Z Club of NZ Forum

Shes finally running again. Been away for work for the last wee while but got back yesterday and checked the timing again. Still looked perfect. Stood there looking at the distributor for a few minutes and thought the rotor looked a bit wonky. Turns out it was wonky, coz it had been forced on the wrong way round. Took it off and put it on correctly..... distributor is 180 deg out. Awesome. Dont know how that happened as it hasnt been removed since i got the car and the car was running before i did the head. Only thing i can think is while a mate of mine was playing around he might have pulled the shaft out and put it back in the wrong way around? I dunno. Doesnt really matter does it. Car runs now, just not very well. Ordered a whole host of ignition rebuild and upgrade parts from MSA so when they turn up ill fit em and start the tuning process with confidence in the parts fitted lol. Good result i guess. I knew it was the timing, and so did everyone else giving me help and feedback. I just couldnt work out what it was haha. A closer look was all that was needed. Oh well. First car ive had with a distributor so we live and learn.

nzeder wrote:Did you at anytime drop the dizzy/oil pump drive? Could this be 180 degrees out? Seen this before.

see I thought it sound like the 180 degree issue.

Hahaha I know it sounded like it to me too but I guess I was just in denial lol

Can't by experience like that

Hahaha yep. What lesson did I learn? If you think it's your timing, and everyone else keeps telling you "it's your timing" ..... The problem is your timing hahaha. So check your goddamn timing! Haha oh well now I'm just excited for some new parts. Electronic ignition and pertronix coil should be exciting hehe.

So ive done a little bit of tuning over the last few days since ive been home again and then took her for runs up and down the road to see how she's going. Still running horrible and dropping the 6th cyl most of the time but it was so good to see her out of the garage i had to take a couple pictures. Pretty keen to give her a paint job soon. As much as i like the ratty look id much prefer the 'beautiful pristine paintjob' look haha. I feel like she deserves it







Also got my nifty boot spoiler. Pretty stoked to have it. Needs a bit of a sand and some paint but she's pretty much mint. Certainly saved me a penny over buying off ebay haha. Not really happy to pay through the teeth for fibreglass parts. If anybody knows where i can get a ducted front air dam id be mighty obliged.

Nice photos I was trying to pick the area looked a bit like the esplanade
A front air dam/spoiler would really look good
And maybe lowering it just an inch or maybe 2
What is up with the dropping one cylinder every now and then?

Nah, not the esplanade. Thats just outside the shop in the housing area at Linton Camp.

She's gonna get quite a bit lower when i get around to welding on the coilovers and camber plates ive got sitting on the floor in my garage Just need to sort out the weld on stubs first and then i can get that job done and certified too. Other than that and a paint job, i just want to put a front spoiler on her and maybe some rear window louvers and ill be happy as larry

Right now the timing isnt right, the carbs are running rich, the coil is dying, and the leads may also be damaged. I have a bunch of new ignition stuff coming from MSA and then ill hook up a timing light and set the timing to factory so i can get the carbs running right. Its hard to tune by ear coz i dont know if the timing is too advanced or if its running way to rich or if the coil is just not hot enough lol. Too many variables for this lad so im gonna eliminate as many as i can and go from there. Hopefully it doesnt keep running on 5cyl after i do all of that coz then ill be a bit concerned >.<

Ah yeah I recognise those shops haha.
I love the current paint job, but will be interested to see where you go with it.

Hi there,

One more thing to check is the choke cables - if it is running too rich and one of the chokes is staying open then you will wash out the spark plugs quick quickly.

Mine was running like crap until I worked out one of the choke cables had loosened and it had pulled though so was was not closing the choke properly. Tightened everything up and my issue was gone.....

Cheers

Glenn

Cheers for the tip Glenn. I think I'd read that somewhere so I checked them. I'd stripped and cleaned my carbs already and the chokes don't turn off when I turn them on so now I just don't use them haha. The Return spring on them is too weak or they're sticking in their sheath. I really should just lube them up lol

Sounds like you're getting close, and there's something about just pulling it out of the garage. Heck just sitting in mine puts a goofy smile on my face. Will you be staying with the factory colour, or a different shade, or something else?

Hahahaha! Oh man, i know what you mean about sitting in it. While she's been immobile ive periodically gone out to the garage to sit in the drivers seat and listen to my ipod and chill hahaha. Its therapeutic haha! Im undecided about colour at the moment. Ive always been a fan of really deep lustrous reds but i dont know if it would work on the zed. Midnight blue and gunmetal are the other two colours im leaning towards. What do you guys think about red Zeds? I know its definitely not a popular colour choice as there are far less of them on google than other colours.

Not very JDM but a friend got a new Triumph Thruxton in that British racing green with the gold trim/stripe, which I thought would look awesome on a classic Z

If you need help with tuning, go and see Rodney at Roskilda Autos in Pirani Place off Tremaine Ave. He looks after the tuning on my Z as well as a few others and is really great with old school stuff. Tell him Mike sent you.