briann510

have the stock points 1972 dizzy converted over to electronic (it works fine). will this suffice on a stroker engine or should i upgrade to a later model electronic or go aftermarket such as a mallory unilite? have no need for vacuum advance so thats of no concern in the equation. i have a mallory that could be rebuilt and used but im not sure but i think it would be able to be wired up to a msd box also.

got em! we shall see in the morning if it chokes better and runs with the choke on more smoothly.

ok, i need to bend those 2 round choke rods on each carb so the arm contacts the throttle tang quicker when applying the choke. they are 71 SU's. how do you go about bending them and have them both be the same for each carb and in sync? in fact how do you even bend the darn things without having to take them off and do it on the workbench?

thanks. im either gonna order a timing light with a advance knob or just run the crank balancer around a couple time and measure it that way with the tab marks and add up a a 20 and a 15 degree spacing and mark the balancer. im still trying to track down my distributor number information and see how much advance at what rpms it came with stock, but cant find that info anywhere.

so with that said, what is "usually the optimum total degrees advance? i have heard around 35-36. of course depending on what has been done to the engine i am thinking for a basically stock engine what would it be?

i backed off the initial timing with vacuum hose unplugged from 18 down to 10 degrees. it didnt seem to affect much of anything, even the idle and that might be because when i hooked the vacuum line back up it jumped the timing back up to around 17 degrees while idling around 800 or so. i need to find this distributor number in a datsun book and see what the advance characterists are for it. i really need to find out if at 800-900 rpm's if the advance actually is already in 10 degrees or so, or if i have some weird distributor problem with my advance. all this really affected i guess was the total timing when fully advanced which i figured now im running 8 degrees LESS total timing when full advanced. i might have been way over advanced with it before. i need to get a timing light with a advance knob on it and check total advance and just work from there. i think i will get an SU book or the video just to help me out. the idle i think is too high stillat 800-850 ish and the actual idle screws on the top sides of the carbs are already out and the idle wont go any lower that way. i think the only otherway to get the idle lower now is with the nut under each carb? i thought that nut though was for actual idle mixtures but correct me if i am wrong on that please. i know when the car is cold if you apply the choke it runs very rich and wants to die or belch out black smoke. it warms up easier with no choke and just holding the throttle open around 1500 rpm's for a couple minutes. thanks for your help everyone

does the engine run ok once it warms up?

Thank you! I wasnt going to bed till i figured this out. Thank for that link also!

that is the book i have also, but looking at the bellhousing pictures the one on the left has a definate angled mounting pad for the transmission (which book says is the corvette one). the book states the camaro bellousing on the right tilts the tranny 15 degrees towards the driver, but how does it do that if the picture shows the tranny mounting pad level on the bellhousing? am i just missing something here? maybe the actual transmission even though it is mounted with the level mounting holes o fthe bellhousing on the right, the actual tranny is angled? i am totally confused here with the pictures in the book.

what brand of clutch setup did you go with? and is it 10.5 or 11" as i dont know what the newer camaro's used.

Thanks! its hard as heck to tell when the dashpot oil level is right cause i can hardly see the oil on the little stick. i added some oil to both carbs and it is between the 2 marks as close as i can tell. at my age my eyesight sucks! the idle is at 900 and i get 16 inches of vacuum and the timing with vacuum line attatched is about 17-18 degrees at that idle (if i unhook the vacuum line the timing drops back down to 10 degrees so you are right in sayingthe vacuum advance is already coming in at 900 rpm's. this distributor number (D612-54) wasnt listed in the above link so im not sure of the specs. i cant get the idle any lower unless i start adjusting those nuts under each carb, but i think if i do that i might make matters worse as i think those nuts are actually idle mixture also? im not sure if its striclty a idle rpm nut only or if those nuts actually changes the mixture also. i have been adjusting the timing using turning that phillips head screw and turning the cap section instead of loosening the actual distributor housing bolt and turning the whole distibutor as a unit. does this matter? took the car for a spin and it ran ok, but couldnt really tell of any big difference from these new timing settings if it is any different feeling. thanks for the comments and suggestions

i just checkedthe dampner oil and it was below the lower line. i also moved the timing back to 10 initial with vacuum line disconnected, and as soon as i connected the vacuum line back up the timing jumped up to about 17. the idle is at 900 so i guess its already starting to pull advance. i have the idle as low as it will go using he fast idle screws up top, and im nervous about goint to the nut under the carb to get it down further cause if i dont get both carbs right on i might have more problems than before. any ideas? comments? thanks

i dont know much aboutthe carbs, only that they are fairly new from Ztherapy and have the 4 nuts rather than the 3 which i heards wasthe better older carbs. i will email the guy we bought the car from and see what if anything was checked on the carbs beforethey installed them. dashpot oil and have no idea what weight oil is in them. im not even sure how to check that as SU carbs i have never dealt with before. i think i can check the dashpot oil by unscrewing the top black nut? if the oil is wrong how do you drain it out of there and i assme you just pour the new oil in from the top? tearing them apart might only take a couple hours for someone thats dealt with them before but this is a daily driver and for someone like myself to tear them apart and back together again when car is needed everyday to drive might be a problem if i have issues putting them back together etc.. ill put the timing back down to spec and see if that makes a difference. thanks

Ok, my son and I would lik to come over when you guys are messing with your cars and get some ideas. We live in Martinez so we must be close. shoot an email over to me if this might be possible sometime.

i have read the JTR book a couple times now. the 2 bellhousings pictured in the book look switched with the descriptions. one of the bellhousings has a definate offset mounting pad angle the tranny sits in which would make the shifter sit more angled over to the drivers side, but the book says its the picture on the right, but it looks like in that picture the tranny would sit straight up? just curious which bellhousing most people are running with their SBC and which year 5 speed trannies are you using? do the hydaulic clutch systems only come on certain year bellhousings (the actual mounting pad for cylinder on bellhousing) with the 5 speeds? i need to start buying the items we will need for the SBC swap soon and want to get the right things or the most popular best fitting pieces people are using. the book is great info, but actually talking to people or seeing what they use as a majority puts my mind at ease more. i have a buddy that is selling an 89 T-5 out of a camaro and he says its the stronger of all the T-5's. thanks

why isnt the wife in the kitchen where she belongs instead of the garage? my wife and i have a deal, i spend on the car, she gets a new set of boobs. sounds fair to me.

i do agree a sbc will be way cheaper than a stroker 6 and have more of a variety of aftermarket parts available for less money also. i was just comparing same 325-350 HP sounds in different engines. no flaming intended

my timing is advancing properly and i have it set at 17 degrees initial at idle. i need to make some marks and see where i am at total advance at higher rpm's. it idles smooth and the vacuum is about 15 inches at idle.

actually the sound of the 350 HP stroker engine we watched being dyno'd a few days ago sounded way better than any chevy with 350 HP we ever heard. the 1250 rpm idle also sounded like a dang race car compared to a same HP chevy. it also had a flat torque curve from 2000-6200 rpm with 300 ft/lbs. i have never seen a chevy engine with a flat torque curve like that before.

this engine has 20K on the stock rebuild. Has a 3.90 rear gear and 5 speed tranny with dual Z Therapy SU carbs and a 3/2 header. The car just isnt that quick. I mean its not suppose to be blazing fast but it just feels like there is no horespower and it really doesnt start to get up and go till about 4000 rpm's. this is a stock cam so i would think it would start the get up and go way sooner, especially with the 3.90 rear. it idles fine and starts up fine but just dont think its all there. Just the way it is? carbs out of adjustment bad? where to start just for some quick checks?

So why dont we put a small get together with sometime locally in a parking lot somewhere. i know friday night is the local get together in the Kinders parking lot in Pleasant Hill which is getting pretty empty now since they dont sponser it anymore so that might work or any other night there. its kinda out of the mainstream traffic pattern. i could do any night or afternoon of the week. people would have to see the post hereto know about it though as i dont have phone numbers or any other contacts with guys with Z's other than this board. id like my son to meet a couple of you and let him really get a good look at some V8 Z's in person amd maybe take a short ride in one and let him see the difference of a stroker 6 cylinder over a V8.

there are quite a few guys in the Pleasant Hill area i see posting on here. Anyone ever try to put togeter a friendly night gathering somewhere local in a parking lot to shoot the breeze?

how easy is it to do a turbo swap? i mean with all the computer stuff needed is it easy to swap overall that stuff into a non turbo 73Z?

That was the time frome to get the engine/tranny, radiator, hoses etc. in and all bolted up. the drive shaft would have to be after all that was done for measurement. My son is now leaning towards a 3.1 stroker motor so now i dont know whats going on. the stroker engine we can just throw in and bolt it up and go, but im not sure what i need to talk him into doing now as the stroker engine we watched them dyno at Rebello racing yesterday sounded awesome and made 345 HP.

Hey John... The John I was looking for has a newly painted black Z with a roll cage in it. He frequented the Howies Friday night car shows in Pleasant Hill. I was particularly looking for his friend who also has a V8 Z that has a MSA roll bar for sale. Thanks