240ZBUILTBYME 1971 240z HS-001063 Project Georgia

[240ZBUILTBYME]

Minor update

chassis jig is complete! Photos and video coming soon.

I managed to free my carb insulator blocks from the intake manifold with a razor blade and cleaned them up. The gasket was pretty much glued to one of the blocks, attacked it with the razor blade and was careful not to inflict any damage. cleaned up further with paper towel and sugar soap.  Came out pretty good!

Question: are my blocks ok to reuse and do people normally recoat/varnish these blocks before reusing? If so what product would one use? 
 

ryan 

[Racer X]

1 hour ago, 240ZBUILTBYME said:

Minor update

chassis jig is complete! Photos and video coming soon.

I managed to free my carb insulator blocks from the intake manifold with a razor blade and cleaned them up. The gasket was pretty much glued to one of the blocks, attacked it with the razor blade and was careful not to inflict any damage. cleaned up further with paper towel and sugar soap.  Came out pretty good!

Question: are my blocks ok to reuse and do people normally recoat/varnish these blocks before reusing? If so what product would one use? 
 

ryan 

Never really considered refinishing them, but they are reusable. You might give them a good coat of beeswax, on the parts that are exposed, then buff to a nice gloss.

[grannyknot]

7 hours ago, 240ZBUILTBYME said:

Question: are my blocks ok to reuse and do people normally recoat/varnish these blocks before reusing? If so what product would one use? 

The gaskets on mine were practically glued on as well, just make sure they are smooth and flat before installation.  I used some sticky backed 400 grit paper on a granite flat  and worked both sides until smooth, as I remember one had a slight warp that was causing a small vacuum leak.

[Racer X]

On 2/5/2021 at 8:10 PM, 240ZBUILTBYME said:

 

Do you mean z therapy? I just bought a diy rebuild kit from them and asked if they could supply fixings they said no.... 😢

ryan 

Yes, it was Z Therapy I was thinking of.

There is a seller on eBay that has screws for the carbs.

Check them out:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Datsun-240Z-Float-Bowl-Suction-Chamber-Carburetor-Screws-Set/164620649300

 

[Captain Obvious]

You can reuse those spacers just fine. As mentioned above, maybe hit them on a sanding surface a little to see if they're badly warped, but other than that, run 'em. If you think they're bad enough to risk not sealing, you could put a little gasket sealer on them as insurance. For those, I'd use a non-silicone type like Permatex Moto-seal. It's MEK based and (in theory) is resistant to gasoline.

So I got a question for the collective... Has anyone come up with a good "solvent" to loosen the old petrified stock original gaskets? They're hard as rocks, stuck like the dickens, and probably harder than the aluminum they're stuck to. I've got the same job ahead of me (getting spacers off intake manifolds) and I've tried the typical methods with little success.

I'm looking for a silver bullet without having to completely powderize what is probably asbestos laced old gasket material.

All these years of experience and I'm asking how to get old gaskets off... Kinda embarrassing.  

[Racer X]

6 minutes ago, Captain Obvious said:

 

So I got a question for the collective... Has anyone come up with a good "solvent" to loosen the old petrified stock original gaskets? They're hard as rocks, stuck like the dickens, and probably harder than the aluminum they're stuck to. I've got the same job ahead of me (getting spacers off intake manifolds) and I've tried the typical methods with little success.

I'm looking for a silver bullet without having to completely powderize what is probably asbestos laced old gasket material.

All these years of experience and I'm asking how to get old gaskets off... Kinda embarrassing.  

First I would try Stoddard solvent, soak them in it. If that doesn't work, maybe try Goof Off, that stuff for removing adhesive.

[Captain Obvious]

So I took a couple minutes (which is what I should have done first instead of asking) and Stoddard solvent is basically what they use for dry cleaning.

Kinda like white mineral spirits, but not exactly. Smells (and they say tastes!!) like kerosene, but not exactly.

I'll see if I can turn up a small quantity here and see how it goes.

Thanks for the input!

Edited March 22, 2021 by Captain Obvious
Should have just done some homework

[Captain Obvious]

@Racer X, Any clever suggestions for how to keep the gasket wet with solvent for a couple hours for it to soak? I've tried the saturated rag on top method in the past, but it dries out too fast.  I don't think I want to drop the whole manifold pair into a full tub of the stuff. How have you kept stuff like that saturated?

[SteveJ]

Have you tried wrapping everything in a garbage bag so the rag can't dry out so easily?

[Racer X]

1 hour ago, Captain Obvious said:

@Racer X, Any clever suggestions for how to keep the gasket wet with solvent for a couple hours for it to soak? I've tried the saturated rag on top method in the past, but it dries out too fast.  I don't think I want to drop the whole manifold pair into a full tub of the stuff. How have you kept stuff like that saturated?

I would try a shallow pan, i.e. a cookie sheet (I snag them at garage sales for work in the shop so Mrs. Racer doesn’t scalp me for stealing kitchen stuff). A paper shop towel laid down first should help keep the solvent where you want it, and reduce the minimal amount of evaporation that may occur.

[grannyknot]

8 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

I'm looking for a silver bullet without having to completely powderize what is probably asbestos laced old gasket material.

I haven't found any solvents that help on those original gaskets, I have an old Stanley paint scraper like in the pic, not much can resist it.

 

[240ZBUILTBYME]

21 hours ago, Racer X said:

You might give them a good coat of beeswax, on the parts that are exposed, then buff to a nice gloss.

Will do that! Will be the beeswax will hold up to the heat and fuel? 

15 hours ago, grannyknot said:

I used some sticky backed 400 grit paper on a granite flat 

Will do, I’ll have to buy a granite flat stone. there were minor Imperfections, I didn’t notice any significant warping

12 hours ago, Racer X said:

There is a seller on eBay that has screws for the carbs.

I bought a set about a month ago X! Still waiting on them to arrive though...