Captain Obvious

Thanks for putting on the snowshoes to get those pics. I think that's cool and I'm going to look into doing that on mine. Thanks again!

My pleasure guys. I've got other lock pictures that I took when I redid all mine. Someday I really mean to get around to documenting some of that. There's always just something else hotter on the list though. Hey E, if you do get a pair of those facecap removal pliers, I'd be interested in hearing how well they worked. That holding fixture I made isn't the easiest thing to use, but it was virtually free (other than my time investment) and the results were really good. I've popped maybe six facecaps off since I made it, and all of them have been in suitably re-usable condition. I'm sure the "right" tool works easier and maybe better results as well. I'd love to have a good pair. Being as how I'm not in the biz, I just couldn't justify the cost for the few times I expected to use it.

Haha! Nice. So you could either know how fast your miracle was going, or where it was located, but not both at the same time? Am I the only one here who completely wiped chem from their memory? My transcripts say I took some chem, but other than that, I can't prove it!

Most of the off the shelf O-rings you will find in the hardware store are Neoprene, or Buna-N (Nitrile). And I'm not so sure that I would jump on the Viton bandwagon so quickly... Viton (fluorocarbon) is not compatible with glycol based brake fluids. I have no idea what today's brake fluids are made from, but the incompatibility bore special mention in the application charts. Point I'm trying to make is do your research homework first. :bulb:

Haha. Partial credit for the chutzpah. That's awesome! The prepackaged MS option is certainly viable. I wonder if this is the kind of thing that the Diyautotune.com company in that other thread is planing to do. I was thinking KISS. Less programmability than MS, but more target specific. In other words, it wouldn't need to be as complicated as MS, but it wouldn't be as adaptable either. Just does what the original system does and maybe a little more?

Thanks E. I made that fixture a while ago and it's been so long that I don't remember if there were any gotchas in the fabrication. Maybe I'll make a second one and see if it's possible to make them cheap enough to offer. Haha. My own time is "free" in my shop, right? If you're thinking you're going to do a bunch of these things, they make tools specially designed for this job. There are several different brands, but here's one example from http://www.gatortools.com/FaceCapTool1.htm: I did a little looking around and saw that the prices for tools like the above seem to range ~70-200. The simple fixture I made is specifically sized for the Z door locks (and anything else the exact same size). The professional tools are adjustable and adaptable to other sizes. You know would work the best? My holding fixture in COMBINATION with one of those fancy facecap removal pliers. I bet that would be the shizz.

Tomohawk, I think you're getting your users a little confused... User "billyjarrell" is the guy who started this thread. He started this thread to announce that he had just gotten a new job working at a company that develops, builds, and sells the MegaSquirt brand of engine management systems. That company is called DiyAutotune.com. I don't know if he is still working at that same company, but if he is, he could probably be reached there. User "superlen" is a different guy who popped up about a third of the way down the thread announcing that he had been working on a digital based drop-in replacement for the original ECU. He (superlen) is the guy that seems to have evaporated. I suspect life got in the way and this project has stalled again on the bench. I've got a million of those projects...

JB, My first attempt at getting the facecap off was to use a small screwdriver and bend (or unbend) the crimped over portion all the way around, and while it did work, it's easy to mangle the facecap in the process. So it's nothing glamorous, but here's what I came up with. It's got an angled face that accepts and supports the front of the facecap and it's got a tight fit around the outside lip of the facecap so there's no wasted motion by the cap squirming around while you apply force. It concentrates the force in the bend area where you want it and keeps the rest of the facecap from distorting during the process. Here's where the facecap goes: Here's a lock face down in the fixture: I clamped the lock face down into the fixture in a vise and worked my way around with a couple different sized screwdrivers. Here's a close-up shot showing the facecap flange after it has been bent out of the way: And here's a facecap completely off:

Haha! No, I wasn't offering you the black box part. That's the big selling point of a design which is digital at the core and "reacts identically to input stimuli" when compared to the original analog design. The trick is that nobody needs to figure out HOW the black box parts work. You only need to experimentally determine WHAT it does, and that can be done on the test bench. You need a power supply, some input conditioning circuitry, a microcontroller with enough A/D's to handle the inputs, and an output stage. The rest is software. As Bones says, "A child could do it"...

Come to think of it, I just remembered that there is a user superlen who I believe had been working on such a device. He said he started it in 1993... Lenny doesn't post much, but here's some info in this thread: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/fuel-injection-systems-s30/45620-long-time-member-new-job-diyautotune-com.html I'm surprised he hasn't poked into this thread and mentioned it. He should be long done by now. :classic:

Fastwoman, I think that's what Tomohawk suggested earlier, and I agree. I think that would be cool. I've got the output stage under control, and I'll take care of the power supply. What section do you want to do?

TomoHawk, I believe you underestimate the amount of effort required to reverse engineer the original schematic when there are custom undocumented IC's in the mix. There's no way I could fill in for the "little black boxes" without lots and lots and lots of effort. Maybe never... It might appear "simple" from the outside, but I bet there's a lot of black magic in that old analog L-Jet box. In fact, I think it would be a much easier job to build a new system using a digital core that "reacts identically to input stimuli" than trying to figure out how the original analog system does it.

Re-keying any of the locks is very easy except for the door locks. The ignition, glove box, and hatch locks are all cake. The door locks are a little tougher due to the chrome (stainless actually) facecap trim crimped onto the outside face. I built a fixture that makes it possible for me to get that trim off with little enough bending that it can be re-used, but even with my fixture, it's not an easy job. They make facecap removal tools, but I wasn't thinking I'd be doing mine ever again. You're getting quite good with the clothes hanger wire! :laugh:

That sounds cool... Have you got any pics? Can you get to the spare tire without a screwdriver?

Post a couple good pics of the engine bay. Maybe there's something related to the conversion from flat top to round top that might show up in the pics? Are you still running the 73 balance tube? Have you talked to ZT about your carbs? From what I've seen, they are more than happy to provide assistance to get thier stuff running properly.

Figured as much. So after you verify that your float bowl level is correct and move to tuning with the engine running, here's an extensive collection of SU tuning information. It's from one of the stickys at ZCAR.com, and you should read, read, and read: carb tuning; can't find Norm's procedure - ZCAR.COM If you can't tune your SU's after studying all the info in the above thread, then you should just take it to someone else. And yeah, that Unisynch should come in handy.

Nice knob. I like the insert. Would look out of place in a Z car, but it's cool! As for the machines, I've spent at least three times more on the tooling for my lathe than the basic machine itself. Taper attachment is very useful. Milling attachment is as well, but you're right. A dedicated mill is better. If you're holding out for a mill though, then be warned... The home shop grade small mills are very desirable, and are priced accordingly. It's counter-intuitive, but full sized used mills like the ubiquitous Bridgeport can usually be had for cheaper than the home shop grade smaller stuff like Atlas, Millrite, and Burke.

My pleasure. That wire fix seems as good as a way as any to fix the problem short of resorting to new parts. So you already ordered the new locks off ebay? Just toss them in a box and hold onto them in case the coat hanger fix doesn't last. Oh, and one thing to remember is that the ones coming from ebay are keyed different than what you already have, so if you do eventually switch to the new locks, you'll either have to re-key them all to match or you'll have to carry multiple keys.

Excellent. I'm quite familiar with the 10K so if you've got any questions that come up with it, I can probably help there. My lathe is the little sister to yours and mine is definitely older than I am. The saying as was told to me... "Once you have a lathe, it will become so useful that you'll never be able to figure out how you managed to live so long without one." I can personally attest to the validity of that statement.

tamo3, That is a very common failure of the Z car door locks. Replacing the cylinders is probably the best way to take care of it, but here's some threads that show a different way of dealing with it: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-zcar-discussion/40683-door-lock-repair-s30s.html http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-zcar-discussion/45114-how-s30-door-lock-coat-hanger-repair.html

You said thickness, but I'm assuming you meant inside diameter? If that's the case, then you need something close to 3/16 ID. It's not a critical fit since you're not going to be running the car with it installed. Just something snug enough that it doesn't leak or slip off accidentally while you are verifying the bowl levels. Clear PVC would be a good choice for short term gasoline contact and you can probably find something suitable in the lawnmower repair section of your local home and garden supply store.

I was never planning to make a bunch of these, but if you were, the device you need is called a duplicating attachment for your lathe. Such devices are relatively common in the woodworking realm. Not as common in metal working venues, but certainly any well tooled wood shop should have such an attachment available to be fitted to one or more of their lathes. If you had a wood lathe with a duplicating attachment you would use a template as your guide and you could crank out multiple copies of the wooden part of the knobs easily and quickly. The metal base would still be an issue, but the wood part would be easy. I am tooled more for metal working though, and have no such device. That's why all my stuff was made one-off by eye. So your school has a machine shop... Does they have a wood shop as well?

Wayne, It looks awesome. Thanks again for all the great work you've done on this! It's an amazing piece of work!

Or for people who are allowed to... Change to carbs. I've got a great set of flat tops sitting all lonely in a box in the garage,

Haha! Yeah, but the prototype for this one occurred in 1973 or 74. The mass production is already over and long gone. You're thinking there might be a market for analog replacements for the stock analog ECU? With the digital options available already, I think that would be a hard sell. I'm not sure what you mean with the comment about adjustability. Are you wishing for a way to tweak the original analog ECU?