I have a 1976 UK model 260Z which after a lot of time, effort, blood, sweat and tears is at long last approaching the day when all its mechanical gremlins are sorted out and I give someone a large amount of money to give it a nice coat of paint.
One of its long-standing problems has been over-sensitivity to my using the choke. It's not a problem when starting hot - no choke needed of course - but when cold I found that if I used the choke for more than a minute at most then cylinder 3 would almost invariably begin to misfire after a few minutes driving and the plug would be totally caked in soot. I usually had to start the car, put the choke in after a few seconds and then hang around looking worried until the engine was warm enough to run without dying as soon as I touched the accelerator.
It was so puzzling. I had new ignition, new leads, new plugs, a new rotor arm and dizzy cap. I checked everything was fitted correctly a thousand times, but still cylinder three coked up. I have a box full of coked-up plugs and still two or three spares in the glovebox.
Then, it occurred to me... my new leads. What if one of my Taylor spiro-somethings was duff? I dug around in my shed, found an old and horrible lead that was long enough and swapped it over. Problem solved. ****. I don't know whether to be pleased at sorting the problem out or angry at myself for not spotting the obvious earlier. I guess I was running on the "it's new so it must be ok theory". Duhhhhh...
Anyway, the moral to the story is DON'T FORGET THE OBVIOUS! I did, and spent several months wondering what the **** could be wrong with my car. It's all too easy to go looking into the intricacies and details of owning a Z and then miss something a ten year old should spot.
Ah well, at least she's going well now. Until something else falls off of course...
TL
One of its long-standing problems has been over-sensitivity to my using the choke. It's not a problem when starting hot - no choke needed of course - but when cold I found that if I used the choke for more than a minute at most then cylinder 3 would almost invariably begin to misfire after a few minutes driving and the plug would be totally caked in soot. I usually had to start the car, put the choke in after a few seconds and then hang around looking worried until the engine was warm enough to run without dying as soon as I touched the accelerator.
It was so puzzling. I had new ignition, new leads, new plugs, a new rotor arm and dizzy cap. I checked everything was fitted correctly a thousand times, but still cylinder three coked up. I have a box full of coked-up plugs and still two or three spares in the glovebox.
Then, it occurred to me... my new leads. What if one of my Taylor spiro-somethings was duff? I dug around in my shed, found an old and horrible lead that was long enough and swapped it over. Problem solved. ****. I don't know whether to be pleased at sorting the problem out or angry at myself for not spotting the obvious earlier. I guess I was running on the "it's new so it must be ok theory". Duhhhhh...
Anyway, the moral to the story is DON'T FORGET THE OBVIOUS! I did, and spent several months wondering what the **** could be wrong with my car. It's all too easy to go looking into the intricacies and details of owning a Z and then miss something a ten year old should spot.
Ah well, at least she's going well now. Until something else falls off of course...
TL
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