Mark Maras

As I've followed the ongoing story of RedBird's gremlins, I've often wished I could just be there to get my grubby mitts on them, as I'm sure a lot of you have too. Several members have generously donated their time and parts to help out and continue to do so. There is an ongoing problem of a dying engine, only to restart again in 10 minutes. The most urgent problem to be dealt with is a slipping clutch. This repair should be made ASAP, as she's now driving borrowed transportation. To my knowledge a 76 doesn't have an adjustable rod and this clutch has been slipping for at least a year. The answer, it would seem, is a new clutch. Jai, Redbird's soulmate and daily driver, is on fixed income and has limited mobility. RedBird is her second Z, RedWing being the first. (RedWing is currently being restored by a member) Jai has driven a Z most of her adult? life. Jai could use all of our help getting RedBird back on the road.. I can't be there, like most of you, so I thought that we could help, from afar, by starting a "go fund me" for repairs. My guess is a "clutch job" will run around $500.00, give or take. A little extra to sort out the other gremlins would be a real blessing. Not a vast sum of money, unless one doesn't have it. We can transfer our donations thru PayPal using Jai's email address. onesupercatmensa@gmail.com. This is a golden opportunity to help out a fellow? Z owner and feel good about ourselves too. A real WIN, WIN for all. Jai and I will keep a running total to let everyone know how we're doing. Thank you all. Mark

Jai Remembering back to the times it has shut down, is there anything similar in the failures? A smell, a feel, a sound change,? Similar condition? Going uphill, downhill, a few minutes or miles after starting out, the same stretch of road? How often has it failed a few miles down the road after filling the tank, for instance? Here's one more specific. Has she always shut down when accelerating? Possibly indicating fuel starvation. @gwri8 When the engine shut down, was there ANY symptom of rough running or dropping of revs just before the engine died or was it more like someone just turned off the ignition? I'm talking about the last second before it died.

You can verify the float level by removing the suction chambers and pistons. (Be careful that you don't bend the needles. I temporarily set the pistons on the cowl with the needles protruding through one on the slots.) With the use of a good light, look down into the hole in the center. You will be able to see the top of the fuel nozzle. It will look like a small washer. The fuel level should be at or very near the top of the nozzle, (washer) with the mixture screws 2 1/2 turns down. Clean everything before reassembling. Let us know what you find.

I'd suspect that the coolant visible along the valve cover gasket is dripping, oozing, etc down onto the exhaust manifold and turning to steam. If you can collect a drop of the suspect liquid, put it on the HOT exhaust manifold. If it steams, it's coolant. If it smokes, it's oil. When I'm looking for the source of leaks, I always start at the rear and trace the leak forward on the car. When I can't find anymore liquid going forward, then I look up. Works every time. In this case the coolant alongside the valve cover is coming from up forward. Likely the thermostat housing or something close to it.

A cheap stethoscope is a great tool but sometimes a bit short. A 3'-4' piece of garden hose (siphon hose) held to an ear will allow one to poke about without kissing a hot engine.

I don't know that for sure. Could be the higher boiling point of water.

Most of my searches were at antique auto clubs. Nothing scientific, just a lot of old timers opinions. There was a consensus of opinion about not doing it if your engine has sensors, catalytic converter, etc. In other words, early 70's cars and older. Your explanation makes sense. The heated fuel lines and or float bowl become a mini refinery, of sorts. Reading the old auto journals from the early 1900's, what fuel to burn in an engine was a heated topic. Gas was expensive and of varying quality. One of the more interesting methods of doctoring poor gas was adding a mix of acetone and water to the gas to up the octane rating and prevent vapor-lock. Reportedly, it worked. They also recommended "When testing the boiling point of your petrol, It's advisable to do it outside."

What are the odds? All three of the 2+2's there have a 2.7.

The consensus of opinion (on line) seems to be that diesel in gas does raise the boiling point and can alleviate vapor lock (according to the "good ol boys). Varying opinions on the negatives but most negs. could be explained by the ratio being used. My question is, could one achieve the same results with 2 cycle oil instead of diesel? The use of two cycle oil mix in a Wankel is what got me thinking about it.

Here's an interesting article on the 1908 Union (SU) Carburettor. "The Motor Car Journal" May 2nd 1908 https://books.google.com/books?id=KGIfAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=union+carburettor&source=bl&ots=36OhmQgNzw&sig=75Ti_6Y_S25oSwLwUudl9WYQoaQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjXipn438TRAhVBsVQKHbPkDT0Q6AEIQjAJ#v=onepage&q&f=true

These days, any Z with minimal rust is looking more desirable. IMO, one could pour far more than $8500.00 into a Z just to bring it up to this one's quality.

Agree with takhli, mechanical pump is all you need. IMO, a thorough cleaning of the carbs and basic tuning procedures should be all you need. @rossiz has SU's on his 280. I don't remember him changing nozzles or needles. No need for larger fuel lines.

Jalex Have you removed the fuel line insulation yet?

It was a Washington thing back then. Dealers had a pile of plates for temporary use.

One thing at a time, remember? A small implement of destruction (side cutters) and ten minutes is all it will take to remove the insulation from the fuel rail. We're all waiting for the results. We'll get to the fuel rail replacement in due time.

I've run mine without a thermostat. I don't remember it overheating without it, I remember low temps in the engine and heater. It was one of those out in the boondock repairs, a long way from anywhere in eastern Oregon. Basic tools, a short case box for a gasket, beer from the short case for coolant and the need to get to another beer store and then a parts store. Found the beer, drove it back to Portland, sans thermostat. It turned out to be a memorable trip. Not something I would recommend but it beats the hell out of running it with a thermostat that's stuck closed. No damage to the engine at all.

If it looks silly (I agree) and you don't like it, why not remove it before the fuel rail, drive it and share any change you experience with the club members? The fuel rail could come later. Your contribution to solving the problem may prove valuable to others with Zs in warmer temperatures. I, for one, am curious how much change you notice in changing one thing at a time.

When you pop the hood, how long does it take for the idle to smooth out and is the temp gauge dropping as the idle improves? Did you bypass the stock fuel rail on the engine with a flexible fuel line yet? Assuming the plugs now look somewhat normal in color (tan-ish, tell us if they're not), What radiator and fan combo are you running? Specifically, the number of rows in the rad and if you're using a clutch fan, does it have much resistance in the clutch? On my first Z I found that a larger capacity rad (3 row) and a flex fan stopped my overheating problems on those blistering hot (100`+) days sitting on I-205 during rush? hour. Before that fix however, I found that shutting off the engine even briefly instead of idling would delay the overheating quite a bit longer (it always started with a click of the key) and on a few occasions I turned the heater and fan on high to help drop the engine temp. Not much fun in a Z with a black interior, no louvers and 100`+ heat but anything to save the engine, which it did.

Looks like a pop-up camper attachment. I didn't see it at first. I was fixating on the size of those side pipes. Look like they're from an old 427 Vette or a 427 Cobra.

That's great. We've all experienced the thrill of the drive.

Yeah, "scammer" was over kill on my part. I've found the sellers with a large inventory of parts are frequently not as easy to deal with as the person selling one or two parts.

It would be nice to know how much of the interior is missing. If the rust is truly minimal, everything that's missing is bolt on. Much easier and cheaper in time and money than replacing sheet metal. Looks like less work than my 74.

On the plus side, it was done to a 2+2.

Personal experience? Nice to know about scammers in our area.

Another reason why I love Oregon.