A 50 year old Japanesse lady: SRL311 01228

[2mAn]

Well, had a nice little vacation and upon returning I jumped right back into it. Got myself a compression tester and ran the numbers. Glad to see they still look good.

These are cold numbers with a dash of oil added in the spark plug hole

#1


#2 (This is the cylinder we are having the issues with)


#3


#4


So with that looking good, theres a few theories running around but basically I discovered that over about 2500rpms it seems to really smooth out, so I said **** it, I want to drive it. But I had to deal with one issue that the car came home with, a super soft pedal. Rigged up something to hold the brake pedal down, and cracked the bleeder on the master cylinder and a bit of air came out followed by fluid so I closed her up and immediately had the brake pedal feel Im used to. OK lets do this!..

It's far from 100% but man of man did I enjoy driving it around. I put about 10 miles on it, though likely less as the speedo is being turned by a 4.38 diff and the original 3.7 speedo gear. Regardless, when I had some open spots and could lay into it, all madness ensued ... in a good way. Felt good to drive it, but Im extremely excited for what 100% will feel like. Sadly, that means more money and more time parked as I am going to wait for the recommended man for the job, a gent by the name of Taka Soto whos about 60 miles away in Rancho Cucamonga. He's also booked into November, so unless I can find a way to tinker with it and solve what appears to be a pig rich mixture, and possibly a twisted throttle shaft, shes back in the garage. Maybe its time to put the hood back on now haha

[djjerme]

What’s the plug look like in two? It’ll give you a basic idea of what’s going on.. c’mon man, 50 year old cars require 50 year old diagnostics... Remember this old picture from Chiltons past: Could be a valve? Check the tail pipe when it’s running and warmed up - moisture? Does it smell like unburnt fuel.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[2mAn]

Well... the car is home, but it didnt come home the way I hoped. Im overall a bit disappointed with M's Factory. Miki did a decent job on the car, but ignoring the fact that the car wasnt driveable were the minor things he simply overlooked. On the other hand he did a decent job with some of the wiring I requested of him. The kill switch and the electric fuel pump are wired up nicely and function perfectly. so there's the positive side...

Let me give you some pics to look at and then I will give you the bad news.







The car is misfiring.

He diagnosed it as a carb-related issue isolated to cylinder #2 and tonight I spent some time confirming that it is in fact cylinder #2, and that its NOT ignition related. That leaves the problem to be either air or fuel related. Being that I don't have a compression tester with me, I basically stopped there and dealt with the other minor things that he missed/ didn't do. I'm happy to hear her running again, but bummed that I still have work ahead of me, and I definitely didn't like the bill I was handed even though nothing really appeared outrageous other than the soft brakes. He replaced a leaky rear brake cylinder and then bled the system, so why the soft brakes still?.. Rest assured I will discuss that with him once I figure out this misfire... at the end of the month. Im going on vacation later this week and will be gone until the end of the month.

Another month with no Roadster driving= sad Simon.

[2mAn]

Great progress Simon! I bet you're excited to get behind the wheel again.

Thanks Aaron, cant wait to drive it. I think it will be driving this week, but theres also rain in the forecast later this week

[IronJoe]

Great progress Simon! I bet you're excited to get behind the wheel again.

[2mAn]

Hopefully the new tech can help you sort out all the small gremlins keeping you from driving this thing till now. Your car looks really good in person too Simon.

Thanks Ed, she definitely looks good sitting there, but its much sexier cruising around... need to drive ASAP

[IRON-E]

Hopefully the new tech can help you sort out all the small gremlins keeping you from driving this thing till now. Your car looks really good in person too Simon.

[2mAn]

I threw in the towel on timing the chain, and decided to let a professional finish the job. Yesterday, I put the car back down on all 4 for the first time this year.



This morning I pushed it out to the waiting towtruck.



Its now at M's factory in Torrance and he will wrap it up. I figured that if I finally am successful getting the motor timed properly, running, properly breaking in the cam, timing the distributor, etc the end result would be a car that runs, and my expectation is that Miki will be able to get it running great. His personal car is a yellow Z with a 2.8 L-series motor with triple Mikuni's. Seems like the right guy. We'll know soon.

[jeenyus]

That looks great! Thanks for sharing. These cars really do get a lot of love out there

It was a really cool car to see driving among the oatmeal on the road. Super clean with the yellow and white combo.

[2mAn]

This was an award picture to take. I'm sorry it's not better. This little guy was behind me and it looked so good man! Thought you'd like it.

That looks great! Thanks for sharing. These cars really do get a lot of love out there

[jeenyus]

This was an award picture to take. I'm sorry it's not better. This little guy was behind me and it looked so good man! Thought you'd like it.

[jeenyus]

I took a page out of your book the other day and took a day off specifically to work on the car. Was really nice.

[2mAn]

So I wasnt able to finish the car in time for the Petersen Breakfast club gtg on Sunday, but I was able to get quite a bit more done and happily removed 2 of the 4 jack stands. I could technically have taken all 4 out and put her on the ground, but Id kill my back working on the final steps, so for now the nose is up high...

Minor update around the cooling parts, I was very impressed with the parts and speed at which Don Morrell got me the parts. Highly recommend him, wish he was closer but knowing how quick he got me the parts, it may not even be an issue.

New VS Old


one of the big hangups was the studs and it seems the hardware stores near me were quite lacking in supply. Lesson learned, and in the future I will just be heading back to Lincoln Hardware in Venice as they always had what I needed. Regardless, with my friends help I have new studs ready to go.

(again) New VS Old



I get a smile everytime I open the garage and see it on the ground, I will hopefully get some time in the garage tomorrow. I need to get that chain timed properly, then its simple stuff like adding fluids, praying and turning the key

[2mAn]

Got the diff installed today as well as the axles. I bought the Swepco to put in, but the shop also

[2mAn]

Had some time tonight so I wrapped this up...

Basically started with this


and ended with this :)


The list is getting shorter and shorter:
Install Diff and button up the rear end
Install Oil Pan
Finish up the Cooling system.
Hook up the fuel pump and lines.
Finish up the kill switch.
Make sure motor is properly timed.
Add fluids
Pray
Fire it up

I took tomorrow off from work so that I can go get my 4.38 LSD and also the Swepco201 for it. If things move quickly I might get the diff installed too and could potentially wrap up the rear end of the car