Old Soul, New Life: A Datsun Reborn
All things happen for a reason

Perhaps it’s because I’m a woman and it’s in my genetic makeup to overthink everything, but I often find my thoughts drifting down a ‘what if’ rabbit hole. I’m not a religious person, so these thoughts usually lead to an internal argument of whether our conscious decisions and actions are what define us, or whether our decisions and actions are irrelevant because our fate has already been decided – our path has already been laid out for us by some kind of higher power in the universe.

Two years ago I came across an auction listing for a 1975 American import Datsun 280Z here in New Zealand, but what if I hadn’t seen that listing? Would the car have still found its way into my life anyway? What was it exactly that made me type the online auction site URL into my web browser that day? I wasn’t in the market for another car, and I didn’t have any money saved to fund a new project…

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But for some reason I did look for an S30Z on Trademe that day, and from the moment I saw the car sitting there with its dented door, high ride-height and ugly ‘bogan’ wheels, I knew I had to have it. I saw the potential and I’d do anything to make it mine.

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Taking it a step back further, how did the car even get into the position it was when I found it? Over the last two years, I’ve attempted to uncover the answers to some of these questions and sometimes I’ve even stumbled across them by accident! I discovered that this car has had more than 10 owners since it was brought into New Zealand in ’76 by its American owner, who at the time was working in the US Army posted in Christchurch as part of ‘Operation Deep Freeze’ in Antarctica. The car has already been on a long journey before it came into my life, and I have a lot of respect for it for that. It does after all have thirteen years of life experience on me!

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Just like any old car, it needed work, though at the time we didn’t quite realise how much exactly. The old straight-six motor seemed to be running okay; not perfect, but good enough. In March 2012, we stripped out the interior and sourced parts from Japan, America and even Australia, to transform the Z into our dream 240ZG-inspired street car.  

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We sourced OEM fender mirrors, a rear spoiler, fender flares, a replica ‘G-nose’ bumper, had extensive rust repair work done and half the body repainted, the seats reupholstered – you name it. The car looked perfect and my dream was complete… or so I thought. Long story short, after encountering issues with the old EFI system and converting to SU carburettors, we then discovered that compression was low on one of the cylinders. We pulled the motor out and decided to undertake a full rebuild of the well-used L28 engine, and for the past nine months I’ve been writing about it here on Speedhunters.

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A quick recap of what’s happened since April last year: when we pulled the motor out of the engine bay, it was still gold, the original colour from before the previous owner coated the body in a beautiful, refreshing shade of arctic silver. The gold was obviously going to have to go, along with all the ugly old fittings, brackets and wiring. I’m sure a lot of people reading this are familiar with how the next part of my story went; the more improvements we made, the more new things came to our attention that demanded replacing or fixing. The more perfect the new stuff looked, the more imperfect everything else looked! I call this the ‘classic car project rabbit hole’.

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It turned out that the L28 block needed some serious attention, as a broken piston ring had scored the inside of one of the cylinders. While we had the motor in pieces, it only made sense to either replace or refurbish every part to avoid any future problems.

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Higher compression flat top pistons were sourced, the cylinders re-bored, the crank resurfaced and rebalanced, flywheel balanced and lightened, new custom headers were fabricated and ARP head studs, mains bolts and rod bolts were installed for added strength. It was unlike any project I’d ever undertaken before but I loved observing – and sometimes helping – with each step of the rebuild. It really got the cogs and wheels in my brain working, analysing each piece of the L28 puzzle and figuring out how everything came apart and went together and functioned in unison. Although I understood the theory behind how a motor worked, getting to study everything up close was completely fascinating to me.

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With the help of some great friends and automotive industry specialists, soon enough the motor was refreshed and in better condition than ever. Just recounting these events and seeing the progress on my laptop screen like this is making me smile right now! The next step was to find something to bolt onto those intake ports and I knew exactly what I wanted – I’ve always loved the throaty, guttural symphony made by triple sidedraft carburettors, especially after the driving experience I had with this 2000GT Skyline in Japan.

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They might be considered a bit old school but they’re definitely the more traditional induction system for an L-series powerplant, so we ditched the SU carbs in favour of a 40mm Mikuni Solex triple carb set-up. With a full rewire having been completed last month, it was finally time to bring the old girl back to life once more, and I was jumping out of my skin with excitement!

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But when we tried to turn the motor over (so we could get it into top dead centre position to set the timing), we discovered it was completely locked up. We made sure it wasn’t in gear, pulled the cam cover and starter motor off, but nothing was obviously wrong. After much head-scratching and beer consumption, we realised we’d have to drop the gearbox as that was the only other thing that could be causing everything to lock up. Had the flywheel been installed incorrectly? We were certain it hadn’t, but we couldn’t think of anything else!

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Thankfully, once we’d separated the bell housing from the motor, the problem was revealed. Somehow this shiny new 10mm bolt had managed to jam itself between the flywheel and bell housing! We still have no idea how it got in there, but it was incredibly lucky we found it and that it had locked up everything up like it did, because if it was loose and jammed when the car was driving, the results could’ve been disastrous.

With the mystery bolt removed, in theory the engine should now fire up, right?

But will it start?
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People swap motors in and out of cars all the time – I get that, but I’ve put so much time, money and energy into this car, and I hold it very close to my heart. Just the thought of hearing it again was making my heart pump faster.

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The motor had spark and was turning over fine but it wasn’t building oil pressure, so the high-flow oil pump was pulled and primed to see if that would help. This was the result…

As you can tell from the video, the Z wheezed, popped and banged into life. It wasn’t running great, but at least it was running. We could only get it firing on five cylinders on idle but above 2000rpm, it went onto six and sounded much smoother.

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Even though we’d found an original Mikuni manual and installed the right sized jets, the carbs still weren’t quite doing their job properly, and the sixth cylinder kept dropping. Our good friend Ricky, who races an L28-powered 240Z running triple Mikunis, took a look and tried to get things running better.

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They’re very fiddly and extremely difficult to get balanced, and the linkages connecting the three carbs were also causing problems. But with Ricky’s help we eventually got the car to a driveable state and after starting it up and running it for a few nights in a row, it all seemed to be going good.

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Maybe carburettors aren’t the easiest mechanisms to work with, but they sure do make the Z sing a wonderful melody, plus they’re easy on the eye too, looking beautifully intricate with their shiny bell-mouthed trumpets and passivated details.

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There were literally two things left to do before the car was drivable: firstly my mechanic Jon Sowden from Strange Workshop had to whip up a temporary throttle cable, and then the bonnet hinges had to be screwed on and the bonnet put back on. Thank god for that, because there really wasn’t room for anything else in our spare bedroom while that enormous bonnet was stored in there for nine months! Luckily these were both fairly quick jobs, because by this stage it was Friday the 24th of January, and I was running out of time to get the Z to the 4&Rotary Nationals on the other side of town! 

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I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, but before this day I’d never actually driven Project Z before for any real distance. When we brought the car back home to Auckland, I had a terrible flu and wasn’t feeling up to driving an almost 30-year old manual car on the wrong side of the road, and since then, it’s been in and out of various workshops in a constant state of ‘in progress’. Maybe these are just excuses though, as in the back of my mind I was also afraid that I might not enjoy driving it – a ‘meeting your hero’-type phobia. What if my dream car rejected me as its driver? There was only one way to find out, so I attached my ‘Z’ key fob that I’d bought from the Nissan head office showroom in Yokohama last year and turned the key. I’d been saving putting it on for this very moment.

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I inhaled deeply and put the car into gear. My left foot was shaking slightly, but I managed to take off steadily, as the strong stench of fuel filled my nostrils. I scrunched up my nose but it was still a good smell. I didn’t take any photos while driving, but I can tell you that it was probably the most terrifyingly exhilarating experience I’ve ever had behind the wheel of a car. Mainly terrifying because the brakes don’t seem to do, well, anything at all, and exhilarating because it felt like I was driving the nostalgic Japanese street car of my dreams. It was everything I dreamt it could ever be.

That was, until…

Crashing down from cloud nine  
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I found myself being rescued, stranded in the middle of a five-lane motorway by two very lovely and helpful methamphetamine lab decontamination specialists/classic car enthusiasts from a small town south of Auckland called Tokoroa. I can’t even begin to describe the gut-wrenching horror I experienced as the L28 spluttered and died, leaving me sitting in the middle lane while cars flew past on either side, with absolutely nothing happening as I desperately kept twisting the key in the ignition and pumping the gas pedal. Thankfully these guys blocked off two lanes with their truck as I rolled over to the safety of the emergency stop lane, hands still shaking.

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I honestly don’t know what happened; the L28 sounded strong – it was just begging me to drive it. Perhaps I’m slightly brainwashed by Wangan Midnight, as my instincts just took over and the urge to drive fast on an open stretch of road got the better of me. I swear, I don’t even remember getting on the motorway! In retrospect, this was a terrible rookie move and I learnt an extremely valuable lesson from it.

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Two hours later, the Z eventually arrived on the back of a tow truck to the 4&Rotary Nationals venue in one piece, and it even managed to start up and drive into the hall under its own power. I’m still not sure why it had failed to start, but it appeared that carb number three – the one that had previously given us issues – was once again kicking up a fuss.

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After telling people at the show what had happened, a few of them responded with, ‘You should’ve stuck with the EFI system’. Sure, I could’ve done that but to me that would have felt like giving up, and I’m not willing to settle for a less desirable solution just because a small, fixable challenge has presented itself. If modifying cars like this was easy, then everyone would do it. The triple Mikunis fit in perfectly with the overall vintage theme of the car, and help it stay true to its classic heritage.

Everyone likes different things and I respect that, but I can’t help but feel as if I shouldn’t have to answer to those sort of remarks. Maybe you think that something would work better or look better, but people should trust in the fact that I always put a lot of thought and research into the decisions I make, and above all, I like what I like and I can’t help that.

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I’m really happy with the Z’s ‘new look’ with its new 15×9.5-inch Fatlace FZero2 wheels too. I still love my Work Meister CR01s, and they are still my street wheels of choice, with the huge dish and high polish giving the car more of a squat, show-ready look. But I‘d also really been wanting to buy a second set of wheels to give the Z a more functional, track-ready vibe, and the bronze FZero2s wrapped in sticky Toyo R888 semi-slicks give it just that! Not only do they look badass, but they’ll actually serve a purpose out on the track as well. 

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It was disappointing having to organise another truck to collect Project Z after the show, especially considering the amount of times we’ve had to pay for tow trucks over the last few months. $100 a trip adds up really quickly. My mood soon improved however when one of my favourite cars from the show pulled up and parked next to me. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful subject to capture in the evening sunlight than John Van Beek’s immaculate ’78 Nissan Cedric. The perfect impromptu photoshoot!

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To those not in the know it may just look like an old lowered Nissan, but aside from its beautifully restored exterior and intricate custom suspension set-up, an impressive VH41 V8 conversion has taken place under the hood. With their aggressive offsets and delicate centre designs, the August Feroce wheels perfectly complement the retro lines of this ’70s chassis. I think we need to see more of this car here on Speedhunters, don’t you?

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I know it sounds silly, but I can’t help but feel an immense sense of pride in being responsible for giving this Z a new lease of life. Maybe it’s not running right yet but it will be soon, and then my dream will be completely fulfilled.

As I sat and waited for my tow truck, once again I became immersed in the thought that somehow the pieces of steel, glass, aluminium, rubber and rust that make up this old Datsun made their way into my garage, and as a result, I’m standing here right now, in this very moment. Surely this can’t all be just a coincidence?

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If this specific car can somehow get shipped into New Zealand from America on a special permit, go through eleven different owners over thirty-eight years, find its way onto my computer screen and into my life, and have all the things go wrong with it that have led me to be in this exact position I’m in right now, then surely this fate was already laid out for me? I guess that’s one question I’ll never know the answer to. But what I do know is that giving this old soul a second chance has given me a new life too, and I’ve never been happier.

As always, a huge thank you to all my good friends who have helped get the Datsun to this ‘oh so close’ point. The fact that these guys have probably spent more time in my garage over the last few months than their own is not lost on me, nor is it unappreciated.

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1

So much close. Carbs rule faces, end of story. Super excited for a Datsun cruise mission somewhere before summer's out

2

Thanks for sharing Taryn, Seriously cool build. Looks amazing. Well Done

3

Before even reading the article (which I will devour in a minute) that first pic........PERFECT!!!

4

hentaikhara 英語oh…

5

tsuyuri0812 S30拾ってきたぜ!カスタムするぜ!ボディやりなおすぜ!エンジンも組むぜ!できたぜ!ヒャッハー!

6

hentaikhara 読めないけど熱意は伝わりますね!!!これやりたいwwwwwwww

7

You do know that the Devil's Z has a lovely tendancy to crash, and holds the record of 3 kills, right? Bloody lovely car and story though :)

8

tsuyuri0812 hentaikhara これ女の子がオーナーなのな

9

GC8F48D_turbo hentaikhara しかも超美人さん…

10

hentaikhara tsuyuri0812 こういうの、海外だと凄い綺麗にドキュメンタリーみたいに編集するよなー

11

GC8F48D_turbo hentaikhara 写真だけでも伝わるからすごいですね、英語読めたらもっと感動するんでしょうけど…

12

tsuyuri0812 hentaikhara オーナーの愛が凄い伝わってくるドキュメンタリーでアレ

13

GC8F48D_turbo hentaikhara このオーナーさんに直接話聞いてみたいっす。

14

GC8F48D_turbo tsuyuri0812 ほんとにね、最近よく言うけど、生き急がなくてもいいと思うん。車とともに歩んだ日々は無駄にならない。

15

Well done and good job on sticking with the Z - you will soon enjoy your fruits of labor

16

I love what you have done with the old girl! you should be very proud of your selves! I had the same feelings that you had the first time that I drove my XF Falcon build, which unfortunately also suffered from carby problems haha. but seriously once you have them working properly carby's rule, I wouldn't put EFI on my Ute if you paid me! haha. have fun with your pride and joy :)

17

Taryn, If I were in your presence I would give you a big long hug. Even I,(with little automotive knowledge) can really
appreciate all the fantastic work and time you and your fantastic friends have put into this build. I have followed this
story from the beginning. I wish you many miles and super horses.

18

Nearly there Taryn! It'll all be worth it once it's all running properly. :)

19

The 240ZG is the perfect japanese classic, if I someday I have the money I'll build myself one from 0

20

car looks awesome taryn! 

hopefully you make it down to jfest later on in the year to scrub up those semi slicks!

21

silver s30s unite!.....http://i.imgur.com/pHLjSI0.jpg
on tow trucks, where my z spent a lot of time heh.

22

Beautiful job Taryn, but...
You want to sort out the crank case breather (with no filter) that has been left open after you cut off the tube for the breather hose.  On a stock car this would recirculate into the engine via the PCV. You've removed it

Similarly, you may experience the odd misfire as a result of the K&N on the valve cover instead of having it run to the intake. Might find it will run better (less prone to misfire) if you drill and tap a hole, fit a barb on the intake runners after the carbs and run hosing between the two. If the intake manifold has a common tube that links the runners, run a pipe from the crank breather to a new PCV valve and the into that common runner. Not as clean, but your engine rings will thank you :)
At the very least put a filter on the crank breather :) 

Just reiterating things I've learnt along the way - http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/75143-crank-case-ventilation/?hl=%2Bcrankcase+%2Bbreather#entry715060


happy speedhunting!
camerashy@retrorides

23

Excellent !!! I work in my personal project too and I know that shaking hands feelin hahaha.

The car looks amazing !!! Justo Love it, Carbs (in my opinion) are the best option for these projects, just a little more and you will cruising the highway in a oldschool Z. Congratulations !!

24

As frustrating as old carbs can be, it is worth it when you eventually get them running right.  For the MGB my dad and I restored, eventually we ditched the dual SUs which never synced properly for a single.  I can only imagine how much more difficult the triples are to get right - but when you do and they are running properly it will feel 100% better than running the EFI system.

25

I never listened to how others would build a car unless I asked their opinion. there is not anyway too build a car that will please everyone. I personally love what you have done to your car. keep up the hard work and stay true to yourself.

26

Superb article :) Still want more pics of your Z as now your car is a bit camera shy :) Great car and make her roar again.

27

Absolutely stunning! I take so much inspiration looking at projects like this knowing that you have overcome problems I am having/will have with mine! Its off to sandblast in a few weeks! 
Love the Fatlace wheels on it! Well done! :)

28

massive well done!!! I am in the flows of rebuilding and installing my own set of twin 40's on my triumph and boy are they fiddly.

29

I´ve lurked around here for the last 6 months or so, and your Z is my favorite project. I have a BMW 02 with twin carbs as well. I feel you, when you talk about keeping carbs running like they should. The guys talking about EFI have a point though. It is more reliable. In time, I might go down the EFI route myself, but I´ll be running ITBs. They sound just like carbs, and looks almost as good. Just food for thought. I´d build/buy a oil-catch tank. Don´t the L28s have rather high oil pressure? That would be a lot of spilling on your beautiful engine. BTW: What you call "project car rabbit hole", is commonly referred to as "scope creep".

30

Hope you get the small issues here and there sorted out soon Taryn - that Z deserves to go as good as it looks up there in the lead image.

31

Myself Being Japanese i feel very close to all vehicles that derive from the land of the rising sun but when you started this Z project i just became even more inspired to continue my ever lasting car projects. Keep up the good work !

32

bradley19  
 At the risk of giving S30s a bad reputation:

33

If you don't want to hear someone with a different opinion than you... don't ask them their opinion?
Intake trumpets are beautiful, I just wish they were getting filtered air.

34

Keep it up! It was an awesome write up. Loved every bit of it. You're an inspiration for me to get what's been sitting in my garage back up and running....hopefully soon....I believe and feel that us folks who are petrol heads as Jeremy Clarkson always said....we know that our machine(s) are more than just metal and oil....they are character with soul....or like you mentioned in your write up....maybe we're all just thinking too much of Midnight Wangan...

35

Awesome read! I've been following this build from the first time you wrote about it and really like the way it turned out. Keep up the phenomenal work!

Author36
37

The EXACT same thing happened when i was rebuilding my car- a stray inlet manifold bolt fell into the flywheel timing hole- which should have had a cover- and seized the engine!that was an expensive bolt- i now have it on my keyring!

Author38

S2k_adz  Thanks! I love them too... especially the colour! A refreshing change

Author39

KennedyCao  Yep... hence why I was afraid :)

Author40

tompen53  thanks haha :)

Author41

@camerashy  thanks for your advice, I have a breather tank ready to go in, which we were planning to run the crank case ventilation to, do you think that would be sufficient? That's what I've seen a lot of other people doing anyway. As for the valve cover breather, that's interesting - I didn't know that! Again, the way I've done it seems to be a pretty common way from what I can tell, but this is one more thing to check if the car has problems. Thanks again for your help!

42

Great read Taryn, I had custody of a 76 Red 260Z in my shed for a few years. It had a lumpy cam and a 2.8 and made a great sound. I took it out most weekends on the back blocks of Cambridge, despite it being Un wof'ed and Un Reg'ed :)  I like what you did with the triple side draughts, but they are finicky bastards, and can take a lot of fettling to get right! Personally I would use Throttle bodies and EFI and set and forget. But I fully understand your attention to detail and choices. Well done, and look forward to seeing it one day once its fully sorted :)

43

Great article Taryn!
I really like how your Datsun turned out! Don't worry, you'll sort those minor problems, then I would really want to see a video with your Datsun rolling...

44

Oh so very fine!!!!!!! You have so many blissful miles or should I say kilometers ahead of you once the project shakedown is completed.

The triple Mikunis on my 240Z acted as very efficient heat sinks living as they do over the headers. Your 'adventure' on the motorway sounds exactly like the vapor lock I experienced. Get a heat shield and/or header wrap on it and try again on a less crowded road where you can do a heat stress test.

Regarding the pit racers who want you to go back to EFI. Tell then 'thank you' and 'you're right about the reliability' and 'please, go POUND DIRT!'. No car I have had since that triple Mikuni'ed 240Z, not my 911, not my WRX, has had the joyful throttle response one experiences with that setup.

45

@NormalMan  Vapour lock, that's an interesting point!

46

Truly inspirational - Will you marry me ?

47

I honestly don't think I'd change anything about this car, the colours work so well, the G nose, the stance, the engine build. Lovely. Bet you're massively pleased, and can't wait to just get out and drive it, on your own, no destination, just the journey itself. Hope the issues are sorted soon!

Author48

@NormalMan  Ohh that is a very interesting point - I honestly hadn't thought of that! Getting a heat shield is definitely going to be a priority, thank-you!

49

Geez.... I thought having 2 Mikuni's was a pain in the !@#!  I can't even imagine 3!   Mad props for keeping it Carboreted though.  Dat sound!!!

50

LOL Why does she talk about the car as if she actually owns or did any work to it? lol barbie

51

Was waiting for this! When I saw those bronze wheels on instagram your car looked perfect! :]

52

HellaCaniStancey  because it belongs to her and her hubby! She has done work on it! Not in the strip and rebuild the engine completely fashion, but she's still done her share and is a lot more invested than many!

53

It's a shame to hear about the running problems, hopefully it's fixed and back on the road soon!

At least you can take consolation in how amazing the Z looks. The two-tone silver/long nose combination is stunning. And I'm usually not a fan of Fatlace-branded stuff, but those FZero2's are something else!

Author54

HellaCaniStancey  Because I do own it and do work on it :)

55

Them wheels compliment it very well for sure!

56

have you checked the spark cables?

57

BritGuy  Lol, was wondering when someone was going to ask this... 
Check out the last pick on the first chapter (the one where she's holding the stray bolt)
Looks like someone beat you to it champ.

58

The car life, we all have hit the wall of problems these cars miraculously show out of now where . It comes natural in this life style. 

Hopefully you can get it running smooth.

59

AWESOME build. Owning a dream car is an amazing thing.

60

So close, yet so far...hopefully not too far from getting the Z hits the road once again. May the force be with you Taryn Croucher

61

Keep the carbs!  EFI does not belong on a L-series motor!  I haven't built any L24/26/28 but I have built a few L16/20b with DCOE's.


You may want to see if you can find a set of weber style isolator gaskets with spring loaded locking nuts for the mikunis, maybe you can help limit the amount of vibration the carb's endure.  Also, since these will be used for mostly street use (ie not just WOT) some people have bosses welded into the manifold and connect the  intake runners to help even out the pressure.  This will help a lot with drive-ability at partial throttle and help calm the popping and backfires out the carbs.
Put a heat shield between the carbs and the header. The gas would literally boil in the bowls without my heat shields. Also, wrap the headers or get them coated or both!


Also, if that is a factory distributor, gut it and replace the condenser and points with a Pertronix points-less ignition or similar.  Really increases the accuracy and reliability of ignition. Also, have one of the Z shops near you change the ignition advance curve on the distributor to something a little more performance oriented.

If you have trouble locating these services in NZ reach out to Rebello Racing stateside. They are the premier Nissan/Datsun motor builders.  We have had Dave Rebello diagnose our motor problems by holding the phone up to the motor, the guy is that good.

62

Love the post.

63

Amazing outcome!

64

Car sputtering to a halt on the motorway? Some call it "character".
+ Needs moar pics of Taryn.

65

HellaCaniStancey  When your the one taking the photos its hard to be in the photos.

66

Just keep working on it! The car still has a lot of life in it... It looks gorgeous by the way, and it kinds of remind me about the Speedhunters S30 from Shift 2 Unleashed
Would love to be updated about the car, keep us posted!

67

Awww, is someone jealous?

68

HellaCaniStancey I have met Taryn in person several times and I can vouch for the fact that she has a passion for cars and she does actually own and work on this car ;)

69

JakWhite HellaCaniStancey Passion is now a fashion.

70

Girl owner? Dammit girl you are one lucky person in the whole wide world! And good luck tuning those carbs, hope maybe Kitami Jun will come and help you out on this one :)

71

Awesome. Stoked to see it move under it's own power, I've been following with intent since the start.

72

That last pic...... probably the best picture I've come across. Beautiful girl with her beautiful car. Lovely! Don't ever give up Taryn Croucher , you'll get there soon! (Also, stick with the....CARBs!)

73

why was this not at the ellerslie concours on the weekend :(

74

Brett Allen BritGuy Yeah, saw it , but you can dream, can't ya !!!

75

Don't give up please!!!! You can do it.  Just takes time and of course money :'(  Looking forward for more updates

76

My s30 had a triple mikuni engine before I swapped an RB25 into it...they really do sound awesome at full chat!!

77

You're SUCH an inspiration. I can't get enough of your datsun. I'm completely obsessed. I can't wait to see your next steps!

78

OMFG Taryn!  It's so beautifully done.  Damn...speechless...thank you for all your updates.  Always a pleasure to read, see and hear!

79

Lovely reading as usual... Definitely some brutal honesty going on. Good on you for sticking with the carbs!!! I get so much more enjoyment out of sticking my hand in there and tuning carbs then I ever did stuck behind my laptop tuning itb's.

80

Taryn Croucher haha I was about to mention the phenolic spacers would help some of the heat soak as well but couldn't remember 'phenolic' so did a trusty google search and your earlier post (http://www.speedhunters.com/2013/06/project-z-l-series-inspiration/) came up in the results. So guess you already got that bit handled.  :)

81

Awesome car and great story ! Many thanks for keeping those cars alive like you and your friends do, I have been enjoying every post you made to tell us how you save your Z.
I feel "happy" to see that I am not alone with a L28 failure in the middle of a highway... Terrifying moments, but now we laugh about it ! Enjoy your Z and keep gas on Speedhunters !
Greetings from Le Mans ;)

82

Great update.
Any details on the Cedric?

Author83

davidonthemoon  Sweet Z! Thanks for sharing the pic :)

84

Ignore the people saying you should have stuck with EFI - If you had, you may have just had a completely different set of problems.
I saw an S30 the other day and it reminded me to have a look and see if there were any updates on this one.

85

Very good looking car, preferred it on the meisters though! Old carbs are horrible sometimes huh, i've had similar issues on old race bikes. Could be anything from a worn needle, worn slides blah blah and you end up going in circles chasing a setup. Much cooler than EFI unless you're running a bunch of ITBs and Link G4

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