S122A project commencing

[Eccentric shaft]

Finally some nice weather. Cruising is not that pleasant when ignition timing and carb settings are a bit off, but got to see the new colour in proper sunshine:

[Jamie R]

Very classy


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[Casey]

   - looking awesome, and glad you've got it running too 

[Eccentric shaft]

Thanks for the support, mates! Participated in a small classic car meet today with 25-30 cars. Rx2 got plenty of attention and a nice slot next to the Barracuda. Going in for carb and ignition tuning on Monday. Fingers crossed!

[Jamie R]

Looks at home amongst the crowd




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[Eccentric shaft]

Well, back to Monday Blues. Today my abominable creation Nikki of the Dead got the professional verdict: chronic fuel starvation. Just can't get it to run rich enough. So the Rx2 still stutters and stammers along. Not healthy at all. I suppose you shouldn't expect a rich mixture from a zombie. Stingy bastard! I might need an exorcist!

Examined Pig Pen a bit more closely (re-posting pic). Doesn't look like the big barrels open with the current settings. Makes me a bit suspicious. Worse is all the extra gadgets: what could I get rid of, and what would I have to live with? Not sure I can cram it in with all that bulky stuff on it. 🤔

I can feel my thoughts drifting towards a Holley conversion set (although, if I understood Clive correctly, they don't fit twin dizzy 12As), throttle bodies (can they be made to fit the original intake? Does anybody know?) 🤔🤔, 13B atmo swap (now hold your horses!).. But heck. Could it be that difficult to make the car run on a 4bbl Nikki? 🤔🤔🤔 That's what it's built for and it did run (if not optimally) on the old FB carb, before it was sent off to that disastrous refurbishment.

[Eccentric shaft]

Inlet-to-carb gasket has a channel connecting the two main barrels. What if the older carb base requires a complete seal between the barrels?
Would this not cause it to run too lean? 🤔

I'd better start working on the reconditioned carb base and see if I can find the fault. That failing, I need to source/make a new inlet-to-carb gasket without that channel...

[Eccentric shaft]

Bottom of refurbished carb dismantled. Bottom gasket changed (it was a bit torn here and there), all vacuum vents checked and re-blocked up. Frankenstein Monster de-Frankensteined: Dismantled, exit Nikki of the Dead bottom end, refurbished top re-joined with its refurbished bottom bit, then whacked onto the inlet manifold with new gaskets. Connected to fuel lines, choke and throttle wires.

And...? First nothing, then more nothing up until the seventh "just-one-more-try". Then this:

[Eccentric shaft]

Some carb portraits for the record. It's been a slow rollercoaster ride, but a rollercoaster ride all the same. What a delight to work on the refurbished parts! I even began to enjoy the design. Proper Steam Punk with those little windows. 

[Eccentric shaft]

I seem to be unconsciously drawn to extremes. Now the carb runs way too rich. But good news first: Did a good 40 mile drive in the wet.  Once the car was properly warm, I turned the little adjustment screw from 2,5 turns down to 1,0 turns out. When I then adjusted the big mix screw a 3/4 turn out, revs on idle went up 500 rpm. I take that as a good sign for now. We'll see how that affects tomorrows cold* start.

*Cold as in nearly freezing: we have +7C and fresh snow on the mountain tops. 

[Eccentric shaft]

Well, instead of 1850 km in the Rx2, I covered twice the distance in the workhorse (Prius). 45 hours of driving in total, most of them in the rain. Observed on the way: 1 black FD, one blue Rx4, one silver FB, one blue 4-door 818. Strangely not so many other classic cars. The Prius was made to work as a Mazda mule, carrying two 4-barrel carbs (yes, Prius + 2 big carbs = great velocity  ) and a R100 radiator grille down south and returning with one 1971 Rx2 coupé right-hand-side door and a reconditioned carb (formerly known as Pig Pen, now reincarnated as Snow White). 

[clive]

"The Prius was made to work as a Mazda mule"

Definatly the best reason I have ever heard for owning a Prius   

[Eccentric shaft]

Finally, it looks like the end of the carb trouble is in sight. A short recap:

I have been through:
1) Total fuel starvation (carb 1)
2) Too lean / fuel starvation light (carb 1/carb 2)
3) Uneven and too rich idle + no top end ooomph (carb 1)
4) Floods (carb 3)

This time I tried to combine top of carb 1 with base of carb3. And I have been for a good drive, the best in ages!
Still some adjustment issues to sort, but no flat spots or obvious faults detected. 
 

[Eccentric shaft]

[clive]

Really  nice video of your car, enjoyed that