Need a Little Help

[jazzyjeff]

Hey guys any help would be appreciated!!!! I have just purchased my first Z and am very anxious to get it going. The engine does not want to start and the clutch pedal has no resistance at all. The fenders are rusted on the bottom causing them to seperate from the body mount. Driver's seat is ripped other then that the car is in great shape with less then 80K Any hints on to what goes wrong with these after sitting for years to get started again and where I may purchase inexpensive fenders and a drivers seat or cover? It is a 1972 240 Z with a 4 speed. Orange over white

[SteveJ]

Jeff,

If you REALLY want help, you'll need to say more than "The engind does not want to start." The more details you can give, the better the advice you will receive.

As for the clutch, replace the Master & Slave cylinders. Use fresh fluid and bleed. Bleeding a clutch is not like bleeding brakes. Search online for the proper procedure.

Download the factory service manual. You can find one on the XenonS30 link in my signature. READ IT!

Also, search on here for advice on prepping an engine that has been sitting for a while.

As for the fenders and seats...Inexpensive fenders usually mean rusty fenders. You don't state what you think is inexpensive, so no one can truly give you a good ballpark.

You have a 38 year old car that needs work. Do your research, develop a gameplan, and

get a budget together. Randomly attacking an old car with parts usually gets you an empty wallet and a poorly running car.

[IdahoKidd]

Jeff,

Spend every spare minute you have reading every post ever put here and you'll have a beginning of what you will need to know. It sounds as though you have a major project car. Check for more rust. Check the frame rails, the fire wall behind the rusted fenders, under the battery, under the carpet, along the back of the hatch, and on and on. You may find that it is going to be more effort than you might want. I agree with Steve, determine what you need to do, determine your budget, and then decide from there. My 72 orange with white required minimal body work, had no rust, had a running engine, and I have just cruised past $7000 on a car I didn't expect to put $1500 into. And I am about 4K short of completion. It happens fast and with big numbers. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have..... However, it will be awesome when it is done! Good luck, but read read read.

Leonard

PS If you click under the members names on "see my Z photos", many have project pictures and often they are great for references on your own project

PSS You are likely to get scolded for posting the same question in more than one spot. I absolutely guarantee your post will get read, no matter where it gets posted.

Edited April 27, 2010 by IdahoKidd
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[TBone028]

Drain the gas tank. Change the fuel filter. Change the oil and filter. Consider flush/fill of your coolant system.

Make sure you are getting gas to the float bowls, check for spark, grab a can of starter fluid and try cranking her over. If it only runs on starter fluid (dont go crazy with the starter fluid, just a little will do), then you know there is something wrong with either your fuel pump/gas lines/carbs.

Regarding the clutch, check your fluid and bleed them along with inspecting your brakes and bleeding them too. You may have a leaking clutch master/slave cylinder or air bubbles. Replace the clutch master/slave cylinder if bleeding doesnt work.

Search for the downloadable FSM. Its free. Regarding parts, zcarparts.com or any number of different z suppliers. The Search function is your friend.

[jazzyjeff]

Hey guys thanks for the help even though some were very rude. Was just trying to get someone help not sarcasim. But hey all in good fun. I did what was told and the engine started after draining the tank replacing the fuel lines from carbs draining oil and putting in some hi test only problem is I dont know if the car was ever changed from leaded or not. Also the slave cylinder and purging worked like a charm actually took the old car down the road with surprising performance for not starting for three plus years.

But new question and hopefully someone knows the answer. I have very low oil pressure and when giving gas in neutral there is no change in the pressure gauge??????????????????THANKS

[Zs-ondabrain]

These gauges are slow to respond. But work better at mid to higher RPM's and when under a load. Just tapping the gas or revving it here and there, off idle, won't show much change. Pretty typical for electrical. If you want a fast responce, you'll need to change out the oil pressure gauge for a manual (Tube tapped into the oil pressure fitting, connected directly to an oil fed gauge. (the old style)

By the way, Steve wasn't trying to be rude, just pointing out the obvious. You want info, we'll need as much detail as possible in your first post. The more guessing we have to do, the longer it'll take for you to get the answer you want.

Hope that helps,

Dave

[SteveJ]

It's true. I'm only as rude as you want me to be. It's actually only matter of fact.

Case in point, another user on this forum posed a vague description of an electrical problem. It turned out that he lives near me, so I went over to his place. With a lot of patience, we were able to track down the problem. It wasn't even close to what people (including myself) were guessing. However, the owner didn't know how to describe the problem. I told him in person pretty much everything I typed to you.

Also, developing good searching techniques helps a lot with getting better answers quicker. I had a problem last week, and I found the answer on here much quicker by searching than starting a new thread. There is a goldmine of information online, especially at the links in my signature.

[Arne]

I merged the two threads, and deleted one of the two identical posts.

[Travel'n Man]

The search button has been a great source for me over the past few years - good luck on your project and welcome to the site! There is a lot to learn and there are a lot of knowledgeable people on this site. It's kinda like taking a college course on line - do your studing first through the search feature, and after that anybody is more then willing to pitch in and assist to help correct your situation and share their opionion.

What a great journey - hang on for a great ride!

[jazzyjeff]

thanks guys sorry if I came off like an arse just the bronx coming out. Again sorry if I offended anyone (steve) . Well update got the car running great but now the exhaust manifold seems to be blowing out from the front port? Guess it sat too long and shrunk? After warming up seems like a popping noise.. Any help on an easy way to get to it??????????? other then that the clutch is back to normal after some reverse bleeding and the brakes also came back. Hoping for a great ride. thanks again. Peace Jeff

[SteveJ]

Are you sure you don't have any broken studs on the exhaust manifold? That could cause a problem to start, and it only gets worse over time.

When you go to replace the exhaust gasket, be sure to true the mating surfaces. The manifold can warp, and that would just cause the problem to come back later. As far as an easy way, I won't hazard a guess. Wiring is more up my alley.

If the clutch starts acting funny again, just go ahead and replace the slave & master cylinders and the rubber hose. Brake fluid is mean to those parts. That's experience talking. As a matter of fact, I have two master cylinders, two hydraulic hoses, and one slave cylinder waiting for me when I get back to the states. (Canada is EVIL. I know this because they don't believe in Diet Mountain Dew. I had to sneak it across the border from Buffalo.)

[jazzyjeff]

I changed the slave and hose and reverse bled it and it is perfect. As for the manifold I dont really know it sounds like a flapping and pooping noise had the same problem on my 74 Nova and it was a gasket so thought maybe the same. But I will check the bolts. But hey all in all the car for sitting for 4 to 5 years all lights work and even the choke light on the bottom dash still lights up when enganged. Any chance you or anyone else has any decent fenders for a 240 laying around?????????????? haha Thanks for your help brother I really need it, really have no clue there were some many different things that are on this tiny car. haha

Oh yeah and the air still blows cold. go figure try letting and american car sit and see what you get out of the vents. lmao

Edited May 6, 2010 by jazzyjeff
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