Jumping in with 2

[ArnieTX]

A buddy went with me early this morning to load up #3 on the trailer. I'm getting better at this because it went really smooth. The key is to bring your own tires, compressor, jack, and impact.

Ran it by the car wash and rinsed under the hood and around the car. It looks like this car was last registered in 1984. One I removed all the mice nests and brush from the motor area, I was happy to see very clean frame rails all the way back to the firewall. The battery area has a little rusty and seperation but nothing like the car I was working on. The floors have a hole or two in them but look very good all the way to the back of the car. These floors are strong enough to support a driver and passenger in their current state.

The body has a rusty area along the pass side rear fender. The rest of the body looks pretty decent minus a few dent here and there. Based on my experience so far though, I know there has to be more rust hiding somewhere.

The rear hatch and tire area looks great. It doesn't look like the car has evere been any color but silver. As this was a parts car for the fellow that gave it to me, a few things like radiaor fan and a fuel line are missing. I'm sure other things are missing but I have a complete stock car to look at as reference in the future as I go through it. My plan is to do all the mechanicals and get this car running. The intake was misisng some items so car #1 will be my donor parts car for now. I'm going to order the Z-Therapy video tonight so I can learn about carbs. I've never rebuilt one.

I squirted oil in the engine cylinders and removed the valve cover for a little wd40 spray on the lifters and springs. The motor turned over nicely by hand and was spitting ATF out the cylinders. The odometer says 43xxx so I fugure that's 143,xxx considering the shape the body is in. After I got it vacuumed out and it dried, I had to stick car # 2 seats in. - Man they look nice.

My plan for the next few months:

Rebuild carbs and reinstall intake/exhaust

flush all fluids

rebuild brakes

add missing fuel line (opened tank drain, nothing came out, empty tank)

get it running

Here are some pics. It was a great day. Finally had some time to tinker and drink some beers.

[ArnieTX]

My new nut and bolt holder I found in the back:

I still have a little room for a couple more. - I'm always looking.

Later

Arnie

[Darrel]

About the gas tank, drop it and clean it out. My 240 sat for 14 yrs before I picked it up and the tank had a lot of varnish in it which clogged up the filters.

[ArnieTX]

Darrel

Will do! Thanks

Arnie

[ajmcforester]

So when are you going to become a parts dealer you got your work cut out for you again:D Well I hope this one works for you if not you have yet another parts car. If you are going to see if it starts you can hook hose to a pump and stick it into a gas can you don't need to use the fuel tank. Besides if it sat that long in a field the tank will more than likely leak. or just fill the float chamber with gas

[ArnieTX]

I removed the tank today. It looks like it is in good shape. Less than a hanfull of rusty skibblies came out.

I may go down to the creek and grab a bunch of p-gravel, fill it up, and agitate the heck out of it. This car is in pretty good shape compared the others. Even the fasteners are coming off pretty easily.

Time to search tank cleaning.

Arnie

[d240zx2]

Take a handful of marbles. Count 'em. Toss 'em in the tank. Rattle 'em around a bit, shake it up good. That should knock any crud loose. Then pour 'em out. Count 'em. Rinse the tank w/something wet, let dry. If you don't have the same number of marbles coming out as you did going in, you're in trouble....

[ArnieTX]

Very good point on counting them..... never thought about that.

Thanks

[ajmcforester]

I've heard of that trick with the rocks. Watch-out behind the tank baffle where you can't see seems to be the spot they rusts. My first Z the tank didn't look bad looking into it, but my filter was getting clogged with rust so I started thinking the lines had rusted out, but I also thought I'd have a hole in the lines with that much rust. So to test my theory I put 2 filters on the lines too and from the tank and the one in the engine compartment. The first one to clog was the line out of the tank I knew at that point the lines were not the culprit. I took the tank to a radiator shop that put it in the dip tank for three days and cleaned it out for only $20 and an ear and tamales to chew on (80 year old guy in a bad part of town, besides I learned a lot of great tricks with cars, I wish I made it to his house to see his racing flat 4 engine he had).

Sorry got off topic, I put some rust dissolve in your gravel mix, pug the holes and let it do its thing for a day or 2, or until it starts leaking what ever comes first. Besides if it starts to leak the fuel would have found the week spot soon enough, and you don't want rust in the tank.

The only rusty tank I've owned came to me that way I only had the first Z for a month before I had it dipped. what I do with metal tanks is put one court of non-detergent straight weight oil in a 1/2 full tank drive it to slosh it around and fill the tank. Yes you will get a little blue smoke for a tank, but it works well. I know a lot of old guys that do this and my current Z the first owners mechanic did this and I have no rust in the tank, and I'm the second time the tank came down, the other was to put new hoses on about 15 years a go.

It starting to sound like you found a good one, good luck.

[ArnieTX]

It was a good weekend. I worked on my Z and changed the oil in the excursion and F250.

My old man passed away 5 years ago and somewhere along the way he got a torch and a couple of bottles from somebody. I drug them home and stuck them down at my wife's uncles barn because I really had no use for them. Her uncle farms and ranches so it was a back up set for him in case he needed them. He never used them so I drug them back home this evening. A couple of my hunting buddies showed up to drink a beer and showed me how to use it.

One thing good about this endeavor is I'm learning a lot and getting more tools. The torch will come in handy for something down the road.

Arnie

[Bonzi Lon]

A length of chain works well, no marbles to loose. Use a mirror on a stick in the filler hole and a light source in the float hole to view the tubes behind the baffle. The old o-ring, several quart Mason jar lids and the sending unit clamp will seal that hole. The filler tube was covered with a large piece of inner tube, secured with a hose clamp.

Bonzi Lon

[ArnieTX]

Just got off the phone with Bruce at Z-Therapy. He's hooking me up with some new carbs, a JUST SU DVD, the tune up DVD, and some sort of tool that can sync my carbs.

In return he refused to take over my mortgage or send me some whiskey. Some people .....

I need to get my tank cleaned and fuel lines run/replaced asap. Could also use some brakes. HAHA

Rolling hard now! I'm jacked! Maybe I'll get this thing running in the next month.