mikemeade

Yeah, I have the foam pieces. They required a lot of cleaning. There was a layer of dirt on them so thick that I couldn't see foam or metal on them. I washed and washed until the water didn't seem black with dirt. They have been drying in the basement for the last couple of days. (It might have been too cold down there) Today I moved them into the sun inside my kitchen, so hopefully they will actually get dry. I'm aiming to turn the engine over this weekend, we'll see how things go. If I get the car running, it will be running from a gas can, and a battery charger... I don't want to spend a bunch of money on the car if the engine comes back toast. I've got my fingers crossed though.

I have rebuilt the british SUs four or five times now, so I think that I should be able to do these. I do know what you mean though, there is a lot of exact details in getting the carbs just right. At the moment, I kinda like the foam air filters, we'll have to see how they clean up. Hopefully they will be dry by tonight!

Thanks Carl, That makes a lot of sense. I suppose it would clean up the engine bay a bit if I rerouted those vents to the air cleaner. Once I get the car running, I will have to add that to my to do list. Mike

Thanks for the help. Why would the overflow hose go to the air cleaner? If the carb overflows, the filter would get soaked with fuel, and probably draw less air, providing a very rich running situation... Wouldn't it just be better to get rid of the fuel like the previous owner did?

It sounds like what the previous owner did is fairly appropriate then. The overflow line ends at the fram rail underneath the battery and is nicely tied back to the car. I may eventually plumb this a little better, but I don't see a problem with the general idea. Why would I need a filter at the end of the hose? I can't imagine any significant dirt making it's way through the six feet of hose uphill and into the float bowls.... Or is there some other reason?

I searched around last night on this board and others and settled for 1/4" and 5/16" lines. The 5/16 is also labeled as 8mm. The 1/4" is 6.35 mm. I figure that the 6.35 mm lines are return lines, so it shouldn't matter if they are oversized right? Also, the first picture above shows an orange line leading from both of the float bowls, crossing the engine, and then terminating at the bottom of the engine compartment. As far as I can tell, this is the overflow for the float bowl. (that is how it works on the British SUs anyways). So my question is, is this where the return line to the tank is supposed to fit in? Is there a return line somewhere in the fuel rail that is covered by insulation? I replaced all the lines I could see last night, and everything seems to fit properly.

Allright, so back to the matter at hand... Does anyone know the sizes of the fuel hoses in the engine compartment? I would like to replace them before I go about turning this engine over this weekend. The hoses I have seem to be two different sizes. They are pretty old and cracked though, so I would be nervous about finding an exact match. Also, do all the fuel lines need to have the insulation all over them like mine seem to have?

Well, consider it a standing invitation. :cheeky: Uh-huh, go ahead, and if she believes that one (like none of us have ~ever~ tried that line), I can get you a real good deal on some exclusive beach front property in Arizona. E Yeah, I suppose well have to see about that... Heck, after last nights cleaning, I might change MY mind. This car is looking like it fits me too well to give to her! I started with this, And with some cleaning, and washing, and vacuuming, it now looks like this. Besides the dozen cracks in the dash, the interior is suprisingly complete and intact. I am very pleased. :classic:

I have been slowly going through my new acquisition, and I finally found the key for the wheel lock on my 240Z. I was curious who the manufacturer was for the wheels on the car. I pulled one wheel off and found that there was shelby printed on the back side! I didn't even know that Shelby made wheels. I just figured that the cobra caps were kinda hokey. I guess that it is much cooler now that I know that they actually go with the wheels. So, as you can see in the picture above, the rim is broken, even though the tire still holds air. If I could, I would like to find a spare for this one wheel. Are they out there? Is there a good source? Should I just look for new wheels all together? Thanks, Mike

Ha! I was just looking at those yesterday! I'm not sure taht I trust my old shocks too much, I may look into those!

Sorry guys, I won't make it this week. I want to start detailing the car a bit before my wife sees the car for the first time on Saturday. I figure the cleaner and more complete it looks, the more she will like it. I'm thinking of making this her car eventually, so I have to try to get her to like it!

Oh, I can guarantee that the car won't be there this week. I was thinking about coming just to look, but there is no way this car will be on the road reliably for a least a couple weeks. I have brakes to do, some rust to clean up, and the engine is still a giant unknown. I would like to make the engine run first. If I find that the engine is toast, I would consider selling the car. If the engine runs, its a keeper for sure.

Are all gas tanks the same on early cars? I am sure that mine would need cleaning, but there is a tank available from a 74' 260z on craigslist that has been boiled and repainted very recently. I can get it for less than I would pay to clean up my tank. My question is, is it the same tank? Oh, and i will look into coming to the car show on Wednesday, we will have to see how well I do with replacing the fuel system tonight...

After working on the car for the evening, I can tell that this car has had some work. It looks like the car has a header and a glasspack muffler. The carbs look like they have been backdated to round top carbs too... I assume there is a perfomance advantage in that? There are some fog lights below the grille that look aftermarket, the way they mounted in there. (crappy) The down side, is that I cleaned the interior. I am pretty sure that the owner told me the car hadn't run for ten years... Inside I found magazines, paperwork, reciepts, etc, and they were all dated 1990. I am pretty sure that this car hasn't ran in 16 years. Man, I thought that it would be easy to get the sucker running if it had only been two years, but 16... There is so much more that I think I have to do... Tommorrow, I will try to take pictures, there are some more questions that I have that just make more sense with images. Mike

The hood is off! I tried the push on the lever thing, but it just wasn't working for me. I figured that I would give the two top nuts a try again, and it worked. I guess working in the dark with a flashlight while tired was not really the best way to approach the situation! Today I could easily see what I needed to get at, and removed the two bolts connecting the latch to the hood. So far things look pretty good. The SUs slide with no problems at all, the sparkplugs cameout easy. The oil even looks to be a good color. The previous owner drained the coolant from the block from below, so I am going to have to flush the cooling system to make sure there isn't much dirt in the system. I'm off to the store to get ATF! I'm pretty excited. besides dirt, there isn't much bad about the car at all. That and the wasps nests that seem to be everywhere. I have removed about 10 dead nests, and I can see one that is alive.... I'll have to take care of that before they take care of me! Oh, and the wheels stay. I love 'em too!

It sounds like your cable is in exactly the same condition as mine... Sorry, I guess I'll just look at getting mine repaired when I finally get the hood open. Thanks anyways!

As far as I know, nothing is jammed, I just can't really see all that well in there, and this is my first Z. That image you attached is very helpful. I could get a wrench on the hood nuts with the very ends of my fingertips last night, but I was at the extreme limits of my reach. I'll have to see if I have any better luck with a screwdriver tonight. Just so I am clear, it looks like I will need to push from the passenger side towards the drivers side?

I could really use a hood release cable, mine is snapped.

That sounds exactly like what I did. I'll have to spend some time tonight trying to get the other two bolts. I could get a wrench on one of them last night, but it was getting late, and I was tired from the trip to Boise and back. Thanks for the help! Mike

Well I got the car home! It looks pretty good, especially since it turns out that it hasn't ran in 10 years, not two like I thought. I'm working on the hood, but it is proving to be a real tough job. Escanlon, I pulled the bolts at the fron of the hood, and I pulled two at the bottom side of the latch. I am not getting any movement.... Do I need to do the ones on the top side of the latch? I'm having some insane trouble getting to those....

Thanks guys! This is exactly the information I was looking for. I am in Portland, Oregon. I don't even have the car yet, but I am driving to Boise this weekend to get it. I still can't believe that it will be free, but I guess that I'll find out on Sunday. It looks like I'll be making a shopping list of hoses, gaskets etc. Enrique, can you tell me if there is a local place that sells Z parts? or am I best getting them online? I have the next couple of weeks to spend evenings with the car, so I would like to have as many parts on hand before I start. Here's a no brainer question, all the nuts and bolts should be metric right? I'm used to standard nuts and bolts so I may have to look into some more tools... I figure i'll take a look at the hood when I get it back. It looks kinda funky, and I'm not a real fan, but you never know how it will look in person. I kinda like that it makes the car kinda rare. And Carl, thanks for the super post. That will really come in handy.. I plan on making the car a driver, and then evaluating my options. Most likely there will be pressure from the wife to sell it, but I've always wanted a Z. I figure I have the ragtop MG for summer, and the hardtop for less dry days. Now if I only had a two car garage, I could make them both perfect! The car has been sitting two years, and the owners wife is giving it to me for free, title and all. I couldn't be happier to try to save this car. Thanks again for all your help, and I'll try to be back with updates! Mike

Hi There. I have been offered a free '73 that has been parked for the last couple of years. Apparently the hood release cable broke and the car got parked and left. What would you guys think needs replacing in starting the car up? I was thinking that I would use fresh gas, clean out the float bowls, and replace items as neccesary just to get the car to run. Since my experience is wholly with MGs, I thought that I would ask you guys what you thought might need work. Thanks, Mike