Matches

To clear up my earlier post; I did replace the vacuum advance on the old distributor, and that did not solve the issue. In the next post after I had installed a rebuilt distributor, what I meant to say was that whatever the gizmo inside the dizzy that the vacuum advance moves was sticking. So problem is fixed. Zcarman: I did a valve job after replacing the distributor and looked at the cams. They are worn, but I don't think all that badly. Valve job went well and yielded good results. I won't bother with this engine much more now that it is running ok. It is a tired old non-stock L24/E88 combo that in my opinion, isn't worth modifying. Perhaps if I keep this car a high compression L28 will be in the future.

I am very certain it was the vacuum advance. Just sticking. The dirty old thing was due for a replacement anyway

I decided to purchase and install a remanufactured dizzy. Problem solved! Thanks everyone!

So it wont move then in reverse or first? Can a gear freeze like that without the other gears freezing? Strange. Is there oil in the tranny?

I really really like Datsuns, but do a search on Craigslist for anything between 60-70k and just see the glorious assortment of high powered exotics and Barret-Jackson muscle cars that come up. Must be a Nigerian.

Does the car move in any other gear? Problems getting the transmission into gear? What causes the car to stall in reverse? The 4 spd will go in, but you may find the gearing unfavorable.

So how do I tell? I pulled the vacuum hose off and sucked on it, I can watch the breaker plate and all that stuff move and will hold so long as I keep vacuum on. I am not sure what a sticking plate would look like. Thanks for the advice.

Cool thanks. So the same condenser for the distributor will function the same as the one for the coil? The connectors are different. Plus, the one on the coil has a mount for the large screw that holds down the coil bracket. Very different from the small machine screw on the distributor.

Adding fuel didn't seem to help. I began by giving the fuel adjustment knobs one turn for the richer and then using the maintenance screw to keep the engine idling. Went for a blast around the block and same misfire. I played with the fuel more after that, trying different settings. No change as far as I can tell. So I just reset the fuel knobs and idle screws with the flow meter. I think now I will re-watch the "Just SUs" video to be sure I remember what I am doing.

Thanks for the reply! Gonna go give that a shot.

Hello all, I have a 1970 with a replaced engine. Pretty common L24/E88 combo. I have Z Therapy round tops in that have been working perfectly as far as I can tell. They are reasonably new, and have low miles on them. I have done nothing with them save minor adjustments to the fuel mix per the instructions they come with. Overall the car runs well. She starts easy, revs quickly, holds a steady idle at around 900 with out support from the idle screws. She runs and drives happily at all RPMs and throttle positions until about 4-4.5k rpms then quite savagely hits bad misfire. I have done a lot of searching on this forum and found a lot of helpful stuff. Here is a quick list of what I have done so far: New vacuum advance New points New coil New condenser New plug wires New ignition rotor New ignition cap New spark plugs New battery New starter Ignition timing at 7* Removed and cleaned engine grounds Tested for battery voltage at coil, good Tested ground resistance at distributor breaker plate, good. I had a Pertronix unit in, and I had the exact same issue. So I swapped back to points just to be sure. Problem still exists. The distributor is old, but I don't know what to look for once it is too old. Should I be suspecting this? Running out of ideas, help!

Great, so it should have no bearing whatsoever on how my engine runs then right? I have the condenser at the distributor in place.

I can't find it in online parts catalogues, or at local parts stores. It looks like a condenser or a capacitor. What is its function? Do they ever need replacing? The part I am referring to is the small silver cylinder attached to the coil bracket, who's blue wire plugs into the positive side of the ignition coil. Credit for the photo goes to another member of this forum.

That is so cool! Nice find

Ug, electrics. The first things to check are the areas of wire that have a greater exposure to the elements. Check connectors for corrosion. Check grounds for clean contacts. After that, I think someone who has in general better luck with sorting these types of issues than I do had better chime in.

The headlights look odd, and the front bumper is questionable. However, seeing it in person it is over all a very good looking car I think. It has more curvy-ness in the lines, which I think have done it a lot of good overall.

If you are interested in my saga, check here: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29301&page=3 If you don't care to read through all that ( wouldn't blame you, its pretty dry ) then in a nutshell, I had a low voltage issue that kept the car from starting. I bypassed the ballast resistor and the car ran great. For two days. Its been a while since I have had time for any of this stuff. I had two days of the car running great when suddenly the engine started hesitating and sputtering and died on the freeway. That was months ago and now I am finished with school for the semester and actually have time to work on the car again. Pertronix and ignition coil that where dead. Just replaced them both and now I am back to a low voltage issue and still no ballast resistor. According to my multimeter I have good grounds and I am getting 8 volts to the ignition coil + with the key in the run position. But without a ballast resistor, shouldn't I be seeing 12v? I tried running a lead from the battery + terminal to the coil + and still no go. Coil is brand new, and rated @ 3.0 ohms, but only shows 2.5. Not sure where to go next. Anyone have any advice? Thanks

What do you mean exactly by lag? Describe the problem more

I just went through the field test that xray posted and my initial results are that the Pertronix unit has failed. I get constant 12v. However I don't know that I did it right. Should I have removed the base plate for the test? The instructions do not say to do so. I will call Pertronix tomorrow and ask their advice on the situation now that I have some real info to offer. Thanks everyone for the help.

Yes that was one of the first things I tried. No spark at the plug, so I went to the coil, spark at the coil so I know it is a problem with the distributor someplace. Cap, Pertronix, not sure yet. Narrowing it down! Thank for all the help guys!

So is the car running now with the new plugs?

Thanks for all the replies! The cap is brand new, but that doesn't mean it is no longer functional, just unlikely. Hopefully I still have an old cap laying around someplace I can swap it for. JimmyZ: I did check for spark at the coil wire. I pulled the single wire that goes from the coil to the distributor and laid it on the fender and cranked the motor. Good looking spark there. GILDIA: I thought of that and went to find the original bits of my distributor and realized I can't remember at all how it was wired. Oops. xray: Great troubleshooting link! Thanks. I will test the unit when I get home from work today. Yes the car was so fun to drive again for two whole days. Sigh indeed. Thanks guys!

I was getting on the freeway yesterday and going up the on ramp the car started "misfiring" ( quotations because I am not totally sure what was going on ) the car stopped accelerating and sounded horrible and felt like the engine was struggling to even stay running, I clutched in and the motor died right away. Towed off the freeway for the first time in my life. I have fuel, carbs are well tuned and happy. I have a good coil, tests with a multimeter well and the ignition lead throws plenty of spark when laid on the fender and motor cranked. But if I remove a spark plug and ground it on the fender, no spark. I checked all the wires to the Pertronix unit and they are good. My car had not been starting before until I put in a new 3.0 ohm coil and removed the ballast resistor. Was running great for two whole days until this. Pertronix manual says no BR could damage the module. But the coil tests at 2.5 ohms, so the Pertronix unit shouldn't be getting fried right? I though I would ask here before calling Pertronix. Any advice would be great.

Hot sauce!