12 minutes ago, Fitzy said:

So - you're having car troubles? Can't work out why it's missing & stumbling? Might be a vacuum leak.

Here is a vacuum hose schematic from a 80s carburettored Honda just prior to EFI. It's titled 'Run Away Screaming!'

Yip yip 

very straight forward ,,,, where’s the tomato sauce to go with all the spaghetti? 

Well, another stellar day of abysmal failure. FINALLY plucked up the courage to take the car for it's shakedown test. Put 30 litres of Premium 95 in and hit the highway. Tried to ignore the very slight miss that kept happening. By the time I got a few km down the road she was spluttering and missing, just like old times. I turned onto the little back road that leads to where my newest mechanic operates and managed to get the car up the rutted dirt track that leads to his workshop.

I told him what was going on and what had been replaced (here's a clue - EVERYTHING!) First of all he wasn't happy with the lack of accelerator pump action (professionally rebuilt carb.) Might just be the leather plunger has dried out from lack of use. Next he did several spark tests and was NOT happy with the piddling weak orange spark. Then he looked at the alternator (new) and ascertained that it wasn't doing it's thing. He said to get a self regulating alternator (just like Kiwi said) and piss off the Pertronix shit and get an MSD dizzy & coil (I have just ordered.) He'll pull the top off the carb and have a look at what's going on in there.

A helpful note: he shorted the field wire direct to the battery and with some revs on board, 16 volts. The engine even revved nicely due not only to the extra volts but some decent current. No wonder I kept scratching my head: it seems all 3 problems were conspiring to ensure I never got it right. If he manages to get the thing to run right, he will now look after it. He's 60 and loves all the Old Skool stuff but can work on anything. His workshop is an absolute disgrace but shit gets done. I like that.

I got a lift back home and the GP is now sitting in the weeds amongst all the other old cars he has laying around. I'm hoping one of his masochistic petrolhead mates sees it and makes me an offer!

First thought mate  get rid of the Carter !!!

I rebuilt mine , was never happy with the squirt the accelerator pump did

and when I put the new edelbrock on it was like night and day !!!

next , spark !! You’re never going to get good spark without a good alternator …

So you know what I am going to say next aye !

dump it buy a internally regulated one chop all the wires out that are not need ,,,

kiss !!!
then look at ignition , I have pertronics in the Camaro and they are old ! And still work perfect .. but they need good voltage supply 

Camaro has a 55 amp Holden alternator in it that has been in there for over 20 years  

once again 

kiss ! 

Oh and cheers it’s Friday night !!!

we are off on a club cruise at 8 am tomorrow morning to Napier 

to go check out some cars and bars !!

i will post some pics … super cold here at the moment !!! Last night it was minus 4 .. that’s 22 f ,,,

tomorrow’s going to be the same , so I need to be mindful of black ice on the roads !!!!

 

Orange girl has no weight in the arse end , so she’s fun when it’s icy !!! 
foot note …

I did have a 95 z28 to look at buying while in Napier , the guy wanted $1200 for it , but I wasn’t  quick enough 

it’s sold !!! The lt1 would have been a great engine to stick in my 72 

Edited July 5, 20241 yr by 64 kiwi boni

No !!!!!!!! =:-(     You can't let it discourage you that much.   Let him work on it and then go get it.  You will DESPISE YOURSELF if you sell it.

Rick

 

Thanks Rick & Kiwi.

I only suspected alternator wasn't doing it's thing - was never really sure. Actually, it will produce voltage, it's the brand new reg that's playing up. It's the same old problem: modern parts are nothing like the stuff from yesteryear. Churned out from China or somewhere - no care is taken to protect the brand name because they largely don't exist either. Anyway, will do what I should have done in the first place - self regulating alternator.

I'm stuck with the Carter - I can't throw away $800 worth of rebuild. I'm sure it'll come back to life.

Minus 4 in Taupo? Damn cold. It's pissing with rain here - in the middle of our tropical 'winter,' which traditionally means cold nights and warm dry beautiful sunny days. Ha! 

I'm off to a party in Snort Douglas (Port Douglas) tonight and will be sleeping in a swag in the back of my pickup...depending on the continuing severity of the rain.

Well, here we are again - it's been a while. After fiddling with the GP a few weeks ago I thought I MUST have fixed everything only to be bitterly disappointed during a short test drive.

Mechanic has fitted nice new SELF REGULATING 100A alternator. If you ever need to replace your ancient alternator, get one of these babies (thanx to Kiwi on this one.) He also fitted MSD coil, leads & billet electronic distributor. I'll tidy those wires up soon. Picked up the car today and only drove about 10km to get it home but it ran beautifully. I still need to either massage some light oil into that leather accelerator pump plunger (as advised by carb rebuilder) or get another one. Rebuilder said to soak the leather in light oil for 48 hours and then work the oil into the plunger until it plumps up again. I'll try that first. I've seen new plungers for sale where the plunger is some super duper modern material that I am guessing is ethanol compatible so that will be the next option. Car had been sitting out in the open for those weeks so was pretty grubby when I picked it up. Gave everything a good clean, adjusted tyre pressures and if the damn rain gives me a break, I'll take her for a proper spin over the weekend and will attempt to record it on my phone without crashing into something whilst distracted.

An interesting point: mechanic explained that an idiot light needs to be wired in to new alternator in order for it to charge at idle. If you do not do this, charge won't occur until over about 1000rpm. Something about exciting the diodes...whatever. I have mounted a tiny red LED next to the voltmeter in order to complete the installation. A nice healthy 14V now powers everything whilst running, Frosty's tach is working and fuel gauge now works. Oh, the luxury!

The Excited Diodes...good name for an 80s punk band?

Mate ,how come the sparky didn’t hook the tell tail light ? 
with out it your not charging at idle 

the led won’t work as a tell tail , you would be best to find the wire that came from the existing light in your dash at the old regulator and connect that to the s on the alternator 

your existing tell tail light will have a power feed from the key and the alternator is the earth to that bulb .

once the alternator spins the diode pack will switch and that earth becomes a positive and the lamp goes out 

For that circuit to operate it has to have resistance and a standard bulb will do that 

your led wont ! 
I have tried to do this myself and you need to add a resistor to both sides of the led 

I tried it and failed ! So I went back to a standard bulb … this was in the mk1 

I must of had the wrongway resistor 

Edited August 2, 20241 yr by 64 kiwi boni

Well, there was no 'sparky.' Mechanic did the install and hooked up the light. Left it connected for me to drill the hole in the gauge cluster and neaten the final installation. My car has no alternator telltale, just an ammeter which I bypassed some time ago amidst anecdotal fears of it burning the car to the ground. I can tell you that the instant the engine fires up, the voltmeter swings to 14V. In addition, I am only assuming it's an LED - it might actually be a tiny incandescant bulb.

Anyway, it appears to work perfectly although I do appreciate your input. If I had done it myself I'd certainly be doing as you suggested. He said he had to fiddle about with the back of the ignition switch as well. I told him there is a REG terminal there and he did whatever he had to do. I'm just happy that it runs and have lost interest in why it runs.

This friggin' rain is NOT gonna let up. This is supposed to be our 'dry' season and later in the year we have a 'wet' season. Can someone tell the man upstairs to get his shit together?

Today was the day that I had a chance to take the car for a decent drive. The morning showers cleared and the weather radar said clear skies for the rest of the day. I tentatively went through the onerous start up procedure (pop the hood, remove all the rat resistant mesh, add both battery isolaters but no need to prime the carb float bowls this time) and she fired into life instantly. Drove gently for 5 mins before I popped 30 litres of Premium into the tank and set off for the highway. Fuel gauge showing a third of a tank (how good is a fuel gauge?) and the Frosty tach hovering around the 1000rpm mark - obviously the 2.73 diff is very tall. Now, don't forget that I haven't fiddled with the accelerator pump plunger yet so no full throttle silly business. Entered the highway and gave it some gradual right foot. Smooth effortless acceleration. At an indicated 70mph, engine is laughing at me doing about 2200. Drove about 20km, turned around and started back. This time at about 50mph, I shifted into second and gave the go pedal a decent stab and held it there. I could feel the secondaries, along with the Edelbrock intake and the 4 into 1 headers all working together for the first time and she just flew and oh, the noise!

I tried to take some video but it ended up being so messy fumbling with the phone I will find myself someone who can assist but it'll be worth it just for the soundtrack.

Got home, parked up and because it ran so well treated it to a polish & wax.

As an aside, it's my birthday on Tuesday but I feel I have already been given the best gift - the damn thing is FINALLY sorted.

Now...who has a blower for sale...?

well done mate 

I feel like The Omega Man...the last man on Earth to learn that there are at least 2 types of bayonet style globes. I really wanted LEDs for the rear tail/stop/indicators on the GP so on a whim ordered 4 globes. I thought whilst I'm at it I'll put 2 on the ute. The globes arrived and with a light heart, a spring in my step and the promise of a great day beckoning I attempted to replace the rear globes on the GP. Even I couldn't screw this up. WRONG! There I am trying to fit the spanky new LEDs but they just won't go in. In utter frustration I retrieve the now slightly mangled bulb and notice that the bayonet pins are offset - not at the good ol' 180° that we all know and love. Since when did we get 2 choices of pin configuration? Why did someone bother to unnecessarily complicate an already foolproof configuration (they can only fit properly one way.) So, the old ones went back in and everything works as it did in the first place.

Not to be outdone and stuck with 4 bulbs I can't use, I thought I'd try them in the ute. They reluctantly went in, were a tight fit and everything worked. I drove the ute this morning and every time I applied the brakes, the radio hissed. This is electrical interference from the new globes. Today, I removed them and put the oldies back in and once again normality has been restored.

So, a trap for young (and not so young) players. If you're going to upgrade to new bulbs, just make sure the pins are 180° offset and not something that will only fit on the Space Shuttle. Again, who the bloody hell thought we needed an extra level of complexity to ensure a light bulb goes in only one way???

The attached pic isn't real clear, but be assured that the LED has a 130° pin offset. Apart from that, they look to be a quality bulb...for the Space Shuttle.

If your very own spacecraft needs new bulbs, I've got 4 at a bargain price.

Anything I do with LED bulbs tend to turn on to a project and you have to launch a full investigation to figure it out.

Yeah, I think they are destined for newer cars and not from the dinosaurs pulled from a tarpit like the ones we drive. Mind you, plenty of nicely restored high end cars have them fitted so there's obviously a method to follow but for clueless plebs like me, the old incandescant will do.

i am soo loooking forward to catching up with you and your boss !!! 

my boss informed me that the weekend your in Taupo ... the sunday is bathurst !!!!!

now .... how do you fancy doing bathurst at our club ? we will be heading there at 11 am and wont be home till .some time after the sun has gone. its all subject to wheels falling off, roos on the track, rain and all the fun sh-t you get with bathurst

have a think about it,,, yes your boss will need to know too !!. but its justA option, you may not fancy sitting in a club rooms drinking and eating for 9 hours.  

let me know your thoughts

Yeah, I'm hanging out for a decent break and am getting excited too. I'll have a think about Bathurst. When I was younger I actually went with some mates to Bathurst to see the race trackside twice. In latter years I would watch it on the telly with drinks & snacks (and a convenient toilet) at hand. The last time I tried to watch it, I got bored. BUT I am easily swayed and I reckon the missus & me would both relish a day apart, so I am quietly confident...and thanks for thinking of me. For that alone, you'd think I'd be polite enough to attend! Where there's beer and salty snacks, I am easily led.

Hey - do you want anything specific brought over? I've got some Rockauto magnets for you so far.

Edited September 13, 20241 yr by Fitzy

3 minutes ago, Fitzy said:

Yeah, I'm hanging out for a decent break and am getting excited too. I'll have a think about Bathurst. When I was younger I actually went with some mates to Bathurst to see the race trackside twice. In latter years I would watch it on the telly with drinks & snacks (and a convenient toilet) at hand. The last time I tried to watch it, I got bored. BUT I am easily swayed and I reckon the missus & me would both relish a day apart, so I am quietly confident...and thanks for thinking of me. For that alone, you'd think I'd be polite enough to attend! Where there's beer and salty snacks, I am easily led.

We can work on this ... main thing is to keep the bosses happy .. 

yes beer

yes snacks... goood snacks too. like bbq !!! kiwi style !! i will update you when i know more 

Edited September 13, 20241 yr by 64 kiwi boni

Nope don’t need anything brought over 👍

I have been busy on Craigslist and found a head light ring for the 57 

it’s on it’s way from St Louis 

Edited September 13, 20241 yr by 64 kiwi boni

Beer is life!

Beer! It's not justa for breakfast anymore!

Took the GP for it's last run before we go away. Ran beautifully, stacks of power and cruises effortlessly but has that annoying flat spot at low speed when you give it some gas. Gotta be the accelerator pump plunger, so I pulled the carb and separated the halves and removed the plunger. Was told to soak it in light oil for a couple of days and work the oil into the leather to make it swell again. I should be used to doing this sort of thing...

Ahem..anyway I'm gonna leave it soaking whilst I'm away and the leather cup will either disintegrate or will swell to the size of a balloon. The saga continues.

One more week of work and it's fly time to the Land Of The Wrong White Crowd! An oldie, but a goodie.

Last post for a while: test fitted newly soaked plunger and worked it whilst observing healthy squirt from the discharge nozzles. Also removed check ball valve assembly and gave it a shake and blew air through it and that seems to work too. It's function is to not allow fuel back into the float bowl whilst plunger moves down. Put everything away and it can wait until we get back.

See y'all on the flip side.

Don’t forget your tooth brush 

you know how kiwi tucker gets stuck in your teeth 😜

Had a good productive day today. In preparation for an oil change I took the GP for a 80km highway run (car is running awesome now) to get everything in the engine nicely loosened up prior to the drain. I got no fewer than 5 'thumbs up' from other motorists as we passed each other - the car always generates some interest wherever it goes. Because it's low, I have to jack up one side so I can physically crawl under there. I made sure it was high enough so I could get to the filter as well. I fitted a magnetic sump plug (highly recommended) ages ago and am pleased to report that not a single piece of anything metallic was on it or in the drain pan. What I will say is to not become complacent when you check your dipstick. My oil still looked clean whenever I checked the level but the stuff that came out of the engine was considerably dirtier. I suspect that at least some of that dark colour came from the moly lube that the new lifters carried when I fitted them all those months ago.

I have fuelled the car twice since we got back (20 litres, then another 20 today) and it finally struck me how crappy my fuel filler flap was. It's rusty and creaks and carries on every time I open it so today was the day I removed it, wirebrushed, sanded, straightened and painted it. I straightened it with my press (again - highly recommended) and will grease the hinge upon refitment.

Because of Andy, I also paid extra attention to my number plate frames and polished them up! I waxed the entire car yesterday and it came up a treat.

When I caught up with Kiwi I mentioned that although my front end and all steering components have been replaced there is still some play. He suggested adjusting the steering box. It's a reco box and I assumed the adjustment would have been done prior to shipping. I loosened the nut and tightened the screw - it was really loose and I think I might have fixed it. Will test drive tomorrow.

Last thing: remember my rodent issues? Haven't seen one for over a year but bought a portable LED light and hooked it to a timer - through the night the engine bay is lit. Just a tip for anyone else who might have such issues.

Time for a well earned beer.

Good job on that adjustment mate 👍

my other thought is to get someone to move the steering wheel back n forth while you inspect every joint on that steering system  cheers to the beers 

Is the light for the rats ? So they can see what they are chewing 

Can you come over and move the steering wheel for me? I don't have any friends.

I was going to light some candles, supply mood music and some menus to give the rats a dining 'experience.' 

Tonight's Selection: silicone ignition leads, battery casing, assorted electrical wires and for the brave ones, the 240V cord that feeds the light. Mmm...zappy!