Mark Maras

I got lost when you explained this. Can you expand on this theory? I've always believed that a precise fuel level was critical in all carbs. Now I'm wondering how large the fuel level "grey area" is. Perhaps @Bruce Palmer can help us out. I believe he said the optimum fuel level should be just below the nozzle tops at 2 1/2 turns down.

Google "oil can dent fix". Don't turn your body-work into sculpting.

Too bad he didn't take a measurement of the drop. I've been puzzling about the distance the nozzle drops below the fuel level when the choke is applied. At the tail end of Jalex's fix, the Cap'n brought this subject up when I was trying to get Jalex to set his fuel level just below the nozzles at 2 1/2 turns down. I believe that Jalex's fuel level is lower than the nozzle tops and it seems to run fine. I'mm left with the opinion that there is a grey area in the fuel level that works just fine for the street. Opinions?

Probably not too weird if you don't own the car or bought it to flip it. However, he or she states "my 1981 Datsun 280z". A true owner-driver would know the difference, IMO.

I test drove a Tiger back in the mid seventies. Already had my Z and thought I'd like to own a Tiger too. After taking the owner for a spirited drive up and down Germantown Road and scaring the pi$$ out of the owner, I decided to pass on buying it. The snap over-steer dictated that one could not relax and drive the car at speed. I probably would have bought it if I hadn't had a Z to compare to. The Tiger gave me the impression that neither the car or I would have survived for long.

@jalexquijano

@siteunseen Which one are you driving to Z Con?

I'd worry about old fuel first as well as your driving priorities.

It was 180ish psi last year. Something changed. Assuming the cam wasn't changed nor the cam timing, I'm guessing the valve lash is too tight too @jalexquijano Time to check the valve lash again if you're sure the 100 psi compression test was done accurately. Yes you have to. Valves that aren't closing all the way will be burned toast in a very short time. On the plus side, IF, the 100 psi was correct jumping it back up to 180 will feel like you slapped a turbo on it. After checking the valve lash do the compression test with the engine warm. Start with #1 and go thru all six, then test all six again to verify the first test results. A written explanation of the 100 psi compression test procedure might help explain the low numbers.

How is it doing these days when idling in traffic? Still overheating or loading up the plugs? Easy enough to add a hose but what "situation" is the mechanic trying to solve with the extended air intake? The compression test looks wonky to me. First, I've never seen identical compression in all cylinders in any engine. Second, If they're all at 100 psi, IMO, they're all low. My engine tested around 160 psi (+ or - 5 psi.) the last time I checked. is it possible the valves were set too tight?

Years ago Kathy asked me the dreaded question. Do these pants make me look fat? I, of course, said "No". She then asked, "Are you saying that just to make me feel better?" My response was, "I would never say anything to you just to make you feel better." We both had a good laugh and the question of clothes hasn't come up since.

keep in mind that "I just wish I could do the work myself" was the first step for all of us. If you have the space and time, go for it. Many of the Zs here have been rescued from becoming a parts car, most by owners who started off not knowing how to do the work and learning as the job progressed. Take it one step at a time and ask questions. You can do it.

I'd buy them. I like the idea of brass contacts too but in reality there is only one "contact" point in the center of the rotor. The precise placement of the rotor and the precise air gap between the rotor and the plug wire "contacts" are the critical factors IMO.

@Redwing

I'm sure there are other quality brands out there. Perhaps others can advise on those. I haven't bought caps and rotors often enough to know which brands are best. I do know the Bosch cap and rotor made a significant improvement in performance and may have been the deciding factor in getting the RX7 thru DEQ again. A bit expensive when compared to other brands. I did notice the Bosch rotor precisely fits the dizzy shaft. It looks like the rotor was machined to fit the shaft. I've seen a few degrees of slop in cheap rotors. I'll never go cheap again.

The plugs look pretty good. #4 still looks like the ground electrode has a bit more carbon than #2. You report that the engine is running good. Congratulations on a job well done. Re-adjusting the floats and mixture screws all depends on your curiosity level. You could end up making it worse and have to return to the current settings. That would be OK too. At least you'd know for sure. Personally, I'd drive it until I either didn't care about re-adjusting them or until my curiosity drove me to try raising the floats and mixture screws. Nice that you have the option. If you do re-adjust the floats and mixture screws, be sure and report back on your findings. The more you screw with them the more you'll learn. Did you replace the generic cap and rotor with quality parts? I still think that may be the problem with #4.

No open casket. Just an urn with a Z on it. The cremation will take place at the time of the accident.

Kathy and I will be there too.

I had to deal with Chinese steel products for around two decades. We normally bought steel wire from Tree Island Steel in Richmond, Canada and the quality was always excellent. Then about once a year the current knot head in corporate purchasing would buy a few hundred tons of Chinese wire at a discount and distribute the wire to the manufacturing branches with no prior notice. Surprise! Production plummeted when we tried to use the Chinese wire. The inconsistency was beyond belief. I was not popular with Corporate when I sent it back year after year. Might explain why everyone was smiling (including me) when I retired.

Attempting to coax our 12A rotary 81 RX7 thru another DEQ check we bought a Bosch cap and rotor for it. The previous cap and rotor were "some aftermarket brand" too. The DEQ exhaust readings were substantially cleaner after those two Bosch parts went in. If you do change the cap and rotor, move #4 plug to another hole or put in a good clean plug from your ever growing stash of plugs..

When the door card is removed, feel around the bottom of the door on the inside to see if there are any stray fasteners that have come loose and migrated there. It was a common problem on my 71.

@jalexquijano Valve stems and valves? I don't recall anyone talking about them. All I'm asking is remove #4 spark plug wire and use #3 or #5 in it's place. Use #4 wire on #3 or #5, whichever one will reach. I would also swap #4 plug with #1 or #6 plug to remove the dirty plug from the test area. No money and only a few minutes to do it. Oh yeah, and I'd still like to know what brand your dist. cap and rotor are. NGK wires are a good choice.

@jalexquijano Rotor and cap being new doesn't tell me what brand they are. Many new parts are a P.O.S. I do agree guessing won't solve the problem. Swap the #4 plug wire with another one or measure the resistance in all of the wires using a volt-ohm meter so we can eliminate that possibility.

Others have reported that the old standard tan color is not attainable with the fuel formulas currently in use. I can only assume that a much lighter tan color is what we're shooting for.

If the compression is good in #4 (as I recall, it is) and it's getting a decent quantity of fuel, (it is) the gremlin in #4 has to lie in the dist. cap, rotor, plug wire or plug. Multiple plugs have fouled so it has to be in the cap, rotor or plug wire. @jalexquijano What brand cap and rotor are you running? We changed my son's RX7 cheap replacement cap and rotor (the old ones still looked? good) to Bosch parts. Instant improvement in performance and it helped the original 12A thru another DEQ inspection in Oregon. The one thing I did notice when installing the rotor was the precision fit as compared to the old one. Not one degree of sloppy fit. Something to consider.