It became necessary to adjust the float level of my sons stock 1200 coupe today, so it was out with the workshop manual, the tools, & the carb top.
The book says that when the carb top is inverted, the top of the float should be 12mm from the gasket face of the carb top.

This is usually done with a 12mm drill by rolling the shaft across the gasket face & under the float, but i didn't have one. A quick glance around & i reached for my micrometer & adjusted it to .472 inch [12mm, it was an old mike.] I grabed the 1200's factory jack handle & discovered that it was exactly 12mm in diameter, so i was able to complete the job.
Those clever Datsun engineers are thinking all the time.

Another tip?
The pointy end of the wheel brace, the part used for prizing off the hubcap, is small enough to use as a screwdriver for that emergency "adjust the points by eyeball on the side of the road" job. I learned that trick about 20 years ago, so keep your original toolkit intact, you never know what you might need it for.

Good tips, I think that would work!

An old guy taught me that for points you could use a match from a matchbook, they are just about the right thickness.

To adjust the carb, you'll also need at minimum a reversible screwdriver, or two separate ones (philips and straight screwdrivers) to remove the screws. I just eyeball the float level adjustment:


Carb Adjustment

HUH? I thought you were gonna say you got so sick and tired of it that you gave it a good thwack with your jack handle.

C'mon Mat,.. i know that i'm not about to light up the tyres in the 1200 coupe as long as it has an auto trans & the stock Hitachi carb, but as long as the carb is clean, is in servicable condition & is correctly adjusted, then it will start quickly & easily, run smoothly & deliver an all round satisfactory performance.

This one had the float level set too high & all it needed was to have this reset. Despite its lowly specs, it still has a peppy perfprmance & those little Hitachi's are a really good design, so they should never give cause for the sort of frustration that involves jack handle rage.

The wheel brace also fits the solenoid on the carb (21mm?). I used this once on the side of the road when the wire "fell off". Pulled the pin and spring out for later and away I went.

After years of reviving poorly maintained 120Y's and 1200's on the side of the road you can get quite creative. We could almost do up a supplement for the original manual, "Roadside Repairs".

As long as you are parked near a wire fence. . .

i found that if you ever need a throttle cable, that u can join or make one up with speaker cable, a mate of mine ran a speaker cable through a hole in his firewall and pulled the wire for throttle instead of using foot, he got a red light camera fine coz he couldnt stop, but got him home.......

i dunno about that dodgeman.

after replacing every bit of crap in my hitachi on the 180B, i found the base plate was warped and was a bin job anyway.

conincidentally, i then attacked it with a ...yup, you guessed it, jack handle while it was still on the car.

i also needed a new inlet manifold after that little episode.

however, the hitachi off the 240C was a direct replacement and worked a treat.

nikkis and hitachis - bad rep for no real reason.

Like i said, as long as the carb is clean, SERVICABLE & correctly adjusted etc. etc.

I suspect that a warped base would put it in the unservicable basket. Replacing the faulty part[s] & returning it to servicable status would ensure restoration of satisfactory performance.

Of course, repair by replacement is always an option, as long as the replacement conforms to the three essential elements mentioned above.

I agree about the bad reputation thing, yet this wrongfull description seems to be shouted loudest by incompetent repairers & wannabee mechanics.