Unclejake

Can you describe the miss any better? Is it only under load, at high RPM, is the fuel fresh etc. Does it idle faster than you would expect?

It happens all the time that someone puts the dizzy in 180 degrees out and then just changes the plug leads around to suit. I am not sure how you have discovered that it is 180 degrees out though - if you are looking at set up marks on the camshaft then remember that the camshaft only turns once for every two rotations of the crankshaft. EDIT: If both camshafts and the dizzy are 180 degrees out from the crank on a four cysinder engine (flat plane crank) then it will run just fine. The only thing to remember MIGHT be that you have to take the pulse for your timing light of the third firing piston - but I would need to think about that more first and I haven't got any beer and I can't think on an empty stomach etc.

Lean at high RPM will encourage detonation which we will be able to see on the plug electrode thingee. Doing it for a few seconds isn't going to hurt much - we will look for little balls of alloy on the plug (ablated off the piston crown). Unleaded fuel doesn't read quite like leaded does. A good burn will leave a thin black soot on the plugs. TBH I am not so flash when it comes to reading plugs on ULP but I can spot the detonation pretty smartly with my magnifying glass (which goes to every race meeting with me). Pretty much all N/A engines go best set up so lean that they are almost about to explode. The trick is finding the balance. With a change of main jets in the Cortina I can change the water temp by 10 degrees C so that gives you a clue as to what is going on in the combustion chamber.

You probably know all this already but if you do get the carbs "safe" and want to know more then do a plug cut at some point. Take a spare plug - go hard, hard, hard somewhere (not the desert road - too high) in third gear and at full throttle/highish revs/full load then kill the ignition and coast to the side of the road. Remove a spark plug and read it for mixture and detonation. If you don't know how then place spark plug in plastic bag and put the spare one in the engine. Bring specimin to me and I will bullshit you whilst we drink beer. EDIT: The above assumes you have only one sidedraft - if two then take a plug from each carb to be certain.

I assume you are in Rotavegas.... if not I have a great number of 45mm Weber venturis, emulsion tubes, air correctors, main jets and idle jets you can borrow to work out what you want to purchase. None are for sale but you can borrow whatever you want for a week or so aow. Regardling three piece rims - I don't know what you should do with the bolts but Locktite makes a really awesome thread sealing paste that you can get from the likes of Schrodoco. It works like thread tape but is a paste. Chur.

Looking good in one colour Boe. Awesome.

Mate - I don't know the answer but with the V12 I would assume that you have a big, lazy torquey (sp?) engine and therefore will get the best results out of a reasonably wide ratio gearbox. If you can pass cars in one gear (say between 80-120kmph) it will feel great. They are not a 'busy' motor and the car is not one that was designed to be rushed. My vote = wide ratio

If it is 'running on' after you switch the ignition off you might need to do a water de-coke. Nasty but OK on a tired motor if you are careful. First thing to try is to thrash the shit out of it for 20 mins - get it red hot and perhaps the carbon will burn off. If it is not running on then ignore all the above.

A reasonably un-athentic photoshop from a good friend but you will get the idea aow.

Kym, You so have to try what I told you with Mazda Familia wheels. Just paint the entire rim the colour you want (but not orange ) - they look awesome on 1300s in a silver or light charcoal colour.

^ Thanks - that confirms my suspicions that I should make the plug myself but let someone else do the Carbon Fibre. It looks like that guy had to everything about three times to get it acceptable.

Has anyone had a go at making a carbon fibre anything? I am hoping I can carve a 'plug' out of something easy to work with (perhaps polystyrene) and then just lay the fibre/resin over it but I guess it isn't that simple. Also - where would one purchase the ingredients? I want the cold air box to hang off the twin sidedraft carbs so it needs to be light weight I am probably wasting my time and shoulkd just engage a professional but this could be fun

Pics or ban Zep

^ I think he means that the anchor plate/bearing retainer that you refer to needs to come off the axle as the studs are so long. Not something I have struck before.... they must be bloody big plates on the Hilix diffs

I just had a look at Schedule A and it doesn't say much at all about the tanks. Mainly that they should be set up so that any spillage doesn't go into the cockpit. It is a while since I read that bit too Boe.

No - they are usually just foam filled - and if they are in the passenger's compartment then need some extra stuff that I can't remember (prolly just an external filler etc)

That depends on what you value an arm at. TBH I think it might not be a waste of money getting the job done by a professional. Your call of course. There is probably less than three hours labour in it - but I am just guessing.

Photos: //oldschool.co.nz/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=10586 Take a look at your workshop manual and then call you Fiat agent. You will probably find they have it all available in NZ

Sorry I do not - but Turbo Supras put out a hell of a lot of HP and given that you are using a Supra gearbox it is probably a good place to start.

I fucking love the way you think!

That flywheel looks like sex on toast Boe. Are you going to sprong for an aftermarket clutch (Tilton/Quartermaster etc.) or a more 'factory' kind of thing? There is a lot of tourqe/weight to shift so whatever you get it ain't going to be cheap I guess.

The megaphone was a complex thing that probably flared out to four inches at its largest point. The current more orthodox exhaust is 2 1/2 inch and it seems to work well. I don't build my own engines anymore and the engine builder is really keen to try a 2 inch exhaust. I think he is probably right. The motor is 1650cc and probably has an absolute maximum power output of about 165hp (that remains to be proven). 2 - 2 1/4inch exhaust sounds about righ to me - but it will require new custom made headers which I am unable to fund at the moment.

The old tunnel was enormous and was designed to accept a megaphone and a Vortex Flowmaster muffler. I could never get the car to put out power over 7,000rpm so after changing carbs, ignition systems and various other things I decided to eliminate the megaphone. Result = instant power to almost 8,000rpm. Therefore the old tunnel was much bigger than required and was made out of steel with a removeable alloy lid. It probably weight about 4kgs so I cut it off and am replacing it with one that will be about 2 kgs I should finish that this week

Well - a new bonnet and boot lid arrived last week. I already have fibreglass ones but I wanted the extra light fibreglass ones. They arrived and the box felt heavy. I put the new ones on the scales and they are heavier than the ones I already had! Shit. Anyway - the crowd that made them has done some calculations and the new ones have been sent back and they will replace them for what I originally wanted. I probably need to wait another 2 weeks or so but there is plenty of other things left to do - such as welding in the new exhaust tunnel.

Sidedraft or downdraft Weber? Machining = Headmaster who are just off Vivian Street behind Central City Autos (who used to carry Weber jets but the main carburetor man sold his part of the business so I don't know anymore)