02for2

As Toby said, it's a step backwards... why?? Carbs, while good enough for the 1st century of the automobile are not at all dynamic. They cannot conform to changing parameters. EFI on the other hand, even in it's most rudamentary forms, offers some degree of dynamic response. Again, as Toby portends, the M20 is no screamer, even with EFI. IMHO, add carbs and you have a true Love/Hate going on. Cheers!

Toby nailed it. But unless you're very experienced, with extremely consistent ETs, don't expect a Toe/Camber change to be any sort of 'Magic Pill'. A Toe/Camber change will help refine your set-up, but won't mask poor skills. If not extremely consistent, expect to find the real improvement in your technique, and not your set-up. Cheers!

It's a mechanical system and there is a set limit to the speed you can shift w/o messing with the internals. Synchros do need time to 'mesh'. Sounds to me like you're rushing the 1/2 or 2/3 shift and experiencing premature wear. Cheers!

Flex joints are fine, but they will not have the life expectancy of solid pipe. If going the flex joint route, plan on replacing it much sooner. Cheers!

If your regulatory AQI has changed from last year, a leaner set of jets will help. But suggest swapping back as soon as you're certified. If not, make sure that all your new ignition components are dialed-in correctly. Be sure you have at least 12° advance at idle speed. Cheers!

Price is postage. Will take a day to get you a pic. Cheers!

I believe that I have one as well if needed. Cheers!

First make sure your valves are properly adjusted. Then be sure the initial dizzy timing is correct (you need between 12°-16° advance at idle). Make sure there are no cracked or loosened vac hoses, or slop in the linkage and that full travel of the butterflies occurs. Do these things before even messing with the carbs. Once all this is set, first, screw all the idle mixture screws in (clockwise) until fully seated - careful not to grouch the needle ends - do this gently. Then open by turning anti-clockwise 2.5 turns. Start engine and let warm to operating temp. If you experience 'spitting' back through the carb, either that barrel is too lean, otr the timing is too retarded. If timing was verified, then begin enriching (turn idle mixture screw anti-clockwise) in small increments (allowing 10 sec. between adjustments to allow the engine to settle into the new setting). Do this on all 4 barrels, all the while adjusting the idle speed screw to stay as close to 900 RPM as possible. Now, using your carb synch, adjust the balance mechanism between the carbs to match the airflow from each barrel. If the rear carb is drawing less air than the front, turn the balance screw clockwise until they match. If the rear carb is stronger, turn the balance screw anti-clockwise. All the while, keep adjusting the idle speed screw to remain at 900 RPM. Turn this screw anti-clockwise to lower the idle speed and clockwise to increase it until it settles at 900 RPM. Once the carbs are both drawing the same volume of air, go to each idle mixture screw and turn the screw clockwise (richening) in 1/4 turn increments, allowing 10 sec. between adjustments. Note whether the engine speed rises or falls. If increasing, continue to turn the idle mixture screw for that barrel, keeping the idle speed at 900 RPM. As soon as the engine speed starts to fall, back out (anti-clockwise) the screw 1/4 turn and move to the next barrel. If the engine speed decreases, turn the idle mixture screw clockwise (leaning) in 1/4 turn increments. When the engine speed starts to increase, back off a 1/4 turn. The barrel(s) are properly set when a 1/4 turn of the idle mixture screw in either direction causes the engine speed to decrease. By now, the engine should have a fairly stable idle with no detectable 'rocking' of the engine. If you experience engine rocking, then the balance between the carbs isn't set, and you need to readjust using the carb sync. Cheers!

Lot's of you guys already know this... but many may not. It's not so much about style, it's about weight. Aluminum is lighter than steel... but it's not as strong as steel. So, you have to use more aluminum to achieve the same strength. This means that many alloy wheels are actually significantly heavier than the oem steelies. The steelies are some of the lightest wheels you can put on an '02. The factory alloys come as close as most to matching the weight of the steelies. Aesthetics aside, this is one of the reasons they're highly prized. Cheers!

Very nice! Whatchagonnado with the basketweaves? Interested. Cheers!

Very nice starting point. Good find! Cheers!

Very Nice! Cheers!

All that stuff is well and good to look at, but I think you're on the right track by looking at the linkage for the easiest fix. Open up the carb and look at the butterflies while someone pushes the gas pedal. Then try operating the throttle mechanism on the carb itself and see how far it opens. I bet you'll see a big difference. Trust me, you'll have a whole lot more fun with the car when that big barrel opens all the way up. While it might look stock, Weber 32/36s weren't ever stock, and who knows how they installed the linkage. Been a while since I had a 32/36, but you're gonna have to play around until it works. There should be some adjustments at the bottom of the throttle rod where it meets the pedal lever as well. You might try putting things in slightly different positions, better throttle return springs, etc. But make that 2nd barrel open somehow. +1, you may need to get a longer length of similar rod stock, bend it appropriately and thread the end with a die to get the extra travel you need for WOT. But, also, as mentioned, do not overlook the timing. Get or borrow a timing light w/ variable timing function and check timing throughout the rev range to be certain that the advance mechanism in the dizzy is working properly and isn't gunked-up or stuck. Cheers!

Great replies guys! Thanks! Cheers!

Tried using search, but it doesn't like me. Each time I either get error msgs., or the screen just rolls back to the inquiry screen, or it just gives me 1 page of results (while indicating many more) and when I select pg.#2, it just rolls back to the inquiry page. So, search is out. Forgive me in advance for asking about what is surely an oft asked and discussed question. Have access to a tii head (free). Is this a good upgrade to my stock M10 motor? Have a 32/36, Crane and tii manifold (only mods). Not certain, but believe all '76s (mine is Auto) came with a 121 head? Do I need a piston swap for this? Does it use stock valves? What else would I need to convert to use this head? Is it worth it in the end? Any help is much appreciated. Cheers!

I once had a '68 Lincoln Continental. I bought the car in '70 w/ 8k mi. on it from an 80 y.o guy. I was a college student and had come to see a VW Bug for sale across the street., I had $500. The Lincoln was so nice, I walked across the street to admire it. The owner came out and we started talking. I told him I was looking for a car, but no way could I afford something like this. He told me he foolishly bought the car for his much younger wife and that she had since run off with the Tennis Pro. He asked me how much I could spend and I told him $500. He paused then said, "go ahead, take it away for $500. Everytime I look at it, it reminds me of my wife and what a fool I've been." I took the car. It was magnificent, but everytime the AC was turned on, there was a rattling like someone shaking a coffee can full of marbles, so I rarely ran the AC. One very hot day, it was just too much and I started tearing into the dash, pulling all the heat/ac vent tubes. Inside the last one was a paper coffee cup which had a FOMOCO logo on one side and a UAW logo on the other with the wording: 'Work Safely and Have a Nice Day'. Some assembly line worker had just stuffed the cup up there at the ed of his break! That wasd it, the rattling was gone and everything worked great! I drove the car through college and finally gave it to a friend. Twenty five years later, my friend offered to sell me the car back for $15K, even though I reminded him that I gave him the car. No deal was struck. Cheers!

Well, sounds like you definitely want to sell, in which case, I don't think you will recoup the cost of a 'new' engine (#C). If it were me, I'd do the thing which is the least hassle for me. I might 1st try selling it 'as is' for a good price (there's nothing to feel guilty about in making a couple bucks), avoid low-ball offers. If no joy, try it as a smoker. If time is on your side, don't rush just to sell it, be a little choosey. Cheers!

It's not that a mech dizzy won't work, but it isn't simply plug & play. You need to have it recurved to bring the advance in sooner and also extend the total advance available. This is done by changing the springs, weights and possibly even the breaker plate. Companies such as Advanced Distributors specialize in this kind of work. Advanced Distributors even has a Distributor Curve Worksheet which you fill out (it even wants your compression numbers, the type of ignition, fuel, mods etc.) so they can set the dizzy to your individual engine Cheers!

On a '76 Cali car, don't you have to pass smog testing? OEM the '76 cali car had a vac advance/retard dizzy. Can you pass without it or are the inspectors just not so knowlegeable or picky so long as the emissions printout is within spec? Cheers!

Macartney's BMW '02 Restoration Guide states that on a mostly stock motor, a mech dizzy can actually reduce performance vs. a vac advance dizzy (pp193-194). Another issue with the mech. dizzy is that overall, it offers less total advance and under load (which slows the dizzy down) advance can actually be retarded for a short bit until the engine re-establishes it's rotational speed, allowing the weights to swing out again (and increasing advance). In some cases, the mech dizzy is a compromise to running DCOEs which do not have a vacuum port to run a vac dizzy. Cheers!

Have you re-curved the dizzy? When substituting the mech dizzy for the vac one, you need to recurve it so the advance kicks in sooner and also that it has an add'l 5° - 10° advance. This difference likely explains the different RPMs used to set the timing. Cheers!

Making an order for some car care stuff at autoanything.com (griot's products). Before completing my order, I left the shopping cart page up on my comp and went to dinner. On my return, I had received an email from autoanything, time-stamped in the period I was away from my machine, offering me a 10% discount coupon code encouraging me to complete the transaction. Now, I registered with autoanything a few years ago to make future ordering more simple, but I hadn't ordered anything from them in that time. I'm thinking that this may be a way to receive an additional discount, fill your cart and don't complete the transaction for an hour, then see if you get an email with a discount coupon. Hope it works, it did for me. 3 bucks is 3 bucks! Cheers!

You want the rocker arm pad at the low point on the cam. The rocker arm lash pad will not be touching the valve stem, in fact, it should be withdrawn the furthest from the valve stem. You're not measuring rocker arm-to-camshaft, you're measuring the rocker arm to valve stem gap. Cheers!

Well, you should check the existing clearances first before adjusting. Using a feeler gauge, first insert an 0.007" gauge - it should feel loose. Then insert an 0.009", and it should not go in at all, or at least be very tight. This would mean that a 0.008" gauge will fit with a slight drag, and is the correct setting. You will always be closing this gap, because the valves drive deeper and deeper into the valve seats (closing the gap) with time. The correct range is 0.006"-0.008", but go with 0.008" because it will extend the time the valve lash stays in spec. Valves which are already to spec should be left alone. You can pretty well sight which cam lobes are 180° from the rocker arm pad. Loosen the plugs to make turning the engine easier. Cheers!

When you say '"cleaned up the carb", I'm getting the impression that you didn't actually rebuild it. Maybe just shot carb cleaner through the barrels or cleaned the exterior, is that right? If so, you may have actually worked some varnish loose which is now partially blocking some of the small orifices in the carb (jets, air correction, emulsifier tubes, etc.). If you did rebuild the carb, how long did you let the parts soak? I always go 48 hrs. soak time because I've seen several rebuilds with less than this only partially dissolve the varnish and parafins which naturally buildup over time. Once some of this material is loose, it's easy for it to migrate to the minute orifices described above and partially clog them. In fact, since they're cheap, I always use fresh jets when doing a rebuild. Later, I clean the old ones thoroughly in an ultra-sonic cleaner a friend has, and shelve them, in ziplocks, for future rebuilds. There isn't a whole lot to setting up a manual choke. Adjust the cable so that when the choke knob is pulled, the butterflies close completely (but only completely), and when pushed back in the butterflies open completely. Too much adjustment and you risk twisting or bending the throttle shafts, and then you're in trouble. I have some ideas of what may have happened, but need a better description from you re. 'cleaned up' before I can narrow it down. Cheers!