At 12:26 PM 6/8/97 -0500, you wrote:
First off John, let me welcome you the to group. If you don't mind
could you please email me your name, address phone#, and VIN, are you
a member of BI and I take it you are DIYer. I'm keep track of the
people I meet on the net.
>1. The gasoline has been in the tank WAY too long, so need to drain and
>flush the fuel system. I don't see a drain on the gas tank, so is there
>anything I should know or watch out for when I release the tank support
>straps?
Nothing special. If the car's been in storage, you shouldn't have any
trouble undoing the nuts that hold the straps tight. A little WD40 wouldn't
hurt though. I put the car in the air on jackstands to give me a little
more room. The put the jack under the gas tank. You might want to put a
board on the jack to help spread the load across the gas tank.
Before you start to lower it, there are 2 rubber lines that must be
disconnected. These are the main gas line, and the return line. And you'll
have to disconnect the clamp on the main filler hose. There is also a
ground wire comming from the sending unit to the chassis above the tank.
You will need to undo this screw.
Once the tank is out of the car, you can undo the sending unit. It has
a bayonet fitting. I suggest that you put a block of wood against one of
the wings and tap the wood with a hammer. You don't want any sparks!!!
Once the collar is removed, you can remove the sending unit and the dump
the old gas out both the filler and the hole for the sending unit. When
you think you have all the gas out, I suggest that you fill the tank with
water and wash it out at least once. This is a good time to take the tank
down to a radiator shop and have it lined to keep it from rusting out.
>2. The interior is purely stock and needs an industrial grade
>cleaning. Any do's, don'ts, or absolutely don't do's? My current idea
>is to take it to a detailing shop and let them work out on it.
Not a bad idea, especially if you don't have an upholstery cleaner.
However, you might be able to rent one cheaper than sending it to a detail
shop.
As far as don'ts, Don't clean the interior with gas! No, I can't think
of too much you can do to really hurt things here.
>3. The driver side door doesn't seem to fit properly. (Fortunately,
>the passenger side door operates fine.) When door lowers, (it has air
>doors), it only latches the first click. With a push from the inside or
>outside it will then click the second time into the fully closed
>position. I have tried to adjust it myself, but haven't been successful
>in making it close smoothly. Any tips, here?
This could be several things.
1. The door might not be aligned properly at the hinges and it might be
binding a little.
2. Is the metal door frame cracked where it makes the transition from
vertical to horizontal. (Check the FAQ on the WEB page) You might
need to have the door frame fixed.
3. The latch mech. might not be aligning properly. Try loosening the
screws that hold it to the door frame and try to close the door.
You might also want to spray some WD40 on the latch mech. as they
get gummed up.
4. I don't have the air system working in my car so I'm not too sure
about this one, but I think there is some type of adjustment on the
opening and closing mech. of the air system itself.
>When I get these things in good shape, I believe the rest of the
>clean-up will go fine. I will need to go through the general stuff like
>fuel system, cooling system, brakes, etc., but since the 351W ran fine
>the last time I started it up (about 5 years ago), so I expect there
>will not be major problems there. Any help will be appreciated.
I suggest that you pull the plugs, and the low voltage wire to the coil and
try to turn the engine over with the starter until you get some oil
pressure. Once you have good oil pressure, the bearings etc will have been
lubed, now reinstall the plugs and go for it. You might want to have some
starting fluid on hand to help things along the 1st time.
Hope this helps John
John
John T. Blair WA4OHZ email: jblair@nhr.com
Va. Beach, Va Phone: (757) 495-8229
48 TR1800 48 #4 Midget 65 Morgan 4/4 Series V
75 Bricklin SV1 77 Spitfire
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