John,
After thinking about you question a little more, I thought it would be
a good subject for a FAQ on our Web page. Here is a little more info
for you.
----------------
My Brick has been setting for years. What should I do to it before
trying to start it.
1. The gasoline has probably been in the tank WAY too long, and
should be drained. Unfortunately, no drain plug was
provided; consiquently the tank will have to be removed.
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.
The tank is held in place by 2 straps. The front of the strap
has a small rod on it and slides into the trunk support. Then
back of the strap is attached via a long "J" bolt which goes into
a notch cut in the trunk support.
Start by appling a liberal amount of WD40 to the rods and nuts.
After letting it soak in for a few minutes try to undo the nuts.
If the don't want to turn, you will have to hold the "J" bolts
with a pair of Vise Grips while you try to undo the nuts. The
metal for the trunk support is pretty thin and you can tear the
head of the "J" bolts out of the notch if you apply too much
torque trying to undo the nuts.
Once the nuts have been unscrewed until they are just about off of
the "J" bolts you will need to disconnect the line and electrical
connections to the gas tank.
a. There are 2 rubber lines that must be disconnected. These
are the main gas line, and the return line.
b. The clamp on the main filler hose will have to be loosened.
c. There is also a ground wire comming from the sending unit
to the chassis above the tank. You will need to undo this screw.
d. There is a electrical plug for the power lead to the sending
unit. Disconnect this plug.
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 either the filler or 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. While they are working
on the tank, ask them to install a drain plug.
2. I suggest that you pull the plugs, squart some oil down each
cylinder the help lub the cylinders. Remove the low voltage wire
to the coil.
3. You might want to try to turn the engine over by hand before
trying to use the starter. Put a socket and a ratchet on the main
crankshaft bolt and try to turn the engine over by hand. If you can
turn it over, you're ready to try using the starter to bring up the
oil pressure.
4. Check the oil level in the engine. Is there any in there?
5. You might want to drain the water and refil the radiator.
6. Now trun the ignition switch to the start position. As the engine
turns over watch the oil pressure guage to see if you get any oil
pressure. Don't crank on the starter for more than about 30 seconds.
Wait for 10 seconds and try again. If no oil pressure observed after
2 min. Don't keep cranking. You need to check to see why there is no
oil pressure.
7. Once you have good oil pressure, the bearings etc will have
been lubed, now reinstall the plugs and go for it. Don't forget to
prime the carb. You might want to have some starting fluid on hand
to help things along the 1st time.
8. Let the engine come up to temperature and see if the thermostat
opens. When this happens the temp. guage will go from around 200+ down
to around 160 or 180 degrees. If the engine starts to over heat, shut
it down and replace the thermostat.
9. It's now time to change the fluids:
a. Change the engine oil and filter.
b. Drop the transmission pan and replace the xmission filter.
Then replace the transmission fluid.
c. You might want to think about draining the rear end lub. also.
d. Start the engine again and bring it up to operating temp again.
let it run for a little while. Hopefully this will clean some
of the crud from the water jackets. You might even want to run
a can of radiator flush through it. Drain and refil with the
proper mix of water and antifreeze.
10. By now any trash that was in the fuel line is probably clogging
the fuel filter and in the float bowl. Replace the fuel filter.
You might want to think about getting a carb. kit and opening up
the carb. to clean it out and replace the gaskets.
11. First time you try to move the car under its own power, be very
careful. You don't know if the brakes are going to work.
It wouldn't be a bad idea to check the hydrolic lines for cracks
and leaks. If you are really parinoid, you might want to drain
the brake fluid from the system, and refil it. Also check the
brake shoes and pads for their thickness and even replace the rear
wheel cylinders, master cylinder, and calipers.
Remember a car that won't run is a pain in the a$$. But one that
won't stop can kill you .
-----------
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
|