernail under one of the valves and commented that even a minor bend can prevent them from seating right and therefore cause loss of compression. God only knows how I got the engine to fire up at all for the drive between Deer Park and St Kilda. Anyway, at least some new valves and another headgasket won't be horrifically expensive, and I have learned some new tricks, thanks again to Mr Elk!

Actually, arabs (240k obsessed Kuwatis in particular) prefer the 240K sedan. If they can't afford or find a sedan they'll buy a coupe instead, but they are then mocked by the sedan owners, who refer to the coupe as the cow. They say, "you have a cow," and then start sAfrican Americaning. Then everyone does burnouts. In virtually every other country outside the middle east 240k coupes are more desirable than sedans. Now that it is much harder to find 240ks in Australia, they generally sell for more money than before, and it's generally not worth shipping any less than three cars in one go overseas many people have given up buying and sending 240ks to Kuwait, or the Datsun graveyard as it's refered to. As a result, 240ks do still pop up for sale here and there. This week alone: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT and http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT so don't give up! Also, converting an auto to manual is not a big hassle.

I've got a mate with a 2.4 turbo, injected, intercooled C210 and it boots along! I know very little about it though; not sure if it is an original JDM c210 2000GT-ES turbocharger or something bigger. The intercooler and computer are definitely aftermarket.

Oh yeah... of course it will bind (slaps forehead). Although, I'm starting to wonder if I am 180 out. The car was driving before I made the adjustment to the timing at the cam sprocket. I was only 1 tooth out, so I don't know how I got it 180 degrees wrong... I am a bit vague though, so it's possible.

Thanks guys. Popping and farting sounds about right! So, I guess I could have it 180 degrees out. Ill have another go on monday. The cam sprocket has three holes to accomodate for timing chain stretch, and I am on number one, as the chain is less than 2000km old. I like these quotes from the ozdat link: "Check the position of the rotor i.e. is it pointing towards the front (true #1 position) or the rear (180 degrees out) - useful to know when you're trouble shooting." and "When satisfied it's in the correct position, check that valves on #1 are both closed, to be sure you can check that the valves on #6 are open." so obvious, but I didn't think to check. If the rotor is on 6 instead of 1 I'll turn the crank 180 degrees without moving the cam and have another go. Valve clearances should still be right, but I'll double check them too.

Oh yeah! Regarding corrosion; I painted underneath the panels with a tar-based paint, made sure all the drainage points were unblocked and sprayed fish oil in every opening I could fine.

Ha ha! Having owned a handfull of rusty Datsuns and Hondas I made sure to hang onto the two really rust-free and original examples that I found over the years! Also I keep them under cover, and have a mate who is handy with a welder, so when the inevitable bubble pops up it gets cut out and burnt at the stake as a warning to corrosion in general. The white car makes 0 horsepower as it doesn't run at the moment (see timing fail post). If I can get the damn thing started it's going straight to Lam's automotive in Daylesford to get the cam dialled and timed, the new triples jetted and rebuilt if necessary, and then the whole lot tuned on a dyno. You can bet Ill be posting the results as soon as I get them. Previous best with (hateful) English SU carbies on a smokey L26 was an ok but basically unthrilling 140hp at the rear wheels. Hopefully a fresh, triple Dell'ortoed, flat-topped pistoned L28 is going to put out a bit more than that. However... I think the car is fun to drive mostly thanks to a close-ratio 5-speed and 4.8:1 LSD. Not a huge top end, but it accelerates a treat!

Got some type of R180 LSD with a smashed rally car I bought, which I blew up doing my first and last burnout in the white car. I then forked out for a r180 Subaru diff centre on ebay UK. Maybe $300, cant remember. I also got a free Datsun 240k open wheeler from a mate. I gave the broken diff, open-wheeler, subi diff centre and $160 to a diff place, and that was it! A hell of a lot less grief than the r200 conversion, but I've already busted one, so it's not as tough a set up as the r200.

To make matters worse, my aftermarket crank pulley's timing mark, doesn't quite line up with the timing plate on the block. It shows a couple of degrees before TDC when number one IS at TDC!