Unclejake

I needed a screen for my 1955 Ford Ranchwagon and phoned Windscreen Wholesalers, who had one in stock in NZ. It's worth a phone call.

A single 40 should be good for road work, and way cheaper to tune than twins (jets, emulsion tubes, venturis etc aren't cheap) ...but not to choice for racing. The 1600 motors like air speed for torque so a single carb is quite a good thing A Redline linkage kit will get you started. I'd make contact with Murray from Weber Specialities in Parity Place, Genfield, Auckland (if he's still trading). He can probably sell you everything you need and may well trade in your old 'jets'.

My little brother fitted a 'Supra' gearbox to his P6B and it was pretty good. I'll ask him what was involved later in the week, but I do recall the exhaust being a bit of a pain to get right

Repco sell a hand held one that measures vacuum and pressure in small enough increments for your use. I think they are about $55. they have a flexible hose with a tapered brass end that you can fit into your fuel line for 'bench' testing You can borrow mine if you don't want to buy one, but you'd need to meet me in the central city sometime during business hours to collect it

Those carbs will want around 3psi (not exactly) so if there's much more than that being delivered the fuel can climb over the bowl float and spill into the carb throat. I'd suggest checking your engine oil too. It might be contaminated with fuel. You may also have a weeping float needle valve An adjustable pressure regulator is fairly cheap, as is a pressure/vacuum gauge from Repco (to test the regulator output) EDIT: Yup, the Holley one you linked to is what lots of guys use. I have used two and found them both inconsistent, but I don't know of a better one. personally - I wouldn't move the pump at the same time as fitting the regulator. One thing at a time etc.

I ran Redline lite-shock in my Mk1 Cortina race car diff and gearbox. That shit is awesome. It was still clinging to gears two years after storing a gearbox on the shelf. AllTourque knows what's up. I'd recommend it too

As others have said - first check you have good spark, and if so then check that you have a delivery of good, water free fuel.

It's not surprising that the starter is no longer up to it on a new, tight motor... especially if you have the spark a bit too advanced. I gave up on the factory starters and fitted a Road Runner gear reduction starter after upping my compression to 12.5:1 as the factory units were only lasting a few weeks. There is probably other good aftermarket starters available now (mine was a pre-crossflow Mk1 Cortina)

I incorrectly read it as a transmission tunnel cover, but mind your manners anyway EDIT; smileyface.gif

Or use a Rivnut. The tools aren't that expensive and once you have on you'll use it lots

It sounds like the fuel drain-back valve is poked to me. I'd check that first

Hold on a minute You need to have a few things go right before a compression test can be relied on, and if it's still low it could be as simple as tight tappets. I only tell you these things as perhaps you haven't done a comp test before and I'd hate you to pull the motor for no reason As the vehicle was running fine a few days ago it's more likely you are doing the test incorrectly or misinterpreting the results. What PSI readings did you get, did you have all of the plugs out, did you have the throttle fully open, did you crank it over four or five times for each cylinder, and is your battery and starter motor good? If a mechanic did the test for you it's quite possible that he's expecting 150psi in each pot, where 90 - 120 is probably more realistic. If the plugs are not oily then you are having a good day. I would eliminate (in the following order): 1) Points & Condenser 2) Plug leads 3) Dizzy cap and rotor 4) Vacuum leak (just spray brakeclean around the inlet manifold and associated hoses when the engine is running. If the engine stalls when you are spraying in one spot then there's your leak) 5) Accelerator pump diaphragm 6) Aliens

I have a leak down tester if you want to try it. It's out of calibration (due to me being a Muppet and not reading the instructions) but reads wrong consistently (the needle got bent.... yeah. I know. Muppet) I would have guessed PCV first, and plug leads next... although cam timing could indeed be the issue. I have a dial gauge on a magnetic stand if you want to take that too. You may also want to check rotor phasing: If you have a spare dizzy cap and a timing light then drill a hole in the top of the rotor cap and have a look to see if the rotor is pointing at the plug lead terminal when the timing light fires.

It just goes on, and on, and on, and on Much like this Mercedes project.

Proof! BA wagons are the ultimate BTW

He's cleared a space inside for the job. This has been pending for several months. Admittedly he can only do two doors at a time in his 490 sqm shed, but it's a start

OK. I admit partial (and I mean only partial) defeat The doors are going to a panel guy on Wednesday morning. Many of you will be familiar with The Pinga/Mr Miyagi. I trust him comprehensively. He will do as good a job as I would in getting them perfectly straight... but I think I will do the painting as that's not his strong point. I am so time poor these days it's staggering though. Gah! Wednesday is still April BTW, and not May. Kisses. UJ

Paint your suspension parts with a brush using POR15 chassis coat If you fit synthetic bushings be prepared to replace them often. They don't last long - especially on steering components

The 'close ratio' single rail gearboxes had 17 teeth on the input shaft 'gear' (not the spline). To count them you need to remove the alloy top plate first. I used to have heaps of them, but they are all gone now. /Ling

Approved /Don't swim the river if you can't handle the riptide

How about a lick on the elbow?

If it isn't the rear end I'd measure your static caster on the front struts and then have a think about how (if) the apparent caster could be effected by a change in stance as you came off the throttle. i.e. it sounds like it's fine when the arse is squatted down, but not when the arse is raised up.... it does sound more like a rear end issue though, or possibly aerodynamics. EDIT: What actual car is this happening in? I Googled a Mazda BMFR and I can't tell if that's always an AWD or not

I'll use that as permission to ask why you want to go to so much effort for only a mild advantage (if any at all), assuming it's a road car. The Hotchkiss rear end on those things is pretty good if your bushes are OK, and given that the car is so light (~900kgs), and that the chances of making everything worse with a home built four link is so high, I'd be inclined to freshen up the bushes with decent rubber ones, fit some good shocks, lower it to your preferred look, and then spend the $1k and two months you saved on drinking beer in the shade. /I know nothing about your car.

Thanks gents. That's a fine idea

^ Never had I heard of such a thing until this very moment