Well, my car finally called to me to do some work on it.

The alternator (charge) light came on Friday morning and didn't go off. So Friday night, I checked the voltage with engine running. (only 12volts, so I knew it wasn't working). I swapped regulators, but it didn't help. Then I noticed the alternator was making a soft buzzing/clicking sound. I swapped in a genuine 1971 alternator (never rebuilt), and now it's working great!


picture

It's good to have spare parts handy ...

Next problem: After my success with the alternator, I got out this afternoon to "tune" the mighty A12. It felt good to spend a couple of hours in the sun, just me and my 1200.

I've been driving it to work every days, but it's not been running quite right and getting poor fuel economy (and dark smoke comes out the back).

I found a wing nut blocking the primary carb bore ...


So that's why they use a wing nut ...

Also, I found the fuel level was way high ... so I adjusted the float level.

Lastly, I found an answer for the poor running while the engine was warming up: the heat riser (heat control valve) spring was disconnected. So if you're in a cold climate, make sure that's working:
- make sure the shaft turns
- spring closes it when engine is cold
- spring opens valve when engine is warm


Heat Control Valve
I was able to grab the end of the spring and put it back on the pin. Now it works fine.