Cutlass372

Hey everyone, I have been messing with the car some more and the problem still persists. I Took the car to a shop and had them tune the carbs. The car feels much stronger and has better throttle response, but that didn't fix the problem. I am beginning to think that the problem is in the distributor, as the problem changes based on where I place the timing. When I advance the timing a good bit, the car will rev fairly high but it starts to make a sound that I believe is detonation (sort of sounds like a spitting noise). Maybe the internal advance mechanism isn't working correctly which makes me need to advance it more? What do you guys think? I have been trying to find a local person with and extra dizzy to try, but that hunt isn't going to well. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks, Elliot

Anyone have an idea? Any help would go a long way. Thanks, Elliot

Hey everyone, I set the timing on my 72 240z at 10 degrees BTDC at around 750-800 RPMs. When I look at the cap and rotor though, there is a black mark at the extreme end of the rotor(all the way ccw) and there are marks on the cap to the extreme ccw side too. Would this mean that my timing is off? The cap is getting sorta blackened so I am assuming there is a good spark. Nothing really seems out of place except that and its lacking in low end power. It might be missing a little bit? But it seems hard to tell. Should I try and change it a little? It seems like it I retard it it runs worse. I am getting the carbs tuned on the 7th so I guess we will see how that goes too.

Hey everyone, I have been looking for someone or somewhere (Pa or surrounding areas) that might be able to tune my 72 240z with stock Su carbs. I haven't even been able to locally find a uni-syn or balance tool. Would anyone be willing to help me out? I am able to meet anywhere in PA and surrounding areas so please, let me know. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Elliot

Hmm.. I am starting to think that it might be a problem with my tach and the tuning of the carbs.. I think 2 fast 2 Z is on the right track. I lowered the plug gap from .032 to .030 and it seems to be running better now for some reason (I went higher too, it got worse). I can hear the engine revving more even though the tach stops. I am trying to find someone or a place to tune my carbs and the hunt isn't going so well. I haven't even been able to find a uni-syn locally, maybe I can check at a motorcycle shop?

Where should I look at getting it rebuilt? or is there anywhere that sells the bushings and stuff that I would need?

Nah, I dont have one. I don't think that will change much anyway.. I can tell it's having trouble reving up all the way. It might make it not jump as much, but its not going to change how its running.

What makes that one better? I don't really see the need to drop $200 on a dizzy where i can get a reman for $75 and a used one for even less.

There is about a 1/16" movement or less side to side and around 2/8" or a little more turning it CCW or CW (Before hitting the advance? It can turn more I believe CCW). I think I am going to try another dizzy and see how that goes. Are the ones from an auto parts store ok or should I look for a nice used one?

There is an alternator rebuilding shop near my house so maybe they have something that could test it. I think they do alts and other electrical components, so i'll look into it. The distributor could be a good place to look, because it didn't have this problem before I went to pertronix. Maybe the wobble worked ok for the points but it's too much for the magnet and pickup?

5500 is on the tach in the car, not an external one. I wouldn't think that that would make such a big difference tho, since the break up is still happening at some RPM. What sort of workshop are you talking about alhbln? Could any local mechanic do it or do you need a specialist to do it. How far away should the magnet be from the pickup? Right now I think that it's at about .028 to .030. It says that some don't need to be adjusted, but others do. Should I try to make the pickup and magnet closer? Maybe the shaft is wobbling? ( it has a little play, but nothing excessive). Let me know what you think I should do. Thanks, Elliot

So I disconnected the black/white from the coil, hooked up a wire from the place where the black/white and the green/white meet to the + on the coil.. No change.. I tested the voltage from a grounded point to where the red wire meets the others. I had a steady 13.75-14+ throughout the range (not sure if I hit 5.5k, but probably got close. I am going to call pertronix now and see what they say.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30321&d=1244665052 I wired the ignitor like this. I put the green/white and the black/white (the wires that came off the Ballast) together with a female connector. Then I put a male connector on the red ignitor wire and connected the three together. It's like the picture above, but I just didn't bridge them all together I just made it a connection. I will try to test the voltage at the red igitor wire tomorrow. I guess I can try to ground it on something else and just connect the red on the multi meter straight to that connection point.

Ok, I set the timing at 10 degrees btdc at around 750-800 rpms. Checked my plugs and the rears looked normal to on the lean side and the front 3 were black and dry (rich). I checked with multimeter on the coil and it was around 6 volts at idle, around 8v at maybe 3-4k and 12+ around 5+. I couldn't see the tac so im am just guessing from ear. The stutter still happens at like 5.5k rpms. Voltage at the battery was 14v while running. Most things seem right except the carbs being not balanced. Should I move in that direction? Ps: When I would rev high the multimeter would go blank, not say 0 but would go blank with maybe a dash. Was I just reving to fast that it couldn't keep up? Thanks, Elliot.

Oh, I also forgot to say.. I had my timing light hooked up and when I revved to the problem area the light would flicker. I guess this means I am not getting spark at the higher Rpms. How would I fix this?

So I lowered the Idle to around 900 and the car seems to run a little better. I can get it to rev to around 5.5-6k while driving then it does the sputter thing. Do you think that it could be my mixture? I attached the wires like the picture above and I think that helped a little too. The car does backfire when decelerating in gear and stinks like gas, would that make it rich or lean? I know the baseline is 2.5 turns out, is that on the adjuster where the choke pops out the bottom? What way do I adjust from the baseline to richen or lean out the mixture?

Did you see the pics? I am not running either and I already stated that the coil was a 3.0 ohm. Just saying.. not trying to be rude.. I just put a new cap on and that didn't change anything. Where to turn now..?

No one? I thought the pics might help a little.. haha. Please help me figure out whats going on

Here are some pictures I just took, does this look right?

The plugs did help a little bit, but they didnt take the problem away. I got the NGK OE replacement plugs and they are gapped at .032. http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PEIC10/12-4020 This is the kit that I bought, the coil is a 3 ohm. Is anyone able to take a pic? I think it may help a lot. I don't know what else to check.. the timing is set at the second mark from the right most mark (with the vac adv. off). Is that right? Thanks

I am on my way to go get a cap, I bought a rotor not long ago. I will check the resistance when I go out. I'll let you know when I get back. Does anyone think they could snap me a pic of the pertronix install? Like where you have all of the wires placed (without the BR), It would be a great help. Also what about the timing? What mark do I want? Thanks, Elliot

So I got the part that I needed, tried to set the timing and it still doesnt seem right. When driving I get to around 4500 rpms and the car starts to cut in and out. It goes up in rpm, but it is very choppy and makes the tac jump around some. Right now I have both of the wires that came off the Ballast wired together, the black and white (i believe) on the positive, red and black on + and -, and I believe another black on the -. Does this seem right? Maybe this is the problem? Also, where should the timing be? What mark is TDC, the one all the way to the right or to the left and what mark should I have it set on at idle. I need help trying to set this right, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Elliot

So I checked the timing and moved it to where it wanted to be, reved it up and the idle jumps and stays at 1500. When this happens it makes the timing off again (maybe cause the increase in RPMs? Also I broke off the distributor hold down bolt and now it need a new one.. Anyone have an extra one they would want to possibly donate for the cost of shipping (72 2.4L)? It would certainly help me out. Where should I look to fix these problems? The car reved up much better, but seemed to get stuck around 6k. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Elliot

I tried to earlier, but it was just to bright out for me to see the mark. I have the gun, I just need to get it in a darker place. I just need to get back to the car when I can.

Hmm, I will have to check on that, it says that you suck on the hose to see if it opens and closes freely? I will have to check on that when I get home, I am in Philadelphia right now.