Rust Advice 78 280z

[siteunseen]

I like the ceramic header from MSA.  They really cut down the under hood heat.  I have them on both my Zs.

You can paint most of your rusted stuff after removing the rust.  Pulleys, motor mounts etc.  I used a high heat clear satin on my injector hold down plates and a few other no paint parts.

Anything you get rust off of will need protecting especially if you use muriatic acid.  That stuff is mean but it works great.  Neutralize it with baking soda and water until you coat it.  It will flash rust in front of your eyes, within minutes literally. 

[grannyknot]

The rust on the exhaust manifold is thick stuff, sand blasting is best method and the fresh metal is perfect for header/manifold paint. All the other methods for rust removal work well enough on surface rust but exhaust manifolds are different, most media blasting shops will do it for $20

[tzagi1]

Another method is electrolysis, do a u-tube search on rust removal electrolysis, not hard to make.

[gotham22]

Guys, thanks for the info.  Really appreciate it.  I do like the idea of ceramic headers. Need to wrestle with the idea of changing it from stock.  Did you do the whole exhaust from MSA?

Tzagi1 thanks for the info about the timing chain.  

Now if the wife would just let me work on the car!  Ha!  

[siteunseen]

Yes I do have their premium 2.5" exhaust.  It works great with the header but on the lower 240 with 15" wheels and tires it scrapes coming in and out of my garage.  The straight pipe connects to the bent one with those bolt together flanges, that's what barely scrapes.  My local muffler guy said he could cut and weld them together for more clearance.  I've learned to keep it from scraping until I build up some disposable cash for that small job.  My 280 with 16" wheels and tires has plenty of clearance but it rides with stock springs and struts.

 

Edited November 12, 2018 by siteunseen

[gotham22]

And the mission creep keeps on going - exhaust and wheels......ha!

 

[grannyknot]

5 hours ago, gotham22 said:

And the mission creep keeps on going - exhaust and wheels......ha!

 

The hook is set firmly in your cheek and you're being reeled in, enjoy the ride.

[wheee!]

Yeahhhh... my project was a quick $10,000 refresh that would take a year...

4 years and a lot more money to go later..!

 

[ensys]

 

Mr.gotham22:

I admire your youthful enthusiasm and gritty determination. I hope it is enough.

Given the shots of the car at the curb, I can understand your hopefulness. Regardless of how it looks under the new paint, it looks like any shiney side issues will wait well enough. Just be careful of your working heats.

While it is not my intention to deal in discouraging words, I will, in the name of reality checks, note that your biggest handicap is not the rust, but the lack of a secure enclosed work space. If there is a garage on the premises, commandeer it; the wife will probably understand. If not, try to make some arrangement with a neighbor. At the very least, build an 8'x10' shed to hold your tools (a few small things like a bench grinder and a place to paint will make a difference) and keep vital parts from "disappearing". Plus, winter is coming and enough said about that.

Another suggestion: buy a large blue tarp to go over the cushion of the car cover. The tarp will give better weather protection (winter, remember) and make the cover last longer. Plus, you can get a better "wrap" from prying eyes.

One more: You might think about some concrete pavers as a make-shift "floor" for the body that would be above the ground water and snow.

Practical ideas:

I would suggest that the engine should be stripped down to the long block to allow the extensive re-conditioning obviously required for all the vital systems/plumbing on the engine (opening the distributor should be interesting). Plus, you'll need to replace the manifold gaskets anyway.

The fix for the broken exh. manifold studs (at each/either end) will probably require removing the head to do it right.

Note: the best repair for broken studs (head, manifold-tailpipe joint, etc.) is a careful drill-out, in steps of larger bits, to the point just shy of the threads. Done carefully, one can then just peel the stud threads out, leaving the body threads intact. Be wary of easy-outs; when they break, they are worse to drill out than the original bolt/stud.

Have you got a Factory Shop Manual yet?

Seriously; Good Luck. The rest is up to you and the good folks on this site.

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2018 by ensys

[gotham22]

Ensys, thanks for the kind words and advice. I agree with you that my biggest issue is work space.  Won't even get into details how I got the engine out and car moved without a front  suspension on a gravel driveway.  I do have a garage but not that I can get the car into.  Previous home owners built a porch and planted trees so it is a big shed now.  But that's god news as at least I have a workshop.

 

Funny, this all started because I wanted to just change some rubber bushings on the front suspension! No intention to do a "refresh".  This weekend I have time to practice welding some scraps.  

 

[Zed Head]

I have an old set of 1978 injectors that looked worse than those.  They sat on the non-running engine for 10 years.  They guy I bought the car from had gotten the engine running before I bought it for parts so I don't know what state the fuel system had been in .

I tested the injector flow rates later and they were all dead even.  They opened and closed fine, nice solid clicks.  I ran them on the engine for quite a while.  I would just put new hoses on those old crusty injectors and use them.  If you decide to clean them up don't get any moisture inside, at all.  The metal inside is only meant to see gasoline and will rust quickly if any water gets in there.  

[tzagi1]

Injectors do not go bad generally. They can sit for a long time. if you feel like performing some maintenance you can A: clean them using a sonic tub (can be found around $10 online) or B: back flush them, the do have a tiny filter inside (replaceable) As to the back flushing you will need the body of a 10cc syringe and carb cleaner, see here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFJlTfHyrUk I do have to credit the krout engineers on that one, they did come up with a perfect design 50 years ago that serves us faithfully to this day.