Mark Maras

Don't know if this relates but a month or so ago there was a lot of discussion about a rubber disc between the mc & booster rod that tends to fall down in the booster. & forgotten. Without it the pedal has a lot of travel. Possible that the mc piston doesn't have enough stroke to bleed the air out because the stroke is too short?

I agree with Mike, Frame drainage holes seem to be better at allowing water in than out, Upon opening up my rails for a look see, aside from rthe rust I was surprised to find the insides were still wet with Northwest liquid sunshine. Car had been garaged or under cover for more than six months. Theoretically, more holes will weaken the rail but flaring the holes may compensate & strengthen the rails back to near original specs. I haven't decided whether to try & totally seal the rails or add flaired holes, Either way I'm leaving doors to access the rails from the inside.

I seem to recall that part being the gizmo that holds the jack in place. Maybe

I agree with Zed. Another option may be Heli-Coils if the existing threads are suspect.

That made me remember "American Woman" Guess Who.

Maybe there is something to that 401 Z plan after all.

There must be a difference between the two bell housings where the s-cyl. attaches. Two possible suggestions swap bell housings, if there is a difference between them or a block spacer under the cyl.

Broken bolts- Yesterday I discovered something new, at least to me. Previously I had broken off several of the fender bolts. I had soaked the bolts in tranny fluid & acetone previously & used heat but to no avail. Last night I grabbed what was left of the bolt with vise-grips but it was still stuck. I heated it again & then put an icecube on the bolt stub until the ice stopped melting, grabbed the end with a pair of pliers & it came out without a fuss. Tried another one & had the same result. Tonight I'm going to try the same procedure with the unbroken bolts on the other fender, I'll let everyone know if it's successful.

The round vacuum devise is the dashpot (old term). When backing off the throttle, it momentarily prevents the throttle linkage from closing all the way to idle, A lot of Z owners just remove it. Non essential. You have the domed carbs because a PO did you a favor. The FSM for 1970,1971 should be the one to use but ZTherapy's SU DVD contains ALL the info you will need to fully understand the carbs. Believe me, SUS are not complex at all.

No relay clicks in my early 260, but that may not be of much use. Mine, at this time, is running but I have virtually no power to the dashboard yet. May be a clue there.

To really understand these carbs, ZTherapy,com has a DVD that has all the info that you will need. I considered myself pretty good with SUs, having run them for decades with little to no trouble but I was surprised at the tips & tricks that I picked up from the video. I don't understand why you changed the needle height to lean the mixture, Needles should be the same height on both carbs Shoulder of the needle even with the bottom of the piston not even with the groove. The mixture adj. is done with the the nozzle nuts after ensuring the float levels are at the right height.

Why the difference in the previous 4500 rpm & the later 3500 rpm. Was the difference caused by creeping the rpms up on the 4500 & stabbing the throttle on the 3500? Also, did pulling on the choke make any difference? Mechanical pumps alone will supply plenty of fuel for round top carbs on a L26 if the filters are maintained.

Sounds like fuel starvation to me. Not ruling out ignition but a plugged filter will restrict RPMs under load. A quick check to see if it's lack of fuel, rev the engine, in neutral, to 6000 RPMs, If it happily revs with no load, it's lack of fuel, Another interesting symptom is the car will go the same MPH in any gear & no higher, When it happened to me, all of a sudden the car would not go over 45 MPH. Second, third or fourth gear, 45 MPH. No engine miss, the engine ran fine, My dad was my riding mech. that day & immediately knew what it was, I was able to blow out the filter by the fire wall as a roadside fix, Start with all the fuel filters. Possibly one in front of the tank, another at the fire wall & one on each carb. Fuel pump pressure & volume is next. Hope this helps.

Wow, That's impressive if nothing else, That noise just topped my list of strange noises from machines. I'm with Blue, Tires on painted concrete was my first thought. Second was a puppy under the tire, I'd go to my 3' garden hose stethescope. With the help of a friend moving the s-wheel( I'm assuming that is what you're doing when the noise appears), you should be able to poke 1 end of the hose toward the noise from above or below, the other end to an ear & locate the sound. An ear plug in the other ear may help muffle the noise. Please follow up & let me know what you discovered. I need closure. Mark

That may be a good price but they aren't the carbs you want. Almost everyone uses the round top carbs. Earlier vintage & very adjustable. Bruce at ZTherapy would be a great person to advise you. You don't want to end up with nice shiny carbs w-worn throttle shafts.

Engine off, work the carb linkage by hand, It should feel smooth thru the entire range. Idle then WOT then idle. Push the linkage towards idle is there further movement? If so look for the cause. Lube all pivot points, & try it again. During the fast idle try lifting the pedal to see if the idle drops. I highly recommend ZTherapy's Just SUs DVD. It's the Gospel on SUs. As far as the Uni-syn goes I adjust the U-S(the center of the U-S screws in & out) so the ball is close to centered first, then I check the carb balance. I think you'll need to recheck the carb tuning.The only reason that I can think of to clip the springs is if you wanted more pedal pressure.

Inspite of being sure the float level is right, 4 1/2 turns down would be neccesary if the fuel level was too low. You said the bowls were full. The level has to be near perfect. Just a thought that hadn't been brought up. Have you tried pulling on the choke to see if anything changes. It's a handy way to check the mixture especially if it's lean.

Several things to consider; RUST The #1 problem with Zs. Take an ice pick & poke any blisters(paint or rust)-Fender wells, body below the doors, frame rails, floor pan, spare tire well, seat supports, cowel in front of the windshield, pull the battery, this a notorious place for rust. VOE I scanned the project 260 that I bought last fall fairly well for rust, or so I thought, Things I missed; Seat support, Hole in the rear of the right fender well. Behind & below the battery. OK I can deal with it, then I open up the right frame rail from the inside.I haven't seen that much rust since I left the ship repair yards. My 6 month project no longer has a definitive on the road date. OK, Engine,a working starter & a battery will allow you to do a compression check. The dash looks good, could mean a car that has been under cover much of it's life. Enjoy the project.

Just another jab at Lucas "The prince of darkness".

No, it doesn't sound good. At this point turning the engine over may be a waste of time. However, you may break it loose by pushing the car in gear, & engaging the clutch while it's rolling. While a rebuild for this engine may be inevitable perhaps a short term fix would be a swap. There are more engines avail. out there than cars. I'm sure a lot of members have spare engines for sale. Almost all of us have had buyers remorse as we discovered the true state of our dream. Often the project grows beyond our time, talent & money. Determination & desire keep the dream alive. You're about to discover how much of both you have for this project. Keep the faith.

My first impression is lean mixture. Round tops or flat tops?

This gem from my daughter "The only people that understand women are other women, That's why they don't like each other."

What color are your plugs? This will tell you which carb needs adjusting. If the mixture screw adj. is substatially different between the two the float level is off. The best source of info on SUs is the SU DVD from ZTherapy.

I don't think leakage is supposed to be normal. I noticed the same spots under my hood about six months before my fan clutch seized. I replaced mine with a flex-fan, You may want to start lokking for a replacement now rather than later.

The problem is fuel related. but checking the valve clearance first is a must do. These carbs are very simple to work on so don't be intimidated. Remove the air filter & housing. While another person operates the choke reach under each carb & check for full movement of the nozzles. With the choke on, grease the nozzles. Check the oil level in both carbs. With the carb intakes exposed, lift the pistons all the way up & let them drop. They should drop at about the same speed & should feel smooth. Pull the float bowl covers & verify that there is fuel in the bowl & it is about 19mm from the bowl rim.(warning, the gaskets will Pringle on you so it's a good idea to get new ones first).Turn the mixture screws all the way up & note the turns. If the float level is close the m. screws will be about 2 1/2 turns down. Let us know.