Captain Obvious

It does sound lean to me too, but before you start turning knobs and stuff... It ran fine yesterday without any of this behavior? The dead spot off idle didn't start until today?

Only word of advice on the engine build... I'm sure you already know this (and I would consider it "common sense"), but make double dog sure that you get every last molecule of blast media out of the engine internals before you assemble. I'm sure you already knew that but the only reason I'm mentioning it is that it's easier said than done. All those nooks and crannies where sheets are spot welded together and stuff? Up on the blind underside of the oil pan baffles? Inside the PCV separator? That sort of thing. And thanks for the photo tips!

They call those "oval heads", I think they look fine. As for coloring them black... SHARPIE!!! It won't last forever, but when it rubs off from the stuff swimming around inside the console, just hit them again. Once a year maybe?

You are really good with the camera. My pics always seem to come out so utilitarian... Useful and descriptive, but bland.

I like that movie. I don't think I ever saw it uncut though. I've only ever seen it on regular TV so I'm sure there are parts I've never seen. It was fun hunting for a Z. Thanks Julio!

That's what I was thinking as well, but I'm not sure if that's the car Julio was talking about. He said Constantine was walking across the top of a row of cars and that happens later in the scene. But this car (that you and I think looks like a spitfire?) is the only thing I saw that looked even remotely like a Z. I'm not sure if that's the car he meant.

"God I hate this part..." Everything is on youtube! Is this the car you're talking about? I'm thinking it looks maybe more like a Triumph?

Wait a minute... You're saying that part number (that sells for new from a dealer for $1700) is actually for a matched PAIR of front and rear carbs? If that's the case, then $1600 for the pair on ebay is not a good deal. I was thinking that was each, not a pair, but I do see what you're saying with the parts breakdown.

I don't think you're missing anything. The carbs on ebay are a pair of both front and rear stuffed into one box. I didn't check into the P/N to figure out if the box is front or rear, but the point is that $1600 is a little less than half price for the pair. No guarantee and no returns if there's a problem, but if you just gotta have new, it's not a bad price.

Those sure are pretty. I'd feel guilty about putting fuel into them for the first time. They'll probably end up on a show car, not a driver. You better have the entire rest of the engine looking new before you slap those things on.

I was figuring with that much play at the wheel, it should be pretty easy to spot? I've been waiting for the outcome.

Bummer. Shag carpet!! That's nasty! The good news is that you've identified the problem, right! I think there's some internal baffling and some kind of filter inside the tank. I've (thankfully) not had to mess with that myself, but I think I remember some threads about it. And some pics.

Haha!! I was wondering if someone was going to catch that one, as it was admittedly a little obscure! Gold stars and a new 5 1/4 floppy for you!!

So... What would you little maniacs like to do first?

The mfgr's recommended retaining method is the staking. I wouldn't be surprised if that dictated other dimensions like the ID of the bore where the bearing cap get's pressed into: Too bad the removal process is destructive to the yoke. If you could reuse the yoke, you could probably just replace the cup bearings: That said... How to retain the similar, but slightly wider replacement? I wouldn't weld it. Not only is the yoke cast (which is trouble to weld), but you'd mess with the hardness of the cap. And I don't think epoxying the back of the cap would do much. If there's enough force to move the cap, I don't think epoxy has enough strength to hold it back. Set screw(s) might work. Maybe grind a shallow groove in the cap first so the setscrew has a ledge on which to retain. Loctite the setscrew in place? The ostrich approach might work as well. How much force did it take to get the caps seated in place? Only other independent thought I have is some Loctite sleeve retainer compound. I've used that stuff for bearing and sleeve retention (duh), and it really holds. If you do it right, things aren't coming apart without heat. I don't know if the gap you have is too small though. I'm not sure what the minimum gap is. Maybe file a few shallow grooves through the ID bore so the Loctite has a larger gap in some places?

Here's to hoping it really was that simple!

Sorry if just created a run on those gauges. Keep your eyes out and I bet you can snag one. I didn't look into it, but I bet I don't even want to know what they go for new from an authorized distributor!! And here, I made this for you:

JR, Sorry to hear about your friend. Agreed. Don't buy cheap metal ramps! :mad: And SteveJ & Mike, That was awesome.

Lucky dog! In my next life I'm gonna have a lift. That, and all the whatnots I can stuff into my toolbox. Here's my nyet-skid ramps: Used a very thin coat of that polyurethane based water curing glue. Elmers and Gorilla snot both make the stuff. Best thing I've found for this kind of application. Don't use too much or it foams and expands. Very thin coat.

I'd be happy to send mine on loan if you cover shipping. It's a big brass chunk so it's not the lightest device in the world, but I bet it could make it round trip for less than $20. I might be able to take the reed switch housing off the back, and if so, it might even fit into the smallest flat rate priority box which is cheaper. Shoot me a PM if you want.

There's been a lot of discussion recently about gas caps and pressure/vacuum. Take a look at these two threads: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/body-paint-s30/53136-hands-down-best-gas-cap-our-cars.html http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/misc-s30/53139-gas-tank-vacuum.html

Haha! I'm with you on that. I sometimes buy stuff when the situation is convenient and then pack it away in a box... "Good, got the part, Now I'll get to installing it when I get a chance." And then open the box a year later and it's like a birthday present because I didn't even remember I had it! Squirrels! On edit - Took some pics of my festoon (does that sound clownishly dirty?). If you look closely, you can see what I had to do to the bulb clips to get the larger festoon to fit. I used a carbide burr on a dremel. Don't get tiny brass slivers stuck in your fingers (or eyes): And even though you can't tell much because there's nothing else to compare it to, here's the obligatory "ON" pic:

Forgot about this part... No. It will read true under all conditions and that's part of the beauty of it. The trick is that if you've got vacuum problems, your fuel pressure regulator will be adjusting the pressure WRT to the same leaky system. In other words, even if you've got a vacuum leak, your fuel pressure should be OK because the regulator is referenced to the same leaky source. And this kind of gauge, being also referenced to the same leaky source should show proper fuel pressure even if there is a vacuum leak.

The gauge is from Orange Research and I got it off ebay for $40. So it's not disposable and lives in the toolbox as a diagnostic aid. It's a little too valuable and bulky to be a permanent installation. I got Orange Research 1203-PGS series. I pulled the vacuum off the intake manifold off the carbon canister purge source which is the nipple near the cold start injector. I don't see any reason why you couldn't use that gauge as a standard vacuum gauge by hooking up the LO side and leaving the HI side open to atmosphere. Here's how that gauge works... Inside there is a floating piston and cup seal that is spring loaded to one direction. The pressure ports are connected to a cavity on either side of that piston and push/pull it to one side or the other depending on the magnitudes of the pressures. The spring pushes toward the HI side, so pressure on the HI side compresses the spring and pushes the piston towards the LO side. Vacuum on the LO side will also compress the spring and pull the piston towards the LO side. One of the neatest parts to the whole thing is that there is no mechanical connection between the piston and the needle movement... It's MAGNETICALLY COUPLED!! There are no springs to wear out, no gears to strip, nothing like that. The only link between the wetware and the needle is the magnet. Here's a sketch of the guts design: They also make a diaphragm version for gaseous applications where there is a diaphragm between HI and LO instead or a cup seal. The diaphragm does a better job of sealing between the two sides, but for liquids you don't need that. So it's true real time differential. Don't have to do the math in your head at real time. It does it for you. No springs, no gears, no linkages. Cup seal between HI and LO sides. (I'm not positive what seal composition I got, but it's either Buna-N or Teflon, either of which is suitable.) It's also got a reed switch built into it that you can adjust to close at a desired pressure if you want to set off an indication or something. Red warning lamp if the differential gets too high or too low. Of course, I'm not connecting to that feature, but it's there.

I've been meaning to post this thing, and this thread is a great segway... I bought a differential pressure reading meter. It's got two ports on it for the high and low pressure connections and it provides a true real time differential reading. There are a couple different designs for differential pressure meters, but I really liked on this one. Here's the pressure reading with the engine running and just the high side connected. The vacuum side is open to atmosphere and it reads like any other single input pressure gauge that you would hook up to the fuel rail. The reading is lower because the vacuum is higher. Also you can't see it (because it's a still pic), but if you rev the engine, the reading is all over the place accounting for changes in manifold vacuum: Then you hook up the vacuum side, and it's like magic... Rock steady under all engine conditions. Goose the throttle. Hold the RPM's high and then snap the throttle closed? No change. My FPR is doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing, and the pressure drop across my injectors is rock steady where it's supposed to be even in the face of rapidly changing manifold vacuum. It's awesome!: