A 50 year old Japanesse lady: SRL311 01228

[BlackbirdM3]

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO.... the car left the garage today for the first time in over a month. It was loud but it left under its own power. Didnt go far because I already had a tow truck on its way. Didnt want to risk any stupid things happening on the way to the muffler shop

Snapped this pic outside while waiting for the tow truck.

Exhausting work by 2mAn

I towed the car to the exhaust shop to get the exhaust wrapped up. Got my flex pipe connected and ditched the old rusty pipe and replaced it with 2” straight pipe back to the over axle piece. I’ll address that eventually with something better. Basically a straight pipe to an old ass glasspack.

This is the only pic I got at the muffler shop.

Exhausting work by 2mAn

I hope to get this thing driveable but this is the final week of my semester so I will be pretty swamped. Fingers crossed!

Tomorrow I will go buy a timing light but I need tips on what I need I do with it other than attaching it to the #1 ignition wire. Im getting close!

If you buy a timing light like what I have, (digital read out with RPM and advance) you set the light to 20 degrees, shine it at the timing mark on the timing cover (the thing that sicks out toward the crank pulley) and turn the distributor till the big mark on the pulley (I think I marked it with silver paint so it will stand out better) aligns with the timing mark on the cover. This should show 20 degrees at about 750 rpm. (Get your carbs to idle that low first.) If you are showing 800, you are still ok since the idle will fluctuate a bit. Its pretty simple.

Will

[2mAn]

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO.... the car left the garage today for the first time in over a month. It was loud but it left under its own power. Didnt go far because I already had a tow truck on its way. Didnt want to risk any stupid things happening on the way to the muffler shop

Snapped this pic outside while waiting for the tow truck.

Exhausting work by 2mAn

I towed the car to the exhaust shop to get the exhaust wrapped up. Got my flex pipe connected and ditched the old rusty pipe and replaced it with 2” straight pipe back to the over axle piece. I’ll address that eventually with something better. Basically a straight pipe to an old ass glasspack.

This is the only pic I got at the muffler shop.

Exhausting work by 2mAn

I hope to get this thing driveable but this is the final week of my semester so I will be pretty swamped. Fingers crossed!

Tomorrow I will go buy a timing light but I need tips on what I need I do with it other than attaching it to the #1 ignition wire. Im getting close!

[2mAn]

I think I might have to buy a set of those full radius velocity stacks. Good work.

Will

Do it!

Stacks = automotive sexiness.
Makes me wish the e30 was carbureted

When I went for a run with my neighbor in his Alfa, the noise made by a pair of weber side drafts and a pair of Solex side drafts was sex

The U series head does look a lot nicer than the L20B (particularly the valves / combustion chambers)!

Weird how Nissan went with the reduced number of manifold studs and plates - the L20B also had a similar setup. My dad got 580,000km out of an L20B manual in his Datsun 910, so they were long lived engines (the rest of the car completely fell to pieces in the end though :D )

U20 is a special motor

Lol, I basically come to r3v these days just to check on this thread.

I love this car and the work going into it!

thanks! I am getting so eager to finish this off because it will feel so much better after all of this work. I am hoping to put a lot of miles on it during the long summer days. If I can actually get my headlights working, it would be even better! haha

[slammin.e28]

Lol, I basically come to r3v these days just to check on this thread.

I love this car and the work going into it!

[lukeADE335i]

The U series head does look a lot nicer than the L20B (particularly the valves / combustion chambers)!

Weird how Nissan went with the reduced number of manifold studs and plates - the L20B also had a similar setup. My dad got 580,000km out of an L20B manual in his Datsun 910, so they were long lived engines (the rest of the car completely fell to pieces in the end though :D )

[spanish pants]

Stacks = automotive sexiness.
Makes me wish the e30 was carbureted

[BlackbirdM3]

I think I might have to buy a set of those full radius velocity stacks. Good work.

Will

[2mAn]

Finally got back in the garage today and my goal was simple, get about 4 nuts on, because those ones were the bitch. About 15 minutes later, it was all downhill!...

Final stretch by 2mAn

Then another half an hour to get the two on the heatshield on. First one took a few minutes, the other took several tries and some clever tricks to get it on. After that, carbs basically went back on, but I dropped the final nut and it didnt make it to the ground, so I called it a day there... Im close!

Final stretch by 2mAn

Im also quite proud of this moment right here. I originally ordered the velocity stacks from this place called Techno Toy Tuning up in Shingle Springs, NorCal, but they were the longer 75mm version and they simply wouldnt fit under the air filter, so I had to borrow Wills velocity stacks. Since that day that I returned those stacks back, I had been in communication with them to make a set of the shorter 50mm ones. Theres a Datsun vendor who sells 50mm ones already but hes a jackass and charges quite a bit of money because he can, well... not any more. Techno Toy Tuning made me a set of 50mm stacks with the full radius and I will spread the word so the other guy has to get off his high horse. Check out the comparison.

Final stretch by 2mAn

Final stretch by 2mAn

I will likely also buy a set of 75mm ones from them again to have a "race" setup that I can run when Im open filter at the track. Should gain some torque back and get an even more killer sound

[BlackbirdM3]

damn Will, those are some big ass ports! ...

The crazy thing is, that is just about the same as a stock head. I port matched my stock head to a gasket the same way, I just didn't clean up the port much further in. There is a reason this head flows 212 cfm on the intake and 174 cfm on the exhaust side

Will

[2mAn]

damn Will, those are some big ass ports! ...

[BlackbirdM3]

Here are some pics of the head I just removed (broken valve spring.)





Will

[LateFan]

The Volvo B series engines are pushrod engines, the U20 is a SOHC.

Oh, I didn't realize that's the cam wheel hump I see there. Totally different design. Thanks -

[BlackbirdM3]

So that's not a cross-flow head huh? What era were those engines from originally? It looks surprisingly like the Volvo B18 / B20 red block, except I think on those the intake and exhaust are on the right / passenger side of the engine, with a big brake booster on the left.

Nope not a cross flow, but a very good design in its own right. They were made from the last half of '67 through 1970. They are similar to a Mercedes 4 cyl head, but better in many ways. Its kinda sad that the U20 was the only variation of engine to use the head. Its better in nearly every way than the L series one. The ports flow better, they are in a better location, valves are bigger, everything is better about it. The L20B, 2 liter engine made about 110 hp, the U20 with SUs and A cam (there were 2 factory cams, a .44 lift 258 degree "A" cam, and the .46 lift 280 degree "B" cam) made 135hp with SUs and 150 hp with 44mm Mikunis (what Simon has) and the B cam.

The Volvo B series engines are pushrod engines, the U20 is a SOHC.

Will

[LateFan]

So that's not a cross-flow head huh? What era were those engines from originally? It looks surprisingly like the Volvo B18 / B20 red block, except I think on those the intake and exhaust are on the right / passenger side of the engine, with a big brake booster on the left.

[jeenyus]

I love how that stainless looks on the valve cover. Good work! I probably would have ended up trying to get that stud out like an orangutang and broke it I'm sure. Much more wise to just leave it.

Also I completely understand the local hardware store vs online purchase.