First Drive!!

Daryl Smith · Post by **Daryl Smith** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 12:15 am

Got the car running well enough that I thought I would take it up & down the block.

Works GREAT!! Transmission shifts beautifully! Throttle is very "crisp" as is the exhaust note!

I still have a couple of bugs to work out.
- Oil leak that I thought was my VR sensor looks like it is actually the oil pan gasket, hopefully just a loose bolt or two (fresh rebuild).
- Tach reading doesn't seem quite right, but I could be wrong. Seems to climb too fast. Have to figure a way to check it.
- Speedo didn't work? I'm not sure where I went wrong on this one. ( Classic Instruments electronic gauges )
- Have to align the body so a tire doesn't rub the wheel wells.

- Can't seem to get the idle below about 1000 rpm. and it is rougher than I like but don't know if that is due to the 270* cam. Set the 1600 carb
nozzles to .093 (following the writeup on 311s.org) and balanced the air using a synchrometer. I was hoping for a relatively smooth idle at about 800 rpm.

Hopefully with another couple of sunny weekends I'll be able to get these things sorted and start driving it on a regular basis.

Details of the build as of today:

'66 1600
R16 block, G15 crank, 1600 rods, custom pistons (1800 cc ~9.2:1 compression).
Aluminum Head, ported, oversize valves.
Stock SU carbs, intake (so far - soon efi)
Megajolt Lite Jr / Ford EDIS ignition.
14" Electric fan.

'84 Datsun deisel p/u 5 spd bellhousing (modified).
'92 Nissan 240SX 5 spd, 5th changed to .833 (from .759:1)
Shortened driveshaft.

Thanks to Steve for the 311 site, and all those here that have answered my questions and put up with my tirades.

Cheers

Post by **spl310** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 12:34 am

Fantastic!! Glad to hear that she is going again!! How did the franken transmission work out?

Daryl Smith · Post by **Daryl Smith** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 12:51 am

It was a bunch of work to get it in, but I think it was worth it.
The truck/Z 5 spd would have been a little easier I think. And cheaper.

Effortless and smoooth shifting, and much quieter than the worn out 4 spd I took out. 'Course I only got to second gear on my block, so need a few more miles for a good evaluation. Gimme a couple weekends of sunshine and I'll give you a thorough rundown.

Maybe find another roadster owner in the area who wants to volunteer as a test driver / evaluator so you can get a second opinion.

Cheers

garth · Post by **garth** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 10:16 am

Daryl

Congratulations!

Mechanic #2 told me you visited on Saturday. Sorry I missed you. I'd like to see and hear your roadster. Could be inspirational. My progress has been galacial compared to yours.

Maybe find another roadster owner in the area who wants to volunteer as a test driver / evaluator so you can get a second opinion.

You know where I live.

Daryl Smith · Post by **Daryl Smith** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:31 am

Garth,
I'll prolly drop by the day I get it insured.
Unfortunately that day has been delayed by a buddies house reno. I promised to rewire his kitchen and I just found out that happens this weekend.
That'll put me another week behind.

"Life is what happens when you've made other plans!"
??????

Cheers