Will

I lined the crank pulley up with the TDC mark and checked the cam gear - the dash on the plate lined up perfectly with the cam dowel, and the gear is set at dowel hole #2. (My cam gear isn't as pretty as the one in the picture - I had to block the chain, unbolt the gear and pull it a bit forward to see the dash! ...next time it would be nice to get one of the Japanese timing kits...)

Looks like I'll be pulling the car into the garage again tonight to check out the chain. Thanks for the information!

Okay - got it running and adjusted the best I could. I hear some sort of clattering noise that I don't remember when I open the throttle, but other than that it sounds okay, and it doesn't bog down when going off idle like it did before.

It sounds kinda like noisy valves. ...I adjusted my valves not too long ago, so I don't think that could be the reason.

Okay - the progress so far:

I took out the plug for cylinder #1 (looked good, normal reddish deposits) TDC seems to be a bit off from this illustration that I found. Instead of this:

It's more like this (but this could just be because it was difficult to find the middle between the point where the piston is moving up and when it starts to travel down):

The distributor was aimed at plug #1

The vacuum advance moved when I sucked on the tube

The oil level in the carbs was the same front and back, right between the marks.

However, the carbs WERE out of sync - when I moved the throttle linkage, the front carburetor moved before the back carburetor.

I synced-up the carb linkage, now I'm headed back to the garage to play with the Uni-Syn and the infernal mixture-adjusting nuts. Maybe the out-of sync carbs could be causing trouble?

Thanks for the information everyone! I'm just about to head out to the garage and get to the bottom of this problem. I'll let you know how it goes.

I'll do that today - I need to check and see if TDC on the pulley is the same as TDC for the piston.

I agree with flatcat19, start with the basics, put the engine at TDC, check to make sure the cam lobes on #1 cylinder are at 10am and 2pm, look at where the rotor is pointed, that would be #1, firing order 1, 3, 4, 2 counter clockwise.

Head shaved

Assuming you have cam tower shims...if not....that will affect 'timing'

I thought that the shims were only for heads that had major amounts of aluminum removed. Could it throw the timing marking that far off?

I could install a set, but I sure wouldn't be looking forward to re-installing the cam towers afterward.

Over here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nissan-Bluebird-1800-SSS-E-van-Tomica-Dandy-17-Japan-/360515166742

I wasn't calling dibs - just weird enough to share, so bid away.

do u have the link of this? been looking for a datsun 610 toy on ebay

The SUs were running well, but the engine overheated (before I got it... It was already out of the car when I picked it up.) and I needed to have the head milled - I didn't really mess with the carbs when I put the engine back together. I watched the video, and that helped to actually hear what all of the write-ups were describing. I'll give tuning another try in the morning... before the snow gets here!

Thanks for the tips everyone. I've almost finished reading that giant page about SU tuning. ...next up the youtube SU video. I did bring the Uni-Syn and the timing light with me, but the Gunson Colortune was left in Brooklyn. I didn't want to get shocked again.

I didn't have a timing light when I first got it running - I just aimed the distributor towards plug #1, got it running and then adjusted it a bit more until it sounded like it was running best. I hooked up a timing light and the marker on the timing cover was pointing about a quarter of the way around the crank pulley from 12° advanced (clockwise... in a spot where there were no marks on the pulley.)

It must have been something like 35° or 40° advanced - the engine is pretty much stock - it there a reason why it would be running better with the timing advanced that much from the stock spec? Or did Datsun make some crank pulleys with the notches in wacky places?

I drove up to Syracuse for Thanksgiving, and it wasn't running too well at all - it was okay on the highway, but not too keen in town. Hopefully someone out there can help with some tuning suggestions.

A few weeks ago I used a timing light and set the timing to the correct setting, and it hasn't been running too well ever since -

-harder starting.

-sluggish off idle.

I tried to set the fuel mixture on the SUs to see if that was the problem with the new timing setting, but that only made things worse.

-really slow and stumbling off idle, with some rattling from the carbs during acceleration.

-temperature varied more as I was driving - a bit colder than usual but it usually kept at the center of the temp gauge.

Does anyone have some suggestions about how I can get this car running right again? I don't have much experience tuning the Hitachi SUs, and using a colortune only succeeded in giving me an electrical shock. I need to drive back to Brooklyn in a few days!

Also, try trademe.co.nz

There aren't too many 710 Violets in Australia since they weren't imported, but New Zealand did get them.

More fun stuff from ebay - who wants to try out this color scheme?

Hey... an East-Coast 1200 that is running, doesn't have a crazy engine swap, and is reasonably priced!!

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brx/cto/3413016850.html

DATSUN 1971 - $2500 (BRONX)

I'M SELLING A 1971 DATSUN...MANUAL TRANS...RUNS EXCELLENT...I'M AKING FOR $2,500 OBO...CALL OR TEXT 910-922-4858 OR 910-978-2981....THANKS FOR SEE MY POSTING...PLEASE NO EMAIL

I think it's a Volvo 240 - I have an identical rack from an old 240, and I was able to bend the ends enough to fit into the rain gutters on my 710... and carry 4x8 sheets of plywood with the thing.

Looks like Yakima rain gutter roof rack on green car behing 710!

Card shark.

Wait, no. Shark cards.

Dropped body? Where did you drop the body? I can't see it in the picture.

I notice it has a white interior... any chance that the grab handles above the doors are in okay condition? I only need the white plastic covers that go over the ends of the handles.

I'd be interested! ... though I agree that a later FSM might be more useful to more people - not too many L18s out there.

Looks like they ran out of flat black paint halfway through the two-toning! Are you going to have fun with the paint?

Datsun Off-Roadster:

http://providence.craigslist.org/cto/3245165161.html

Saw this while leafing through one of my Datsun books... such a good, simple idea - why aren't they all like this?

Hey! Those don't go there!

Thanks, Mike! I set it to the center mark of the five, so it should be pretty close. IT definitely is running better and no longer pinging - I'll fine tune it on the road and try to get it dialed in a bit more precisely. It's always fun to play with a 12V strobe light anyway.

Timing should be +12 BTDC will. The crank pulley turns CWise so the notches should be in order as they come round ... +20, +15, +10, +05 and O

 

If any doubt, it will ping under load if too advanced and power drops off. I just snug the distributor tie down bolt so I can easily twist the dizzy to adjust the timing on the road. Turning the dizzy CW will advance the timing, CCW will retard it. When I get to where there is no pinging I tighten the hold down bolt.