Hello from Oregon!

[beandip]

Rainman , welcome to the web site . If you follow the thread from waking the beast you will have as good of a outcome possible. So much depends on the moisture in the air. Medford being much drier that up here in Portland you may have dodged the bullet. I had my engine stored in a barn for almost 3 years and it was fine. Although I oiled the cylinders and turned it over about once a month. Keep us all posted . Gary

[nwcubsman]

Hi Rainman,

As it turns out I am sitting in a Grants Pass hotel reading your thread for the first time. I will be in your area the next couple of days. Would love to meet you and talk Z cars. I'll send you a PM.

[Rainman]

I just got my fuel tank back from the radiator shop but I'm not very pleased with the work they did so it may have to go back for a second dip.. Bummer! Best to have it done right while it's out of the car the first time though. I decided to take the Weber carbs off the car and have them looked over by a fellow that knows them well. Will also rotate the engine by hand this weekend after the ATF treatment mentioned in the "waking the sleeping beast" thread. I've also drained the radiator this week and need to replace some tubing in that system before I flush and refill it. The coolant looks fairly clean with the exception of the stuff that came out of the intake manifold area, it was pretty yucky. Anyway, I should be ready to go once the fuel tank gets corrected and reinstalled. I'll keep everyone posted on my progress next week.

[Arne]

Tom, if the 260Z cooling hoses and piping are the same as the 240Z, all that stuff is available from the dealer, and is surprisingly affordable. I am replacing everything in the cooling system of mine, every hose, pipe and connector.

I would also have been surprised if the coolant from the manifold had NOT been gunky. I'm assuming the manifold passages on the '74 260Z are similar to those on the '72 240Z, and I suspect that the Weber manifold adapters block the passages, and so no coolant is flowing thought them, it's just sitting there stagnating. If it were me, in that case I'd just plug the system off at the thermostat housing and the T-fitting.

The engine in my parts car turns over nice and freely, but the cylinders have had some ATF in them since last weekend, just because. I'm shooting for swapping it and firing it up over Labor Day weekend. I'll keep you posted.

[Rainman]

Replacing all your cooling lines and fitting sounds like a great idea, Arne! The piping coming off my thermostat housing is pretty gunky, with no shortage of the whitish/yellowish corrosion from years of sitting there. I think I'm just going to replace the worst of the hoses right now since my car won't be road worthy for a while even if it happens to start right up once I try it for the first time. Do you think I should replace the thermostat while I'm in there? I'll still need to go through the brakes and clutch hydraulic systems. I took the cap off the clutch cylinder today and the fluid wasn't liquid anymore, it was about the consistency of petroleum jelly. Very interesting. It's a good thing I'm not in a hurry!

I made some pretty good progress today. I got all of the fuel lines out of the engine compartment and am ready to go buy the replacements. The ATF is soaking in the cylinders, I'll leave it a while longer as I don't have a big enough socket to get on the nut in the crank pulley. I'll bet you know what size it is...25mm, 27mm?? the biggest I have is a 22mm. Would it be better if I didn't try to rotate the crank using that nut? Let me know what you think! Mr. Beck mentioned a strap wrench, though I'm not sure I've ever seen one of them.

I removed the old smog pump and all the plumbing that goes with it. I'll need to find a cap for the area where the hose connected to the "rail" with lines distributing some of the pumped air into each leg of the exhaust manifold (sorry, not familiar w/the terminology!).

I found your reply about the intake cooling subsystem interesting. I'm hesitant to pull all that off the engine right now as only a little heat shield isolates the intake from the exhaust manifold. The coolant runs through every single piece of the intake manifold, even the Weber adapters. Those adapters were the gunky pieces that I mentioned earlier, everything else seemed pretty clean but I still intend to run some clean water through it before I replace the coolant.

Let me know what you think about the method of turning the crank... and if anyone else has any input, please don't be shy! I'll be watching your online diary while I'm on the road later this week Arne, so best of luck w/ your engine swap! Have a great week and I'll catch you later!

Tom.

[beandip]

Rainman , I wouldn't add any coolant just yet . You might just find that you will have a leak somewhere or need to change a part and need to drain the rad. I just use straight water until I am convinced all is well and on the road . Then I go 50/50 with antifreeze bu not until then . If you remove the thermostat take note that there is a little hole in the body of it and if it has never been pulled since new , the hole will be on the up side . Supposedly this is for air to escape past the unit when you fill the cooling system. I would test the thermostat in hot water and see if it functions , use a candy thermometer to see at what temp it opens. If all is good no need to change it. I use a socket on the crank nut with a brake-over bar or ratchet. I have a manifold that has the tubes blocked off if you need it . It's yours . Maybe we could have Bryan bring it down your way . Or as far as Arne's . Gary

[mikemeade]

Tom,

A strap wrench worked well enough in turning my engine, once I got it to break free. If you aren't familiar with them, they look like this:

You can get the right socket, but that may cost $20, wheras the wrench only costs around $10, and you can use it for other things. My wife has one that she uses in the kitchen to open jars and such.

[Rainman]

Thanks for the coolant suggestion Gary, I think I will fill the system only with water as you say until I know for sure it's all set and ready to go. Might as well pull the T-stat while I'm at just to make sure the potential trouble spots are checked out. I appreciate you offering up the manifold with the blocked tubes. I intend to find a set of headers for it eventually so I will pass on your most generous offer. Thanks anyway though!!

So that's what a strap wrench is! Thanks Mike, and I hope your Z is coming out alright as you continue to knock the cobwebs out of it. I'm making decent progress on mine. I pulled the dual Webers out of it and got one cleaned up tonight. The difference between the two is striking. I still need to clean up the second and order a set of rebuild kits this week. The rubber diaphrams just don't like to sit around for 11 years I guess. At least they were dry though!!

[Rainman]

It's been a while but since I started this project but I thought an update was in order.... I just got my 260Z to run for the first time tonight! It's not a paperweight anymore. It ended up being so much more work than I originally planned but it's all finally come together. Here's the whole story...

I replaced all of the brake components except for the brake pedal and the hard lines. Even put in a set of Toyota 4 piston calipers. New master cylinder and vacuum booster, braided stainless lines, wheel cylinders, all of it new. Pulled the tranny and had all the brass and bushings replaced, new centerforce clutch, new throwout bearing and collar, new master and slave cylinders. Resurfaced the flywheel, installed a new input shaft bushing. Cleaned up the differential and put a new rear cover gasket in it and refilled with fresh gear oil. All the fuel and vent lines have been replaced, the tank boiled out and coated, new filler neck rubber too. Rebuilt my Weber DGV's, installed remanufactured distributor, new coil, new plugs and wires. The radiator was boiled out. Installed new Kokico's all the way around too. Mechanically the car is like new.

Still have a few little things to work out, windsheild wipers don't work. Lights only work on high beam. Should be fun chasing the little bugs out of it for a few months now. I sure appreciate all the input offered and thanks so much for all the encouragement.

Will see how she handles a longer drive tomorrow!

[nwcubsman]

Tom,

You have been busy! Can't wait to see your car and hear the details. Nice work, Rainman!