Pumpkin Update: SHE'S HOME!

[misscourtneymae]

Hey guys! First off, I was so happy to have received such a warm welcome to classiczcar from my first intro thread. I'm really glad you guys enjoy the car, and I'm going to do my best to keep consistently updating on my progress! So, here's what I did yesterday. (Get ready for a lot of words.)

If you didn't read my intro post, you missed some info. Basically, when I brought the car home from Oregon, I was unable to get it back to the Bay Area that same night. I was fortunate enough to be able to leave it at my friend's shop in Sacramento (known online as CAtuned) to be able to work on it until I got the kinks worked out. The first day we went to work, we rebuilt the dual Webers. I really don't have a lot of history on these carbs, and the previous owner didn't tell me when they were installed, so I figured a rebuild definitely couldn't hurt. They also needed a good cleaning, since when we were struggling to make it up a mountain pass on the way out of Oregon, the car ultimately died on the side of the road after backfiring and sputtering incessantly. I had never rebuilt a carburetor in my life, so it was a learning experience. But it was successful!

After the rebuild, we couldn't get the car to run right. It started and idled just fine, but under throttle, it spit flames from the carbs. Not good. After some observation, we started to think that it was more of a timing issue than a carb issue. I had failed to check the timing initially, so that was my fault. But at this point, we had been working in the hot Sacramento weather for almost nine hours, so we were ready to call it a day. When we returned yesterday, we brought with us a timing light and some faith. The battery had died since we'd last started it, so we hooked it up to a charger to get it started. However, when we got it started, there was an immediate knocking coming from the motor. I felt my heart sink, and my friends and I looked at each other and all said, "Oh ****." It basically sounded like an awful rod knock. We listened all over the motor, down to the oil pan, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just this stupid knocking coming from somewhere in the front right of the engine bay (from my pov in the driver's seat). Under throttle, it sped up, but then seemed to go away at around 2k rpms. We figured if it was a rod knock, the damage was done, so there was nothing we could do. We ended up advancing the timing just a tad, and that fixed the entire backfiring issue. The carbs were probably fine from the start, but now I have rebuilt carbs and a solid running motor, so I'm happy.

But the knocking was still there. When my boyfriend went to flip the off switch on the battery charger, the knocking immediately went away. We all stopped for a second and just stared at each other. He flipped the charger back on, and the knocking came back. We laughed hysterically, and mostly out of relief that it wasn't a rod knocking in my motor. Has anyone ever encountered anything like this before? We had no idea what could cause something so weird. There's absolutely zero ticking/knocking from the motor now.

After that, we went on a test drive. Everything went smoothly, and the car ran great. No backfiring, no sputtering, and no hesitation like before. I did notice that the throttle hangs up just a tiny bit, but it's nothing major and doesn't really affect the drivability. I'll address that next. I decided that it was time to bring her back home to the Bay. I wasn't 100% confident to bring her on an hour and a half trip of all freeway. After waiting a short while for the tow truck, we were on our way.

All in all, it was a really successful day, and I'm beyond stoked to have Pumpkin home. (The blue 510 below is my boyfriend's.)

[SteveJ]

I would consider checking out the voltage regulator & alternator if the knocking sound came from the front right side of the engine, since that is where those components reside.

Gotta love the orange Zs. Enjoy the ride.

[misscourtneymae]

I would consider checking out the voltage regulator & alternator if the knocking sound came from the front right side of the engine, since that is where those components reside.

Gotta love the orange Zs. Enjoy the ride.

I didn't think about that, thanks for the advice! It makes me curious as to why it would create such a consistent, loud knocking sound, though. I'll do some research. Thanks again! (:

[jfa.series1]

...but under throttle, it spit flames from the carbs.

That's known as a "trial by fire"!!!

Glad no one and the car were not injured in any way. BTW - you have a great writing style, keep it coming.

[Zed Head]

That's a good point on the voltage regulator. The old external ones are mechanical with several moving parts inside. Your ammeter and a multimeter should tell you if the regulator and alternator are working correctly.

It will be interesting to see how often your boyfriend borrows your car. Why would you drive a 510 when there's a Z in the driveway...

[Stanley]

The Z looks very nice, and when it's parked by the 510 you have your own classic car show.

I also came South from Oregon, it was last Tuesday. The 5 has some major mountains (at least they seem like high mountains until you see Mt. Shasta), 7 mile / 7% downgrades, so it's a real test of the engine and also the brakes.

There are some great roads for the Z and the 510 in Northern California. The previous week I took the 20 from the 101 to Highway 1 near Ft. Bragg. Beautiful ride through the redwoods, well paved, and extremely twisty. Didn't take the Z (had a rental for car camping) but had a challenging drive anyway. In central CA, it's hard to beat Highway 1 from Monterey to San Simeon for scenery.

[SteveJ]

All I can think of is if the charger was pushing power back into the alternator due to a bad voltage regulator, the alternator would respond badly. A bad voltage regulator would also cause the battery to drain. If I am correct, it could also damage the bearing in the alternator.

[rcb280z]

Welcome to the addiction Courtney. You are going to have so much fun with your 240. Fix the things that need fixing and drive her. She will give you many years of enjoyment!

[Travel'n Man]

Welcome to the group - get ready for a great ride!

[LeonV]

The Z looks very nice, and when it's parked by the 510 you have your own classic car show.

I also came South from Oregon, it was last Tuesday. The 5 has some major mountains (at least they seem like high mountains until you see Mt. Shasta), 7 mile / 7% downgrades, so it's a real test of the engine and also the brakes.

There are some great roads for the Z and the 510 in Northern California. The previous week I took the 20 from the 101 to Highway 1 near Ft. Bragg. Beautiful ride through the redwoods, well paved, and extremely twisty. Didn't take the Z (had a rental for car camping) but had a challenging drive anyway. In central CA, it's hard to beat Highway 1 from Monterey to San Simeon for scenery.

Nice, Hwy 20 is a blast! That is, if the slow movers pull over or you go at off-peak hours. We camped at MacKerricher a month or two ago, it's a beautiful area along with the rest of Northern CA.

[siteunseen]

Looks like mine did at first, but it'll shine up like a new dime.

[Powderkeg]

Leon,

Next time you're in Northern , CA try Cloverdale (Sonoma County) to Ft Bragg. Highway 101 to 128 to Highway 1

or:

Ukiah to Ft Bragg Highway 101 to Highway 253 to Highway 1.

Both of these routes are south of the Highway 20 to Highway 1.

I used to take these routes in my 510, 91 Sentra Se-R, and 76 280Z. FUN!

Dave