260Z sitting for 20 years

[felnik]

Well, its a long story but apparently its looking like I may enherit this 260Z that has been sitting in our barn for 20 years. I guess I'm wondering what I might be in for if i decide to bring this thing back to life. The body looks great almost as if it just needs a bath and would be shiny again. It has a 3 Weber setup alloy rims and a wing in the back . Its actually a pretty sharp looking car. The problems are the exhaust system is rusted out and the tires are flat. the drivers floor is rusted through and mice have been living in the glove box, and I'm not sure if there is a key to the car yet. I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on getting the engine started again I'm worried about the gas tank, if I should take it out and fully clean it or leave it in and hope for the best. I have alot of experience with BMW 2002's of this vintage so I'm not totally clueless. This car looks to me to be very restorable. any advice would be very helpful,

thanks

james

[v12horse]

Congradulations and to give you good advice I would need to see some pictures of the car. I hope the mice have not eaten into the wires and such.

Take care,

Ben

[Bambikiller240]

Major concerns would include the brake system (rubber hoses, master and wheel cylinders, jellied brake fluid); fuel system (rubber hoses, rust and garbage in tank and lines, jellied fuel) Flywheel and Clutch Disc could be rusted together. Mice "stuff" possibly in the heater ducts, wiring may have been nibbled on.etc

You mentioned the magic word (Rust) Floor pans can be cut out an new ones welded in, but I would suggest looking carefully at the Rocker panels and Dog legs to see if they need attention at the same time floor pan repairs are effected.

Sounds like a nice find, but "just sitting" like that over a period of years can have worse effects than driving a car periodically over the same number of years.

I would start with cleaning the fuel tank etc. No use trying to force any "foriegn materials" (crap) through your carbs and fouling them up. Just my $.02

[Fun_in_my_z]

Drop the tank drane it out.

You will most likely not have any brakes. check the master and see if it still has fluid in it.

[bimini_blue]

I don't know where you live, but in the Western part of the US we have a very nasty (and sometimes fatal) disease called Hantivirus that is carried by the Dear Mouse. This disease is trasmitted to humans by inhalation. I would disinfect any and all areas where nesting and/or droppings are found with a 10% beach solution and let it sit for 30 minutes prior to cleaning it up. Just my 2 cents. More information if you are interested.

http://www.hantavirus.net/

[bobbovine]

I don't think there is any issue with Hanta up here in Connecticut, I've lived here 20 years and never heard of any local cases. Rabies and Lyme Disease, but not Hanta. Then again what could it hurt to do some disinfecting. I'm no expert on the subject by any means but I tend to remember things like that.

As for the fuel tank, I recently saw on one of those car restoration shows on TV, a guy use a clean milk jug and a section of new fuel line to run clean/fresh fuel directly to the carbs. You should probably drop the tank and have it boiled out first.

Were about in Connecticut are you? I've only seen one other Z in my area, a 280z. I've seen it in New London a few times on my way to work in the morning.

Also, what is the production date of your 260z? It can be frustrating trying to find parts for my early 260, but they're out there and available, it's also easy to retrofit certain 240 parts for those impossible to find pieces (i.e. wiper bottle, I may of been ablr to get one from Japan for over $200, but I was able to get a new 240z bottle and pump from MidwestZ for about $50 and solder my old wiring connector onto it)

[beandip]

A car that was just parked , and has been setting that long will need a complete tear down. For one thing the fuel tank must be pulled, there is no way that it could have survived not either rusting or varnishing . The oil in the engine will long ago turned to varnish and sludge . If it were to start it wont run for long with out clogging oil passages and burning out some of the bearings. The engine may be good but just must be pulled apart and tanked. All the wheel cylinders will be rusted and the fluid turned to jelly. The rubber break lines rotted or at the least unsafe. This could be a real find though . It is just going to be a lot of work the cooling systime will need a complete go through including the heater core . All water hoses and drive belts . At the least the diff and manual trans will need a flush and refill. If possable find out why the car was lift parked in the first place . Bad engine , clutch what ???? There must be a reason they stopped driving it in the first place. If the engine is a problem just pull it and replace it . Drop in a 280 there easy to find. The best of luck Gary

[felnik]

well it looks like the mice have long since abandoned the car. There is an old nest in the glove box among other things. The owner of our house at the time 20 years ago had the car, probably one of many cars the guy owned. when my family moved in he moved it out to the barn and left it. I always assumed the guy would come back for it. We just bought the house this year after renting it for 20 years. The driveway to the barn is now completely overgrown with trees and such. My wife has been complaining about when hes going to get the thing outa here. I only learned last month from a tree guy that he sent over that he has no interest in the car whatsoever ,he doesn't want it. As far as I know the thing ran fine when he put it away, but he didn't take any precautions about long term storage so there it sits tires flat brakes rusted exhaust laying on the floor . After many years of torture with 3 BMW 2002's and a 1972 Mercedes with duel webers from hell thrown in you'd think I'd learn my lesson. But nooooooooo here i am getting sucked in all over again like a damn idiot. The one thing I have to say about the car is this, the body is in great shape, it literally looks like a wash and a wax and thing would look awesome. All the rubber around the windows and on the bumpers is fine.

by the way, the production date on the panel is 1973

also thank you very much for your input, I need to call the owner of the thing and tell him something soon:stupid:

[v12horse]

That is awesome that the 260 you are interested in was made in 1973. That is a really early one. I am curious what the vin# is. My 260z was built in 3-5/74. I am not exactly sure of the build date since my spare says 4/74, my door jam plate says 5/74, but one of my seatbelts was made in 1973 and the other has 1974 on it. What color is the 260z? One last question, I promise. Did/ do you have a BMW 2002 turbo? Those are the rare ones.

Ben:)

[felnik]

I'll go out and check the dates.

I had a 1972 and 2 1976 2002's

I built a motor for one of them.

at a glance the Datsun engine looks pretty simple by comparison, lots of space like and old Chevy or something. The 2002 engine was jammed in there tight and tilted to one side to make it fit, I still have no idea how the hell I did it. the German cars are intensley engineered they pulled alot of horsepower out of a 4 cylinder motor. I test drove a turbo 2002 once very rare indeed.

[felnik]

heres a photo of the car as it sits

[v12horse]

It is hard to tell the condition of the car from the pictures, but the hood sure looks straight. Is this car silver? Anyways, the carbs will be nice once tuned up.

Take care and good luck,

Ben

ps. more pics please.