Mark Maras

I'd like to see what you have. My 260 project is still in need of that part including the battery tray.

Hey Geoff I'm doing the "Snoopy happy feet dance" for you in Portland. Your description of a cold start is spot on. Sounds like you're very close to perfect. You're gonna love the carbs. Who knows, Maybe you can even convince Sarah that they aren't evil. Can't wait for the results from the butt-dyno run. So, is the new ignition sys. going to be installed, before or after the new build goes in? Great job. Mark

Agree with Site. Start with a the basics. You mentioned previously the plugs were wet. The question is, too much fuel, weak or mis-timed ignition or a combination of both? Have you tried pushing the nozzles up on the carbs? These can become stuck & stay in the choke position. If the mixture is already set rich, adding choke (dropped nozzles) can make it blubber. I kinda doubt it's cam timing. It seems if that was off the engine would still be firing on six cyl. It sounded like it was firing on one maybe two at the most.

What year is your car & what ignition system do you have? The more details you can include the better. I'd first check that each plug is firing. We'll take it from there.

Odd, I checked my 260, Sept 73 build date. If the connector, under the hood, comes out of the harness below the ID tag, mine has two yellow wires & is disconnected. The only three wire disconnected connectors are farther back & are not yellow FWIW.

Thanks, I'll add that to my list of descriptions.

I think they have finally taken crumple zone too far. This is wrong on so many levels. The least of which is using Datsun's good name on a p.o.s.

Please excuse my ignorance but what is the symptom of "lazy idle". I haven't heard the term used before now. It seems to be related to triples in this thread. The only triple setup I ever worked on was a 65 Pontiac GTO.

I submit this for your consideration. IT IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION. Harbor freight has a solar light rope. Charge is good for eight hours, it's eight feet long & it APPEARS to be sealed. It might be worth taking a look at to determine if it is safe to use in that explosive atmosphere. It is possible to negate the explosive atmosphere in the tank with liberal usage of dry ice. I watched a crew burn a hole in an underground gas tank that had been removed. They dumped a lot of dry ice in the top & waited until the CO2 gas was visibly coming out of the top of the tank. One guy fired up the torch & as I was rapidly retreating to a safe distance, he burned a walk-thru hole in it. I was amazed. This too is not a recommendation. Just thought it was on topic.

Don't panic yet. The first thing to do is set the rocker clearance. Then you can do a cylinder leak down test instead of a compression test. Out of place? Not to me. I once (back in the 70s) refreshed a 73 Z 4 speed in my apartment bedroom using a 4X8 sheet of plywood to (almost) protect the carpet. Trans. worked fine but the bedroom smelled like gear oil for a month.

Having driven a 70 MGB, (mirrors located forward) sure you can see something, just not enough to do you much good. In all fairness, if you drive one long enough, it is possible to "adapt" to them & actually use them. I remember it was my sore neck(from looking over my shoulders) that finally made me use them.

Siteunseen The balance tube is from an early 71.

I agree, scale is a PITA. Concerning this spring, I wouldn't heat it enough to form scale, just enough to keep it from breaking. Air quench HMMM, I'll have to try that.

The gentleman has that "I hate sanding" look on his face. I've seen it in the mirror a few times. Love the taxi sign on top. Uber vehicle?

I removed what was left of the panel in question on my project 260. After patching the body underneath I made a new one out of 16ga. galvanized sheet metal. It hasn't been installed yet but the plan is to raise the forward part of the panel so it slopes to the rear of the car. I've fitted it & it appears that it will work fine. The body, in that section, appears to have rusted from the bottom up. Much more work to be done at the rear of the car. spare tire well etc.

Hey Geoff WOW The SUs & everything are beautiful inside & out. Tuning these on Lilith should (hopefully) be easy. When is the set-up going to be installed? Are you going to install the new elec. set-up beforehand too? Rapid progress(outsiders point of view) & excellence are difficult to achieve at the same time. Good job on both. Mark

I haven't seen the fitting you're looking for but another hose barb, the desired size could be attached to the f. pump using a short piece of flexible fuel line. I imagine it wouldn't have to be 1 1/2"-2" long & use two hose clamps.

I normally use old engine oil. It actually will transfer some carbon from the oil to the surface of the steel hardening it in the process. Are you going to go for it?

Makes sense to me. The spring had a purpose. I haven't looked at mine yet, but I think one could bend a new end on the spring using heat(very small & focused). It has worked for me in the past, The trick is in the cooling. If the spring is quenched too fast the steel becomes brittle, If you don't cool it fast enough it will lose it's springiness. I have found that a rapid quenching & then a slight reheating 350-400 degrees seems to work quite well. This a basic tempering technique used for knives & other tools.

I didn't fully disassemble my linkage on my Sept 73 260. The spring in mine(if there is one) must be broken too. I assume, since it is a clock spring, it puts tension on the arm to hold it in the resting position. Now I'm going fully disassemble my linkage to see if the spring is there.

Another excellent source is ZTherapy's DVD on SUs. The manuals are fine for tuning but if you want to really know your carbs this is the SU Gospel.

Nice work. Glad the bolts came out OK. Do you think the extensive electrolysis was aggravated by poor alt. grounding or was it normal electrolysis between dissimilar metals? I'm sure you've removed many more w-pumps than I have but I haven't seen one that corroded. Thumbs up on the anti-seize. As I slowly disassemble my original 71, I'm finding that everything I worked on 20-40 years ago still comes apart easily.

Only if you love the mods. I don't

Oh yeah. I have said that repeatedly but when push comes to shove, it's me alone, in the snow, on my birthday, installing my oldest son's timing belt. (Great guilt ammo for later by the way.) He has many talents but automotive is not one of them. My daughter & youngest son however are willing learners & great helpers. Yeah, Yeah, I'm a pushover for my family.

Cool, I'll come up from Portland for Z talk & food. Anyone else from the Portland metro area want to join in the fun? Mark