Mark Maras

Being an old timer :-) Everything you've been told is correct. You can get as deep into advance curve theory as you desire but if you just want to have a good running car, retard the timing until it won't ping at anytime or perhaps barely when lugging the engine ridiculously low. It doesn't take many pings to break a piston ring in an old engine. (Hi-Lux PU, rarely pinged). I think you may want to put away the timing light. If you time it by ear you'll know it's right.

I believe it's time to break out the 3' garden hose stethescope. You'll be able to listen down in the tunnel & find out if the noise is coming from the outside before removing your console. I'm still unsure if the noise changes with the clutch pedal in.

Just checked PicNPul here in Portland. There is a 76 in SE P. & a 77 in Sherwood. I don't know if it's worth the drive. I'd be glad to drop by the SE P. one & see if the ex. manifold is still on it. I can also check Sherwood if SE P. doesn't have one.

Go for it. I can understand your desire for a trouble free DD. I drove my 71 daily for 23 years with SUs and it was the most reliable car I ever owned but I did take care of the carbs with regular maintenance. It was all new and fun back then. The Holley will give you everything you want without the tinkering. I've never seen the air filter arrangement for this mod, there can't be much room between the carb and the hood.

I would definitely tell the fuel station owner of problem you've encountered. He needs to know, for all the obvious reasons. As far as what to do next.? I think the 4 litres of methanol and dropping the tank, from your list above, are probably over kill. Everything else on your list sounds good as well as adding some methanol to your first tankful of gas.

Retirement, a fresh Z and summer on the way. Life can truly be good.

Fan measurements, The 2 stock fans that came with my project 74 both measure 16" + or - a 1/16th. they are identical to each other except 1 is steel & 1 is plastic. Fan to rad meas, is 1 5/8". 71 Z is still around & has a 5 bladed flex fan on it. Fan diam. is 15". Alum. spacer is 2". Fan to rad meas. is 1". Individual blade meas, is 3 1/2" x 5 1/4". It is going on the 74 soon. We'll see what the future holds.Mark in Portland

I didn't experience any noise and the cooling was great. I suspect a lot of the negative opinions are not from experience. As I said before, I had NO problems and would install another one in a heartbeat. Mine was great. I'll measure my stock fan and get you some more info on it when I get home tonight. Mark in Portland

That's the point of the flex-fan, You don't need a clutch. The blades are cupped similar to a venician blind, At low RPMS the blades pull air due to their air foil shape. As RPMs go up the blades flatten out. at speed there is no need for a fan at all.

Probably a valve stuck in the open position. Time to pull the valve cover and have a look see. Don't give up yet.

Start spraying all the bolts early with the tried & true 50/50 acetone & tranny fluid especially rusted exhaust bolts & use heat too, if necesary. If you've wrestled an engine out of a Trans Am you're well qualified to pull this one They are really pretty easy. Lot's of room in the engine bay. Mark in Portland

IMO a flex fan is what you want. My experience with one was- 71 Z, The fan-clutch failed in 1979. I didn't like the weight of the original or the replacement cost. A flex fan was my choice. They are lightweight, only pull air at low RPM, cooled great even idling in traffic over 100F and to my pleasant surprise I could feel the increase in power and it also revved quicker. I drove the car with the flex-fan in use, daily, for the next 17 years. They were not easy miles. Year round in the Northwest and my love of speed, it never gave me a bit of trouble. I'm putting a FF on my 74 Z as soon as it's on the road. An added thought, I'm going to compare my old one to the new ones, the old ones may be better. Mark in Portland

Welcome & WOW! That's a great looking Z. IMO, If you're going to keep it, Make the swap & save everything that's removed. I don't think that an auto tranny is going to serve you very well on the track. Pull the auto while it's still in good shape & save it. I love the color of your Z. I don't remember any bright orange ones around Portland in the early seventies, That one is an eye catcher. Great find. Mark in Portland

I'll take a stab at it. I think the first place I would look is the carbs. Check the throttle return springs. 1 on each carb, They attach to the heat shield on the lower end. Clean everything, Oil level, Drop test on pistons, Choke operating correctly & Float level. Check out the 1st Gen S30 forum, SU Carb Central. There you can find the info you will need to clean and adjust the carbs. Virtually all of the work can be done without removing the carbs & with a little info, easy to do. Before you start adjusting them, finish the tune-up with a valve adj, timing & dwell adj. too. Mark in Portland

I love the way it "sits". What color is the Beast going to be? Post a pic of the flares & tail. I might be interested. Tell us all you can about the Beast, History, mods, future plans & pics. Inbetween Z work sessions that is. I can't stop myself from offering some experienced advise, Sorry. Take it easy the first six months. This is an old car & probably full of surprises. Good & bad. Should you feel the need for speed, find a local sports car club involved in racing. ICSCC is a great way to get instruction & get on the track. Many clubs are affiliated with them. OK I'm done. thanks, I feel better now. We want you & your Z to still be around decades from now. Enjoy each other. mark in portland

Thanks for the follow-up. I've had them clunk into place too. Sweet sound. My worst case was a 66 mustang 4 speed with a cast-iron case. Clutch disc spline had a burr on it. 3 hours! Enjoy your toy.

Free Zs. I' got Georgia on my mind.

Most likely is lack of fuel. Do you have carbs or F.I. Regardless,I'm guessing the engine will rev. to redline with no load (clutch in). Check your fuel filters first then fuel pressure & volume. This not an uncommon problem. It usually is the fuel filter restricting volume. The engine, under a load, only has enough fuel to go that fast but will rev. fine with no load. Mark in Portland

Dynamic balancing the wheels & tires will let you know where the problem lies, if it is a balance problem. Reading your description of a wobble in the steering wheel rather than a vibration, It seems that it would be more of an alignment issue. I would suspect steering linkage but you've replaced all of that. A re-check of the alignment would eliminate that possibility. As for swapping wheels with someone, it's a great idea, No other Zs around? Possibly other members could supply you with a list of cars that have the same bolt pattern, or wheel adapters that you could use temporarily. Mark in Portland

Many years ago as I was driving my 71, the speed suddenly dropped to 45mph. 2nd, 3rd or 4th gear, same thing, 45mph. The engine would still sing at 6000rpms with the clutch in. It ran great up to 45, then nothing, no cut-out, no more power. My dad was the riding mechanic that day. Fortunately for me, he knew that it was lack of fuel & and it didn't matter what gear I was in, the engine only had enough fuel to push the car that speed. We pulled to the roadside, pulled the clear filter on the fire wall, blew it out ,yuck!, reinstalled it & problem was cured. I did change the filter that same day. I've shared this because it's possible you may run into this symptom in the future. It may be a good idea to carry spare filters & tools to replace them for a while. Mark in Portland

The spray bar can have a build-up of sludge internally. When you remove it. check the holes in it to see if they're plugged. A couple of mine were. I soaked it in laquer thinner for 24 hrs. & used compressed air to clean it out. I did have to repeat the procedure a few times until I was satisfied. New cereal box gaskets & now the oilers squirt instead of drool. It had the rear tube warp but it seemes fairly secure for now & the bar is now oiling all twelve. Mark In Portland

Humor me. Does the noise change when you push on the clutch pedal? Both engines making the same noise eliminates engine noise, Exaust is an excellant place to start. My long-reach stethescope is a 4' piece of garden hose held to my ear. As far as the clutch question goes, I'm just eliminating non engine possibilities for the noise. Mark in Portland

Maybe a compression check too.

I happened to write this down a couple of weeks ago. I knew it would be useful. The thread in the block is British. "BSPT". Sorry, I don't remember who shared this with us. Thanks. Here is what I wrote down. Search bspt on McMaster Carr.com. #5832T121 BSPT to NPT threaded brass nipple, 1/8 pipe size X 1 1/2" threaded both ends Sch40. Hope this helps you out.

Glad to hear that you're going to check a few of the basics first. Reading your description of the engine stumbling a little above 4500 RPM & the timing problem, I suspect that the oil pump shaft was installed wrong a while back & the PO got it to run to his satisfaction & gave up. That is an an easy fix. Was there anything else that you worked on when you adjusted the valves or did you possibly bump an elec. connection.(personal experience) Random thought- What position are the cam lobes in when you're adjusting? Mark in Portland