What next?!

[FastWoman]

I tried the vice grips, Jonathan, but I can't get a good enough grip. Maybe if I use a newer pair with sharper jaws.

Wow, thanks for the tip about the thermo housing threads! Fortunately I haven't chased out any of my threads yet! Whew!

[Z train]

Any tips on welding nuts?

Some of us GUYS should be able to give you a tip.....

Below is what i did with my housing.And i used SS studs & nuts and then powdercoated it.As far as the Welder goes,first they are really REALLY handy.They are one of those"i don't know how i got along without it before" tools.Especially on a ranch.Having said all that.Save you money and buy a decent one.Make it 220volt and gas.Check out a Millermatic 180.

To the stud issue.But a set of lefthand drill bits,cut the stud flat and simply drill it out.The bits will come in handy down the road also.

[FastWoman]

Some of us GUYS should be able to give you a tip.....

Geeesh!

Seriously, I like your idea of the SS studs. Very nice. I should also get a powder coater.

The LH drill bits sound like a promising approach if all else fails.

Does anybody make a tool like vice grips except with less destructive jaws that screw/bolt/clamp closed? I'm thinking of a toothed clamp with a hex head.

Edited October 5, 2010 by FastWoman

[FastWoman]

HOORAY!!!! I'VE WON!!!!

I went shopping for more tools. If in doubt, buy tools. I knew I needed a new, much sharper pair of vice grips. Examining my various choices, it appeared my best bet was a pair about 6" long that was radiused just right to chomp into the stud in the back of its jaws. I figured I'd close the thing with a pair of channel locks and then turn the short handle with another tool (which turned out to be the same channel locks. I lubed up again, chomped the stud, applied moderate torque, tapped, tapped, tapped, tapped. (The tapping seemed to do absolutely no good.) Then I nervously turned a bit harder and a bit harder, and it budged. I gave it another good soaking, waited a while, and then worked it the rest of the way out.

Anyone know where I can get a chewed up stud bronzed and framed?

Also on my trip out, I traded my intake and exhaust manifolds for the newly rebuilt mowing deck on my beloved 1972 Deere 212 tractor. (This is the radiator guy who does all this work for me.) He'll extract the remaining frozen studs/bolts/screws for me (helicoiling that one injector screw hole). I got home, mounted up the mowing deck, and cut down all my "hay."

And the stock market is up 2% today. WOOHOO!

It's been a good day.

Thanks for all your help and moral support, guys!

BTW, did Datsun paint the engine blocks in their new cars? As I was doing some cleaning on the engine, underneath the manifolds, I could see traces of blue paint through the rust. The PO said it's the original (never rebuilt) engine, but could it have been rebuilt at one time?

Edited October 5, 2010 by FastWoman

[Z train]

Just had 24 tons of hay delivered the other day.

[mlc240z]

Congrats, Sarah!

Always knew you'd "endeavor to persevere".

It's a great feeling when it finally works out, isn't it?

[7T1240]

BTW, did Datsun paint the engine blocks in their new cars? As I was doing some cleaning on the engine, underneath the manifolds, I could see traces of blue paint through the rust. The PO said it's the original (never rebuilt) engine, but could it have been rebuilt at one time?

Factory engine block color was blue on 240-Z's, and I believe that is also true for your 280-Z. Classic Datsun Motorsports sell a rattle can of engine blue on the Misc. page of their website: http://classicdatsun.com/

Also, there's a seller on ebay making a similar offering - and the auction shows the color on a block: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-240Z-True-Blue-Green-Factory-Engine-Paint-Can-/160488965409

Gary S.

[olzed]

Hey. Thats great that you stuck to it and got that stud out.

This is just amazing, reading what you get stuck into.

Good on you. Go Girl:classic:

Edited October 6, 2010 by olzed

[Zs-ondabrain]

now that a solution has come about, have we all learned to NEVER ASK "WHAT NEXT"??

you're just asking for trouble. It's a Datsun, never ask that question. Just be happy with the fact that it's just that one thing at the moment.

Good to hear it's coming together though.

Dave

[ZCurves]

Sarah,

I used the Stainless Steel bolt kit from MSA and lots of Anti-Seize. Torque the new studs in and move to the next problem (opportunity).

BTW: The tapping is for 'Shocking' the fused parts to help them break free. Combined with good penetrating oil and perseverance - it proves to be a good combination most of the time. Congratulations!

[Z train]

now that a solution has come about, have we all learned to NEVER ASK "WHAT NEXT"??

you're just asking for trouble. It's a Datsun, never ask that question. Just be happy with the fact that it's just that one thing at the moment.

Good to hear it's coming together though.

Dave

Absolutely.When i had my Cobra,people asked-Is it finished?They are never finished.

Sarah,

I used the Stainless Steel bolt kit from MSA and lots of Anti-Seize. Torque the new studs in and move to the next problem (opportunity).

BTW: The tapping is for 'Shocking' the fused parts to help them break free. Combined with good penetrating oil and perseverance - it proves to be a good combination most of the time. Congratulations!

Just beware of the stud that goes into the timing chain cavity.

Fastchick-you need to get some PB Blaster if you haven't already.Outstanding stuff.

Edited October 6, 2010 by Z train

[FastWoman]

Thanks, guys! You all have me smiling proudly. On a "girl" sort of note, I may have broken some bolts and studs, but I only got one tiny cut and one tiny burn on my hand and didn't break a single nail. I'm sort of amazed about that.

@Ztrain, I wish I could have helped you, but our hay was "city hay" -- somewhat overgrown grass, helped along by the relentless rain. My mowing deck had been in the shop for a while. Antique parts and such. (You know the drill.)

@Bart, yes it is!

@Gary: Thanks! However I'm not being a purist about my car. I'd be more of a purist if it were an early 240 or something. I was mostly interested in whether my engine might have been rebuilt. The shade of blue does seem to be the one you linked to (as far as I can determine), so I guess I really do have an un-rebuilt engine. Other aspects of the engine certainly suggest so -- lots of corrosion/rust, lots of sludge and varnish internally, lots of apparently original hardware. (I'm slowly getting it cleaned up.)

@olzed: Thanks! Yeah, I really felt as though I was getting in over my head. I was scared to death of that last stud. I thought this engine couldn't be much harder than the 1977 salt-water cooled 315 in our powerboat, but I was clearly wrong. The combination of steel and aluminum is lethal!

@Dave: You're being superstitious! My old '75 was a very reliable car, once I worked through all the PO's left-over problems. There's no reason an antique car can't be reliable. My neighbor across the street is always tooling around town in his '68 Camaro with 500k original miles on it. He just keeps on top of the repairs.

BTW, while at the radiator shop, I saw a front-wheel-drive Honda in the service bay. They had pulled the head. Looking at the thing, with the intake manifold still in place (sitting atop the engine near the firewall), I couldn't imagine how they even got to the manifold bolts. Yikes! Even though I was dealing with horrible corrosion on my Z, I realized the job could have been much worse. I could have been dealing with one of those crammed together Honda things. Even my RWD inline-6 BMW was rather crammed together. All things considered, I think I prefer the crust and rust to lack of access.

@Andrew: Are you talking about the complete screw/bolt set? As far as I can tell, you can't buy that anymore. I thought about making some SS exhaust/intake studs from threaded rod stock but decided against it. I just got MSA's regular bolt/nut/stud kit, as SS tends to be a bit softer. I use SS studs on our boat, but only because the exhaust temp is much lower, and corrosion is so huge a problem.

I did find the nickel anti-sieze, BTW, at my local bolt shop.

Anyway, thanks again, everyone, for helping me to get to this point. I know I'll have more questions after I get back my intake manifold and am ready for reassembly. But at least the miserable part is behind me. Woohoo!