beermanpete

I ran across a company selling precision oilers containing SAE20 oil recently. http://www.precisionoilerplus.com/ The oil is ISO 46 / SAE 20 and might work well in the SU carbs. For $7.00 it might be worth a try.

How much fuel is visible in the fuel filter in not important, nor is it a reliable indicator of fuel flow. Try using a remote fuel tank to run the car via gravity feed to the carbs. If it runs then you know the carbs are ok and the problem is the pump or a problem in the fuel line somewhere.

I second Zed's comments: The control arms are not lifting points. Shame on the people who did that to your car. It might be a good idea to have anotehr shop check out your car to see what the new clunk is from and if it is related to lifting the car by the control arms.

Fusible links don't carry amperage ratings. They are sized by wire gauge. You need one that is 1.25 mm2 (cross-sectional area in square millimeters), and one that is 0.5 mm2. The factory color codes are black and green respectively. Aftermarket parts might not use the same color codes so choose by the size.

The fusible links are in circuit locations that handle higher currents than 30 amps. That is why the original protection devices are fusible links and not fuses. Regardless of the protection device used the connections need to be clean and tight. When they get old they corrode, get dirty, and loose spring tension, all of these conditions increase resistance and cause problems. Generally, the high resistance not only causes operational difficulties (not start, dim lights, etc.) but also heating of the connectors which exacerbates the corrosion and spring tension loss. Clean and tighten the connections.

What is the rating on the fuse? Why is a fuse being used to replace a fusible link?

Try McMaster-Carr. They offer a large array of rubber and foam sheets at reasonable prices. http://www.mcmaster.com/#

11.5 volts at the pump is low. If the voltage measured at the battery is different (higher) at the same time you have voltage drop in the wiring somewhere. This is most likely due to loose and dirty connectors in the circuit that feeds the fuel pump. To locate the source of the voltage drop use your volt meter and measure the voltage across each connector and wire segment in the circuit while the pump is running. A good connection will not have any appiciable voltage drop. A good measurement will be less than 0.1 volt. Ideally it will be zero but it will never truely be zero. The best we can hope for is approching the limit of your meter's resolution. You are lossing about 3 volts but it is probably distibuted among the various connections and circuit elements rather that all at one location. Don't forget to check the ground side wiring as well. It is part of the circuit and can cause voltage drop just the same as the positive side wiring.

The tach can fail. Mine failed but it went to full scale all the time rather than doing nothing at all. To verify the wiring for the tach trigger, disconnect the white connector with four wires in it at the back of the tachometer. The engine should no longer run. If it still runs there is a wiring problem (or you have a 3-wire tach somehow).

The so-called seals are a result of installing the poly bushings. The factory parts do not have any seal in the bushings asit is not necessary.

The 3-in-1 SAE 20 works ok but I found that it disappears rather quickly and requires frequent topping off. Engine oil seems to last longer. As for viscosity, I found ATF to be a bit thin and finally settled on SAE 30, which is what I use in the engine.

Make sure you have oil in vacuum piston dampers. There is an endless debate on what oil to use but 10W30 is a good place to start.

It turns out the thermo-switch is in the passenger-side footwell on an assembly containing several relays and related devices. See the attached page from the service manual. A bit odd considering the wiring diagram shows it being attached to wires in the engine compartment. Anyhow, you don't realy need it unless you are required to maintain compliance with smog emission rules. Thermo Switch.pdf The popping is likely to be related to the tune-up adjustments. Have you done a complete tune-up? Adjust the valves, clean or replace and gap the spark plugs, set the dwell and timing, sync the carbs and idle mixture, an so on? Have you done a compression check?

Great that you goot it to run. What was the problem? The wiring diagram shows the black/white wire is a switch +12V feed having two branches in the engine compartment. One goes to the voltage regulator, the other goes to the thermo switch to control the EGR and for automatic models the relay that selects which set of points to use.

You have the dual points distributor, which is from a automatic transmission model. Not a problem, but you need to make sure you have a condensor connected to the set of points you will use. I only can see one condensor in the photo. I suspect the black/white wire is for the oil pressure sending unit.

Normal depends on the conditions. Immedeatly after start-up you should see a moderate charge that tapers off as the battery recharges. This will only last a few minutes. After that it should sit on 0 while driving. At a stop, while the engine is idling, you should see a small to moderate discharge until you start off again. Flickering could be from a regulator issue or an intermittent connecction. If you still have the mechanical regulator it can be adjusted if needed.

What about a problem with the Woodruff key that keys the distributor/oil pump drive gear? Perhaps, when the damper bolt loosened it allowed the gear to vibrate and wear or fracture the key?

Is it possible the ignition pickup or reluctor have moved such that the timing is off far enough that it won't even pop? I suppose it would have to be later rather early for that to happen. Check the internals in the disturobutor. My father had trouble with his Alfa Romeo where the timig kept shifting, although the car still ran but poorly. We traced it down to a staked shaft coupling in the distributor that came loose.

Your charging system sounds fine. 15 volts in normal on older cars, especially if still has the mechanical regulator. The lights getting brighter when you rev the engine is normal and shows that the alternator is working. The meters going crazy indicates a short or intermittent connection. Check the wire that connects to the temperature sensor at the thermostat housing. If it has a bare spot and touches ground the meter will pin. The ammeter problem and the poor running could be related. You could have a bad ignition switch or a bad connection in the main power feed to the car, after the ammeter.

To add to Steve's comment; you will need to use a combination of manuals to properly tube your car. The 72 manual will have the correct procedures and settings for setting up the carbs. The 74 manual will have the correct procedures and settings for everything else (assuming "everything else" is original).

Another thing to check is the fusable links and the ammeter shunt connections. They get loose and corroded with time. When the fail the whoel car can shut down. Clean them and carefully tighten if nessecary. Don't squeeze to hard as they tend to get britlle with age. There are two fusable links located on the firewall above the starter. This is small white/milky cube (if the cover is still intact) with four large wires on the bottom and two short loops on the side opposite the large wires. Two of the large wires are white with red trace. Not sure about hte others. The ammeter shunt is on the right side frame rail under the alternator. It is a rectangle box with two large white wires (red trace on one or both) and two small wires (red I think). If your ammeter is not working open the shunt housing and check the fuses. There are two 1 amp or 2 amp fuses inside which feed the ammeter.

Those are from a Z. I have a set like that laying around as well. I think they are from a 260Z.

It sounds like you have a motor at least. As has been stated already, fix the other small stuff not that you have verified the compression. Check the fuel pressure. It should be in the 3 to 5 PSI range for the Holley. With the electric pump you can do this without running the engine. Anything more than 5 PSI can force open the float valves and cause flooding. Also, since you are having what sounds like a rich condition and its a Holley, check the power valve. If it is bad it will cause flooding. Once you solve the fuel problems you can set the timing. If it won't idle you can set it at a high engine speed (3K RPM) for the full advance point, typically about 26 to 36 degrees depending on which distibutor you have and wether or not you are using the vacuum advance. Unhook the vacuum advance first. If the distrubutor is working correctly it will end up close enough at idle speed to idle if everything else is in the ball park. Really, you should be able to move the timing while the engine is running and set it by ear to get it close enough to idle.

Have you done a compression test? Or bettter yet, a cylinder leakage test? You need to veryify you don't have a bad valve before chasing the cam timing.

Not to likely overfilling would cause your problem. Two quarts is about right. The service manual amount is an approximation anyhow. Fill it until the oil starts running out from the filler hole. Make sure the car is level while filling or checking the oil.