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Recently, I sent off a small box of hardware for plating. Unknown to me, the place I sent the parts to had gone out of business, and my box got hung up in the UPS/USPS system for quite a while. But, I was successful in getting the box of parts back finally, after many weeks. I found another plater, and sent the parts off again. He got them done literally over a weekend and got them back to me already. For the horns, the first plater I sent them to wouldn't do them. So, this time, I drilled out the rivets holding the electrical parts to the back plate and sent the back plates off for re-plating. I had to order "semi-tubular" rivets and "rivet curling punches" to set the new rivets. Today I experimented a bit with those. The rivets for the "bridge bar" need a bit more work, I think: The rivet for the spade connector looks perfect: Didn't have much time to work on them tonight, but should be able finish them up this weekend.

Date code on that block indicates manufacture date is May 12, 1972. Stock head at that time would be an E88. Some parts may be of value to the stock restoration crowd. Air galley pipe, air pump... the fuel pump if a "Nikki". Block may be of interest to vintage racers. E31 heads still have value as people restoring the early VIN cars need those.

Asking the question different ways isn't going to change my answer... There are 2 positions where the motor is at TDC in a cycle! You need the position where the two cam lobes on the first cylinder are pointing upwards and not pushing on the valves. The timing pointer on the crankshaft pulley should be pointing to the first mark on the the pulley. With all the spark plugs out you should be able to rotate the engine with a ratchet. You can verify the piston is all the way up by looking in the spark plug hole or using a screwdriver to feel the top of the piston. The dizzy should be pointing at the #1 spark plug in the dizzy cap. Remove the dizzy and replace with the new one...

IMG_1916.mov I finally got the fuel pressure stable. There was an issue the first time I ran it with the regulator where I couldn’t get more than 2.75 psi out of it. I took it apart and cleaned it on the advice of the manufacturer and now it’s working. I’m not sure what it was because it looked pristine inside, but now I am good to go. IMG_1915.mov It’s still running super rough. The idle mix screws are at two turns out and it’s very rich. I’m hoping to address the jetting over the weekend, but I might not get to it.

AH !!! NOW i know why you'r struggling! 🙂 As Patcon said.. look at the valves (Remove cover!) and .. as i would do put a screwdriver or something long and thin like a stick in the Cyl. 1 sparkplug hole. (Take a look in your servicemanual.. NEVER work on a car without a SERVICEMANUAL!! (Do you still have no servicemanual for your car after 8 years of struggle? wow! )

Gotcha. So "installed height" has nothing to do with the location of the tip of the valve stem. Seems important for valve pressure and bind analysis, but really doesn't have anything to do with the problem you're having. So I poked around a couple seconds and turned up a thread on ratsun that talks some about the isky retainers. Seems the Isky retainers are specially made to work with Isky springs? Something about fewer coils maybe and keeping them centered? But there's also talk about making sure you don't sink a seat, and people have had the same tall retainer problem and have cut down the retainers: https://ratsun.net/topic/42818-l20b-with-a87-head-valve-spring-questions/

No

There are 2 positions where the motor is at TDC in a cycle! You need the position where the two cam lobes on the first cylinder are pointing upwards and not pushing on the valves. The timing pointer on the crankshaft pulley should be pointing to the first mark on the the pulley. With all the spark plugs out you should be able to rotate the engine with a ratchet. You can verify the piston is all the way up by looking in the spark plug hole or using a screwdriver to feel the top of the piston. The dizzy should be pointing at the #1 spark plug in the dizzy cap. Remove the dizzy and replace with the new one...

I dont see much demand for L24's in the US. I would probably strip it. Sell the head and accessories separately. Keep the odds and ends and scrap the block

That would be very special.. i think you mean E31. (as they had standard E31 and E88 heads.) An E30 head sits normally on a 2 liter engine out of, for example a Laurel. (A E30 would also make much to high compression on these E30 blocks.. no do not ask how i know! 🙂 ) The more parts you sell separate the more you will earn. An engine without the external parts AND NO CLUE about the internals go for 500 euro and a good compression one for 1500? A excellent new restored one with warranty might go for 4-5000 euro.. It might be a smart thing to do some compression testing as you could earn over a grand? That's over here in Europe. We often also buy a second engine for reserve.. I Know that Bart .. and me too.. have a spare. If i where you i would dissasemble it and only sell the lower part and keep all the spare parts on a attic or so. You can always use them to swap with someone elses parts.