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.

Its amazing what can happen when your not watching. no matter how much you mainatain a car something weird and amazing always happens. Your lucky that wing nut isnt squashed into your head (the one on your engine)

yeah cause I had a race engine one time to swallow a peice of all thread a bout 2 inches long that held the aftermarket breather on & got stuck between an intake valve & seat. beleive it or not we fished it out with the intake off & back on just in time to take position on the track, buckleing the 5 point harness as the green flag dropped .( finished 3rd when it was all done )

Just as id got my A15 running again it swallowed a piece of weld (shitty job i did) in and cracked my piston! wasnt happy but ive learnt...

Your lucky you found it DD other wise you could have been in for some serious problems!

The wingnut is a laugh now. You're fortunate you found it, and it didn't make it's way any deeper.

I dropped a small screw into a carby once and spent all weekend taking the car apart to retrieve it.

I don't remove an air cleaner for anything now unless I absolutely have to.

Glad to hear you got the Datto back up to snuff. We've been having nice weather here in So Cal, too. (Warm, but windy)

67 degrees in the middle of the day over here. ahhhhhh!!!!

yes a good save and little head ache. duncan the weather up state from you is a nice brisk 40 deg F.

Yes, thanks it is running much better today.

Yesterday though Sunny was only 49 degrees (9 celsius) working on my Sunny here up close to Canada. To be expected when it's middle 'o winter here in Northern Hemi.

By the way, I found out that the "heat control valve" is not just for warm climates. It's used in all markets and helps the first minute or two of running.

Old Parts continued ...

It was sunny and not too cold today (54 degrees/12 celsius) so I thought I'd fix the alternator.

That 33 year old "never rebuilt" Datsun 1200 alternator started making noise week before last, on the coldest morning of the winter. It took it off and to my surprise it had a roller bearing on the back end as well as front (american alternators use a bushing back there). No worries, I packed it like a wheel bearing and now it is quiet again.

Lesson: If you have spare parts on hand, get 'em ready ahead of time: bushings lubed, brushes checked, etc. It could save you having to do it twice.

Quote:
That was one of the problems with the old Lucas generators, they used a bushing back there & old auto electricians had a good supply of new ones in a tin of oil. They usually had a couple of spare back plates with a new bush fitted as well to allow a quick turnaround.
Sometimes the shaft would wear right through into the end plate & Lucas always did a brisk business in spare parts. Typicly, the Japs used a rolling element bearing & reliability increased greatly.

Are you saying that American 'made' altenators [Delco, Motorola etc] use bushes, or American market Datsun 1200 Altenators use bushings?