Steve Dodson
Well-Known Forum User
Looking good. Nice to see it back together again
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Project 630z - V8 powered Z32
- Thread starter Bantambunny
- Start date
Bantambunny
Well-Known Forum User
...and hopefully on the track this weekend if all goes to plan 
Thanks Steve, it's nice to feel i'm actually on the verge of finishing it after 2 and a half years!
Thanks Steve, it's nice to feel i'm actually on the verge of finishing it after 2 and a half years!
datsun dave
Club Member
Happy Dayz.
Bantambunny
Well-Known Forum User
Okay, i'm knackered but worked through my lunch yesterday to finish at 3pm and got straight into it as i got home.
Rather than bore you with the whole story of all the problems I had, things i lost in the process and driving back and forth to my parents to grab tools i'll tell you what's done and what's left to do.,
Done:
- Oil system complete including the remote dipstick tube which needs securing to the loom clips, all 10 litres of oil are in and no leaks
- Wiring to the starter motor and alternator are complete, starter now works (wouldn't engage before) and engine turns on the key
- Battery is charged enough to get it going but could do with with charging for a couple of days straight to get it topped up or just drive it till it's full
What i'll be doing tonight:
- Water system including the expansion tank
- Fuel system
- Plugs, leads and distributor (already pre wired, just plug and go from the last time)
Then give it a start and see what happens! No sounds of anything clunking or scraping so i think i've made enough clearance on the rods.
Really excited to hear that big old chevy block kick into life again for the second time!
More to come as i get there! Really hoping to get the car on the road for lunchtime tomorrow reliably enough to get it down to the pod for at least a meet up with the guys even if it's not racing
Rather than bore you with the whole story of all the problems I had, things i lost in the process and driving back and forth to my parents to grab tools i'll tell you what's done and what's left to do.,
Done:
- Oil system complete including the remote dipstick tube which needs securing to the loom clips, all 10 litres of oil are in and no leaks
- Wiring to the starter motor and alternator are complete, starter now works (wouldn't engage before) and engine turns on the key
- Battery is charged enough to get it going but could do with with charging for a couple of days straight to get it topped up or just drive it till it's full
What i'll be doing tonight:
- Water system including the expansion tank
- Fuel system
- Plugs, leads and distributor (already pre wired, just plug and go from the last time)
Then give it a start and see what happens! No sounds of anything clunking or scraping so i think i've made enough clearance on the rods.
Really excited to hear that big old chevy block kick into life again for the second time!
More to come as i get there! Really hoping to get the car on the road for lunchtime tomorrow reliably enough to get it down to the pod for at least a meet up with the guys even if it's not racing
Bantambunny
Well-Known Forum User
I would have been setting off right now if I hadn't have snapped a sparkplug putting it back in
Unfortunately, American spark plugs aren't easy to come by on a Friday night, so looks like drag racing is off the cards today - not a good start to the season
On a positive note, bled the clutch, whacked it in 5th and got the speedo working off the sender as it turned on the key. All the plugs and leads are connected bar one. Just a few water pipes to go and we're ready to start.
Oil pressure was spot on with no leaks - 65psi when I primed it
Clutch is perfect with no leaks
Fingers crossed on the plugs!
Unfortunately, American spark plugs aren't easy to come by on a Friday night, so looks like drag racing is off the cards today - not a good start to the season
On a positive note, bled the clutch, whacked it in 5th and got the speedo working off the sender as it turned on the key. All the plugs and leads are connected bar one. Just a few water pipes to go and we're ready to start.
Oil pressure was spot on with no leaks - 65psi when I primed it
Clutch is perfect with no leaks
Fingers crossed on the plugs!
Bantambunny
Well-Known Forum User
It's working!
Started up this evening after working flat out on it. Just two new exhaust gaskets to fit and a bit of tuning and it's ready for the road.
Will write more tomorrow guys and gals
Started up this evening after working flat out on it. Just two new exhaust gaskets to fit and a bit of tuning and it's ready for the road.
Will write more tomorrow guys and gals
Bantambunny
Well-Known Forum User
Well it's a running a bit better and i now have a none leaking exhaust but still having problems with the top heater hose
A bit more to do to get it roadworthy but the quick run down the road and back feels alot better than before but still need to drop the suspension as it's got 5" of clearance(!) about the wheel
A bit more to do to get it roadworthy but the quick run down the road and back feels alot better than before but still need to drop the suspension as it's got 5" of clearance(!) about the wheel
Bantambunny
Well-Known Forum User
Managed to get out for a first drive last night on the road in it. I did some base calibration and changed a couple of jets to lean it off slightly on the primaries.
Still running about 13:1 on cruise which is still too much but i need to order some smaller jets in to complete the tuning for the road.
It picked up like a scalded cat once i'd adjusted the mixture and dropped it back a bit and hopefully won't be quite so thirsty now.
Handling is still a bit wibbly wobbly but much firmer than before and to be fair the tyres are low, it's still up in the air on the front and the rear suspension is still clunking away so i need to fit some standard rear springs or a spacer to get it to ride without topping out.
What i ideally need is the Miester R/S's I desperately want to get the ride just right.
A bit more work on Friday to swap over the suspension setup over on the front and fit the adjustables on the front and back and we'll see what it's like.
Should hopefully get the revised gearlever back tomorrow so i can work on the agricultural gearshift it has at the moment.
It's quite tappety inside the car so sound insulation needs to be thought about when i get chance, probably more on the bulkhead and around the air vents but i'm not too bothered really.
Temperature is bob on 85 degrees c, oil temp goes up to 100 degrees c and the speedo now works but now need calibrating over a mile.
Fuel gauge still doesn't work so need to rewire the sender and see if i can kick it into life.
Getting there and i'll be off down to North Weald next weekend to get stuck into the zclub drag challenge
Still running about 13:1 on cruise which is still too much but i need to order some smaller jets in to complete the tuning for the road.
It picked up like a scalded cat once i'd adjusted the mixture and dropped it back a bit and hopefully won't be quite so thirsty now.
Handling is still a bit wibbly wobbly but much firmer than before and to be fair the tyres are low, it's still up in the air on the front and the rear suspension is still clunking away so i need to fit some standard rear springs or a spacer to get it to ride without topping out.
What i ideally need is the Miester R/S's I desperately want to get the ride just right.
A bit more work on Friday to swap over the suspension setup over on the front and fit the adjustables on the front and back and we'll see what it's like.
Should hopefully get the revised gearlever back tomorrow so i can work on the agricultural gearshift it has at the moment.
It's quite tappety inside the car so sound insulation needs to be thought about when i get chance, probably more on the bulkhead and around the air vents but i'm not too bothered really.
Temperature is bob on 85 degrees c, oil temp goes up to 100 degrees c and the speedo now works but now need calibrating over a mile.
Fuel gauge still doesn't work so need to rewire the sender and see if i can kick it into life.
Getting there and i'll be off down to North Weald next weekend to get stuck into the zclub drag challenge
Bantambunny
Well-Known Forum User
Okay, a bit more news. I rang a couple of places to try and get some jets to step down the mixture a bit and ended up ringing american auto supplies in minworth and asked if their garage would be able to set the carb and engine up for me.
Dave pointed me in the direction of a place they use with a rolling road in Solihull called Rev It and a guy called Trevor.
Gave them a ring yesterday and had a chat for ten minutes and went through the spec with him, he's got a 383 stroker in his 78 Stingray so wholeheartedly approved of what i'd got in mine
Anyway we've arranged a rolling road session next Wednesday morning where they'll do a power run then we'll set up timing, mixture and everything else and tune the primaries and secondaries so it's all up and running ready for next weekend :hyper:
Very excited :hyper: :hyper:
So over the weekend i'll be finishing off everything, getting the suspension set up properly and re engineering the gearlever.
All in all it's all coming along nicely!
Dave pointed me in the direction of a place they use with a rolling road in Solihull called Rev It and a guy called Trevor.
Gave them a ring yesterday and had a chat for ten minutes and went through the spec with him, he's got a 383 stroker in his 78 Stingray so wholeheartedly approved of what i'd got in mine
Anyway we've arranged a rolling road session next Wednesday morning where they'll do a power run then we'll set up timing, mixture and everything else and tune the primaries and secondaries so it's all up and running ready for next weekend :hyper:
Very excited :hyper: :hyper:
So over the weekend i'll be finishing off everything, getting the suspension set up properly and re engineering the gearlever.
All in all it's all coming along nicely!
Bantambunny
Well-Known Forum User
Bantambunny
Well-Known Forum User
Cheers buddy, and a sneak peak at the car in it's quasi-finished state (admittedly with a second bonnet catch now fitted....)
Bantambunny
Well-Known Forum User
Well it's still there. 3 rockers kept working loose.
Best result we could get was 320bhp at the crank and over 420ftlb torque from 1600rpm (!) - so much torque it kept ripping itself off the dyno lol
Power doesn't sound much but when you see the torque curve it's solid all the way up to 5000rpm!
Going back down now to see if we cansort out the three rear studs - possibly bent from when the engine fell on it's side while being transported
Best result we could get was 320bhp at the crank and over 420ftlb torque from 1600rpm (!) - so much torque it kept ripping itself off the dyno lol
Power doesn't sound much but when you see the torque curve it's solid all the way up to 5000rpm!
Going back down now to see if we cansort out the three rear studs - possibly bent from when the engine fell on it's side while being transported
Well done Mr Bunny
Dont get too fixated with peak "headline" HP numbers, HP is just a product of torque X RPM and as such can't be felt or touched.
The trouble is that 99% of people talk the HP language (even if it is flawed) so ft/lbs or BMEP numbers mean nothing to them even though its far more descriptive.
420 ftlbs across 3500 rpm is big......tree pullingly big
Dont get too fixated with peak "headline" HP numbers, HP is just a product of torque X RPM and as such can't be felt or touched.
The trouble is that 99% of people talk the HP language (even if it is flawed) so ft/lbs or BMEP numbers mean nothing to them even though its far more descriptive.
420 ftlbs across 3500 rpm is big......tree pullingly big
Bantambunny
Well-Known Forum User
It's a huge amount of torque to be getting, at least I won't have to worry about which gear to set off in or changing up too early! lol
It's useful to know where it starts to tail off so I can make sure i shift at the right point.
Just got back from work on the car this morning, we've located the problem. The heads had old rocker studs in and the thread was knackered on a few of them so ordered a set of new ARP rocker studs and we'll replace them tomorrow.
Also ordered the Edelbrock tuning kit with all the jets and rods i needed to lean the mixture off at cruising speed. Should hopefully make it alot better to drive long distance.
Other than that it's sounding nice and meaty and the final run yesterday the HP was up 5bhp over the other runs after changing the rods but the air temp was up to 22C in the rolling road from running all day long. Best power we got was 13 degrees C so we're hoping to squeeze another 20bhp and a bit more torque out of it when it's a bit cooler tomorrow morning.
Amazing how much HP you lose through warm air - 20bhp at the wheels!
It's useful to know where it starts to tail off so I can make sure i shift at the right point.
Just got back from work on the car this morning, we've located the problem. The heads had old rocker studs in and the thread was knackered on a few of them so ordered a set of new ARP rocker studs and we'll replace them tomorrow.
Also ordered the Edelbrock tuning kit with all the jets and rods i needed to lean the mixture off at cruising speed. Should hopefully make it alot better to drive long distance.
Other than that it's sounding nice and meaty and the final run yesterday the HP was up 5bhp over the other runs after changing the rods but the air temp was up to 22C in the rolling road from running all day long. Best power we got was 13 degrees C so we're hoping to squeeze another 20bhp and a bit more torque out of it when it's a bit cooler tomorrow morning.
Amazing how much HP you lose through warm air - 20bhp at the wheels!
vpulsar
Well-Known Forum User
I like the torque figures matey well done, I don't really care much about HP it's what it feels like to drive on the road that matters the most to me and torque is what makes a car great to drive in my opinion, My old 2.0lt made 519 bhp but it was the 440 ft lb's that I was happiest about.
Rob
Bantambunny
Well-Known Forum User
It's beautiful to drive cruising around, i started in 3rd gear and didn't even notice the other day
I might degree the camshaft a little more toward to stock to give a little more at the top end otherwise i might not get off the starting line at that rate just sit there for 30 minutes spinning my wheels
I might degree the camshaft a little more toward to stock to give a little more at the top end otherwise i might not get off the starting line at that rate just sit there for 30 minutes spinning my wheels
Bantambunny
Well-Known Forum User
True although it was quite a notice drop in power with the air temp at 9 degrees at inlet. We left the fans running for a good 15-20 mins without the car on but it was a hot day so couldn't get it down again.
Great guys there Mark, Chris and Trevor - really know their stuff!
Great guys there Mark, Chris and Trevor - really know their stuff!