Greg;
When I rebuilt the ZS from my '79 (my first carb rebuild ever) I did not
preset anything. The car fired right up and ran OK after some minor idle
speed adjustments. This past weekend I received my Gunson's ColourTune and
found that the mixture was rich (yellow flame color). I pulled the carb
piston and reset the needle so that the base of it was even with the bottom
of the piston (for a starting point). I then rechecked the carb using the
ColourTune and am now getting the "Bunsen Blue" color (mixture OK).
Reid
'79 Spitfire (original owner)
-----Original Message-----
From: Greg Hendrix [mailto:gahendrix@att.net]
Sent: Saturday, March 04, 2000 9:59 AM
To: Spitfire List (E-mail); Triumph List (E-mail)
Subject: Gettin' 'er Fired UP!
Listers,
I just rebuilt my ZS carb on my '74 Spitfire and I'm up against at least a
couple of odds.
First, I don't have a clue where to start with settings. The old carb body
had been damaged by the po (ran the air cleaner bolt too far and knocked a
hole in the carb body behind the flange), so this is a used carb from a
donor. I have the Haynes Spitfire book and Haynes carb book (I used it to
rebuild the carb with the std kit), but I'll be doggoned if I can find where
to set the idle screw, etc. It also means I don't know the history of the
carb, and my car wasn't a runner when I got it (boy, am I beginning to
sweat...) I do have decent compression on all cylinders, and I installed new
plugs (gapped as per Haynes).
Second, when I turn the engine over, I'm not convinced that I'm getting
spark at the plugs. They looked pretty wet when I pulled them (after it
wouldn't start).
FWIW, it wouldn't turn over this morning, even on a fresh overnight charge
(turn the key - nothing). I had picked up a new coil earlier, and figured
what the heck, now's a good time to see if the new one will fix the problem.
It did in the sense that now it'll at least try to start.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Greg Hendrix
Downingtown, PA
'74 Spitfire (in traction and on a respirator)
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