I'm trying to get my Z on the road. I have put a lot of new parts in it so far. My biggest headache is getting needles so they will stop running rich. Any ideas?

ztherapy.com for all your Z car carb needs

How do you know that it's running rich because of the needles?

I'm with MikeW, how are you adjusting the carbs??

I would bet that your rich problem is just a matter of tuning or adjusting the carbs. Search some SU Carb threads for the basic steps of tuning. ZTherapy sells some nice tapes or SU tuning, will be the best $20 bucks you ever spend. If you are stuck yell and several here will help. I am running SM needles and larger jets and not rich, so most likely yours just needs to be adjusted to run properly or better and not replace them, unless they are damaged.

Let us know how you stand and if you want more.

:classic:

Craig

If you go the the tech. page and scroll down there is a how to on SU adjustment. Step by step. :classic:

A mechanic looked at it and he says the needles are bend in one of the SU Carbs. Should I replace then with OEM or Performance Needles?

Hey if you're good with your hands and have patients you can try straightening them first. Too bad you don't have the Ztherapy tapes, cause Steve shows his little trick of fixing bent needles with hand drill that often works. Well if not, give Steve or Bruce a call and tell them your set up, mods or (mods to be) and they would advice the best needle size to consider.

Your best bet is to run the stock needles n-54 . The sm needles are very rich running & should be used only if your engine is modified with a bigger cam & headers ect. You could try the sl needles which run a leaner than the sm. Which needles are in there now? The jets could also be worn out & need to be replaced? Did you check the float adjustments & if they were loaded with fuel?

I would agree with checking the float levels. You can remove the bell chamber and the piston and look in the carb body there is probably a puddle of gas above the jet. Either due to too high a float level or misadjusted jets.

I spent $150 on the rebuild kit because the guy I bought the car from swore that the carbs were toast. I should have checked them myself because it turns out that they were just severely gummed up. the biggest problem I have is leaking at the throttle shafts.

Also check to see if the needle is really bent or if it's just binding in the jet. Again, as was mentioned the Z therapy video covers this.

Thanks for all your help. I've visited Ztherapy and I think I'm going to invest in some of those video tapes. I'll take all this information to my mechanic and try to get things going.

Thanks.