maj75 (Forum Supporter) said:
I'm working right now with a '73 240z that was supposed to be "rust free." It will be truly shocking to see how much rust you have when you start poking at the visible rust. I've replaced the complete floors, the complete sub-frames, the complete inner and outer inner fender under the battery, the dog legs, the lower front fenders and haven't addressed the hatch area bondo butchery. It's a good thing the guy I brought it from isn't close. I could take about $15K out of his ass.
And it came from Texas...
I'm at least happy I didn't pay a premium for that, as I expect I'll continue to find a bunch as I go.
Speaking of, the gas tank clearly has some holes in it already, and I bet there's 5-10lbs of this rust/sludge rolling around inside the tank.
Edit: Still going to take to a radiator shop, the cleaning isn't too expensive and they will quote repairs. Alternately, with a cleaned out tank, I imagine I could weld patches/repairs in to however many areas need them without too much fuss, before having it lined.
Edit 2: wire brushed the top of the tank and found some more issues, lol. Probably still easy enough to patch with a cleaned tank.
Seems like with such a popular car there should be some aftermarket available fuel tank?
I love the tape deck and equalizer. Very period correct. I'm also working on a 75 280z and that's the kind of sound system I hope to install.
Yeah no such thing as rust free lol, I found a fresh inch diameter hole beneath the driver seat rails on my 76 while working on suspension. Just gotta take it as an excuse to get better at welding.
I bet if you rinse the heck out of the tank you can weld it fine. It's been sitting so long I doubt anything in there will light off too easy.
But I've never tried so don't quote me on that lol
Tank was too varnished to be cleaned, so I'm on the hunt for a 75/76 tank! I'll call the one place that sells refreshed ones to see what costs are if I can't provide a core back to them. If anyone else sees one local let me know!
Hmm, this doesn't look like it should be here..
So, this was quite a weight of varnish. I am trying to be patient/keep my eyes out for another 75/76 tank. I have an order in with Skillard for some new Stainless straps, got a delivery of new stainless hardware, Valve cover gasket, and some other misc items to try and wrap all that up whenever I have a suitable tank.
Next steps are to pull the seats out to trash the seat covers and the carpet (unless it's better than I'm expecting), and inspect cam/ try to turn the engine over by hand. Then I'll do a once-over on the wiring and toss a battery in!
Also, absolutely cart-before-the-horse, but I'm expecting to pick up a very very cheap partial shell (roof cut off, no doors, etc) to cut the quarter panel from, and possibly to use to make sure the rear panel/light panel can get aligned right in the future.
Well, camshaft looks about like the gas tank.
Feels like this'll get a top-end refresh at a minimum.
In reply to classicJackets (FS) :
I'd get it running as-is, using 2 qts of ATF plus Rotella T6 for the first hour of runtime. While you've got the VC off, you could give everything visible a good scrub with degreaser (or gasoline) and a stiff brush.
I pulled VC off to check it out, and probably will try ACs method of "cleaning" lobes and sending it at first (if it even turns over).
The bummer is I had to scoot inside as kiddo was waking up, and I managed to drop a VC bolt straight down the opening/between the timing chain, so I think I've kind of backed myself into a corner. I know on the ZX's, the oil pan can't come off while the engine is in the car, not sure about these.
In reply to classicJackets (FS) :
Is that rust on the cam lobes? If so, I'd still send it without top end disassembly, but I'd hit them with some really fine emery cloth first.
In reply to ClassicJackets... you cannot pull the oil pan without at least unbolting the motor mounts, raising the motor, and then wiggling the pan out from the oil pickup tube...in the long run it's easier to pull the motor.
You might be able to fish a magnet down the timing chain opening and snag the bolt if it hasn't fallen thru.
Good luck
Gordon
That camshaft is bad news. It won't end well if you get it running.
Pretty sure its junk. Or if its not, it will be.
Hopefully thats a buildable core.
Is it stuck?
In reply to classicJackets (FS) :
For the camshaft lobes- I would pull the head. Then, buy some citrus-based degreaser, and soak the top end of the engine with it. Use a green scotch brite pad to clean off the big crap, and evaluate further. Not a lot of work, with potentially big benefits.
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
I'll try to spin it tonight, need to work with a magnet and see if I can get the bolt I dropped out, and pull the fan shroud to get access to the crank bolt to spin it. Hoping it's not stuck..
Recon:
That's not a bad idea, and would love me the chance to see what the block looks like, too. I'm expecting it to be rough..
If you need a buildable core, let me know. I know my brother has a few
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
I could do some more work, or put a larger breaker bar on it, but it doesn't want to spin.
Someone on one of the z pages in Ohio offered up an L24/4speed with dual 32/36 webers (barn stored but looks good) for $500 that didn't sound too bad.
In reply to classicJackets (FS) :
It always amazes me how little rust it takes on a piston ring to seize a motor.
Bummer; I hope you find a good mill.
Well if you decide you want to get a known rebuildable core I can talk to my brother just let me know. And then we figure out how to get it to you in Ohio. I think it's a little too late for the grm Relay headed north at this point in time
I did say I was going cart before the horse, so here's the donor shell for a non-crinkly quarter panel. I'll get pics tomorrow comparing the body line. This one will still need some welding before being "done", but after getting the rear-cut off the car, I'll stash it behind the garage for a bit while I sort some of the rest out.
Hows the front frame rails and inner fenders?
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
Not very good
In reply to classicJackets (FS) :
Oof. Yeah, definitely not better than what he has.
