is it the stock a12 carb or the stock a15 carb?
very important as the a15 carb will have an idle solenoid which cuts fuel to the idle circuit when the engine is stopped.the idle solenoid is the hexagonal bit sticking out of the carb just ahead of the pump jet plunger & has (should have) a wire with a male bullet connection on it.if it's there & not connected,find a 12 v power source controlled by the igniton & connect the solenoid to it.this is just the most
obvious thing to look for,as i've had sunny's do this to me a couple of times when the fuse blows controlling the solenoid.it'll run but not idle.

yeah dude but like i said, i dont really get that much money very often, so i cant afford to do it.. i dont really care how fast it goes or how good it sounds etc. i just want it running properly, then once i finish school and get a job i will do more to it...

That would be your problem then, put some webers on it or something, use that cam to its potential.

im pretty sure its just the stock carb...

What carb does it have?

i have basically no knowledge about cars, my friend who is a mechanic got it idling a bit better, i bought the car as it is now, the engine isnt completely stock, turbo cam, race series valve springs, ported head, bigger exaust valves etc... i havent had a tune up on it yet as i have only had it for a little while and have only had my licence for around a month, plus im still at school so the money doesnt flow into my pocket very well... basically i would like a simple explaination of why it could be doing this and a way to fix it put in simple terms..
cheers

8.5:1 won't cause idling problems.

However if you changed from 9.0:1 to 8.5:1 recently (by changing the head or pistons or different thickness of head gasket) then yes... should should re-adjust the carburetor idle. Just follow the factory method as Dman suggests.

I don't understand why you would call 8.5 to 1 'low' compression as this is the original compression ratio in many Datsun models & is more compatible with the lower octane fuels. Something like 7 to 1 might be regarded as 'low' compression.
Have you given the car a proper tune up as per the book? [I assume that it is a stock engine] To set the idle, once the dwell, timing & tappets are right, you will benefit greatly by having a hand held tach & a vacuum guage. Just 'fiddling' with the idle screw [mixture screw or idle speed screw?] does not usually produce the best results.

Once everything there is right, you can start trouble shooting the problem if it still persists.

hi guys,
just a question..
because i am running low compression 8.5:1 would this change the idle? sometimes when i roll up to a set of lights and im slowing down, it wants to cut out on me... i have fiddled with the idle screw a bit, and i got it to be a little bit better, but it still does it sometimes... any opinions on what is goin on.. it is an a15 if that makes any difference?
cheers