Gday guys, Jay here.

Complete noobie to this forum so bare with me lmao.

I recently brought a dream car of mine, 1980 Kp60 Bugeye starlie. 4k motor with twin choke single carb and Gilmore pullies. pretty standard.

 

But To cut a long story short.... I brought this planning to get it road worthy. It ran bloody well up until after I put a fresh wof/reg on her and did a full service.

I changed the motor n filter, gearbox, diff oils, plus coolant and air filter. The fuel pump had a slight weep from the gasket so I took it out, cleaned it up and attempted to repair it with some rtv lol. 

Then later that night when I was out she started idling quite low and rough. Almost to the point where it wouldn't idle at all!

What would of caused this? Is there anyway of mucking up refitting the fuel pump? 

 

Any input on this would be amazing, miss driving it already and it frustrates me that I can't just fix it.

is your timing out? sometimes you can bump it while removing the fuel pump

Any good stickies you could link me to regarding timing? I know how to do it roughly, but don't have a timing light

It's pretty tricky if you're new to do without a timing light (I struggle with one ;) ) You can get them pretty cheap these days. And always useful with these old engines. heres a WiKi link, I can't really find a simple guide. It's not hard though It'll take a few tries of course. https://www.wikihow.com/Adjust-Timing

 

Edit: Does she run fine at higher revs and speed? Something may have blown into the carb while you were replacing something and blocked it, also. Check the vac lines. one could be cracked or unplugged.

Edited November 8, 20178 yr by SloRolla

Oh la la

Was super excited the first time I went to NZ and spotted a KP60. Very nice.

What a freaky cool car. Like a jap version of the gremlin. Pop the dizzy cap and check you have a decent points gap. It should be .45 mm. The rubbing block can wear down at an unpreditable rate at times. 

1 hour ago, SloRolla said:

It's pretty tricky if you're new to do without a timing light (I struggle with one ;) ) You can get them pretty cheap these days. And always useful with these old engines. heres a WiKi link, I can't really find a simple guide. It's not hard though It'll take a few tries of course. https://www.wikihow.com/Adjust-Timing

 

Edit: Does she run fine at higher revs and speed? Something may have blown into the carb while you were replacing something and blocked it, also. Check the vac lines. one could be cracked or unplugged.

Yeah once she's warmed up it idles quite high then fluctuates 

1 hour ago, irokin said:

Oh la la

Was super excited the first time I went to NZ and spotted a KP60. Very nice.

I used to see this one driving around town and couldn't stop snapping neck every time. Funny to think I own it now! Lol bloody good wee cars aye!

1 minute ago, MrTougéTka said:

Yeah once she's warmed up it idles quite high then fluctuates 

Thanks for the link bro! I'm loving the positive vibes from this forum already

11 minutes ago, Big G said:

What a freaky cool car. Like a jap version of the gremlin. Pop the dizzy cap and check you have a decent points gap. It should be .45 mm. The rubbing block can wear down at an unpreditable rate at times. 

If the points were out wouldn't that mean it would be harder to start? Fires up no trouble, just doesn't idle at a constant rpm, fluctuates then eventually bogs out and dies.

Idle is when the fuel pump is running slowest and has a harder job pumping fuel...

You might as well start on the journey you need to take and give it a tune-up.

Take the plugs out and check they have the right gap & all are firing to the same colour. Turn the engine with a spanner on the crank & check the points gap, then the timing. A timing light is really handy, but if you watch the rotor turning as you turn the motor with a spanner you will see the points open as the dizzy shaft shoulder pushes on the rubbibg block. For #1 cyl this is when the crank pulley timing mark is about 10deg before TDC.  You can set the pulley to 10deg, then loosen the dizzy, turn on the ignition and turn the dizzy around that point of opening the gap and it will spark. Tighten the dizzy at that point.  A timing light is much easier.

Check the tappets while the plugs are out & you have the spanner on the crank. That only leaves the fuel system, so warm the motor up and re-set the idle mixture & the idle speed.

If that doesn't fix it, then there is something wrong, as distinct from something being out of adjustment. Let us know how you go, we can start chasing problems then. Is it the stock 4K carb on there??

1 hour ago, altezzaclub said:

Idle is when the fuel pump is running slowest and has a harder job pumping fuel...

You might as well start on the journey you need to take and give it a tune-up.

Take the plugs out and check they have the right gap & all are firing to the same colour. Turn the engine with a spanner on the crank & check the points gap, then the timing. A timing light is really handy, but if you watch the rotor turning as you turn the motor with a spanner you will see the points open as the dizzy shaft shoulder pushes on the rubbibg block. For #1 cyl this is when the crank pulley timing mark is about 10deg before TDC.  You can set the pulley to 10deg, then loosen the dizzy, turn on the ignition and turn the dizzy around that point of opening the gap and it will spark. Tighten the dizzy at that point.  A timing light is much easier.

Check the tappets while the plugs are out & you have the spanner on the crank. That only leaves the fuel system, so warm the motor up and re-set the idle mixture & the idle speed.

If that doesn't fix it, then there is something wrong, as distinct from something being out of adjustment. Let us know how you go, we can start chasing problems then. Is it the stock 4K carb on there??

Hey there, thanks so much for the detailed reply mate! Its a stock carb as far as I know, twin choke etc. Plugs are brand new, so gap should be fine. I'll get my dads mate to help me out, seeing as he's a starlet nut like me! Checking the points and timing was really the next step, just been flat out with work, haven't had enough time! 

We did fiddle with the mixture and idle screws, it idled alright for about 10seconds  but still fluctuated from low to high rpm. 

I'll attack that at some point towards the end of the week and get back to you! 

 

Oh I also replaced the pump spacer to the block and it still leaks slightly ugh, any decent sealant I could use to stop this? Rtv? Silicone or copper based?

Check the fuel solonoid! They can be quite dinky at times, when you unplug the only electrical wire on the carb, does it "click" when you plug it in and out?

2 hours ago, SloRolla said:

Check the fuel solonoid! They can be quite dinky at times, when you unplug the only electrical wire on the carb, does it "click" when you plug it in and out?

Checked that, works fine