Mark Maras

I had the same problem with paint on my 260. I used a HF wood chisel to scrape it off. I was amazed how well it worked. Using light pressure, the paint flew off in a cloud of fine chips. Use eye protection. Paint chips are sharp.

If it is a 71, I have the harnesses out of a late 71.

What an amazing ball of worms. Looking on the bright side, if all the fuses are good, at least there are no short circuits to worry about. A replacement harness might be the best way to return everything to original. You'll also need a multi meter and a good wiring diagram. Don't let the magnitude of the project overwhelm you. Take it one circuit at a time, then move on to the next. Tips; Always check and start at the power source and follow it. A length of wire with alligator clips is useful for grounding and completing circuits. Poor grounds are a frequent gremlin. What year is your Z? Better yet the VIN #. Maybe a member has the harness(s) that would make the job easier and possibly give you a starting point.

What a great pic. Jim II, I absolutely love those wheels.

If the 3 in 1 is thicker than the ATF, try that. Personally, I'd throw some 30 wt into them just to see what difference it makes, then I'd try 20 wt. I suspect one of the reasons that there isn't one wt. oil that works for everyone is wear (increased clearances) in the carbs. In the many posts I've read on the subject of SU oil, The opinions run from A to Zed. Racers that run no oil to a gentleman that used 80w-90w gear oil and swore it was best. Don't be afraid to experiment.

Those look lean for 2.65 turns. Richen them up a bit. Perhaps 2.75, drive it and check the plugs again. Also try the thicker oil. Perhaps that will help with the low RPM stumble. That said, I suspect that your floats may be set a little low. I know you don't want to hear that but we've all struggled with getting the floats right. Have you pulled the domes and pistons to see if the fuel is about 1/16" below the top of the nozzle when the mixture screws are at 2 1/2 turns? That's where the fuel should be when the floats are set correctly.

You would think so because the needle is moving up allowing more fuel but in fact the piston rising too rapidly causes a lean condition. Piston goes up increasing the venturi size, at the same time air speed past the fuel supply slows down and doesn't pick up as much fuel because the engine is at low RPM and isn't pulling as much air. At least that's the way I understand it. There are undoubtedly better ways to explain it. How do your plugs look and what wt. oil have you been using?

More thoughts on oil wt. If you're using thinner oil than 20 wt., you may want to try 20 wt. or even thicker oil in the SU's. The higher viscosity oil will prevent the piston and jet from rising too fast, preventing a low RPM stumble. That seems to be the opinion of most clubs. Personally, I always used Dexron ATF and never had a low RPM stumble but the higher temps in Panama could add to the problem too. Anyway, It sounds like a fun, cheap and easy, but valuable, afternoon project. Try 3 or 4 different weight oils in the SU's. Take it for a drive on the same route and let your butt dyno tell you what she likes. Oh, and be sure to share the results.

No clog. If pulling the choke instantly gives you more power, (the engine is warm, right?) Increase the mixture from 2 .65 turns to 2.75 turns and try the same route again. I still want to see the plug colors. You could still have one carb lean and the other rich. Also what weight oil are you now using in the carbs?

Don't know what to make of the slightly low pressure but if the engine was starved for fuel, you'd notice it when accelerating, at higher RPM's and when pulling hills. That's when the engine is using the most fuel. At idle the engine is only sipping fuel. Keep in mind that the fuel mixture doesn't rely on fuel pressure. The pressure is only to deliver fuel to the float bowls. The engine would run fine at any speed if one eliminated the pump and used a gravity feed to supply the bowls with fuel. What symptoms make you think the mixture is too lean at idle?

If you still have the sending unit, check it for continuity and soak it in CLR for 48 hours. (Wheee's tip) it will look great again.

IMO, I'd put it right. "Wayback Machine" 1975. My room mate had a beautiful red 73 240. He had refreshed the trans (4 speed) and for some reason it was baulky going in and out of reverse. No big deal, he thought. A few months later he's headed to the bank after work. Drops his paycheck between the seat and console. As he's groping for it he doesn't notice the train track ahead and the train coming. When he sees it he slams on the brakes and comes to a stop halfway on the tracks. Tries to throw the car in reverse. It baulks but finally goes in. Starts backing up but the train catches the Z on the side sugar scoop just forward of the radiator. It was ugly. Room mate came out OK physically. The only thing that wasn't twisted and warped on the poor Z was the rear hatch and the battery access panel.

It appears to me that someone swapped dashboards but not the vin tags. The question appears to be, do I make it legal or do I make it legal and right. Making it legal is just a matter of telling the DMV what they want to hear. If they deal in dash vin tags then go with that. Making it right is going to be more difficult. Is it possible to check the history of both numbers with DMV or Police Dept? Any chance the PO has or knows where the orig. dash is?

@Redwing Previously you mentioned something wrong with the passenger door latch or lock. Maybe we can decide what's wrong with it and I can send parts (if needed) for that one at the same time as the others. I noticed on the latch that I was being cleaned up that there are two springs inside. A clock spring and an expansion spring. Could be that's all that's wrong with your's. The expansion spring looks easy to source from a hardware store the clock spring might be a little more difficult but not impossible.

@Redwing@SteveJ I'm on a winning streak. I actually found what I was looking for. Went thru the pile of plastic parts bags and I came upon the striker, shim and that little nylon thing with the fasteners. All appear to be in good shape. I'm going to degrease and CLR the latch, spiff everything up a bit and ship it off to Jai. I'll let Jai and you know when It's shipped.

I've not tried any of the HF welders but assuming they're capable of doing the job, I question your choice of a flux core welder.The sheet metal on Z's is very thin. A flux core weld isn't as precise as hard wire. There is a lot more smoke to prevent good vision, (even on a spot weld), the weld is left with slag on it that doesn't conduct elec. very well and you'll be left with a lot of splatter to clean up. Hard wire, on the other hand will allow smaller, more precise welds on thin steel. CO2-Argonne mix is expensive but is the easiest to weld with and will leave you with the least amount of clean up (no slag) and little splatter. I use straight CO2. Quite cheap, not quite as good as the mix and leaves just a little splatter to clean up. I've got quite a bit of experience with both types and while flux core is good for some things, rusty THIN sheet metal in tight places isn't one of them. Also invest in an auto-darkening hood. You'll need it to start small welds in the right place.

@Redwing Update, I have the latch assy. out of a late 71 in reasonably good condition. (I'll refrain from bring up Series #s) Anyway, the rods, the latch and the inner door latch handle were pulled as an assy. I seem to remember that the inner push-pull lock changed location at some point in time. I'm assuming that was just a change in the linkage rod attached to the latch. My question is will the 71 assy. work on Jai's early 76? Assuming that one could swap out the linkage rods for the push-pull lock. I know that @S30Driver has worked on doors recently and I seem to remember that @Zup is a door Guru. Anyone else? Thanks.

To anyone, Were the latches the same throughout the years? I'm assuming we're talking about the piece on the door.

Kind of a shot in the dark but the fact that it will start but not run leaves me wondering if this could be ignition switch related. There was a thread just a few weeks back that described the same symptom. It's quite common for them to fail in this way.

IMO, since Series One and Two seems to be virtually useless when trying to pin down what parts the car was built with, I humbly suggest that the year and early or late as a designation would be better. It works for most of the years and better describes the build.

If the sheet metal was hot and sprayed with water which is likely, I'm betting the panels are warped.

Pull the plugs and check the color. That will give you an idea of the fuel to air mixture on the carbs. Another easier way to check the float levels is, pull the suction chambers (domes), pull the pistons, (be careful with the needles, I always set my pistons on the cowl with the needles sticking thru a cowl slot). With the mixture screws 2 1/2 turns down the fuel level should be about 1/16" below the top of the brass nozzle the needles fit into.

Never heard of the Z mech. pump putting out that much pressure. Not saying it's not true, probably just my ignorance. IMO, I'd put a regulator on it. 3 psi is enough pressure to get fuel to the float bowl. If an engine is starving for fuel at 3 psi, it's got a fuel volume problem not a pressure problem. In the long run, the extra pressure could cause premature failure of the needle and seat valve. Not a good scenario when the carbs sit above the exhaust manifold. One other thought. It's possible that extra fuel pressure could raise the boiling point of the fuel and help a heat soak problem.

I think you may be correct. looks like a broken hinge. Try lifting the door as described by Dave WM above and see if the rusty gap in the hinge closes up. It may be easier to lift the door using the window frame with the window down. Also the door will likely close if you can lift it while closing it. Anyone out there have one?

Yup, 38397. Sorry about that.