I just fired up my first 3rd gen and its an 86 Z with 305 tpi. It has some serious power problems along with many others. Ill list them:
1: NO POWER, wouldnt even break the tires loose in the rain
2: High idle, then likes to die when put in gear, idles at 1000- 1300 in park and 500-600 in gear if it doesnt stall out.
3: Hesitation: has horrible throttle response, takes longer than it should to rev up.

One problem i have to idea on is that the cat started to glow red. Somebody told me that the car is running way too rich and that would solve alot of the above mentioned problems but i am weary about just taking it to a shop and telling them to fix it. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Sounds like timing way retarded. Loose distributor hold-down maybe.

Start with the timing, set it to whatever the stock spec is (6° BTCD IIRC) and see if it's any better.

 

double post ...sorry.

 

Over here too....https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=153109


If your cat is glowing and your exhaust manifolds aren't...it is most likely the cat that is the problem...it's plugged.

 

Sounds like my false lean conditions minus the high idle, mine was really rough. You mentioned someone said it was running rich, does it smell rich? A blown intake gasket and loose ypipe bolts caused my false lean. How is gas mileage? I would check the cat first as mentioned earlier tho.

 

Ive heard of people gutting they're cats, could i just do that in the mean time while a new one is on the way? How would i gut it in the first place?